35's vs 33's

[Mole351]

Hi all. May be a dumb question - but is there truly a big difference between 33 inch and 35 inch tires, everything else being equal? I just bought a rubicon - and am really interested in getting some 35" tires, but damn if I want to go spend a few thousand more $'s after just buying what i thought was an off-road ready jeep. Most everything in doing my research before buying said it's ready to go stock (hence the reason I got it - get better financing of the "upgrades" with car payment - ha), but I see a ton of folks wanting to go to 35's right away. So to that end - does the 2" difference REALLY make that much of a difference when wheeling? If so many people are ditching their 33's immediately, and they make THAT much of a difference, why wouldn't Jeep just have it come with 35's? If you only go by this forum you'd think anything smaller than 35's and you might as well not take it off the pavement.

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[Torero]

Rest assured that the Rubicon is a very capable machine stock. A great percentage of the tire changes are for looks. People used to upgrade to 33s in the past. It’s all about going bigger than stock, whatever that is. Heck, the change the rims as well for no reason other than looks.

 

[UKCATS]

Yeah, 33’s are fine. You can do a lot with a stock Rubicon.

 

[chiggerdude]

I sold my 33's in less than 12 hours on my local fb jeep page. So if you really want 35's you'll get some decent money back in return.

 

[Shaved Ice]

I agree with what has already been said about 33s being fine. 35s only provide 1” extra height/clearance over 33s. There is only a VERY small chance that will make a difference on the trail. I will upgrade when my stockers wear out.

Self recover (i.e. a winch) is my first priority over an extra inch of clearance. But hey, to each their own. It isn’t my money.

 

[Sheepjeep]

A 33 vs a 35 will buy you about an inch of extra ground clearance but also can climb a little bigger obstacles so little help there, but its not the whole story.

First off the features on tread pattern on a tire tend not to scale with the tire growth they typically just expand the gaps between features. This extra gapping can help prevent mud from packing in the groves, allows the tires to fold over rocks better ect. So a stock rubicon tire (285/70/T17) has about 1150.6 sq in of tread surface area where as a 315/70/R17 an effective 35" tire has 1340.1 sq in, which is about a 16% increase in surface area fitting the same features. But every companies can build tires differently so may not be 100% true in all cases.


With larger tires tend to get a wider tire as well a wider tire creates more contact area with the ground improving traction. The 33 KO2 is ~ 11" wide which is wide for a stock tire but typical 35 is ~12-13" wide.


Also you can get a more aggressive tread. The KO2 are a great all around tire and is by far one of my favorite tires, great road traction, and can holds its on basic trails, but more aggressive MT treads will handle off road conditions a lot better.

Also other things to consider is the tread compound, softer rubber makes it grippier but can hurt on road performance and increase wear, and side wall construction which dictates tire flex and sidewall protection.

All of this combined can result in very different performance in tires even at the same size. But if I am buying new tires for performance the price difference between a 33 and and 35 minimal so take the height.

 

[Fred]

Hi all. May be a dumb question - but is there truly a big difference between 33 inch and 35 inch tires, everything else being equal? I just bought a rubicon - and am really interested in getting some 35" tires, but damn if I want to go spend a few thousand more $'s after just buying what i thought was an off-road ready jeep. Most everything in doing my research before buying said it's ready to go stock (hence the reason I got it - get better financing of the "upgrades" with car payment - ha), but I see a ton of folks wanting to go to 35's right away. So to that end - does the 2" difference REALLY make that much of a difference when wheeling? If so many people are ditching their 33's immediately, and they make THAT much of a difference, why wouldn't Jeep just have it come with 35's? If you only go by this forum you'd think anything smaller than 35's and you might as well not take it off the pavement.

Its mostly cosmetic. Your Rubicon or any other Jeep is very capable off road.
Go two inches bigger on tires you only gain 1 inch of ground clearance.
Here is my before and after. I also go to a wider wheel. 8" or wider is recommended.
My old wheels and tires are listed here for sale. $1250 AND ONLY 1400 MILES ON THEM. No tpms.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

My guess is that by now OP is running 40s

 

[Jamrock]

Owning a Jeep is a special kind of addiction. After people put on 35's they start to think about 37's. Then there is a lift, after market lights, bumpers, etc.

It never ends.

 

[Rustynail11]

I want to go to 35's but am being patient and waiting until the stock 33's wear out. I don't feel like going through the hassle of trying to sell the 33's so I will drive them till they wear out. I have my my 22JLUR offroad multiple times as is and never had any issues with the 33's

 

[c20040215]

Bigger is bigger. Not to discredit what a stock Rubicon can do, but it will definitely makes noticeable differences on the trail. whether you want to upgrade now, or wait until the current set wear out, it requires very little mods for a JL Rubicon to run 35". The Jeep has grown so much.. even 35s are no longer considered big for many.

Even side-by-sides from the factory come with 33s nowadays.

 

[Zandcwhite]

You can buy a Jeep with 35s, to answer the question of "why doesn't it just come with them?" I didn't see you state if it's a 2 door or a 4 door. 35s make a much bigger difference in a 4 door due to the breakover angle. Some guys prescribe to the "wear out the stock tires 1st" idea, but that leaves you paying a tire disposal fee on top of the new tires you really want. KO2s are unimpressive off road, especially anywhere with poor traction like mud, snow, loose dirt, etc. Sell them while they are new and recoup half the cost of the 35s. Assuming you have a 4 door, I'd add a 1.5-2" lift while I was at it as our stock Rubicon felt like it was dragging the belly everywhere.

 

[Discount Tire]

@Fred 35's are a subtle change, but the wheels make a big difference! Nice rig!

 

[kah.mun.rah]

Owning a Jeep is a special kind of addiction. After people put on 35's they start to think about 37's. Then there is a lift, after market lights, bumpers, etc.

It never ends.

Absolutely. It's an evolution that has no end...until the Jeep dies.

Birth
Stock:

35s with no lift:

35s with 2" lift

37s with 2" lift

R.I.P.

 

[Discount Tire]

@kah.mun.rah we where loving the photo progression especially the next to last photo. What a transformation! Not liking the last photo at all. Sorry for your loss.

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