What lift size for 33" or 34" tire?

MCSO111

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Trying to figure out a few things on the lift size vs tire size. Wanting to run a 33/34" tire and trying to figure out which size lift I will need? Don't want the tires to look like roller skate wheels if you know what I mean. Looking for some advice and if you have a picture that would be great too.
 
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33's with a 4" lift. Your fender flares add or detract from the look also.
 
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To be able to run 33" tires (or 34") comfortably you'll need 3.5" to 4" of lift.
When you say comfortably what exactly do you mean by that? Been to several place that install lifts to get this priced out and one was a 2 1/2" and the other quote a 3 1/4" for room to go to bigger size tire if I chose too.
 
When you say comfortably what exactly do you mean by that? Been to several place that install lifts to get this priced out and one was a 2 1/2" and the other quote a 3 1/4" for room to go to bigger size tire if I chose too.

What I mean by 'comfortably' is that for instance, you can fit 33" tires on 2.5" of lift. Here is my TJ with a 2.5" OME lift on 33" tires (this is before I went to the 4" lift):

IMG_4631.JPG
IMG_4632.JPG


Notice how much less fender clearance / gap I have in these photos versus the ones I posted before with the 4" lift?

Well, that extra 1.5" from the 4" lift made a huge difference.

So, you can put 33" tires on 2.5", but the problem you'll have is that if you like to do a lot of serious off-roading you're going to reduce the amount of flex and wheel travel you have due to the lower lift height.

You'll most likely have to increase the amount of bump stop with 2.5" of lift to keep the tires from hitting the fender, since they're a lot closer.

So yeah, 2.5" of lift and 33" tires will work just fine. However, if you want to take it off-road and get a decent amount of flex out of it, I'd stick to 3.5" to 4" of lift personally.

I'm speaking from experience as well, since I've had both 2.5" on 33" tires and then moved up to 4" on 33" tires.
 
What I mean by 'comfortably' is that for instance, you can fit 33" tires on 2.5" of lift. Here is my TJ with a 2.5" OME lift on 33" tires (this is before I went to the 4" lift):

View attachment 3580 View attachment 3581

Notice how much less fender clearance / gap I have in these photos versus the ones I posted before with the 4" lift?

Well, that extra 1.5" from the 4" lift made a huge difference.

So, you can put 33" tires on 2.5", but the problem you'll have is that if you like to do a lot of serious off-roading you're going to reduce the amount of flex and wheel travel you have due to the lower lift height.

You'll most likely have to increase the amount of bump stop with 2.5" of lift to keep the tires from hitting the fender, since they're a lot closer.

So yeah, 2.5" of lift and 33" tires will work just fine. However, if you want to take it off-road and get a decent amount of flex out of it, I'd stick to 3.5" to 4" of lift personally.

I'm speaking from experience as well, since I've had both 2.5" on 33" tires and then moved up to 4" on 33" tires.


Chris,

Thank you for the explaining as I am not educated on this. I do not plan on doing a lot of heavy trail riding. The only thing I"ll be doing off road is going hunting, which is not that bad all roads are pretty well maintained. I am only trying to beef up the look and appearance of the Jeep. Thank you again for explaining and the advice and the pictures really helped out a lot.
 
Chris,

Thank you for the explaining as I am not educated on this. I do not plan on doing a lot of heavy trail riding. The only thing I"ll be doing off road is going hunting, which is not that bad all roads are pretty well maintained. I am only trying to beef up the look and appearance of the Jeep. Thank you again for explaining and the advice and the pictures really helped out a lot.

No problem at all!

If you're not using it for hardcore trails and flexing, you'll be fine with a 2.5" lift I think. However, the 4" lift definitely does look a little better in my opinion.
 
33x12.50's and about 3 1/2 - 4" of lift are perfect for most of the wheeling available here in the Pacific Northwest. Your results, of course are going to vary depending on what you are doing and where you are. If a lift and all of the complications and expense are putting you off a bit, there are other ways to clear larger tires off road. It's pretty much about tire clearance in most cases, and a high line will give you that. Think about the trails that you intend to run, how much tire you actually need to run them, how much usable articulation you actually need and what the bank account looks like. If you're going for "looks", can't help much there.

Oh, and check articulation and clearance with the Jeep loaded to it's normal trail weight. Surprising what a difference there is between curb weight and loaded articulation sometimes in the stuff direction. Tire rub is checked with the suspension on the bump stops anyway, so that's usually not an issue once that's looked at.
 
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4.5 RE lift on 33s
I'm going to be swapping to 3.5 metalcloak springs and adding a body lift with a tummy tuck in a couple weeks.


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