Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

33" vs 35" tyres off road

30K views 48 replies 21 participants last post by  JKU Polar 
#1 ·
I would like some advice from guys with experience and knowledge on the subject.

I own a 2014 wrangler jku 3.6 pentastar polar edition. Its an auto with 3,73 axle gearing.

I would like to know which tyre size (33" or 35") should be best for off road performance. On road performance is not an issue. I can not afford to do a regear. 35" looks better and should be better off road, please keep in mind that 35" will make my crawl gear faster. I dont want to run out of steam when driving in the dunes etc. I will be doing some rock crawling, sand dunes, mud.

Your help would be appreciated
 
#2 ·
35"s will be better in the rocks if for no other reason to give more axle clearance.
 
#3 ·
Larger tire diameter improves ground clearance and improves ability to approach and roll over obstacles. For straight up rock crawling, generally the larger the better.

That being said the physical difference in diameter between 33 and 35 is only about 1" (varies by actual tire specs). Although a 35 might perform better than a 33 on certain trails, there isn't likely a specific obstacle where a 35" rig passes through and a 33" rig must turn back.

I have wheeled my 33" XJ in groups primarily of 35" and up rigs and was never left behind (there are a lot of other factors)

Only you know your off road and on road needs and can determine the right balance. Note that 35"'s will generally jump you up to a 12.5" width and bring considerable weight increase. Larger, heavier, wider tires require more thought and investment into clearance (lift and backseat), suspension, steering, brakes, gearing, driveline, etc., etc., etc.

Know you NEEDS and your budget to
find your balance.
 
#13 ·
Well put!!!

The one thing I will add is that there is only ~1" difference but every inch matters when you air down and you are constantly rolling over obstacles.

What you need to decide is if that extra inch is worth all of the other modifications described by 14TC and inefficiency it introduces. From a purely mechanical point of view you can overcome the limitations with driving skill but if you are more concerned with the looks, then aesthetics usually win.
 
#4 ·
as 14TrailCrawler said - there is more difference in taking the right line.

35s do only raise ~ 1" over 33s.

You're best off learning the in's and out's of your jeep, getting used to how it performs then getting what is most appropriate, not "what all the other guys/gals have."
 
#5 ·
I would like some advice from guys with experience and knowledge on the subject.

I own a 2014 wrangler jku 3.6 pentastar polar edition. Its an auto with 3,73 axle gearing.

I would like to know which tyre size (33" or 35") should be best for off road performance. On road performance is not an issue. I can not afford to do a regear. 35" looks better and should be better off road, please keep in mind that 35" will make my crawl gear faster. I dont want to run out of steam when driving in the dunes etc. I will be doing some rock crawling, sand dunes, mud.

Your help would be appreciated
I think a more important factor is width. Unless in deep mud or sand a narrow tire generally gives better traction. However it sounds like you are talking about a decent amount of sand driving so get a wide tire like a 33x 12.5 or 35x12.5.
 
#6 ·
I can not afford to do a regear.
For this reason, I would say 33" tires are as big as you should go.

Buy some 33" tires and wheel with it for a while. Save money for as long as it takes. When you have enough saved up, regear and get 35's.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the replies. I find it really helpfull.

Does anyone have some experience or input on how the 35s will effect my crawl gear speed?

Will 35s fit on my Jeep with std fenders? I have a OME 2 inch lift that gave me 3 inch of lift.

I will definitly go for a 12.5 wide tyre whether I decide to go with 33 or 35. How would you guys rate the Cooper Discoverer STT M/T?
 
#14 ·
Consider something in the middle... A 295/70-17 is 33.4 and 12.0 wide. Taller than a 33 and shorter than a 35. Very nice middle of the road... There aren't a ton of option in that size, but the very well respected ATZ P3 is available as well as the Toyo Open Country MT and the Cooper STT.
 
#8 ·
I just like to add that if a lift is involved and if the 33 or 35 tires are wide or narrow. In my experience of off roading it would come down to the driver / vehicle. I was with a group last week and we completed the Mojave trail all 140 miles including the 2 water crossings. The terrain was sand, mud, water and "light" rock crawling. All vehicles kept up. I have a Jk 2.5 lift with 33.3 narrow tires, another had a Ford Raptor with stock 35' and the last driver had a Ram 2500 with 37' tires.

The real determining aspect was the "vehicle" in long stretches of sand ; the Raptor just took off like a rocket doing excess of 70 mph and I was doing no more than 40. BUT, in the rocky terrain and tight spots my 2DR jeep left everyone in the dust :)

With all the variables involved I can't imagine that a 35' tires would do "better" then 33' if they are both the same Jeep type, lift and wide tire. It would come down to the driver. I would argue technical difference from a 33 or 37 .

