35s - Would I be missing out?

JAGS

JAGS

Hooked
So, I'm on the slow build timeline and still trying to figure this whole Jeep thing out. (got my first jeep... 4x4 of any kind for that matter in June 2012) I realize the mods are never ending, but I also don't have bottomless pockets. Thought I was going to plan for 37's, but there just seems to be sooooo much more required/suggested/recommended to run them properly.

So, with 35s, what would I be missing out on from the standpoint of crawling. I realize my clearance would be a little lower, but could I protect with skids and armor to overcome this some? Or does the extra couple inches mean a lot for crawling and I wont be able to hang with those on 37s and 40s.

Don't get me wrong I love 37s and that would be my ultimate goal, just seems like an extra 7K+ to do it right. :crazyeyes:

Opinions appreciated for running, or have run, or know others who run 35s vs 37s.
 
MTG

MTG

Caught the Bug
I don't think you'll be missing out...on too much.

I've ran both...actually worse than 35s vs. 37s...I ran both 315s and 37s. Honestly, there have been only a few times where I felt limited with the smaller tires. The most notably, was on the rocks on a run in Vegas. It was a fairly steep waterfall and I simply did not have the clearance to make it over, while the guys with 37s were able to make it over. Now, does that mean you are going to be able to go where those with 40s go? No. But you probably wouldn't with 37s either. And most the time you aren't going to going with the guys with 40s. ;)

Personally, I like the look of 37s and was hesitant to go with 35s to begin with. I went with 35s first because of the cost associated with 37s. But I knew I would eventually go 37s and possible bigger and only lasted a few months with the smaller tire. Frankly, the main driver for me switching to 37s so quickly was because I was selected for JKX. Otherwise, I'd still be running the 315 duractracs with my same lift. :thumb:

I'm not sure your budget but unless you are dead set on 37s, I'd probably focus on getting a good lift which will allow you to run 35s, 37s and possibly bigger and run the 35s for a while. The Enforcer works that way and so will the bolt-on coilovers. From what I've seen you seem to enjoy just going out and exploring more than hardcore rock crawling. I'd save some cash and use it for other things for the jeep or the family.


But that's just my :twocents:
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
There's nothing wrong with 35's. I've run them both on Moby and Nemo and found with them and a 3" lift, you can run most any trail including the Rubicon back when it was still tougher than it is now and without lockers. Getting up on 35's is way cheaper to and do right and if that's all you can budget for, that's what I would do and not look back.
 
RockyJk

RockyJk

Active Member
wayoflife said:
There's nothing wrong with 35's. I've run them both on Moby and Nemo and found with them and a 3" lift, you can run most any trail including the Rubicon back when it was still tougher than it is now and without lockers. Getting up on 35's is way cheaper to and do right and if that's all you can budget for, that's what I would do and not look back.
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The rubicon can be done without lockers!?!?!
 
RockyJk

RockyJk

Active Member
Well i know where ima go for my 2 weeks vacation now haha just gotta do a few more things to the jeep :D
 
JAGS

JAGS

Hooked
MTG said:
I don't think you'll be missing out...on too much.

Personally, I like the look of 37s and was hesitant to go with 35s to begin with. I went with 35s first because of the cost associated with 37s. But I knew I would eventually go 37s and possible bigger and only lasted a few months with the smaller tire. Frankly, the main driver for me switching to 37s so quickly was because I was selected for JKX. Otherwise, I'd still be running the 315 duractracs with my same lift. :thumb:
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I've got my own biz/businesses going, so cost is an issue more because of stability and fear of the unknown than anything else. I can drop the coin right now, but then if biz takes a crapper for a few months, I can live in my nicely built jeep i guess. :cheesy:

MTG said:
I'd probably focus on getting a good lift which will allow you to run 35s, 37s and possibly bigger and run the 35s for a while. The Enforcer works that way and so will the bolt-on coilovers. From what I've seen you seem to enjoy just going out and exploring more than hardcore rock crawling. I'd save some cash and use it for other things for the jeep or the family.
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I don't do much crawling, because I can't really get too into it yet. I'm about to do EVO skins/sliders and then skids so that will help a little. 35s and coils, that can work? I kind of had that idea in my head, but didn't think it was practical. So maybe it's doable but is it a lame set-up?

