32s vs 33s: Let’s see em!

At this time, for me, I don’t think I want a body lift at all. Which may take that 33” tire option out of the equation. That would levy me with 31” vs 32”.
 
At this time, for me, I don’t think I want a body lift at all. Which may take that 33” tire option out of the equation. That would levy me with 31” vs 32”.
You can get away with 32's on 2.5" of suspension lift. However, if you start adding weight like a winch, aftermarket bumpers, et al, the 2.5" will quickly decrease to 2.0" and 31's would be the go to. Ideally I recommend 2" for 31's, 3" for 32's, 4" for 33's and 5" for 35's
 
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You can get away with 32's on 2.5" of suspension lift. However, if you start adding weight like a winch, aftermarket bumpers, et al, the 2.5" will quickly decrease to 2.0" and 31's would be the go to. Ideally I recommend 2" for 31's, 3" for 32's, 4" for 33's and 5" for 35's


32’s would be the magic number then. I have a winch and bumpers on there. I got the HD springs front and rear. I had to put a .75” spacer up front to get it up a little higher. I also had my rear spring perches cut off and Artec ones welded on so the rear springs are very near vertical. That dropped the rear by almost .25”. I have about a .5” to .25” forward down rake now, which is exactly how I wanted to end up.

The overall net lift height is 3” with all my aftermarket parts. The lift has been on for over a year, so I believe it has settled to what it will be.

I currently have the terrible 3.07 gears. I have 30/35 axles. My plan is to regear to 4.56 and install the super 35 and super 30 with front and rear locker kits. This will be when money permits. I’ll probably hold off on new tires until I do those mods.


So between the 31’s and 32’s, is there any advantage/disadvantage to going with 32’s over 31’s?
 
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32’s would be the magic number then. I have a winch and bumpers on there. I got the HD springs front and rear. I had to put a .75” spacer up front to get it up a little higher. I also had my rear spring perches cut off and Artec ones welded on so the rear springs are very near vertical. That dropped the rear by almost .25”. I have about a .5” to .25” forward down rake now, which is exactly how I wanted to end up.

The overall net lift height is 3” with all my aftermarket parts. The lift has been on for over a year, so I believe it has settled to what it will be.

I currently have the terrible 3.07 gears. I have 30/35 axles. My plan is to regear to 4.56 and install the super 35 and super 30 with front and rear locker kits. This will be when money permits. I’ll probably hold off on new tires until I do those mods.


So between the 31’s and 32’s, is there any advantage/disadvantage to going with 32’s over 31’s?
That's a great explanation. Tells me a lot. Great job thinking through your rig. You're right where you need to be to go to 32's. I'm on a very similar setup at 3" due to the OME HD and Spacer, and about 2.5" in the rear giving a very slight rake. I just have the 1.25" body lift to clear 33's. I swapped a Dana 44 for my Dana 35 which I was fortunate to find and regeared to 4.56 and PowerTrax No Slip locker up front and Eaton in the rear. I love it.

There are advantages to going to 32's over 31's

  1. Looks better
  2. Rolling ability over obstacles. Larger tires roll easier over obstacles due to greater height and less getting stuck under a ledge.
  3. More clearance (0.5") at every point on your rig, including the diffs
  4. 31's will really be ~30.5 and wearing down. 32's will really be ~31.5 and wearing down

Your call man, but great work with your rig. How mine sits now on 33's, just because I love Flame Red X TJ's and I want to share.
83379
 
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Look who's the pic whore now @JMT! Lol!

For 32's and stock fenders you'll need minimum of 1" extended bumps stops to keep them out of the fenders if you disco. That means one inch less of up travel. Ideally, you want to have a 50/50 split on up vs. down for optimum ride characteristics. It's a trade off.
 
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PO added the body lift. What do I gain by replacing a 3" with a 1.25"? Why's 3" bad? New to this so just looking for opinions.

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3” body lift looks poor.
3” body lift could be dangerous. Those are 11 mighty long bolts holding the tub to the frame.
 
Other than the unsightly gap between the frame and the body, I think linkage would be the biggest issue. The TC linkage is attached to the body, so I would imagine there would be some binding there? Also your transmission linkage would be of issue, especially if it is a manual trans. The 1" BL seems to be the happy medium for a Wrangler Just enough, but not too much to cause other problems. With that much body lift, you are asking a lot of those 3" pucks to keep your body attached to its frame. Just my 2 cents.
 
3” body lift looks poor.
3” body lift could be dangerous. Those are 11 mighty long bolts holding the tub to the frame.
Interesting that your 33x12.5 stuff nicely (profile pic) with 3" spring + 1.25" body, but my 33x12.5 don't (previous post) with 2.5" spring and 3" body. Maybe I measured the body pucks wrong and I have less than I think? Or maybe I don't understand something about TJ geometry? Is a 3" body puck = 3" lift, or is it 3"- (factory puck)" = BL?
 
