33's to 35's - how big of a difference?

[88trailcrawler]

I am on 33x10.5's, stock rims, no trimming, stock flares. Trail and street performance good. Trail driving style is cruising/crawling, like the rocks, but no pedal mashing. Current set up performs better than expected. Street use is just around town extra car stuff.

Tires are getting old thinking about 35's and rims for wider stance. (Admittedly for looks). Currently stuffs well and only rubs a full turn.

D44 rear. D30 front with alloys. 4:56 with ecteds. JCR steering. 4.0/auto. ZJ booster

OK if i need to trim and relocate/replace flares.

How will my set up work/handle/hold up with 35's? Does it really make that much of a difference over 33's?

How are 35's with 4:56 gears?

How much of a difference will 35's make vs. 33's in regards to drivability/stress on other components?

Are stock rims 5.5" backset? What is the offset typically used for 12.5's?

 

[cheapcherokee93]

How are 35's with 4:56 gears?

better than with 3.55s :dunce:

 

[88trailcrawler]

better than with 3.55s :dunce:

Yeah, but not as good as 4:88

Really wondering how much that extra 1" of rubber will really affect drivability. And how much more 35x12.5 would weight/stress other components over 33x10.5. Also would have to consider less backspace, pushing things out a bit giving more leverage.

Maybe 33x10.5. With less backspace is a good compromise.

 

[Breezio69]

The biggest issue here is tire weight, the more weight you put on rotating components the worse off you are. Just throwing out a couple random numbers here, say a 33 weighs in at 55 pounds, and a 35 you are looking at weighs 65 pounds. For every 10 pounds of rotating mass you are looking at about the equivalent of about 100lbs of dead weight the vehicle is hauling. This "dead weight" is what takes out things like steering, bearings, etc... gearing takes up the slack in tire size and rollout of the tire, but the issues go well beyond that. And most aftermarket gearing set up correctly would be stronger than stock yes, but this moves the weak point to other areas.

For what its worth, when I was looking at tires and deciding on 33's or 35's I put MANY tires together (aired up and on a rim) and most 33's were within an inch of a 35 when you look at final height mounted up, hold a 33" bfg next to a 35" toyo aired up and they almost look identical in height

And I put about 6 different sets of tires together at the dealership my dad works at, almost every time the 33 was barely shorter than a 35. My dad even threw 33s on his super duty for towing because of the minimal difference in height, but big difference in weight, and that's a 1 ton, not a Cherokee

edit: and your talking about going from a lighter 33x10.50... id say at a minimum your looking at 15 lbs difference per corner in overall weight. just do your research, you wont find 35's that weigh as much as 33's pretty much ever, but some can be within about 5-6lbs

 

[BlueCuda]

The biggest thing I noticed was braking, it doesn't stop as good with the 35s vs the 33s. It did slow it down some but it's still plenty drive able with 4.56s and 35s. Mine does have a stroker but running 80-85 with the cruise on is no problem you can tell it just takes more effort to get there.

My 35" kevlar mtr were a legit 2" taller than my 33bfgs, more than that if you consider the bfgs were worn out. It's crazy how much I had to change with the 35s. Had to sledge my rear fenders a little at the bottoms, trim more on the front, cut the front bumper some where it came around towards the tire, and add a ton of bumpstop. It felt like I went to 40s lol. It also will kills shafts real easy. I hadn't actually broken any but you can hear the joints start to knock when the ears start to spread. I recently got some Yukon shafts but Haven't been wheeling with them yet.

Pre trim testing

33s

 

[sunburned]

The biggest thing I noticed was braking, it doesn't stop as good with the 35s vs the 33s. It did slow it down some but it's still plenty drive able with 4.56s and 35s. Mine does have a stroker but running 80-85 with the cruise on is no problem you can tell it just takes more effort to get there.

My 35" kevlar mtr were a legit 2" taller than my 33bfgs, more than that if you consider the bfgs were worn out. It's crazy how much I had to change with the 35s. Had to sledge my rear fenders a little at the bottoms, trim more on the front, cut the front bumper some where it came around towards the tire, and add a ton of bumpstop. It felt like I went to 40s lol. It also will kills shafts real easy. I hadn't actually broken any but you can hear the joints start to knock when the ears start to spread. I recently got some Yukon shafts but Haven't been wheeling with them yet.

I agree with this guy. OP, seems like you have most of the upgrades taken care of except for braking. I got some new powerslot rotors and brembo pads when I went to 35's and the braking increased dramatically over the autozone crap I had in there before. Make sure your rear brakes are working ok as well.

Wouldn't hurt to throw a truss on the front for some strength. Make sure your unit bearings are torqued to spec (3 bolts and axle nut) because you'll put a hurting on those. I used stock shafts in the rear for a while, but eventually upgraded for the hell of it when I did rear discs.

As far as the gearing, 35's and 4.56's isn't terrible, but 4.88s would definitely improve it. I usually have to downshift to 3rd on steep hills and I'll always shift down into 3rd if I'm below 45 because I hate when it goes to OD and just lugs around. A 4.1 transfer case would be super nice offroad, the throttle is really touchy with stock TC gearing.

I went from 32's up to 35's and it was a huge difference in clearance. I buckled my front fenders in a few times before I trimmed at least an inch or two higher in the front. Had to make the fender openings much wider too, even with the axle pushed forward. Then did the cut and fold in the rear and hit a few choice places with a mini sledge.

32

35

 

[clean4drxj]

35's require bigger brakes, alloys (if locked), more bump stop ect ect.

