Hello All,

I want to increase my ground clearance but want to change as little as possible. I currently have 4.10's front and rear with 32 inch tires. Can I go as big as 35 inch tires with 4.10's? If not, what is the biggest I can go with 4.10's.

My preferred off-roading are just trails with various obstacles (rocks, mud, etc). I'm not a hard core rock crawler or serious mudder.

Also, if I go to 35 inch tires, can I use 15x8 wheels or do I need to go to a 15x10 wheel?

I thank you in advance for any insight you can provide.

Eddie

I would go with 33s if you dont want to change much... Even though your Rubi has "44s" under it, you might see breakage, or at least just faster ware over time. If your not doin anything too "hard core" then 33 should treat you just fine. It would also help keep your gearing reasonable. JMHO
-Eric

bah, for non hardcore non locked I say slap on the 35's. gotta look cool, I'm going to 35's when these tires are dead

I was a little hesitant about running 35s with the stock gearing but had a lot of responses from many on the Rubicon Owners Forum who are running stock gears and 35s with no problem so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I planned on upgrading gears as soon as possible but that was about a year ago. So far I think it drives just fine. I have the auto and it does fine on and off road.

I get a lot of downshifting out of overdrive on hills and when towing a small utility trailer. But that's when I hit the OD off button that I never thought I'd use.

Off road on the hills I just put her in 4 lo and let the 4-1 transfer case do all the work. It's still a stump climber in 4 lo and never feels underpowered.

It's not a bad setup. 4.88 would be better but it's not bad at all.

Ok guys, if you wanna upgrade tire sizes and wanna figure ur gearing and RPMS then u need this formula:

(336) divded by (tire diameter) times (mph) times (gear ratio)= RPM at that speed....


if you want the difference with just tire change then u need this formula:

(new tire height) divided by (old tire height) times (original gear ratio)= new gear ratio....

for instance, i want stock performance, i don't have any motor mods so this will work good for me to get a great idea of how it will run... so... i want 35s...

35/29*3.73= 4.66, so the closest to stock performance will be 4.56s.

so this should give u a view of how it will work, the lower the gear you go or even higher the more extreme u'll be. this will really tear at ur gas mileage. so my advice would be since you have that nice rocktrac, to just go with 4.56s, u'll get by with those and just use ur transfer case to limit your crawl ratio, theres several other equations but it take a bit to understand.

hope i helped, Nic-

If I was you, i'd leave it alone. Are you having a problem with the kind of wheeling you're doing now?

Don't give in to bigger is better. It's not unless you need it.

Go to www.4lo.com and click on the Gear/Tire Size Table. Should help you make your decision.

I thank all of you for your responses. In all honesty, I don't want to go to a bigger tire because I like the power it has now and I would like to keep my center of gravity as low as possible.

However, I just got back from Upper Tellico in North Carolina and couldn't really do the harder trails because of ground clearance. So, I am now debating over bigger tires and perhaps having to regear (looks like 4.56's might be a better ratio than 4.10's for the 35 inch tires) or stay with what I've got or maybe go to a 33" tire and forego the harder trails. I'm sure I would face the same problem in Moab or on the Rubicon Trail which I plan to do in the not too distant future.

Any opinions or advice regarding my dilemna?

Thanks,

Eddie

If you have an Auto than it should be OK. If its a 5 speed than I would go to 4.88's. I run 5.13's and it a bit to low for 35's. When I have my 36's on its better. True 37 would be perfect for 5.13's. It becoming that 35's are really the perfect tire for a TJ. I run true 36's because I really like to air down, and need, no want the clearence.

quote:

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Originally posted by Magumbi:
I thank all of you for your responses. In all honesty, I don't want to go to a bigger tire because I like the power it has now and I would like to keep my center of gravity as low as possible.

However, I just got back from Upper Tellico in North Carolina and couldn't really do the harder trails because of ground clearance. So, I am now debating over bigger tires and perhaps having to regear (looks like 4.56's might be a better ratio than 4.10's for the 35 inch tires) or stay with what I've got or maybe go to a 33" tire and forego the harder trails. I'm sure I would face the same problem in Moab or on the Rubicon Trail which I plan to do in the not too distant future.