Keep in mind the added weight of 35' tires which are exponentially heavier than stock and all the components that need to make up for the difference in weight. If the drive train, etc.. can't "push" the 35' over the rocks/obstacles , etc.. I don't see any benefits of the 35'.
 
#9 ·
So i have the same JKU ... 2014 with a 3.5"lift and 35's on 17".
It drives completely different, Moving those monsters down the road takes way more effort. To be fair, My Nittos are very heavy tires .... but my transmission shifting is WAY off. I love the look but not crazy about the drive.
Im in Canada so some conversion may be required but i quickly went from 12L/100Km to 14.

If i had to do it over again ? I would have gone with aggresive 33's and either a 2" lift or a levelling kit. (my original plan) ...

Hope that helps.
 
#10 ·
So i have the same JKU ... 2014 with a 3.5"lift and 35's on 17".
It drives completely different, Moving those monsters down the road takes way more effort. To be fair, My Nittos are very heavy tires .... but my transmission shifting is WAY off. I love the look but not crazy about the drive.
Im in Canada so some conversion may be required but i quickly went from 12L/100Km to 14.

If i had to do it over again ? I would have gone with aggresive 33's and either a 2" lift or a levelling kit. (my original plan) ...

Hope that helps.
Did you use some type of programmer to adjust for the larger tires?
 
#16 ·
I can not afford to do a regear. I will be doing some rock crawling.
From personal experience, gearing will be more beneficial than the tire difference between 33 and 35 in the rocks.
Having said that, I'm not sure that 33 to 35 is going to effect the crawl ratio in an auto vehicle enough to make a noticeable difference.
Based on that i would say go with 35's.
But, keep in mind that 35's are much more abusive to parts in the rocks than 33's are, at least from my experience. Look into axle truss/gussets, tie rod, drag link and steering sector shaft brace.
My guess is if you cannot afford gearing, then same goes for the mentioned upgrades.
So, I really think 33's are your best bet until the piggy bank fills again.
My .02
 
#17 ·
Speed vs Agility.

33s are lighter and will travel fast better than 35s... all else equal.
35s bigger diameter, flotation etc will crawl better.

If you need 35s to climb over big obstacles or for better floatation get them... and do all the other things 35s require. Regearing, bigger lift, new driveline,...

If you drive forestry roads, cart tracks and trails and like a bit of speed stick with 33s, or even smaller tires.

The heavier the tire the rougher the ride will be.... all else equal. And the wider the tire the more things like soft spots, puddles, snow, ridges will affect straight line speed.

My tires are 33x10x17. My next tire will be 33x10.50x15 because I want a Load Range C tire.
 
#18 ·
Go big, you will be sorry if you don't. I have 35's with the 3.73 gears and I got the procal and set the computer for the right size tires. Still not the best gas mileage, but I didn't buy my Jeep for gas mileage.
 
#20 ·
Let me explain it this way. I bought my jku with a set of 305/50/20 (32s) rims and wheels. I love the look but I dont think the tyre/rim setup is right for off roading especially rock crawling. I am all most sure the rims will be damaged.

I am keeping this setup for on road/ town driving.

I want to buy another set of rims/tyres (33s or 35s on 15 inch rims) that I will fit when I plan on going off roading on weekends.

If I get the pro cal will it be "safe" to use it everytime I swap wheels?
 
#26 ·
I'll put it this way. If you could add an extra inch to your penis....wouldn't you? If not for simply the confidence booster and appearance when flaccid (not wheeling) ;)
 
#28 ·
with a 3" OME lift you will be fine with 35's. I will say I rarely see cases where people are debating between 33's and 35's where they end up satisfied if they end up with the 33's.

I went from 32's to 33's to 34's to 35's each time thinking yup they will be fine. From my experience there are very few places other then around town where smaller is better. My MPG has never been significantly affected.[/QUOTE]

That is exactly what worries me, as I dont have money to waste buying bigger and bigger sizes everytime. Thanks for your input
 
#29 ·
If by bearable you mean the gas mileage, I get 15 mpg in town and 17 on the highway. I am not planning a regear until I go to 37s. I can bark the tires if I get on it and in the rocks it crawls just fine. Keep in mind that my 35s started at 34.5 under the load of the Jeep and with wear are now closer to 34. With my armor minimal fenders they look small ...

Gas mileage is the last of my worries. Thats not why I bought my Jeep. I actually meant performance, driveablity. Does the auto box search alot for gears?
 
