Are 37s the new 35s?

balfred said:
Please tell me this is not a real thing? Damn it! This is why I stay off of FB because I can't handle the situations that arise on it! 3.73s!!!??? Like seriously WTF are they even thinking! Argh, some people are so stupid! I wouldn't be able to resist trolling a group of people being that stupid.

My answer: yeah for sure you could run 37s on stock axles. I run 40s on a 6 inch lift with 3.73s and it's mostly ok but on the freeway I wish I had better gearing. My recommendation would be a 4 inch teraflex lift, 37 inch tires, 4.10 gears, and don't waste money on stronger axles. These axles are fine for up to 40s. Oh and while you are at it, don't forget the angry birds grill, they are sick and increase airflow which usually nets a 5 percent increase in hp

Then virtually slap them upside the head and tell them they are out of their mind and funnel the truth into that tiny brain holder of theirs or let Darwin run his course on them and see what they get themselves into. Me personally, I don't have the heart to keep the troll going, I would go down telling the truth route

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I had to leave a couple of groups that I was asked to help out due to a shop in TN getting on there and telling folks that 3.73's were perfect for 35's and the only reason to ever go to 4.56 was if you had the 42RLE. Of course there is another 'tard on there telling folks that row and core are interchangeable when it comes to automotive radiators.
 
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I was running 33s for a year with 4.10s and recently went to 35s and love it, we primarily do trails, light wheelin, no crazy slamming rock climbing and handles well. Still running Dana 30/Dana 35, with new ball joints on the D30s and new brakes all around. BUT, have a Dana 44 in shop that putting together, hopefully to get in this summer!
 
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I've got 31's on my wifes and I think mine are 30's or maybe even 29's. There are no real wheeling spots here except in the winter a small group does some snow wheeling. Since my jeep was purchased as a project I'm wondering about tire sizes. This thread caught my eye because I've got a Dana 44/9" for it that are geared at 4.88. The highest posted speed is only 50 mph which helps since I don't have to drive crazy speeds to get anywhere like people do in the lower 48.

From a looks perspective, I think that the amount of clearance and overall stance make more difference than tire diameter. I've seen some flat fenders on 31's that looked perfect. But my wife's stocker with 31's looks a bit odd.
 
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DrDuktayp said:
I've got 31's on my wifes and I think mine are 30's or maybe even 29's. There are no real wheeling spots here except in the winter a small group does some snow wheeling. Since my jeep was purchased as a project I'm wondering about tire sizes. This thread caught my eye because I've got a Dana 44/9" for it that are geared at 4.88. The highest posted speed is only 50 mph which helps since I don't have to drive crazy speeds to get anywhere like people do in the lower 48.

From a looks perspective, I think that the amount of clearance and overall stance make more difference than tire diameter. I've seen some flat fenders on 31's that looked perfect. But my wife's stocker with 31's looks a bit odd.
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Welcome! I’ll be in Ketchikan in a few months. :)
 
I think 37s are more the norm for the JK world but still doesn't mean many of them wheel with them. For TJs they still require quite a bit of upgrades and a soft foot when wheeling. I ran 37s for 10 years and have friends on them too. But mostly 33-35s on a TJ are perfectly fine.

I bought my 2000 TJ back in 2007 and it came lifted (too much) with 37s and 4.56s. It had the 8" Skyjacker long arm lift and a body lift. Worst thing was It had the Dana 35 rear end. The previous owner lifted it but just drove it around on the streets with their dogs. I didn't know any better at the time but every one of my Jeep friends told me to expect to replace the rear axle and beef up the front if I wanted to wheel it. It was a good deal so I picked it up.

Sure enough, first Jamboree in Llano, TX on the granite I popped the Dana 35 on a climb where it got a little too bouncy. I didn't know how to drive well then which didn't help but it was a matter of time regardless. Found a Currie 9" a couple weeks later and that axle was plenty strong for 37s and the way I wheeled.

To make the front axles survive I swapped in alloys and upgraded to 4.88s when I did the 9". Brought the lift down a few inches to get rid of the bobble head effect and made it so much more stable. The Skyjacker lift came with a bolt on truss for the front axle. Not sure how much that helped it live with the 37's but never gave me any trouble.

Added ARBs and ran that for about 10 years and never had an issue. Wheeled it around Texas, Moab, and Hot Springs. Sold it only to get an LJ which will get tons and 38s and eventually 40s.
 