Any opinions or advice regarding my dilemna?

Thanks,

Eddie

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Cripes! Make up your mind. In your first post you were only doing easy trails. Now your doing some of the harder trails. How are we supposed to answer you?

Nic-

the problem isn't the tires it's your skid plate. go with a raised skid plate and go with 33 tires. you can get around 2 to 3 inches more clearance in the center with a raised skid plate. i have 2 bb and 1bl and stuck on my skid plate more that anything else, and i have 33x10.5 bfg which have done real good for me. my buddy with his cj7 is starting to call me skidplate. now i don't do a lot of rocks but alot of tight trails and mud and ruts with rock here and there.if i where in your shoes i would get a raised skid plate and some 33 tires of your choice

quote:

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Originally posted by matt99tj:
If you have an Auto than it should be OK. If its a 5 speed than I would go to 4.88's.

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Well I sure don't agree with that. The auto is a real dog on the road. If anything, they need the lower gears more than the sticks. Off road either is adequate because of the 4:1 transfer case ratio. Where the auto falls on its face is in normal everyday driving. Its a minivan tranny that has terrible gearing. Its also prone to hunt and peck, with it downshifting and upshifting constantly with every small hill.

At least with a stick you can select a gear and let it run. I used to get really upset with the chrysler mini-vans that were in front of me on the road. I still do, but realize its not just the lousy drivers, its the vehicle upshifts and then can't pull the load.

I didn't mean to imply that I only do easy trails in my first post. I was trying to say that I don't do real extreme rock crawling or mudding such as competitions or stuff requiring extreme suspensions, engines, etc. Maybe what I should have said is what I can do with 35 inch tires is enough for me. Then my question is whether or not 4.10's would be enough for the 35's. Again, any input you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Take care,

Eddie

quote:

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Originally posted by 4X4 Pete:

quote:

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Originally posted by Magumbi:
I thank all of you for your responses. In all honesty, I don't want to go to a bigger tire because I like the power it has now and I would like to keep my center of gravity as low as possible.

However, I just got back from Upper Tellico in North Carolina and couldn't really do the harder trails because of ground clearance. So, I am now debating over bigger tires and perhaps having to regear (looks like 4.56's might be a better ratio than 4.10's for the 35 inch tires) or stay with what I've got or maybe go to a 33" tire and forego the harder trails. I'm sure I would face the same problem in Moab or on the Rubicon Trail which I plan to do in the not too distant future.

Any opinions or advice regarding my dilemna?

Thanks,

Eddie

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Cripes! Make up your mind. In your first post you were only doing easy trails. Now your doing some of the harder trails. How are we supposed to answer you?

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It might not hurt to try. Thought the 4.10s might not be ideal, I doubt that they will be bad enough that you won't be able to live with it until you regear if you find you need to do so.

I doubt going to 33s would be worth it for ya. 1/2" of clearance might not be worth the trouble. From experience, after about a year 33s start looking small. TJs need 35s to be happy

Jason
(Not thinking about bigger tires or the C303 portals that SalemTJ has for sale at all )

I wouldn't like 4.10's for 35's. I had 4.56 before and wished it was 4.88's which I think is perfect for 35's.

I put in 5.13's for the 37's I used to have. I went back to 35" MTR's, and kept the 5.13's. I don't think it's that bad. I'd be hating it if I had 4.10's

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Originally posted by alosix:
(Not thinking about bigger tires or the C303 portals that SalemTJ has for sale at all )

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You and I both, Only Im not thinking about Hummer 9" portals and 36" Iroks either.

I have 4.10 now and just put on a set of 35'S it's not to bad around town. I will be going to the mountains in mid July and I will be towing a small trailer so i'm it's going to be slow. I will be installing new gears in this money pit this winter with hopefully an Atlas too.

i still run 3.73's with my 35's, saving up for lockers and gears at the same time.(hopefully by the end of summer). I cant hold 5th on steep inclinces, just hope u like shifting!