12.5 or 14.5 " wide tires

[Tribal Jeep]

I am trying to figure out what width I should run for the TJ after I lift it.
I know that 14.5" wide will provide more stability than the 12.5", but I also dont want to be driving on both lips of a trail or getting stuck in between tree's.

what are your experiences?

[AV.NINE]

Im running 15.5's, I went out with tank and we were rubbing all over the place. But i got through everything he did.

[cLAY]

My experience is that the extra floatation offered by a wider tire is worth the few times when you might rub(think if it as a built in body protector). I had custom wide axles on my XJ(65WMS) and 13.5" wide tires and still made it thru everything I wanted to.

[TJ54]

I had 33x13.5 swampers on my tj for a while, they were great, but they were too heavy for my lil' 4 banger with the stock 4.11's and d35.
When I  upgrade axles and gears that the size I would pick, ideally with 5.13's

[RedApe]

IMO, the TJ doesn't really have enough weight to put a sufficient contact patch/contact force ratio to the ground to have much more than what a 12.5 at 10psi would have.
We ran 31x10.5 (MTR) on the TJ for years...then moved to the 33" TRXUS.  There have been a few times where I noted that 33 was spinning where the 31 would not have.  This was most noticeable on steep hill (30*+) with loose gravel and dirt.

Could argue either way for weeks, and not come to an answer tho...all depends on how and what you wheel on. 

[cLAY]

Yes in a hill climb that would definetly be a problem, most of my wheelin had been in snow, some mud and the occasional, unavoidable piece of skeg. On that terrian a wider footprint is invaluable.

[TJ54]

Logic aside.
My jeep looked really cool with the 33's and isn't that what is really important

[hps4evr]

ive installed various sizes of tires. it comes down to how much lift, what rim, what offset/backspacing will fit. generally speaking, a 4 inch short arm lift on a tj will get you 33x12.50 tires with little if any rubbing. you can go to a wider tire and try a different backspace on the rim, but you may get different results. but, the wide tires do look wicked;) give us more details about your jeep?

[Tribal Jeep]

01 tj sahara. here is what i think i'll do, but i wont lie ive changed my mind a couple of times

tires im lookin at are Maxxis Creepy crawlers, 37x14.5 on a set of 15 or 16" hutchinson street legal beadlock rims

RE 5.5" long arm susp lift or SJ 8" long arm susp lift

[Rookie]

01 tj sahara. here is what i think i'll do, but i wont lie ive changed my mind a couple of times

tires im lookin at are Maxxis Creepy crawlers, 37x14.5 on a set of 15 or 16" hutchinson street legal beadlock rims

RE 5.5" long arm susp lift or SJ 8" long arm susp lift

What kind of axles ?

If it has the dana 35 and dana 30 with 37's your gonna be in trouble
If you have the 44 rear and 30 front the 44 rear should be ok if you put chromoly axles in
The front you should upgrade to a 44 or at least a high pinion 30 so you can put in 5:13 gears the lowest gears you can put in a low pinion 30 are 4:88
You will be changing the unit bearings several times a year on either a 44 front or a 30 front

HTHs

Steve

[AV.NINE]

and if you dont have a rear 44, good luck finding one! Ive been searching for 2 months. Cant find anything from a rubi.

I run 36's with dana 30 and dana 35 (rear welded) no issues yet.

[cotaman]

AV9Inch

you are running 36's witha welded 35 ....... must NOT like the skinny pedal too much ... or you are going thru axleshafts like crazy....
I have a 98 zj with a welded 35 , running 33's driven by an auto.... i have snapped an axleshaft like it was nothing...... granted when i broke the shaft i bounced in a rock garden in maclean .... but the torsional forces that were present were unreal.. the axle shaft had cracked in 3 sprials at the break point.....  i have a 8.8 that is going in the zj this year.

if one cannot find a tj44... the 8.8 is more plentiful and requires the same amount of work as does a non tj 44 does.

[AV.NINE]

I have 2 axles ready to go in, one is an 8 bolt the other is a wagoneer 44, I just need to change all the mounts and such. But I have yet to break a shaft or diff. And as for me being light on the pedal, I drive a tj, I dont get stuck!!

Seriously i have ATZ's, so they dont grab much. Thats how i get away with it!

[Tribal Jeep]

What kind of axles ?

If it has the dana 35 and dana 30 with 37's your gonna be in trouble
If you have the 44 rear and 30 front the 44 rear should be ok if you put chromoly axles in
The front you should upgrade to a 44 or at least a high pinion 30 so you can put in 5:13 gears the lowest gears you can put in a low pinion 30 are 4:88
You will be changing the unit bearings several times a year on either a 44 front or a 30 front

HTHs

Steve

I am pretty sure I have a rear 35, but i cant find the damn factory stamp on the axle housing.

yea i realize that and havnt got it figured out yet... but i figure if i build it they will come.... from somewhere... damn i wish i had welding knowledge i would just build a 44 & an 8.8 or 9", but i dont so i gotta watch for rubi 44's. then again, if i had a welder and experience i would probably lengthen the whole rig  a little. I figure by the time and money it would take getting someone to build axles for me i might as well just get fully fabricated axles from dynatrac or something.. but we'll see. either way.. I have a huge wish list that is modified at least 3x a week, just takin my time and making sure that I understand everything that i am looking at.

oh and as far as the unit bearings go, i would  upgrade with a manual hub conversion. I think that would solve the unit bearing problem.. I dunno much about that yet, still doing my homework.