What tires and wheels should I get?

[freebird2]

Alright I'm looking to get some new tires and wheels. I've got 4" suspension lift,AA SYE, CV driveshaft and AEM brute force air intake with throttle body spacer on 03 TJ Sahara and I need to fill up the finder space. I've got 31 BFG AT right now and I need something bigger.
I do alot of driving on the road to and from work and some dirt and mud on the weekends. I want something that looks real aggresive does well on the road and off and is going to last a little while. I also like the bigger size wheels around 18" and a 33-35 tire. Are there any 34" tires?
-Baja Claws
-Trxus
-Wrangler MT
-BFG MT
-or something else

Wheels right now I'm looking at the Pro Comp 6090 series in an 18". Does anyone have these or seen them on a jeep?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Keep in mind that any wheel over 15" in a 33"-35" tire is more likely to be damaged offroad as there's less sidewall to conform and adjust to obstacles. While they are Bling, they're not real practical unless you get a larger tire or need the rim size to clear 1ton brakes.

Take into consideration your axle gear ratio and whether you plan on regearing or not. The power loss from installing larger tires will have a significant affect on driveability, onroad and off.

 

[freebird2]

I'm not to familiar with changing the axle gear ratio and regearing. What kind of process are we talking about here for the type of tire modifications I'm trying to make? I would like to keep or gain more power onroad and off. How do you lose more sidewall protect with larger wheels? Also, should I get larger brakes for larger wheels and tires? If so what brakes do you guys recommend?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Check for a tag bolted to either diff cover, held on with two of the diff cover bolts. Post the numbers on the tag and we can tell you the gear ratio.

Larger tires change the final gearing ratio, meaning you will be running less RPM at a given speed than you did with smaller tires. This robs the engine of power, and takes longer to build power. Many jeepers will regear the axles to compensate for larger tires, going with a lower gear (numerically higher) proportionate to the change in tire height. For instance, if you installed 15% larger tires, you would want a 15% lower gear ratio in the axles, or slightly lower for better performance.

Regearing is often best left to a professional shop, it requires replacing the ring and pinion gears in each axle, requiring very close tolerances by using shims behind specific bearings.

When you air the tires down offroad, the tire bulges for a larger contact patch. This provides more traction, a softer ride, and some rim protection. The use of larger rims means less sidewall to bulge and wrap around obstacles, and less rim protection.

 

[freebird2]

Thanks for the information. I'll look for that tag.

 

[DRAGON]

I agree with bounty thats a big jump in tire size, your gears are the big unknown factor and 18" leaves a lot of rim to beat up,i believe swamper makes a 34" in a truxus for an all terrain i would buy bfg,yokohama,or mickeys atz for mud bfg mud-terrain km-2, i run these on my work truck (a 3/4 ton ram hd diesel) these are holding up really well in the mud,snow and razor sharp shale rock i work in as well as 70 miles of highway a day without being too loud,for awesome looks and performance i love my cepek crushers,but the are a little loud and too aggresive for much highway use just my 2 cents

 

[freebird2]

Thanks for the information, Dragon you say your running the bfg mt km-2, 70 miles a day. Wow how are they holding up for you?

 

[timritchieblue]

bang for the buck, DUNLOP MUD ROVER, wear like iron, not to loud. but if your going to a 18" rim, mickey thompson mtz, the ****

 

[freebird2]

Diff cover tag numbers
Rear- 52114045AB T 3.73 606988
Front-52099200AE 3.73 611312-4

Some numbers may be off a little bit it was a little hard to read. So what does this tell me?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

your axle gears are 3.73 which means they will work okay for 33" tires but performance will really suffer at 35". A change to 4.56 or 4.88 would be your best investment.

 

[jps4jeep]

Swamper makes 2 34" tires,

34x8.5 special service tire and the LTB 34x9.5

The special service was designed to be used on the original old flatty 5" tims, put them on anything wider and they will blow beads when under 15 psi.

The LTB is a great tire off road, don't expect a lot of milage out of them on road. they also only measure a little over 33 inches.

with a 4" lift I would recommend the following

35" BFG mt best of both worlds and run slightly small closer to 34.5 inches tall
35" mt/r's just like the BFG's, little more rock friendly but require rotation frequently for longevity
33" TSL radials (not the SSR) won't get the life out of these as the others, but way better off road.
35" truxus similar to the BFG's and wranglers, slightly softer compound, little less life.

All in all, get what will suit your needs best. think practical, is your jeep going to see offroading once a month and drive to work every day, go with a less aggressive tire with a harder compound. I got 50K miles out of a set of BFG MT's years back.

 

[freebird2]

Which is better 4.56 or 4.88? What parts will I need to make this change and what does this normally cost? Anyone know any good gear mechanics in the South GA North Florida area?
Thanks again for the input and help.

 

[freebird2]

What does it mean Dana 30, 35, 44 ect...? What does this do for you and what do I have or where can I get this info?

 

[Itchee96]

Those are the different axle nomenclatures that Jeeps come from the factory with. What model Jeep do you have?

 

[freebird2]

03 Jeep Sahara 6 :8)

 

[jonsolbe]

Freebird2, I had a TJ with 3.73 gears and 31" tires. Now I've upgraded to a Rubicon which has 4.10 gears (lower gears, more power) and have it lifted and with larger tires, as I mentioned in another of your posts. I didn't want anything bigger than 33" as they're tougher to balance, rob your engine of more power, and cost more. I, like you, was preferential to a slightly larger wheel as well. I went with a 16" rim from american racing, called an outlaw II. Go look it up, I really think it's the best looking rim on a jeep (I'm biased, of course). I went with 285x75xr16s because they're slightly less tall than a 33" and they're also a 6 ply tire, vs a 4ply in the 33x10.5x15s. I have always liked BFGs and got the all terain (quieter and longer wearing than the mud terrains). I believe I have the perfect combination. LEt us know what you do.

 

[freebird2]

Thanks for the info, I'll look up those wheels.

 

[jfrabat]

Those are the same wheels I got (I just got them in a different size, as mine are 15), and I agree, they are the BEST LOOKING WHEELS for a Jeep (I am also biased!). Look on my signature for how they look...

 

[Itchee96]

More than likely you have a Dana 30 front axle and a Dana 35 rear axle. Some 03 and 04 Saharas and X's had an option for the Dana 44.

 

[DRAGON]

Freebird! Sorry so long to reply , 14 hour shifts wipe me out,the bfg-km-2 are holding up excellent so far , tough as nails, the shale rock just shreds tires, havent gotten a year out of any thing so far, but these are doing very well,great control,lower noise,(my diesel motor is louder,)mud clears out good,deep rain water shoots right out the sides, great rock performance,sidewalls are strong,however they do like to grab ruts,curbs,ect.down side is they throw rocks!look great!