txj2go
Well-Known Member
Going from 33" to 35" gains you 1" of clearance under the axles and 1" of clearance under the low points between the axles, and will roll over tall obstacles such as ledges just a little bit easier. It would be difficult to find a trail where you could do the trail with 35s but couldn't do the trail with 33s, but it might make the difference between scraping or not scraping. With the smaller tires you put more attention into picking a good line, on a very technical trail maybe you have to stack a couple of rocks with the smaller tires. I don't know what the difference is on snow or soft sand, I stay off of those so I can't speak to that.Yeah, Wranglers’ sweet spot is tires that are 33-34 inch tall, 10.5-11.5 inches wide. That’s where they are most happy in my experience.
While 35x12.5 tires turn the Jeep into a beast on the trail, the on-road handling starts to become lumbering, the ride deteriorates, and fuel economy goes out the window.
You can put 33" tires on your average Sport or Sahara, even on the stock wheels if you wish, and gain the offroad ability without sacrificing much on road. Most people that do 35s will do new tires and new wheels so that gets more expensive. I see a lot of 35s, maybe even 37s, on the freeways in my big metro area. I doubt if 1% of them have been the places that my Sport on Rubicon takeoff tires has been. If I thought I needed bigger than 33s then I shouldn't have bought a Sport in the first place, buy a Rubicon and put 37s on it.
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