shock/Tire for washboard dirt raods

[ponyrider]

I have a 1997 wrangler with the four cylinder engine. It spends 75% of it's life on washboard dirt roads with mud in the spring and snow in the winter. I want to improve the ride on the bumpy roads and traction in mud and snow. I planned to install a 2" lift and upgrade the shocks and tires.

Does anyone have any recommendation on shocks and tires? Also If I installed 31" tires is that too much tire for a 4 cylinder?

Ponyrider

 

[ka041a]

it is not recommended to install oversize tires on the stock axle housings that came on the 4 cyl. jeep, dana 35 on the back and dana 30 on the front i think, because the extra torque from the big tires can break an axle pretty easily. the conventional wisdom is that one needs to change to dana 44's front and rear.but people do put on the big tires, so beware! the tires i run on my 05 wrangler se are bfgoodrich all-terrain lt215-75r15's and i just love them. they are way better than the goodyear wranglers that come stock on the vehicle, at least twice the traction. i have never run anything but oem shocks-can't help you there. good luck, john

 

[Dirk]

For the best ride quality, Old Man Emu is just about unbeatable.

31" tires are not a problem for the axles you have, unless you are really crazy with the skinny pedal.

For tires, stay with a load range "C" first of all.
I've also owned several sets of the BFG AT's.
They aren't bad, but I've actually found them to be a bit rougher riding than some other tires I've had.

 

[88Wrangles]

Letting a some air out of the tires will help quite a bit on those rough roads.

 

[currupt4130]

it is not recommended to install oversize tires on the stock axle housings that came on the 4 cyl. jeep, dana 35 on the back and dana 30 on the front i think, because the extra torque from the big tires can break an axle pretty easily. the conventional wisdom is that one needs to change to dana 44's front and rear.but people do put on the big tires, so beware! the tires i run on my 05 wrangler se are bfgoodrich all-terrain lt215-75r15's and i just love them. they are way better than the goodyear wranglers that come stock on the vehicle, at least twice the traction. i have never run anything but oem shocks-can't help you there. good luck, john

Don't listen to this guy. The 30 and 35 can handle 31" tires just fine. I've seen it over and over and over. 33" tires is where the limit starts, and after that you're just playing roulette.

Anyway, a good pair of tires for your needs would probably be the BFG AT/KO as mentioned before.
They're widely available and time tested. If you want something a little more aggressive, there are a lot of good mud terrains on the market. I've personally been a huge fan of these Mud Terrain 2 Ply for a while. My dad has had them on his jeep for years now and I've always been much more impressed with their performance than any other MT on the trail.

As far as shocks go, I can't help you too much, sorry.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

Tires, the BFG AT/KO's so far I love mine.
As for shocks I would recommend Bilstein 5150's, your dropping 90$+ per shock, but as an entry level multi-valved with a attached reservoir shock you cant go wrong.

 

[Wrangl3r93]

I've been wheeling hard on my 30/35 combo with 33x12.50 mud tires for a couple years now. Same pair from my 4banger now sit behind the 4.0HO and I've never had one problem out of them.

 

[mud4feet]

Just to second what everyone else has said.......don't worry about the 31's behind the 4Banger. I've been running them since '03 (130,000 miles) and have had no problems whatsoever (tires, anyway!). Can't help with the shocks...just be happy for the coil spring suspension - it'd be a lot stiffer (not necessarily worse) with a YJ (leafs). I drive the "washboards" all the time, too - in a TJ and a YJ. I just put up with it because I knew that going in with a Jeep.
As far as the traction goes, tires are of utmost importance. You'll find all kinds of recommendations, but a lot of it has to do with your driving cirurcumstance. I bought some mudders off eBay that I've been extremely happy with, 'tho their due to be replaced. All I can tell you is research thoroughly (this is a good place) and do what you think is best (price/performance). Best of luck!!!

 

[Craig]

Drop your air pressure, you'll notice a huge difference in ride and handling on those washboard roads.