Calgary Jeep Association
4x4 Related Groups => Tech Talk => Topic started by: Anton on March 28, 2011, 01:11:58 PM
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SO I got my new Rustys 3.25" basic lift and have some other upgrades, now i want tires, i want to get 33" tires.
I have been reading and asking but still not fully happy with some answers.
i saw that i need to change my gears when i put bigger tires and do something with the axles. I am not a hard core off roader, most of time it is on the road (my only wheels) and i really do not want to get in to hard big upgrades. maby when i would know how to work on my rig beter and more time, lol money too.
So do i really need to change my gears if i get 33" tires, and if i don't is it bad for my jeep or i just need to take it easy when i go wheeling?. How bad would day by day drive would be if i do not change it?
I go 3 times a year on non hard trails. L would love to go to all the jeep 101 and open family trips. Other idea is to get small rim with smaller then 18" (stock) and get the 33", would that make any difference for the gearing problem?
Thanks
Anton
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Yeah, welcome to my world
There are only a couple things that enable to justify spending money the jeep
1. I intend to keep the Jeep for a very long time
2. I intend to wheel it regularly
3. I enjoy the build process and learn tons while doing it
If you drive the jeep everyday gears become worth it particularly when you have a 3.07 ratio. 33" tires for occasional wheeling don't make enough sense to me, I'd stick with 31's and enjoy it. If you have more time to go and wheel then 33 would be worth it.
The 18" idea won't do anything
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just saw you have a JK
33s will probalby be fine; stock you have 32ss............ you will likely wear out front end parts a little faster like hubs and stuff though.
good luck with it!
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hubs and stuff though?
all that in the gears or around the wheels? if i put spacers would that help or only give me 100% clearance for not rubbing
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hubs and stuff would refer to ball joints, ad wheel bearings. typically bigger tires will reduce these parts' lifespan.
wheel spacers will negatively affect that lifespan of hubs with bigger tires.
gears are in the diffs. if you are just stepping up to a 33" tire stock should be just fine.
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So i looked around found this
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar and the Duratrac comes for my 18" rim: LT 275/70/R18 = 33.4" tire and LT 275/65/R18= 32.1 and
1. LT 275/70/R18= 33.4" Tire
2. LT 275/65/R18= 32.1" Tire
3. LT 295/65/R18= 33.1" Tire
Canadian tire have the Territory tire with the sizes 1 and 2 stated above. Now witch size would work the best for me?
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Between the Kevlars and Duratracs, do the Kevlars.
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Between the Kevlars and Duratracs, do the Kevlars.
If you want a real M/T tire. If you want an AT that can handle some mud and does well in the snow, the Duratracs are a good buy.
Right Kev?.... ;D
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with the lift you mentioned, I think 33" will look way too small, and I'd go for 35s. I have t 2.5 teraflex coil lift and 33s look good, but would not go any higher without going 35s IMHO. I have duratracs and have been really happy with them on my sahara 18" wheels (one of the problems with the sahara wheels is that they won't really take wide tires and if you want nice fat ones, you will need some new wheels).
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A lot of the guys at work run duratracs year round on their pickups...They all love em... That says a lot when you drive 6,000 km a month both on highway and lease/bush/ice roads.
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Ok, then betwen the 33.4 and 33.1" now with ur ex and knowledge would the sizes that I stated above will fit my rims? I would not go with 35 too big, I seen sahara lifted 3 " with stock tires and rim and I liked it. So ya 33 would be by bigest size.
SO i fund the tire on tire rack. Wrangler DuraTrac is that size is good fit? 275/70R18
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I'm running 275/70/18 on the OEM Sahara rims and they fit nicely. I air them down to 12 psi and have had no problems with bead issues etc. They are great year round tires.
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oh yeah, and I'm on she factory 3.73 gears and have no problems with it.
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Well finaly i feel beter now, that was alot of info and great one!!!!! thank you so much guys!!!!!
you air them down 12 Psi when you off road right?
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Well finally i feel beter now, that was alot of info and great one!!!!! thank you so much guys!!!!!
you air them down 12 Psi when you off road right?
I don't know if you will find a set psi for off roading, as it all depends on the terrain your facing. I was told and have found that a few psi makes a HUGE difference. I was wheeling in the snow a month ago, at 12 psi, and my traction was Ok... I was wheeling a few days ago in the snow at 9 psi, and my traction was amazing. I was climbing hills that at 12 psi I would have struggled to make. I think it depends more on the conditions as to what psi you should run. On a good tire, you should be fine down to around 8 or 9, possibly even lower, but then of course you run the risk of losing a bead. If your wheeling with sensible people however, re-seating that bead is not a huge issue on the trail, if you have the right gear with you, and the knowledge / patience to do it safely.
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On a 3 inch lift, 33's will probably work just fine. 33's will do almost everything that 35's will...and are close enough to the stock 32(ish) inch tire size that you're not going to cause yourself too many problems. Even with the taller gears of the Sahara (at least when compared with the 4.10's in the Rubi) you're probably okay on 33's, and 33's will not cause as many unit bearing and ball joint issues as 35's do. 33's are also less likely to cause axle shaft and u joint and steering issues. Bigger tires put extra strain on all the components of your Jeep. The more you change your tire size, the more you need to spend on things other than tires to keep up.
By the way, I've seen a 4 door Sahara on 33's running an OME lift that was about 3 inches, and I think it looked pretty sharp. 33's should also fit without any real issues. I know that with my 35's and 3 inches of lift, I needed to make (and still need to make) a few "tweaks" to the rear wheel well area to get clearance.
