So, after getting my Jeep buttoned back up I took it out to my local poser photo area and flexed it out. Right now I’m on 3” of lift with 35” tires. There’s no real bump stop aside from factory right now... it has the teraflex speed bump cans up front. At full stuff the tires rub a little on my fender liners and are super close to other things up front. I can minimize this with a little trimming but if I wanted to go to 37” tires (I do), I would have to add at least an inch of bump stop up front.

Is it worth it to reduce suspension travel for larger tires? I’m not ready to increase lift and I’m not really sure I want to.

Here’s a few shots from my local poser rock and a couple other shameless pics... because... why not?

 

You can go 99% of places with 35's and some skill that you'd otherwise go 37's. The reality is 37's you start getting into more wear and tear- at an accelerated rate. Why bother when you can increase your skill level? That's what separates you from the other guys in the group- if you can actually wheel it or if you just have big tires.

 

Sure, skill is always a good thing and I learn every time I go out. I’d learn with 37’s too. However, skill doesn’t add ground clearance. I can only do so much when I’m limited by break over angle and ground clearance. 37’s won’t add a whole lot of clearance but it’s still a little bit where in previous trails I would have been able to get over an obstacle with an extra inch of clearance.

I can either add lift which isn’t happening right now (or ever most likely). I like the idea of low frame height and large tires. Maybe I can get a wheel with less offset so it will push the wheels out a little more but I don’t think it will solve my front end clearance issues. For now I think my only solution is less uptravel in trade for bigger tires.

 

you need more bump stop. You might thing you were max stuffed but you were not.

 

I wasn’t full stuff in the last pic but the first few were, I was on 2 wheels while teetering over a large rut.

 

Here’s my current thoughts...

1) Add lift and bump stops which is resulting in a net articulation of zero since I would add an inch and a half of lift with an inch and a half of bump stop.

2) I can trim around the wheel wells where I would run. The other obstacle is my fender liner. I may be able to rebuild the fender liner a bit to make more room. This way I can keep my 3” lift, add no additional bump stop and keep all of my suspension travel.

Anyone have suggestions? I’m pretty new to this type of thing so I can use all the help I can get. I can fabricate simple things so some construction isn’t out of the question.

 

what is your current BS? If you plan to do 37s at some point, you really should think about 3.5" whether that is wheels or current wheels + spacers. I only bring it up as that will come in to play with the fender liner clearance. You definitely need to trim more pinch seam, especially if you plan to move to 37s.

 

I haven’t measured but I’m guessing 4.5” or somewhere in that bubble. I will most likely add spacers anyways. Trimming the pinch seam is a good idea too. The only real issue I see that will need work to make it look right (as far as I can see) is the fender liner.

 

Fit the largest shocks you can (4-6" Fox, etc) and bump stop only enough to keep the shocks from bottoming out. Trim wherever you may need. For me that was the back of the rear wheel wells. Sacrificing some up travel for down travel was a no brainer for me. The EVO rockstar skids in the rear also allowed me to mount my shocks a little higher. Aside from clearance, I gained down travel. Don't waste any travel, use it all. That will require you to put in some work though, and bump stop it properly. I found it easiest to pull the coils, keep the shocks installed, and cycle the axle. For me the magic number was 2 hockey pucks in the front, and 2.5" bumps in the rear.

Yes you can go everywhere 37's can take you on 35's... I totally agree. I wheeled my 35's for years while slowly building for 37's. 37's just made it easier for me in the rock gardens when it came to diff clearance and spotting myself.

Why do I like a little more down travel vs up? Stability off camber and in the rocks. Ditched the rear sway bar years ago. Some will argue it adds stability, but I couldn't disagree more. My buddy almost flopped this weekend in the rocks (same spot my avatar is) because his rear sway bar limited travel and unloaded while he was coming down.

 

Trim, add bump stop, move your lower shock mounts. Just check to make sure your coils won't drop out at full droop. Basically what Bora Bora said. I would want at least 1" of clearance on static photos like you are showing as when you push on stuff on the trial the frame and other stuff flex even more. Your brand of tire runs small and is likely why you don't look too bad with no rear bump stop. Typically 35's should run around 2" of bump stop.