2021 JLR - Which 31" Tires?

[entropy]

Now you guys and gals have me wondering what's more ridiculous for a trail like the Rubicon, 31" tires on a Jeep Rubicon or 40" tires and all the suspension and drivetrain mods necessary for that. Makes you wonder what's really necessary to wheel 95% or more of the trails.

Thanks.

Depends what you define as necessary. To me, 40in tires are definitely not necessary lol. A jeep on 40s, properly built, is an absolutely beast though.

33s are a great size for a 2 door. But you will see 2 doors on 35s having an easier time on the trail. But what's holding me back at the moment is lack of a front locker and not the tire size. Good thing about 33s? skill. You learn how to pick your line and the challenge is fun. I will go 34s when my 33s are spent.

Your Rubicon is ready to go from the factory.

Check out my post with pictures of some of the scratches I got doing gold mountain. Didn't even post pictures of the skid plates or rear diff.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/big-bear-offroading.76598/page-4#post-1611898

Sponsored

 

[Zandcwhite]

Now you guys and gals have me wondering what's more ridiculous for a trail like the Rubicon, 31" tires on a Jeep Rubicon or 40" tires and all the suspension and drivetrain mods necessary for that. Makes you wonder what's really necessary to wheel 95% or more of the trails.

Thanks.

Living out here and wheeling for the last 20 years, I’ve run the rubicon on everything from 31’s to 37’s. Everything from a tj to a wagoneer as far as size goes. A 2 door on 33-35’s is the sweet spot as far as break over, axle clearance, etc. in my opinion. The bigger the rig, the bigger the tire you’ll want to run. In the same grand Cherokee for instance, 33’s with 3” lift were far more work than 35’s and 5” lift in subsequent trips. Not only was there a bunch more scrapping, but there were more times getting hung up. More rock stacking. More pulling with a strap (Would be winching if alone). If you want to make trails harder, spend more time winching, more times getting stuck, and more potential for body damage, smaller tires are perfect. We wheel alone a lot, and I like to drive tough trails. I don’t want to stack rocks. I don’t want to winch. Hell if we are out in AZ like last week when it’s 110° outside, I don’t even want to open the door and let that heat in. That combined with the long wheelbase of our JLUR, we run 37’s. After the beating the undercarriage and sliders took on the Dusy we went from 2.5”of lift to 4”. Different strokes for different folks I guess?

 

[Zandcwhite]

Here's a few pics of the 2 door on 31.5 inch tires and rubicon suspension:

and here's the same jeep on 33 falkens on Gold Mountain

It’s hard to tell from the pic, does your rotopax mount work with the backup camera? If so, where do I get one?

 

[entropy]

It’s hard to tell from the pic, does your rotopax mount work with the backup camera? If so, where do I get one?

Custom made plate. @Blu bi Kong used to make them. They're pretty awesome. Mounts directly on the wheel and has a hole for the rear camera

 

[benny_rt2]

Now you guys and gals have me wondering what's more ridiculous for a trail like the Rubicon, 31" tires on a Jeep Rubicon or 40" tires and all the suspension and drivetrain mods necessary for that. Makes you wonder what's really necessary to wheel 95% or more of the trails.

Thanks.

You don't need 35 " tires to run Rubicon trail. You definitely won't need 40"tires. You don't need to downgrade to 31" either. just run it stock, JLR Rubicon will perform awesome even if few dents, but just add armor to protect oil pan and diff covers.?

 

[blnewt]

Your JLR already has the 4:10 gears, 4:1 transfer case, and BFGs that run on the small side for a 285/70. You'll have plenty of torque to do anything but climb an inverted wall, especially w/ the 8sp auto (I don't think OP listed what transmission he's running).

Our 2dr w/ the "regular" transfer case, and 3:45 gears running 295/70s had no trouble going everywhere we pointed it in the San Juans a couple weeks ago. Only limitation in our case was our open diffs

 

[oldcjguy]

Thinking about ditching the stock 33" tires for some 31" tires. Will that look stupid on a Rubicon?

Thinking it'll give me better torque for off road. I do pretty difficult trails and think the additional torque will be great.

