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First time Jeep owner, looking for lift advice

Shots

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Take your time with this. Put on the 35's and see what your Jeep looks like first. Then you can decide if you want to go higher. ...
Agreed. Do your research (which you're obviously doing) instead of jumping in blind. The other thing I would recommend is buying the first set used. You can save a lot of money by tracking down a good used set. Run them for a while and see if you like them or not. If you like them, you keep them. However, if you don't like them you should be able to sell them for close to the same amount you bought them for. Depending on the price you paid and how long you run them, you might even get the same amount back out of them.
It's a good way to "test fit" tires. I've done it multiple times with various vehicles.
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tim5779

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So here's the next question fellas (sorry if I'm beating a dead horse). My obvious choice is to stick with the KO2 tires. In order to go up to 35's in a 285 width, they become "heavy duty tires". I'm thinking this will destroy my ride quality. Yes or no? Is there a better size option. I'm trying not to go any wider, as I don't want that tire extending past the fender flares if I can help it. I should probably mention, despite advice, I'm going up to 20's. I wont be doing any rock crawling so I'm not worried about the beads busting loose. So for instance, the KO2's in 285/70/20 are rated as a heavy duty tire. Wouldn't that make my ride quality completely suck?
 

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So here's the next question fellas (sorry if I'm beating a dead horse). My obvious choice is to stick with the KO2 tires. In order to go up to 35's in a 285 width, they become "heavy duty tires". I'm thinking this will destroy my ride quality. Yes or no? Is there a better size option. I'm trying not to go any wider, as I don't want that tire extending past the fender flares if I can help it. I should probably mention, despite advice, I'm going up to 20's. I wont be doing any rock crawling so I'm not worried about the beads busting loose. So for instance, the KO2's in 285/70/20 are rated as a heavy duty tire. Wouldn't that make my ride quality completely suck?
You will destroy your right quality by going with 20s losing the sidewall width.
 
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tim5779

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You will destroy your right quality by going with 20s losing the sidewall width.
dammit man....but 20's look so good.

I guess if I'm looking on the bright side, I'll be saving $2,000 if I just stick with the stock 17's...which I do not hate
 

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Typically a "heavy duty" tire, will be E load, which is 10 ply sidewall. They're tough, which is nice, but they have less give. Meaning they don't flex as much under load. This is what makes them heavy duty. Most 35's are E load, but you can find a hand full of C or D. Unfortunately, the KO2 is not one of them. You will experience a slightly stiffer ride when using an E load tire.

That said, the amount of sidewall also plays into how much give there is in the tire. So for example a 35" tire on a 20" rim will have 7.5" of sidewall. Similarly a 32" tire on a 17" rim also has 7.5" sidewall. If both tires are the same load range, they should feel the same.

FWIW, I just changed my tires from an E rated KM2 to a C rated Wildpeak and they have a noticeably smoother ride. I never viewed the KM2 as "rough" but the difference is certainly there. A standard load tire instead of heavy duty one definitely makes for a more comfortable ride. If you can find one that's not HD, I'd recommend it, although the KO2 is a great tire (I had them on a Grand Cherokee and loved them).

On a side note, since you mentioned it. If you're buying 35's you're probably going to have to go wider than 285. There are only 2 or 3 tires that I know of that are narrower than 315 in a 35" diameter.
 
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As for other size recommendations, I do have one if you decide to keep your 17's. If you want to keep the width down, do like I did and get a 34" tire. The options aren't quite as plentiful as 35's but there are still some great options. I opted for 285/75/17 which is 33.9" which is only slightly smaller than most 315/70/17 that are considered "35" and actually measure 34.5 ish.
I'm sure if you look, you may be able to find some narrower options in the 20. Search some of the tire manufacturer's pages and view "all available sizes" for the tires you're interested it. They'll typically spec the width and diameter so you can see if there are narrower options in 35's on 20's.
 
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tim5779

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Typically a "heavy duty" tire, will be E load, which is 10 ply sidewall. They're tough, which is nice, but they have less give. Meaning they don't flex as much under load. This is what makes them heavy duty. Most 35's are E load, but you can find a hand full of C or D. Unfortunately, the KO2 is not one of them. You will experience a slightly stiffer ride when using an E load tire.

That said, the amount of sidewall also plays into how much give there is in the tire. So for example a 35" tire on a 20" rim will have 7.5" of sidewall. Similarly a 32" tire on a 17" rim also has 7.5" sidewall. If both tires are the same load range, they should feel the same.

FWIW, I just changed my tires from an E rated KM2 to a D rated Wildpeak and they have a noticeably smoother ride. I never viewed the KM2 as "rough" but the difference is certainly there. A standard load tire instead of heavy duty one definitely makes for a more comfortable ride. If you can find one that's not HD, I'd recommend it, although the KO2 is a great tire (I had them on a Grand Cherokee and loved them).

On a side note, since you mentioned it. If you're buying 35's you're probably going to have to go wider than 285. There are only 2 or 3 tires that I know of that are narrower than 315 in a 35" diameter.
I'm familiar with HD tires as I've had them on most of my trucks. Ride quality really isn't an issue when you're talking about trucks (much heavier, much different suspension). But I'm assuming with the way you can really "feel the road" in a Wrangler, you're definitely going to notice. I love the Wildpeaks. I had them on my last RAM. I'm thinking I'm sticking with 17's. Going up to 20's, keeping the tire inside the fender, not rubbing, and keeping a smooth ride...just doesn't sound possible.
 

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Yeah, I've had multiple Rams (and other trucks) over the years, and never really felt much of a different with tire sizes. I didn't even really notice much of a difference in the Grand Cherokee either, although I went form the stock 20's (Overland) to 18's as well as a slightly bigger tire diameter. Maybe all that extra sidewall offset the firmer wall and negated the difference.
On my Wrangler it was a different story. Don't get me wrong the ride wasn't harsh with my old tires and an E load is fine. Just pointing out that if comfort is the main concern try to find a standard tire instead of HD. Even with the E load though it was still smoother/softer ride than a 2500/F250 so you'll be fine.
 
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tim5779

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Alright boys....a week of research. Where in the hell can I find a 35 x 17 inch tire that isn't E rated...and isn't going to stick out 2" past my fender flares???
 

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Not sure if it matters, but I've got 315-70R17 KO2 on my Rubicon and they are load rated C. I keep them at 32 psi cold and the ride quality is as good as stock. Yes, they aren't a true 35 inch tall tire, but close enough for me.
 

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Not sure if it matters, but I've got 315-70R17 KO2 on my Rubicon and they are load rated C. I keep them at 32 psi cold and the ride quality is as good as stock. Yes, they aren't a true 35 inch tall tire, but close enough for me.
As he said the KO 315/70/17 are 12.5 inches wide and approximately 34 inches tall and they will not stick out past your fenders on stock wheels. They come and C-rated for a smoother ride.
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