Cost benefit analysis on going to 33s?

All the more reason to use the Jeep and find out what works and doesn't work. On mine, 33s were great for many years. Still are for the most part. But I'm doing stuff now where a 35" tire will take away some frustration and add to the fun.
 
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The lift would be step one and 456's would be step two. Figure I can get by on the 373's for a little while.
You can make it to the gear shop with 3:73's and 33's, beyond that , you wont want to drive it much.

Cost /Benefit ? We don't use such terms here together ....except like "It will benefit you to hide the cost from your wife."
 
Here's my opinion:

Go to the final tire size you think you will end up with. I saw this on the forum a long time ago (might have been blaine or someone else who said it), and it has stuck with me.

It makes a lot of sense. For me, 35s seemed like the gold standard for a TJ without really going into significant body and axle modifications. So I went straight there. Went from stock tires to 35s, stock suspension to 4" SL and 1.25" BL.

The advantage is it's buy one cry once for just about everything. Want to airbag the suspension with 31s? Okay, buy the kit. Go to 33s? Looks like you need taller airbags. 35s? Buy a 3rd set of airbags. Shocks? Same thing. Along with myriad other components.

And you spend less time trying to tune everything to the new tire size. Less messing with control arm lengths, less aligning the front end.

Think you'll eventually end up with 33s? Once you start making modifications, go straight there. If you think you might even want 35s, go straight there. Don't build iteratively. Build once. But don't start anything until you have set your final tire size in stone.
 
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Dude, you live in Florida. So, it all depends on where you live. When I got on this forum 3 years ago, 99/100 people told me to get 2.5” OME and 31’s and I could go anywhere. I did that and it didn’t work, unless I wanted to continue to beat the s**t out of my control arms, diffs, TCase skid, gas tank, and destroy the edge of my tub. As great as it looked, it was not sufficient to take me anywhere I wanted. My oil pan got a serious hit. It survived, but needed more lift. At 3” you can avoid aftermarket CA’s and add a 1.25” BL and rum 33’s, with proper gearing, of course, as you mentioned. Just sayin.

In the end, the Zone 4.25” combo is a good entry level lift for 33’s.

Dude, have you offroaded in FL? I am curious at what is it your perception of it.

OP is already on 31's and have not answered whether he needs 33's or wants 33's.
OP stated that he needs better understanding.
OP stated that his Jeep is stock.
So with that in mind, how is my response is so out of line, that it triggered your response ... which tells that you not a fan of 31's, but not much else.

Want to give it another try?
 
Dude, have you offroaded in FL? I am curious at what is it your perception of it.

OP is already on 31's and have not answered whether he needs 33's or wants 33's.
OP stated that he needs better understanding.
OP stated that his Jeep is stock.
So with that in mind, how is my response is so out of line, that it triggered your response ... which tells that you not a fan of 31's, but not much else.

Want to give it another try?
Sorry I got under your skin bro! Just my way of saying, get out and try your Jeep on the terrain where you live, then you'll have an idea what tire size to build for. Appreciate you.
 
Sorry I got under your skin bro! Just my way of saying, get out and try your Jeep on the terrain where you live, then you'll have an idea what tire size to build for. Appreciate you.
Let me put this a little more in prospective. My jeep is not a DD, but is a backup ride to work. About a mile from my house I've got 24/7 access to 90 acres that used to be an off road park. Green, blue, red, and black trails. Hills, creeks, rocks, a sampler platter. Green nothing to it, blue a bit more fun, some are red because of the steep hills, some are rockier/rutted. Those are extremely challenging and the blacks are off the menu for now. Yes I could go right to 35's but don't want to spend to the money on sye, aftermarket drive shaft, axles, and all the rest of it. 33's aren't my goal, more ground clearance is.
I appreciate every body's comments. I think in the near future I'll do 2" SL and 1.5" BL and stick with the 31's until their shot. And the best part is I don't have to worry about hiding anything from the wife. Got rid off that problem a couple of years ago and have more money now than ever before. And no I didn't collect on her life insurance lol.
 
Let me put this a little more in prospective. My jeep is not a DD, but is a backup ride to work. About a mile from my house I've got 24/7 access to 90 acres that used to be an off road park. Green, blue, red, and black trails. Hills, creeks, rocks, a sampler platter. Green nothing to it, blue a bit more fun, some are red because of the steep hills, some are rockier/rutted. Those are extremely challenging and the blacks are off the menu for now. Yes I could go right to 35's but don't want to spend to the money on sye, aftermarket drive shaft, axles, and all the rest of it. 33's aren't my goal, more ground clearance is.
I appreciate every body's comments. I think in the near future I'll do 2" SL and 1.5" BL and stick with the 31's until their shot. And the best part is I don't have to worry about hiding anything from the wife. Got rid off that problem a couple of years ago and have more money now than ever before. And no I didn't collect on her life insurance lol.
You are trying to avoid getting a SYE but it is almost necessary if you want more ground clearance and no vibrations. If you do SL you will have to drop the transfer case to get rid of vibrations which defeats the whole purpose of the lift. IMO don’t try to tip toe around a lift and 33s. Either go all in or not at all. If you have that access and proximity to that park I’d go all in and have fun!
 
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I’m not sure how many times I tinker when there’s nothing to tinker. Just for the sake of tinkering. I’m a mod lull these days so there’s a lot of tinkering going on.

I kept track of costs for the first year. Then I lost track. Now I just have a running estimate which I tell myself is lower than it probably is.

I look at it this way. Tinkering with my Jeep is less costly than seeing a therapist and keeps me away from strong drink and women of ill repute.👌
 
Sorry I got under your skin bro! Just my way of saying, get out and try your Jeep on the terrain where you live, then you'll have an idea what tire size to build for. Appreciate you.

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Man, this is a loaded question and as you can see you will get different options...so I’ll offer a few of mine.

1. I’m not a fan of a body lift on anything but that’s just a personal thing.
2. You can easily fit 33” tires on any 3.5” (some manufactures call it 4”) lift so shop around.
3. You can probably install the lift yourself and learn more about your Jeep and be very happy with the results. AND you can probably find someone near you that would come help you throw a few wrenches around if you have a warm garage and some snacks for a Saturday build.
4. Keep reading build threads and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

again, just my opinion and you can spend your money on whatever makes you happy.
oh yeah, your gears will be fine until you decide they aren’t.
 
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