Because of the ease of putting up to a 37" tire on a jk this has become the case. Also people don't seem to get that the 3.6jk auto needs less gearing than any previous jeep. They seem to think that it's should be fine for any jeep. Also the TV shows making it look easy to install 40s on everything doest help. Now on TV they do axle swaps all the time for it but people want the results without spending the money. Now I do know a guy here who wheels a YJ with stock axles and 38s... He finally regeared this year, and broke a ring gear ;)

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
My latest pastime is checking Jeep diffs at the park and at the grocery store. I’m shocked how often I see a Jeep on 35s or 37s rolling on 30/35 axles.

I also watched one of the velocity TV builder shows recently where they put 37s on a non Rubicon Jeep without upgrading axles. They did winch, sliders, full underbody skids on this JK because they were building a “rock crawler” but did nothing to the axles. That was the last time I watched that show. But the point is people are building very fragile poorly performing rigs very often because shops are happy to build these mall crawlers.

I already broke a tooth off my Dana 44 ring gear running 35s behind my 6 speed & 4:1. Next year I’ll possibly swap in a Dana 60 and step up to 37s before Easter Jeep Safari. I’ve ran the Rubicon and Fordyce a couple times on 35s, enough to see how the taller tires get over the holes between rocks more easily. I make it fine but I’m working harder driving 35s than the guys driving rigs on 37s.
 
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Mike Jolley said:
My latest pastime is checking Jeep diffs at the park and at the grocery store. I’m shocked how often I see a Jeep on 35s or 37s rolling on 30/35 axles.
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That’s funny! My latest pastime is looking at bump stops, or the lack of them. A local guy put 37s on his TJ with a 4” lift and was very proud of them. After looking at the rear end, I saw that he had 2.5” of uptravel until the shock bottomed out, and no bumpstops whatsoever.
 
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Serbonze said:
That’s funny! My latest pastime is looking at bump stops, or the lack of them. A local guy put 37s on his TJ with a 4” lift and was very proud of them. After looking at the rear end, I saw that he had 2.5” of uptravel until the shock bottomed out, and no bumpstops whatsoever.
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That's funny...I've been checking out bump stops and shocks lately as well. Make sure to look at the Toyotas. It's like they have never heard of uptravel and bumpstops before in their life.
 
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This thread hits home a little. My younger brother drives a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 with the Cummins. He’s been running 35’s with a 3 inch leveling kit.

He told me last night that he’s thinking of moving up to 37’s. Sad thing is, he either had to do a lot of trimming to fit them, or spend another $1k for the extended control arms.


Me, I still want to go 35’s. :)
 
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StG58 said:
That's funny...I've been checking out bump stops and shocks lately as well. Make sure to look at the Toyotas. It's like they have never heard of uptravel and bumpstops before in their life.
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And how many times do you see a JK with 37 or 40s with stock control arms. They probably don't even know what control arms are.
 
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Related, but not really...it's not just JK owners who are sometimes blissfully ignorant. A fellow employee where I work and her husband were raving to me last week about the new BFG 33x12.50-15 KO2s she just got put on her Jeep. Her TJ sits on the stock suspension, no lift of any kind. She does have aftermarket wheels with less backspacing, but that's it. They told me 'they fit fine!'

I didn't have the heart to tell them they more than likely will take out a fender/flare if they hit a substantial bump...
 
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glwood said:
Related, but not really...it's not just JK owners who are sometimes blissfully ignorant. A fellow employee where I work and her husband were raving to me last week about the new BFG 33x12.50-15 KO2s she just got put on her Jeep. Her TJ sits on the stock suspension, no lift of any kind. She does have aftermarket wheels with less backspacing, but that's it. They told me 'they fit fine!'

I didn't have the heart to tell them they more than likely will take out a fender/flare if they hit a substantial bump...
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Wow. Some tire guy made a sale and didn't care about the ramifications. My stock LJ on 31s had them rubbing away the front fenders before I put in a 1-1/4" body lift.
 
DougB said:
Wow. Some tire guy made a sale and didn't care about the ramifications. My stock LJ on 31s had them rubbing away the front fenders before I put in a 1-1/4" body lift.
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I took a couple of pics out in the parking lot of the end result after the 33's were installed, you'll see what I meant:
IMG_0413.JPG
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The tires have nowhere to go...
 
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glwood said:
I took a couple of pics out in the parking lot of the end result after the 33's were installed, you'll see what I meant:
View attachment 44982 View attachment 44983

The tires have nowhere to go...
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Yeah, tell them I'll make a good deal for them on the 2" BB in the Parts for Sale. I need more TJ funds for my next mod and they need at least 2". And you can install it for them and save yourself from the embarrassment you'll cause them. How is this a bad idea?! :risas3:
 
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