Any suggestions on tires for mixed rock and mud, for the PNW?

How much torque do you think you'll really pick up going from the factory 33" to a 31"? Consider also that the factory 33 is actually 32.2". For slow driving (like on trail) the difference will be even less. Most of the "loss of torque" people complain about when going from a 33 to a 35 in a Rubi is do to the weight of the rim and tire they select. Adding 20lbs per wheel. That unsprung weight effects acceleration and braking. Are you stick or auto? Keep in mind most that go from a 33 to a 35, at least with the auto, notice almost no difference. And that's with the extra height and weight. I doubt you'll notice any real difference going to a 31.

Traction and torque management are more likely your issue. Try a tuner like SuperChips. You'll pick up some power, but you'll also get more of your existing power because they can turn down the nannies like torque management. I bet it makes a bigger difference than changing tires.

I have the 2.0. Back when I was deciding which drivetrain I wanted I test drove a JLUR with the 2.0 on 35s with big old heavy 20" bro rims that was running the SuperChips tune. It felt peppier than a stock JLUR 2.0 on 33s, and that was on the street and highway.

 

[Steph1]

I would regear, as the 33s hardly look big enough for the wheel openings to begin with.

Will it look stupid, most definitely yes, but do you care about that???... Only you can answer that.

As for one of your comments, I'm with you totally that most people go nuts with overkill modifications just for the sake of modifying. Makes me laugh when I see trail pics of guys on 38s-40s and 4 inch lift with all kinds of add-ons, and see a near stock Jeep in the background doing the exact same thing. Very few are those that do benefit from all these mods.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I would regear, as the 33s hardly look big enough for the wheel openings to begin with.

Will it look stupid, most definitely yes, but do you care about that???... Only you can answer that.

As for one of your comments, I'm with you totally that most people go nuts with overkill modifications just for the sake of modifying. Makes me laugh when I see trail pics of guys on 38s-40s and 4 inch lift with all kinds of add-ons, and see a near stock Jeep in the background doing the exact same thing. Very few are those that do benefit from all these mods.

So once we modify our rigs for the tough trails, big ledges, and less scraping on boulders, are we forbidden from running easy trails? I guess Jeeps shouldn't drive on the street at all, as a prius can do that? We enjoy all types of terrain and all types of trails. Some of our most memorable trips have been cruising around on forest roads and camping in remote locations. Conversley we also run trails that are on the tough end of the spectrum like the Dusy-Ershim, cliffhanger, and John Bull. I guess we shouldn't post pics from cedar tree, we are too modded for that? You can get a stock sport through just about any trail in America, with lots of winching, rock stacking, jacking it off obstacles, probable body damage and/or broken parts. Is that fun? Not for me, and not for the built rigs in the traffic jam behind you. I agree many people lift their Jeeps just for looks, but what's wrong with that? I would much rather wheel with an over built rig, behind other over built rigs than the opposite.

 

[Steph1]

So once we modify our rigs for the tough trails, big ledges, and less scraping on boulders, are we forbidden from running easy trails? I guess Jeeps shouldn't drive on the street at all, as a prius can do that? We enjoy all types of terrain and all types of trails. Some of our most memorable trips have been cruising around on forest roads and camping in remote locations. Conversley we also run trails that are on the tough end of the spectrum like the Dusy-Ershim, cliffhanger, and John Bull. I guess we shouldn't post pics from cedar tree, we are too modded for that? You can get a stock sport through just about any trail in America, with lots of winching, rock stacking, jacking it off obstacles, probable body damage and/or broken parts. Is that fun? Not for me, and not for the built rigs in the traffic jam behind you. I agree many people lift their Jeeps just for looks, but what's wrong with that? I would much rather wheel with an over built rig, behind other over built rigs than the opposite.

I don't see why you get your nuts all tied-up in a knot. If my comment didn't describe you, then you're part of the "very few" I am talking about.

You know as well as I do that the scenario I described are a lot of times what the owner considers a hard trail, otherwise they would probably not bother bragging about it with pictures.