From the bit of "crawling" I've done in Sedona and few moderate local places I'm loving it and my kids actually like that just as much if not more than scenic desert runs (though those are great too). They ask when we can go on rocks "like sedona" all the time.

wayoflife said:
There's nothing wrong with 35's. Getting up on 35's is way cheaper to and do right and if that's all you can budget for, that's what I would do and not look back.
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Well, I have a rubi so I have lockers (just not in snow :crazyeyes:) and e-discos. So maybe there is a economical way to stage this build with the expectations of being on 37s with coil-overs and go big/bigger in stages??

Eddie, what would you make of the 35s and coilovers idea? Cheesy? Any issues if I then want to bump up to 37s using same coils?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
JAGS said:
Eddie, what would you make of the 35s and coilovers idea? Cheesy? Any issues if I then want to bump up to 37s using same coils?
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If that's what I could afford, I would do it. Being that they're adjustable, there would be no problem to bump up to 37's in the future.
 
JAGS

JAGS

Hooked
wayoflife said:
If that's what I could afford, I would do it. Being that they're adjustable, there would be no problem to bump up to 37's in the future.
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Well that would still be quite a bit less expensive than the 37s with all the fixings.... and yet still upgradeable. I can also go super cheap and do a BB or basic spring lift with shock/brakeline extensions. With the 35s (trail grapplers), what might you suggest I do other than lift (enforcer or coils or other), wheels and tires?

Would I still need Drag link flip kit and drive shaft(s)? Anything else?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
JAGS said:
Well that would still be quite a bit less expensive than the 37s with all the fixings.... and yet still upgradeable. I can also go super cheap and do a BB or basic spring lift with shock/brakeline extensions. With the 35s (trail grapplers), what might you suggest I do other than lift (enforcer or coils or other), wheels and tires?

Would I still need Drag link flip kit and drive shaft(s)? Anything else?
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If you're on a tight budget, I would just run a 2.5" BB with trimmed fenders and call it a day. You won't need to address your steering geometry and you probably won't even need to address your caster. If you run shocks that are longer than stock, you'll want to get a new front driveshaft but really, that's about all you'll need. An adjustable front track bar will allow you to recenter your axle but, it's not required and you won't feel any ill effects from it.
 
JAGS

JAGS

Hooked
wayoflife said:
If you're on a tight budget, I would just run a 2.5" BB with trimmed fenders and call it a day. You won't need to address your steering geometry and you probably won't even need to address your caster. If you run shocks that are longer than stock, you'll want to get a new front driveshaft but really, that's about all you'll need. An adjustable front track bar will allow you to recenter your axle but, it's not required and you won't feel any ill effects from it.
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Funny thing is that was my original plan before I found Wayalife, JK Forum and saw the insanity that is JEEP. I don't think I'll ultimately be happy with a BB and 35s seeing what it could be. At this point, everything is on the table. Choices to be made :crazyeyes:

Thanks for the words of wisdom.
 
Donny

Donny

New member
I find myself having the same struggles...Living here in AZ it is mostly a rock world. I could only afford a Sport so I don't even have the D44 in the front like you. I have a 10K budget to work within and I know I won't be able to run 37's so I am reading and asking a lot of questions to make sure I get the best configuration within in my budget.
As a non experienced offroader I don't know if a RK 2.5 Max travel kit would be enough for me or if I should get a Enforcer 3" or 4" kit and hope to never look back. I know I'd like to do some cool trails but the bigger issue for me is not knowing what are exceptable minimums and comfortable minimums for any given task. I have a friend who will sell me his AEV 3.5 kit but I have read soooooo many NoN AEV'er Dog those kits, that I just kinda change the subject when he starts talking about it. ( he sold his jeep, it's not that he wants to buy a diff kit).

Donny
 
TacPen

TacPen

Banned
Donny said:
I have read soooooo many NoN AEV'er Dog those kits
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I'm also in AZ and while still a relative newb and on my first Jeep, I've been running the AEV 2.5 lift on my 2Door JK X with 35's and open diffs and I can't complain one bit. My Jeep has so far gone everywhere that my buddy's built Taco and built G Wagon will go and even some places theirs won't.

Don't get me wrong, if you have the pockets for it definitely go bigger but you'll be able to do plenty o' wheeling with an AEV lift, especially if you're catching a deal on it. It's like back when I was racing motorcycles, the limiting factor was rarely the motorcycle. Usually it was the loose nut behind the triple clamp (rider).

Note: If I had the moolah for it, I'd seriously love to try the MetalCloak Game Changer though. Love the way it's engineered.
 
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JKBANDIT55

JKBANDIT55

New member
I'm actually running a 2.5" lift now with 35" nitto trail grapplers. My buddy let me mount these on for a few days so I can decide if ill be happy with 35s without re gearing on my 2012 jku.