Maybe I measured the body pucks wrong and I have less than I think? Or maybe I don't understand something about TJ geometry? Is a 3" body puck = 3" lift, or is it 3"- (factory puck)" = BL?

I actually wondered whether you really had 3" body lift. You definitely have some amount of body lift because I can see in the rear wheel well, space between the tub and frame. There are three types of lift.

  1. Body lift, the pucks added to the 11 body mounts. The easiest ones to measure are on the back corners above your bumper. They are like black spacers or pucks. Maybe you know that. If so, sorry!
  2. Suspension Lift. Coil springs and any added spacer above the coil springs. It lifts the frame too, which is better overall.
  3. Total lift. The Suspension Lift + Body Lift = Total Lift.

Most people add a small body lift to a suspension lift in order to make room for one tire size larger.

Total Lift Basic Combinations

2" 31's, 3" 32's, 4" 33's, 5" 35's
 
My jeep came with 33 x12.50x15. It was tad sluggish on the highway over 60 mph with auto trans and 4.10 gears. I put new wheels and tires, KM3's that are 32x11.50x15. It's perfect and I can cruise at 75 all day long. The 33 looked better but I'll take the performance over looks.

20190129_163619_HDR.jpg
 
That's a great explanation. Tells me a lot. Great job thinking through your rig. You're right where you need to be to go to 32's. I'm on a very similar setup at 3" due to the OME HD and Spacer, and about 2.5" in the rear giving a very slight rake. I just have the 1.25" body lift to clear 33's. I swapped a Dana 44 for my Dana 35 which I was fortunate to find and regeared to 4.56 and PowerTrax No Slip locker up front and Eaton in the rear. I love it.

There are advantages to going to 32's over 31's

  1. Looks better
  2. Rolling ability over obstacles. Larger tires roll easier over obstacles due to greater height and less getting stuck under a ledge.
  3. More clearance (0.5") at every point on your rig, including the diffs
  4. 31's will really be ~30.5 and wearing down. 32's will really be ~31.5 and wearing down

Your call man, but great work with your rig. How mine sits now on 33's, just because I love Flame Red X TJ's and I want to share.
View attachment 83379


Thank you! I read through posts from lots of helpful people, including you, to figure out exactly what I wanted and needed to do to make that happen. I’m happy with the way it has turned out so far.

I’ve never cared for red until I got mine, now I wouldn’t want any other color! Your Jeep looks awesome! So much so, it has me pondering the 33’s now.

IF I decided to go with a 1” body lift, is that sufficient for 33’s, or would more than the net 4” of lift be better for them?

And are there any negatives to a 1” body lift?
 
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Thank you! I read through posts from lots of helpful people, including you, to figure out exactly what I wanted and needed to do to make that happen. I’m happy with the way it has turned out so far.

I’ve never cared for red until I got mine, now I wouldn’t want any other color! Your Jeep looks awesome! So much so, it has me pondering the 33’s now.

IF I decided to go with a 1” body lift, is that sufficient for 33’s, or would more than the net 4” of lift be better for them?

And are there any negatives to a 1” body lift?

Appreciate that.

A 1” body lift would be perfect for 33’s. My understanding from mrblaine about the reason a 1.25” body lift was developed was to provide slightly more clearance for the transfer case when doing a TT.

Currie makes the 1” aluminum equivalent.

There are no drawbacks to a small body lift. It makes room for larger tires, gives the opportunity to raise the gas tank skid 1”, gives room above the rear bumper for a larger spare, etc...

Mrblaine said once there was no better bang for your buck.
 
I actually wondered whether you really had 3" body lift. You definitely have some amount of body lift because I can see in the rear wheel well, space between the tub and frame. There are three types of lift.

OK so maybe my body lift is 2.5"?
da17436155a86f36b5d490b934fc513e.jpg


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OK so maybe my body lift is 2.5"?View attachment 83513

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Ok, yes, 2.5”

Going back to your original post, did you net 2” or 2.5” out of your rock crawler springs? If you measure the spring in the Jeep without the coil spring isolator at the top, anything over 12” in the front is your front lift and anything over 8” in the rear is your rear lift.
 
I have two pictures for this thread...Same Jeep, same lift. 2" OME springs with a 1.25" body lift from JKS.

Here she is on 32's (factory JK Rubicon Wheels/Tires)

83519


Then I decided I needed a bigger tire...Almost went 35's but decided I wasn't ready to regear yet. These are Metric equivalent 33's (285/70R17).

83520