You will probably need wheel spacers to get your wider tires to clear the suspension components, but as long as you buy good quality machined hub centric spacers and torque them properly you should be fine. Spidertrax makes good ones.
As far as tire type choice, I own a set of Duratracs - and I like them a lot. They're a great winter tire (I studded mine). I wouldn't run them in the summer as my primary off road tire, but I have different priorities than you, and I'm willing to run different tires for winter and summer. I do know a couple of guys that live in Alberta and run them year around, and like them a lot for that exact purpose. I'd guess that they'll give you 80% of the mud performance that a "true" MT would, 90% of the performance on rock and dirt, and will outperform a "true" MT in the winter. I think the Duratracs are a great choice for someone that will use their DD on the trail once every couple months.
As far as pressure goes, lower will almost always give you better offroad performance....but the lower you go, the higher your chance of a tire coming off the bead. Unless you're running tires made for a 1-ton (E Rated), 15 psi should be low enough to start seeing performance improvements off road, and 12 should be even better. I'm like Simon...I run 9 psi...but that's just what works for me with my tire and rim combo. That doesn't mean it will work for you. I also carry the tools needed to put one of my tires back onto the rim if I do lose a bead. I wouldn't
run at 9 psi if I didn't have those tools with me.
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If you want a real M/T tire. If you want an AT that can handle some mud and does well in the snow, the Duratracs are a good buy.
Right Kev?.... ;D
Absolutely. I'm running Duratracs now on the road and they are great. Not eager to wheel them in the summer
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Wow that is a lot of info, thanks guys that makesme fell beter and beter.
Now in regard the wheel spacers, when I look at tire size what number tels me that it is not going to fit or need spacers? So Lt275/70/18 is to big with out spacers?
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I'm not sure of the metric sizing and what it translates to...but anything wider than 10.5 inches will likely need wheel spacers.
Generally, the most popular size for 33's on Jeeps that are being off-roaded is 33X12.5...so unless you deliberately buy a "tall, skinny" 33, you're likely to want wheel spacers.
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I tried 275/70/18 Duratracs on my JKU before and after 1.5 spidertrax spacers. Before the spacers, the wheels will rub the air dam at full turn without flexing. No problems because the air dam can be removed or trimmed. The bigger problem is that it rubs the sway bar slightly, and there is more rubbing with some flex. It works flawlessly with the spidertrax (no rubbing) and if you are running the factory OEM sahara rims, I highly recommend them. The only downside (small downside relative to the benefits), is that your tires will stick out slightly relative to the fenders, and spray more road grime on your jeep.
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Sweet, so 275/79/18 stuck rim with 1.5 spacers I am good then. Sweeeeet thanks guys. Now it will be only time until I will save the money. Will have to ride with the stock tires for some time.
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So i looked around found this
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar and the Duratrac comes for my 18" rim: LT 275/70/R18 = 33.4" tire and LT 275/65/R18= 32.1 and
1. LT 275/70/R18= 33.4" Tire
2. LT 275/65/R18= 32.1" Tire
3. LT 295/65/R18= 33.1" Tire
Canadian tire have the Territory tire with the sizes 1 and 2 stated above. Now witch size would work the best for me?
I bought the 295/65/18's for the Lincoln Mark LT I just bought. The truck is heavier than a JK, but with 45psi in the tires they only measure 31.5" installed on the truck. Advertised is usually at least an inch taller than actual, unless you are buying toyo (muds at least).
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So I got beter tires finaly thanks to Aaron. So I did the speedometer wih my super chip and the size that I need is 33". The chip gives me 33, 33.15 and then 33.25 and up. My tires are 275/70/18 and every were I look it shows that that size is 33.15. I did it on the chip (33") and thought it is good. Last night I was doing around 119 and a hond civic was passing me doing 115 ( love the digital speedometer). So do I just need to spend some time with the chip and drive around or there is a beter way to find out the true size of the dire?
Thanks Anton
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So I got beter tires finaly thanks to Aaron. So I did the speedometer wih my super chip and the size that I need is 33". The chip gives me 33, 33.15 and then 33.25 and up. My tires are 275/70/18 and every were I look it shows that that size is 33.15. I did it on the chip (33") and thought it is good. Last night I was doing around 119 and a hond civic was passing me doing 115 ( love the digital speedometer). So do I just need to spend some time with the chip and drive around or there is a beter way to find out the true size of the dire?
Thanks Anton
Set it to 33.15 not 33, and then use a gps for the actual ground speed and see if it matches.
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Sorry I made a mistake. It jumps from 33 to 33.25" nothing in betwen. That is stupid.
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Cause you fall in-between sizes you'll have to live with a incorrect speedo, just choose what ever one fits the closest to the speed you are doing. Use a gps for speed it will be more accurate then the Honda besides of you.
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Lol thanks, did not even think a bout the gps. ::)
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If you need one to verify the speed, you can borrow mine.
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So I checked the speed with the gps and when placed the cruse control it looked that I was off by 2 k/ h or it would show same speed. So I think I am good here. And thanks for the offer for the gps.
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So I checked the speed with the gps and when placed the cruse control it looked that I was off by 2 k/ h or it would show same speed. So I think I am good here. And thanks for the offer for the gps.
Was that a third party GPS or do you have the one that is built in to the JK (from factory) I don't recall from when you were in my garage.
If it is factory they both run off the JK's computer (your speedo is digital) and no matter what tires you run the GPS and speedo will read the same (go ahead ask me how I know this >:()
If it is a handheld or aftermarket then you are good
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I have a portable one. I could not see my self pending money on the build in one. Did u have problems with ur build in one when u got ur tires?