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Tire size...what would you do?

Frank19

NAXJA Forum User
I am buying an XJ that has a 4.5" Rock Krawler lift and trimmed fenders. It needs tires and the ones I want to buy come in either 31" or 33" sizes (no 32"). The Jeep still has the stock gearing so I am worred about the loss of power that would come from putting on the 33". The problem with the 31" though is that they may look really small with the 4.5" lift and trimmed fenders. What would you do? Go with the 31" and have it not look as good or go with the 33" and deal with the loss of power? I probably won't have the money to re-gear for quite some time. Any suggestions?
 
Crappy situation, but what if you buy the 33's, suck it up on the power loss for a while then swap the entire rear axle out? Not sure what an 8.8 can be had for in the states, about $400 CAD here in Ontario. New gears cost around $350ish + pay to set them up. I say knock down 2 birds with one stone, beefier rear end with 4.10's. Pull the front shaft till you can afford to regear the front with gears from a 4 banger.
 
The problem is that the Jeep itself along with the wheels/tires is gunna set me back quite a bit. Doubt I will be able to save up enough for the gears for at least another year or two. Basically whatever setup I go with now I will have to run for that time span.
 
I have 5.5" with 32's (my avatar pic) which is the same as 4.5" with 31's. I don't think it looks that bad and will be better than 33's for power/gearing.
 
From what I can tell in the picture yours definatly doesn't look bad at all. The Jeep I'm buying though has trimmed fenders so it makes it look a little more drastic.
 
Well, I guess another option would be to buy 32" tires and not be hung up on the particular brand you want. My 32's are BFG AT's and they are a great tire.
 
Have you checked to see if the brand of tire you want comes in the metric equivalent of a 32?
 
Yea...the ones I am looking at are actually re-treads so they are limited in size. At $80 each for mud terrains the price is hard to beat. I guess the real question here is do you guys think 33" tires on 15x8 steel wheels are too much for the stock gearing to handle?
 
You asked what I would do. Im just going to be blunt. I wouldnt buy a half finished Jeep if I didnt have the money to finish it. I say "half finished" because when you are talking about large, heavy tires, gearing, while not a necessity, is definately something to strongly consider for good drivability. I guess that means I would stick with the 31s for now and deal with the weird looks.
 
When all said and done I'll probably go with 33's and just do gears when I can afford it. As far as the Jeep being half finished...basically it's a long story. The guy had it setup as a real trail rig with different supension/lift/axles and 37" tires. He took all that off to build a custom buggy and he put the current lift and stock axles back on. I am buying it from him that way but I need to get wheels and tires for it. So basically it is completed except for the gears.
The thing that scared me off with the 33's is that one guy was telling me when he is going up hill on the highway he had to go in the right lane with his flashers on.
 
Manual or Automatic??? Id go with 33's either way. Ive heard its really not that bad. I have a stick with 3.07's and Im still going to go with 33's
 
i have a 4.5" lift on my jeep and i am running 33's...you might want the 31's but later on you will wish you had the 33's. I had to cut the back part of the fender very little and the bumper very little also
 
for someone who doesn't have the funds to do the gears now, depending on the driving your going to be doing, your not going to save any quicker dragging those tires along with the stock gears.
I drove my 33's around for less than a week before I dug into the wallet to get it regeared, I figured the amount I was wastingin gas would soon be re-couped by re-gearing and getting the milege back, although not great its better than stock with 33's
If you can, get the 31's, they are 'ok' with stock gears. do you have a auto or stick? if its stick, track down an auto so you can atleast go from the 3.07 to 3.55, that will help too.

J-Roc said:
Not sure what an 8.8 can be had for in the states, about $400 CAD here in Ontario. New gears cost around $350ish + pay to set them up.

J-Roc where are you getting that price? I am up in Petawawa, and calling around no one near here will let one go for less than double that. Even a D30 with 4.10's was $750, I laughed at the guy, told him how crazy that was and he tried to validate it by telling me all the steering links was included... that after telling me he wouldn't sell me a used ZJ tie-rod for safety reasons. I get to the Oshawa area now and then, will have to check in with some there hoping for better prices.
 
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It is an auto transmission. Basically I have been asking around on a few forums about using 33" on stock gearing and I have heard everything from it's a very noticable loss in power to it's not a noticable loss at all. I would just go with the 31" tires given the stock gearing but with 4.5" of lift and trimmed fenders I am a little concerned that it will look funny.
 
look at all the pics on this board, do you find every rig to be the prettiest or most visually appealing? Keep in mind this is your rig, that you are paying for, if it looks good to you screw everyone else. You don't have to justify yourself to others, put the 31's on, within a year you'll be able to find some gears, or some axles with 4.10 already installed, and you can put those on, than find some 33's if thats what your after.
I just put another 1.5" of lift on mine because I found 3" with 33's looked silly with trimming, now I like the look, but they still seem a little big for what I have, but thats just me.
 
The problem isn't so much what other people think. I personally think that the 31" look a little too small and the 33" look much better. The problem is that I keep hearing that without re-gearing 33" is too much tire and I really am not one to give up much performance for looks. In the end I think what I will probably do is buy the 33" tires and drive it like that for a year or two until I can afford to re-gear.
 
Just how tall are those 33's in actual size? I have 235x85x16, they are 32.7 inches. I have an auto with 3.55 gears and the power lose is not that noticeable.
 
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