So I can't really find anything other than 1 YouTube video on putting 37s on a non lifted jk? And the video showed the guy using stock rims and removing the rock rails and trimming the pinch seam on an unlimited but I have a standard 2door. I would be using aftermarket wheels with a bs of 4.53 according to the specs page, but I also would rather not remove the factory Rubicon rails and I have no way to cut and reweld the pinch seam together. Eventually I will get it lifted and swap out everything I just got snow coming and the stock tires aren't snow rated while the new mt's I'm looking at are and I drive it over a mtn pass and back every month while chains or traction tires are required.

 

37's can be done but you need to do a lot of trimming. Wheels should be 3.5" BS or less, metal cloak fenders or no fenders, Mt's on highway passes are not good tires use, they will have poor tractions in the hard pack. A 37x12.5 will be poor as well on the road as the contact patch will be huge and generally you want a small contact patch on the hard pack/wet roads.

The big wide MT will be good in fresh snow as you need the larger contact patch to "float" like when you are in mud.

You might be better off putting some studded duratrac's on the factory wheels for running the passes and keep the bigger tires for the dry fun times.

 

The issue with the studded tires are where I end up is in an area where studs are not legal ever because it doesn't snow and the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ's my brother has on his XJ have the mtn snowflake that says they're classed as traction tires and he has no issues on the packed city streets with them and I've even driven it couple of times and while it does do better in fresh snow it still does decent on the pack. Not trying to argue just adding in my experiences based on the reply, I can also run fenderless here where I live so there's a good chance I'll do that as well as I forgot, to add that I took the springs from a 4 door Rubicon and put them on my 2 door so I gained about 1 1/2 in the rear and almost 2 in the front.

 

Packed snow in the city is very different from packed snow on a mountain pass. The steep grades will get you. My truck with factory at tires does much better on the passes then my jeep on 40's. I went up to do a recovery a couple years ago and hit a point where I just sat on the road with the wheel spinning. No traction with the wide contact patch. The drive back down was scary in spots as I didn't know if I could stop or make the hairpin turns.
IF you are going to run that big a tire over the passes then make sure you chain up before going over and don't rely on that snowflake on the sidewall.
I live on a Mt. Pass at 6000 feet and am 10 min from a ski area which I drive daily to 8500'.

 

Ok and any recommendations on what a good tire would be then? because the factory BFG km's blow, I drove a family members JKU last winter before I got mine and my car had been totaled out for the same reason of they didn't leave me enough space and couldn't stop in time. And the pass goes from about 3200 to just right around 4800 and then down to less than 200. and then reverse that for when I head back home. And the main reason I'm trying to avoid having to chain is because I have very limited use of 1 hand as well as I don't even know if they make any that would be big enough for 37's as all the local places won't sell chains till the end of Oct when studs become legal for local use and the mtns.

 

I don't know of any 37" tires that would be good for running passes unchained. Do you really get that much snow at 4800'? Does not sound like much of a pass.

 

Surprisingly yes as between about the end of Oct to May the average temp is only about 50 and the average amount of snow every month from Nov to Feb is over 10" and the plowing here in Oregon sucks. It's also Santiam Pass so you can google it if you want and it is one that they warn truckers to avoid if possible as there's not a bunch of steep grades but it can get pretty twisty. And so would sticking with the stock km's would probably be my best bet for now then?
And yes I know this thread did take a bit of a detour from the title simply because of my reasoning