Where Do you Shop for Tires?

[w squared]

So I guess my question (sorry to hijack your thread a little 1stjeep) is, what really is the benefit of upgrading to a 35" vs sticking with a 32/33" size?

Bigger tires = bigger footprint/surface area = more flotation on mud and snow, more traction on smooth rock, more ability to climb up over obstacles

Also bigger tires = your axles are further from the ground = more clearance under your diffs

Essentially, bigger tires (up to a point) are more capable off road. I liked my rig off road with 32's and a 3" lift...but I still gained a lot of off road performance when I switched to 35's.

It doesn't matter what flavour of Jeep you drive...unless you already have 4.10's, you're probably going to want (need?) to regear if/when you go to 35's.

I'd also like to second Jay's comment on the Toyo Open Country MT. For an MT, they're great on the road, and they work great off-road too.

[Immortal]

It doesn't matter what flavour of Jeep you drive...unless you already have 4.10's, you're probably going to NEED to regear if/when you go to 35's.

Fixed it for you. Night & day comparison from big tires and little gears to big tires with bigger gears.

[w squared]

Fixed it for you.

How long have you been waiting to do that to me Trev?

[allanbr]

I work in oilfield construction and I have a couple construction inspectors that spend upwards of 80,00km a year driving on a variety of terrain (highway, gravel, mud, snow/ ice)
One of them has run through 2 sets of 37" Toyo Open County MT's on one Sierra Crew Cab and is now on a set of 35" Open Country MT's on a new sierra crew cab and he really likes them.
Another swore by Interco TRXS STS radials.  He claimed they were the best mix of on-road manners, snow & ice handling and off road traction tires that he'd found.  He had 35's on an H2.
I've had a set of  Pro-Comp MT's (31'a) for about 3 years and I'm pretty happy with them, however I've  only had them truly off-roading for maybe 6 or 7 days in the last three years though so I can't really say much about their off-road durability.  They make the most noise around 50 km/hr but quiet down some at highway speed.  As mentioned by others, they're an MT and aren't a very good winter / ice tire. 

Hope that helps

[BrokenAxle]

Those Procomp wheels are about $295ea and about 4 weeks away.
the 35X12.50R17 Toyo Open Country MTs are $373ea
and the 35X12.50R18 Toyo Open Country MTs are $438ea

[specialk]

BrokenAxle is hooking me up with DuraTracs for road use and the Kevlars on the newly order beadlocks right away

[TL-Iguana]

Newly ordered beadlocks eh Kev I saw the pictures from the weekend! Looks like you had some fun out there!

[AstraX]

Bigger tires = bigger footprint/surface area = more flotation on mud and snow, more traction on smooth rock, more ability to climb up over obstacles

Also bigger tires = your axles are further from the ground = more clearance under your diffs

Essentially, bigger tires (up to a point) are more capable off road. I liked my rig off road with 32's and a 3" lift...but I still gained a lot of off road performance when I switched to 35's.

It doesn't matter what flavour of Jeep you drive...unless you already have 4.10's, you're probably going to want (need?) to regear if/when you go to 35's.

I'd also like to second Jay's comment on the Toyo Open Country MT. For an MT, they're great on the road, and they work great off-road too.

And it's the NEED to regear that is probably what would hold me back from going to 35's...for now.  I don't want to go and sink a bunch of money in right away and find out in a year that I would have rather taken a different direction.  I would however like a more aggressive tire so I am thinking I might stay closer to the 33" tire but try and get as much width as I can out of them for the larger footprint.

[Immortal]

How long have you been waiting to do that to me Trev?

A LONNNNNNGGGGGGGGG time.

Newly ordered beadlocks eh Kev I saw the pictures from the weekend! Looks like you need them! Do they come with a pink sticker too?

[Alltornup]

If I ran my Jeep mostly on the road I would definetly get an AT tire.  I've had Mt's for the last 4 sets of tires on my Jeep and Truck and there is no way you need to be running a MT on the road if ya only wheel the odd time a year.  They just wear fast, are loud,  and if ya don't take care of them they will cup and such.  That said, of coasre I have MT's on my Jeep.  But I only drive it for fun as well. 

[w squared]

They just wear fast, are loud,  and if ya don't take care of them they will cup and such.  That said, of coasre I have MT's on my Jeep.  But I only drive it for fun as well. 

All of those things are true if you buy inexpensive MT's and/or don't keep an eye on your tire pressure, or don't rotate them.

The shop that sold me my 35" Toyo MT's did an alignment on my rig about 20,000K after I bought the tires...and the owner of the shop commented to me that the tires were wearing completely evenly - there was no sign of any wear pattern at all. I've also run a set of BFG MT's for better than 40,000K before selling them...and they were still at 75% when I sold 'em to the roomate of a guy on the board. She's super-happy with the tires, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her get another 40,000K out of them.

No tire is magical, and some MT's just plain suck on the road...but if you buy the right MT's, they'll be relatively easy to live with on the road.