Honestly I really don't notice much of a difference in power loss. Gas mileage went down about 2. I went to a trail and tested flex and rubbing issues and I do have slight rubbing on the rear fenders. So I decided 1" spacers will fix that.

Also, with 35s you really won't be limited on a lot of trails. It will take more skill on difficult ones. Unless you plan on doing hard core rock crawling like you see in the JKX videos you will be fine. Plus you save money not having to go bigger tires and properly prepping for them.

I had 35s on my old JK with a 3.5" lift. I can honestly say it got me through a lot of trails here in CO and surprised me on how much more capable they made my jeep over the 33sthe jeep came with. It was used when I got it.
 
JKBANDIT55

JKBANDIT55

New member
I remember back when 35s were considered a really big tire for off roading. Now 40s are the new really big tire lol
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
JAGS said:
I don't think I'll ultimately be happy with a BB and 35s seeing what it could be.
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Well, the beauty of going that route is that it's cheap and if you decide that you really aren't happy with it, you can upgrade it without too much loss. I've run that setup in the past and can tell you that it works well and will give you more than what you have now. I personally think it can be a great way to get started. :yup:

Donny said:
As a non experienced offroader I don't know if a RK 2.5 Max travel kit would be enough for me or if I should get a Enforcer 3" or 4" kit and hope to never look back.
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What I think you need to understand is all of them will get you more than what you've got now (nothing) and that'll help out on the trail. Where you will see the difference is in quality of construction, how comfortable the ride is and even performance. There's no foul in starting smaller and working your way up. In fact, I might even recommend it as you'll learn a lot for yourself along the way.

I have a friend who will sell me his AEV 3.5 kit but I have read soooooo many NoN AEV'er Dog those kits, that I just kinda change the subject when he starts talking about it. ( he sold his jeep, it's not that he wants to buy a diff kit).
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LOL!! The reason why guys like me will dog on an AEV 3.5" kit specifically is because new, they are really pricey especially being that all you're getting are coils and a bunch of relocation brackets that aren't even made as well as what you can get in a much more affordable Rancho Sport kit. What kind of price is he looking for? Depending on that, you might want to take him up on the offer.

TacPen said:
If I had the moolah for it, I'd seriously love to try the MetalCloak Game Changer though. Love the way it's engineered.
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A lot of the most cutting edge designs, engineering and technology all come from high performance racing vehicles such as F1, NASCAR or for our purposes, trophy trucks that run the Baja 1000 or buggies that run KoH. These guys spend serious coin to develop suspension systems that work and in the most demading enviroments and fortunately for us, a lot of that is available to us. For the money, I think I'd prefer to run what they run. But, that's just me. :yup:
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
JKBANDIT55 said:
I remember back when 35s were considered a really big tire for off roading. Now 40s are the new really big tire lol
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On a TJ, they were. Hell, most guys were considered big sitting on 33's. Of course, the TJ was a lot smaller and lighter too. :)
 
TacPen

TacPen

Banned
wayoflife said:
These guys spend serious coin to develop suspension systems that work and in the most demading enviroments and fortunately for us, a lot of that is available to us. For the money, I think I'd prefer to run what they run. But, that's just me. :yup:
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While your point is valid, the only way new and innovative development can functionally occur is if it's attempted and then tested in the marketplace. If no one tried their flavor and no one buys it, we'll continue on with what we've always had (which may or may not be fine). These guys make a persuasive argument for their kit and the concept of their 6Pak shock is an interesting engineering solution.

Sure, it might go the way of the Wankel motor and never develop past a technological curiosity but that said, having owned a rotary (and really enjoyed it)... sometimes it's fun to try something different and watch it work.

Besides... their stuff looks pretty and we all know that's what truly matters on the trails.
:bleh:

JKBANDIT55 said:
33s and a 6" lift back in the early 90s haha. Crazy how off roading evolves.
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Kind of my point.
 
FallonJeeper

FallonJeeper

New member
wayoflife said:
On a TJ, they were. Hell, most guys were considered big sitting on 33's. Of course, the TJ was a lot smaller and lighter too. :)
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My TJ had a 2" BB and I ran 32.5's It went everyplace I pointed it, but I always wanted more.




Jeep011.JPG

Now my JK Rubicon has 4" Rough Country lift on 35" KM2s. Unstoppable so far. It's our prerun buggy for KOH.

Softtop.jpg
 
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