 

[BlueCuda]

I would hate to see what my brakes were like before I did the 8.8 with disc upgrade!

 

[whitexj98]

Do it...4:56s and 35s is very streetable and wheels fine also IMO.. mine is a 98 with rear disks as the only brake upgrade and it stops fine IMO, but im sure it could be better. You do have a trans cooler right?!

 

[z06elmo]

i had 33x12.5 on 4.88/5-speed for a bit, and hten went to 35x12.5. You notice issues with steering, braking. For you you'll notice a bigger difference since you have only a 10.5 now vs. 12.5. I'd look up the weights of the tires and see what the differences are.

To give you an idea tho in acceleration, my rig feels about the same now with 35x12.5/4.88s than when it had 33x12.50/4.10.

In the end I'm glad i made the decision to go with the 35s. I feel I compromised things like accel, mileage etc, but it looks awesome

 

[whitexj98]

Oh yeah forgot about steering. I added a cooler and a underdrive pulley after going to 35s and geeting some fade while wheeling, seems to have helped.

 

[Vanimal]

4.88's would be better, but i am running 35's and 4.56's and love it. chromo shafts are a must though, IMO. at least before you do any relatively agressive wheeling. you'll need to upgrade your steering, and probably want to do something with the brakes.
it's night and day over 33's for wheeling IMO.

 

[sunburned]

Oh, and my wheel/tire weights only went up 12 lbs per corner from 32's on steel wheels to 35's on aluminum wheels.

 

[Icemans]

I would also recommend stiffeners if you don't already have them. The extra weight per corner us going to do horrible things to your unibody. I guess when i went to 35's I also stepped up to a HP 44 but i still think it would apply to you situation.


This is the set I would recommend.

http://www.hdoffroadengineering.com/products/xj-frame-stiffener-set

 

[BlueCuda]

Last I checked the unibody sat on the tires not the other way around. The unibody has no idea how heavy the tires are...good sales pitch though!

 

[Breezio69]

Last I checked the unibody sat on the tires not the other way around. The unibody has no idea how heavy the tires are...good sales pitch though!

ummmm, i could be wrong here, but the unibody has mounts that go down to things called... what were they? axles? and adding 20-30+lbs per axle in dead weight is probably not too good on sheet metal mounts.

just go throw a heavy 14 bolt and a 60 under there how it is stock, since the body just rides on it, right?

i agree its probably not necessary just with tires for now, but its preventative to future problems

 

[Icemans]

Last I checked the unibody sat on the tires not the other way around. The unibody has no idea how heavy the tires are...good sales pitch though!

Lets see when you flex your XJ your unibody twist. So when you add 20lbs to 30lbs of weight on the very outside of your axles its going to twist more. The more force the more likely it will be to move and fold your xj like a taco. I'm not saying the OP has to do it or he will fail but i recommend it. That is what the op asked. This tread is about what we (Naxja) thinks he needs to do to his XJ to except the 35's over his 33's. I recommend stiffeners thats IMO and you don't half to like it.

Oh by the way I have no attachment to the link i supplied. I think that they have a great deal on stiffeners and those would be the ones I would buy if I were to do it again.

 

[BlueCuda]

LOL it's the terrain moving the tires, the tires moving the axles, the axles working the suspension, and the suspension that puts forces on the unibody. The only time there might be a difference in body stress would be from less up travel due to more bumpstop.

 

[BlueCuda]

. This tread is about what we (Naxja) thinks he needs to do to his XJ to except the 35's over his 33's..

Don't let the black name fool you, it was red for a long time until recently, since waaay before your join date.

I guess we can agree to disagree about the unibody thing. My unibody has no clue what tires it's sitting on, just like it doesn't know I put a heavier rear axle under it. My xj has 235k miles on it and has been wheeled for 9 years now, I saw no negative unibody side effects when going from 32s to 33s to 35s or adding a heavier rear axle.

DISCLAIMER, I have never taken my doors off or had a battery on the drivers side, that may very well have saved my unibody

I also apologize for the membership lapse and will correct it shortly.

 

[Breezio69]

Don't let the black name fool you, it was red for a long time until recently, since waaay before your join date.

I guess we can agree to disagree about the unibody thing. My unibody has no clue what tires it's sitting on, just like it doesn't know I put a heavier rear axle under it. My xj has 235k miles on it and has been wheeled for 9 years now, I saw no negative unibody side effects when going from 32s to 33s to 35s or adding a heavier rear axle.

DISCLAIMER, I have never taken my doors off or had a battery on the drivers side, that may very well have saved my unibody

I also apologize for the membership lapse and will correct it shortly.

OK OK, I hate arguing over the net, its like a couple retards trying to **** a doorknob. But I very much disagree with the unibody statement in general. Not about 35's or a 20lb heavier 44....

You are telling me and everybody else here that your jeep doesn't "know" you put an extra, say 150lbs on the rear end? +50 for tires +100 for a beefy built up rear end ( and I'm saying these in relation to the 235 tire that originally came on it).

When your axle droops down and twists a tiny bit in the CA mounts this doesn't do.anything? Or when the back tire lifts off the ground on one side that weight isn't floating like magic is it? No. The UNIBODY is taking the twist/weight of everything in the air from there.

Like you said, we ( us three) can agree to disagree, and I'm happy your jeep has made it through whatever you have put it through... that being said, they made the stiffeners for a reason. And everybody knows that 35's are the stepping stone to a pile of broken shit...