In my neck of the woods and I'm sure in a lot of places, the most hardcore built Jeeps are built for the Donut shop parking lot Jeep meets. The guys with close to stock Jeeps are the ones running the trails.

So if the hat fits, by all means put it on and assume it... otherwise it didn't concern you.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I don't see why you get your nuts all tied-up in a knot. If my comment didn't describe you, then you're part of the "very few" I am talking about.

You know as well as I do that the scenario I described are a lot of times what the owner considers a hard trail, otherwise they would probably not bother bragging about it with pictures.

In my neck of the woods and I'm sure in a lot of places, the most hardcore built Jeeps are built for the Donut shop parking lot Jeep meets. The guys with close to stock Jeeps are the ones running the trails.

So if the hat fits, by all means put it on and assume it... otherwise it didn't concern you.

The assumption is what kills me. Because the built guy is at the jeep meet at the donut shop, he doesn't wheel? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. After I swap the new sliders on and detail the Jeep, people will inevitably assume the same about the wife as she daily drives a lifted jeep on 37's. A. Don't assume because it's a clean rig that is not currently on a difficult trail that it never is B. Spend less time worrying about how others use or don't use their rigs.

 

[Retrograde]

Now you guys and gals have me wondering what's more ridiculous for a trail like the Rubicon, 31" tires on a Jeep Rubicon or 40" tires and all the suspension and drivetrain mods necessary for that. Makes you wonder what's really necessary to wheel 95% or more of the trails.

Thanks.

I'm not a goat. I don't climb on shit. That costs a lot of money and tears up the equipment. I'm more of a "get there" kind of guy, and I drive around the stupid stuff. I know... crazy, right?

That said, I have these, in this size (285/65/R17 on Mammoth 8 17x9 wheels), on my Sport. I love 'em. In this size, they're the same height as the stock Sport tires, about 31.7" tall, but 1.5" wider. They're load range 'E', and I keep them aired to 26 lbs. The Coopers are a legendary, tough tire on rocky fire roads, decent in most other conditions, and quiet on the highway. I don't hear them at all:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...Model=Discoverer+AT3+LT&partnum=865SR7DALTOWL

 

[Steph1]

The assumption is what kills me. Because the built guy is at the jeep meet at the donut shop, he doesn't wheel? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. After I swap the new sliders on and detail the Jeep, people will inevitably assume the same about the wife as she daily drives a lifted jeep on 37's. A. Don't assume because it's a clean rig that is not currently on a difficult trail that it never is B. Spend less time worrying about how others use or don't use their rigs.

A. No assumption here, I know for a fact what I'm talking about. Been driving Jeeps ever since the YJs came out (my first vehicle) and was part of the local club some 20 years ago with my built TJ, back in the day where a 2 inch lift 1 inch body lift and 33 inch tires were big mods..... I can spot a poser from a mile away.

B. I could'nt care less what people do or don't do with their Jeeps, although it still makes me grin. No time loss here. Sorry if you or your wife were victim of loud judgmental asses. I'm not one of them.

C. I am one of the guys that don't wheel his Jeep anymore. Lack of decent trails and interest explains that. I've won my trail badge a long time ago. Now I drive a JL for its ruggedness and carelessness of road conditions thanks to its 4wd fulltime ability in winter time. If you lived around here, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[blnewt]

This thread took a bit of a turn, and you youngsters that started wheeling when the YJs were new

I'm just an old mountain goat that does what he does, and truly appreciate the opinions expressed in this thread.

I still stand by my opinion that OP should stick with at least his stock Rubicon size, it's a perfect setup for he Rubicon drivetrain IMO (wish I had that setup under my seat).

 

[Zandcwhite]

This thread took a bit of a turn, and you youngsters that started wheeling when the YJs were new

I'm just an old mountain goat that does what he does, and truly appreciate the opinions expressed in this thread.

I still stand by my opinion that OP should stick with at least his stock Rubicon size, it's a perfect setup for he Rubicon drivetrain IMO (wish I had that setup under my seat).

It seems crazy to me that anybody would even consider intentionally modding their rig to decrease capability, but to each their own. It shows you just how far Jeeps have come since the yj days.

Sponsored