#31 ·
35's are better. I took my jeep on 35x12.5r15's out to pismo on monday and went everywhere never got stuck pulled people out and was pretty much a badass all day. Even hit the ocean at speed and in the soft wet sand. I GAURANTEE I could not do this with 33's. The 35x12.5 mt's did all this without airing down. Never even got close to being stuck but I am a pretty proficient and attentive driver so I kept my momentum up.
 

Attachments

#32 ·
35's are better. I took my jeep on 35x12.5r15's out to pismo on monday and went everywhere never got stuck pulled people out and was pretty much a badass all day. Even hit the ocean at speed and in the soft wet sand. I GAURANTEE I could not do this with 33's. The 35x12.5 mt's did all this without airing down. Never even got close to being stuck but I am a pretty proficient and attentive driver so I kept my momentum up.



Your jeep looks awesome man and those 35s looks huge! Tell me do you have the pentastar? What gearing? Auto or manual?
 
#33 ·
I have 3.21 gearing and the 6 speed with the pentastar 3.6L

I was slow in the dunes because 4 low I was running almost 4th gear it could not keep the tires turning in 5th and bogged down. I think I was doing 25-30mph maybe. In 4 high I had to stay in 1st as in 2nd if it hit a deep sand wash or deep soft sand after a rut and sunk the motor couldnt quite pull it back out in 2nd I would have to drop to 1st losing momentum.

Whole other issue is the stability control/traction control problem. Works perfect going slow but in 4 high if you disable it with the steering wheel dance you are good until your wheel speed hits a certain speed then stability control is re engage.

The issue with this is if you get a little sideways it applies the effing brakes and straightens the rig out but you just lost a ton of wheel/tire speed and momentum which the little 3.6 has trouble enough keeping up with 3.21 gears.

Now in 4 low it works great but you are just geared way too low for the sand with 3.21 gears.

I think partly also is to get traction it uses the brakes to transfer power between the tires, this also loses momentum and you can feel it.

If I do the mechanical lockers, and 4.88 gears I could probably leave it in 4 high and really get some speed going without issue. Then If I could lock out the stability control in 4 high permanently it would be some serious fun!

You cannot jump the jeeps which I found out quickly even getting 6" of air barely clearing a tiny dune with a good landing it would bottom the front out and when you do its HARD. So I stuck to carving dunes and bowls at a higher speed (25-30 in 4 low).

On the freeway 6th is completely completely useless and 5th becomes your 6th with stock tires kinda. 4th becomes your 5th etc. You lose 1 gear and the acceleration feels about like that with 3.21's. Totally liveable but obviously once I re-gear I will be much happier. I really wish we could just do a single thread on this for everyone to see. I have replied to a few people on this. It was worth every penny to go 35's from the start and re-gear later. It is totally driveable and works fine. Its sluggish, its not a hot rod, but for 1400$ after a 200$ stock rim trade in credit it was very very very affordable to go 35's on 15's. Cut flares cost 0$. I do not run a spare tire yet until my funds get up.

In fact I will make a thread on this right now so I do not have to keep responding (I dont mind but it would have been good info for me from the get go so it will help others)
 
#35 ·
Gas mileage is the last of my worries. Thats not why I bought my Jeep. I actually meant performance, driveablity. Does the auto box search alot for gears?[/QUOTE]

The auto searched a lot until I reprogrammed and told the computer what size tires I was running. You can also dial in optimization for higher octane fuel. I have a clean breathing K&N air filter and a high flow AFE muffler that makes my rig responsive. Like I said, I can bark my 35s. All kidding aside, if you don't want to chase that elusive "extra inch" you'll be happier getting and staying with the 35s. If you google Jeep on 35 inch tires and select images you can see many examples to help you visualize.
 
#36 ·
I'm running 315/70/17 (34s which measure 33" with load) Mickey Thompson atzp3s and 3.21 gears. I'm using a superchips flashpaq for tire size and also the 87 tune. While the gears are adequate but not ideal I still don't have any problems off road or around town, the problems arise when on the highway or long hills. You can get away without a regear in the short term.
That being said, mine is getting regeared right now to 4.56 because hills are plentiful here in southern ohio.
 

Attachments

#37 ·
I'm running 315/70/17 (34s which measure 33" with load) Mickey Thompson atzp3s and 3.21 gears. I'm using a superchips flashpaq for tire size and also the 87 tune. While the gears are adequate but not ideal I still don't have any problems off road or around town, the problems arise when on the highway or long hills. You can get away without a regear in the short term. That being said, mine is getting regeared right now to 4.56 because hills are plentiful here in southern ohio.
Edit: also running 2.5 metalcloak springs
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top