Experience & comparison of switching from 37's to 35's

[Creeker]

At ~800 miles, the 2020 JLR 2-Dr (w/manual) had some major mods done including:

• RK 3.5 " Long Arm
• Rear Long Arm Conversion
• Aluminum Skids
• 17's Dirty Life Wheels
• Tires: MS Pats

Info on the build is here:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/manual-2-door-rubicon-bikini-build.48532/

Now for the obligatory action shot:

Really like the Jeep, but its kind of a beast on the highway for a DD of 52 miles each way, especially with the MS Pats.

So the Jeep basically sits in the garage.

To be able to drive the rig more, thought, lets try some 35 KO2's and a more traditional wheel.

A couple of months back, saw this post about a smoking deal on 35's
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/found-a-killer-deal-on-35”-ko2s.115465/page-6#post-2405627


Experience and Opinions:

• Mileage: Went from about ~14 MPG to 17.5 MPG
• Drivability on the Highway: Much better with 35's and KO2's
• Looks: Like the 37's better, but the 35's are a close 2nd.
• Enjoyment: Able to drive the Jeep more

Conclusion: Good to be able to drive the Jeep more.

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[Creeker]

Here's the photo comparisons:

Tried to get similar before and after shots

 

[Creeker]

Experience and Opinions:

• Mileage: Went from about ~14 MPG to 17.5 MPG
• Drivability on the Highway: Much better with 35's and KO2's
• Looks: Like the 37's better, but the 35's are a close 2nd.
• Enjoyment: Able to drive the Jeep more

Conclusion: Good to be able to drive the Jeep more.

Now to do a soft top conversion and install 1/2 doors.

 

[Jeepin_OLB]

Still looks good on the 35s!

I honestly think the difference in drive quality is more the KO2s vs Pats instead of tire size. I've ran 8 different brands of MTs over the years and the Pats were by far the worse tires I ever had. Wobbly and wandering all over the road. After running 37" Pats on my 2 door for 3 months, I asked Discount Tire to buy them back and swapped for 37" Nittos. Night and day difference in drive quality.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

IMO the tire type had more to do with the MPG and enjoyment than the diameter. When I went from a 35" KO2 to a 37" KO2, there was very little difference in MPG or performance.

 

[Gregj]

IMO the tire type had more to do with the MPG and enjoyment than the diameter. When I went from a 35" KO2 to a 37" KO2, there was very little difference in MPG or performance.

My experience with 315 KO2’s and 37” KO2’s is the same.

Gregj

 

[blnewt]

Nice setup!
I went from smaller Pats to larger Mickey Thompson ATZs (295/70/17 to 315/70/17) and the ride and overall stability on and off road is far better w/ the Mickeys. The Pats were E rated and the MTs are D rated, so that may have something to do with it as well. Plus the Pats are dangerous on road when it's wet too (at least IME). My mpgs only took about a 1mpg hit w/ the larger tires, so not bad.

 

[TorturedMargot]

Going from a larger tire with a terrible on road reputation (Milestar) to a smaller tire with an OK on road reputation doesn’t mean anything. I bet 42” Nitto RGs ride better than a 37” Patagonia.

 

[Steph1]

I’m certain that the driveability has a lot more to do with proper gearing than the actual tire size. You’d probably enjoy your jeep even more with 37s and 4.56 (on a 2doors/4.88 on 4doors)than you do with 35s and stock gearing. Now 4.56 and 35s would drive like a dream.

 

[wibornz]

I am planning on pulling my camper to
Alaska next year and it will be around a 12,000 mile trip by the time I am done. I have thought about putting 35s on a non bead lock wheel for the trip as there is not much off roading that I plan to do that will require a 37 in tire.

Money wise it would be a wash. If I picked up 1 or 2 mpg pulling the camper plus saving the wear and tear on the 37s, I could almost get the tires for free.


And by the way, The Milestar Patagonia tires are by far the worst tires I have ever owned on any vehicle in my entire life. I am talking about 31 cars, trucks and Jeeps. I would personally like to slap the crap out of ever single Youtube influencer that pushed these bullshit tires. Some of them, I would slap twice.

 

[blnewt]

I would personally like to slap the crap out of ever single Youtube influencer that pushed these bullshit tires. Some of them, I would slap twice.

lol Ted
Got our Pats before the peak of their hype, got them for $124 per tire, for that price they were ok, but the $250 (or more) they go for now, no way! Got 25k out of them and they still has about 5k of usable life left, but I would only recommend them for dry rocks w/ good grip, and only if they were still $124 lol.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Funny I'm seeing this since monkey brain(37s) and logic brain(35s) have been arguing about 37s vs 35s for some time now. For me it came down to value vs cost. For 37s they're routinely 2.2-2.5k for a set of 5, usually heavier, and harder on brakes, suspension and steering. And then it came down to the question asking if it was worth having the extra .75-1"(that's what she said) from center of wheel down to the ground?

And by the way, The Milestar Patagonia tires are by far the worst tires I have ever owned on any vehicle in my entire life. I am talking about 31 cars, trucks and Jeeps. I would personally like to slap the crap out of ever single Youtube influencer that pushed these bullshit tires. Some of them, I would slap twice.

I almost drank the koolaid on the pats, it was only until I saw how they did in anything other than Moab that I realized how bad they were, never understood the run them overinflated to make them into a balloon and run on the tiny sliver of center tread.

 

[BuyHold]

Funny I'm seeing this since monkey brain(37s) and logic brain(35s) have been arguing about 37s vs 35s for some time now.

When first bought my Jeep I was 100% logic brain but have since gone 100% monkey brain. Monkey brains need no first hand experience with their preferred tire size to hold their position.

 

[gsbrockman]

I would personally like to slap the crap out of ever single Youtube influencer that pushed these bullshit tires. Some of them, I would slap twice.

 

[ChuckQue]

I loved my Falken AT3W 35’s, but these 38” Nitto Trail Grapplers ride really, really well.

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