kejtar

Nothing wrong with 35" tires on I70. It all depends on gearing. For 33's with possibility of towing I would look into 4.56's and for 35's it could be a tossup between 4.56's and 4.88's. If you ever consider going about 35's then 4.88's would be almost a given.

Now overall it is a "package deal" to a degree..... if you go up in tire size, the tire fit might be tight and you have to lift in order not to rub. When you go up in tire size you should regear as well. You can go at it piecemeal but keep in mind that till you have everything in place you won't have the optimal setup till you're done. Many years ago, couple jeeps ago, I knew that 35's would be my end game. I was on 235's and getting ready to put on 31's. So when I was ready to swap out tires I timed it so that I could regear at the same time. I regeared to 4.88's and put on my 31's. Boy..... 65MPH was my top speed with the RPM's being at the upper end of what I should be running at.... but I could literally climb a tree

Two years later I did 33's and it was perfect Two more years later I went to 35's and I was missing the torque :( Ended up getting a 4Low. Again - this is not a comparable example to your jeep but illustrates that if you have an end game in sight and don't want to spend money twice you either wait and do it all at once or you live with imperfect setup for a while.

Oh yeah, I have a '12 with 4.11s and 32's and I tow. Now that I think about it, I kinda wished I went to 4.56's because if I ever go up in tire size I will regear. The upside is that for me regearing is parts only as I do my own gears but it is still a fair bit after you add up all the install kits and R&P.

So anyways my recommendation for you would be 33's - 4.56 R&P with a high likelyhood of a lift.

Regarding which tires.... I can make recommendations for offroard, street and slight snow..... but living in SoCal I will leave specifics to those who live in snow

TheTerminator

If it snows where you live, then don't get MT tires. They really suck on slippery pack snow icy/frosty roads. I've been running Goodyear MTR/K for several years now, and will be getting some more of a snow worthy tire this coming winter. I'll still keep the MTRs for the summer though.

I did some research and the top 2 tires I have narrowed down for a good on road winter performance + off road performance are the Falken AT3W tires, and 2nd choice was BFGoodrich KO2. Both have excellent reviews and do very well in snow on road (have no personal experience, just what I've learned from many online reviews). Both are relatively new models. The reason I chose to go with Falkens is because they are cheaper ($50 less per tire in 315/75/16 size that I want), and also because I hate the look of KO2's (similar to original KO's). Everyone around here drives on them, I want something else. Falkens look great and no one has them around here. They're built very tough from what I've gathered, so should stand up to my abuse. Definitely consider these 2 tires in your research. I don't think you'll find a tire significantly better than those in the same class.

Other contenders are the usual GY Duratracs, but some reviews say they lose their snow performance after a year as they wear, and I also feel they are old technology compared to newer tires above. Nitto also has an offering for snow, but they are ridiculously overpriced, and the reviews are mixed.

Please note these are not "true" and dedicated winter tires like a Blizzak WS80. So the performance won't be as good in winter conditions. These type of tires are meant for on road, which would be great if that's all someone wants to do with them, but for me I still need them to be able to take a beating off road. So think of it this way, mud tires are garbage in snow, but doable with very careful driving and 4x4. A true winter tire is the complete opposite, does great in snow even in 2WD. And an AT winter rated tire is somewhere in the middle. Anything will be a huge improvement over an MT tire in winter on road.

kejtar

I will say this - stay away from GY Duratracks..... I rotated them regularly and they got to be very noisy after about 15K miles. Was not happy with their performance.

Jahamm88

+1 on the recommendation of the Faken wild peaks. I've got 26,000miles on mine and probably another 15 realistically left in them. All around daily driver and trail truck 33" has been great. I MAY go 35 but i really have no need to

blackie27

When you say "315" is that the width of the tire? Do you need 4.5in backspacing when it's wider?

TheTerminator

Yes, that's the width of the tire in mm. Basically a 35x12.5 tire.

I have a 4.5 backspace and don't have any rubbing issues.