Going from 35's to 33's

Wildjeeper

New Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
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22
Location
Reno Nevada
After driving my wrangler around for over 15 years with 35’s, I’ve made the decision to lower the jeep from a 4.5 lift to 3.5 springs and go to 33 inch tires.
Just wanted to share my rationale and then thought I’d duck - as I know I’m definitely not swimming with the current:)
My 17 year old son (newly licensed) will be driving. My wife would kill me if he got hurt.
Never upgraded the brakes (shame on me).
Will keep the 4.5 springs so I can easily go back to 35’s

Just wanted to share and see if the group thinks I’m really nuts.
 
I just went from 31 to 33 and don't think I will go any bigger. If you don't need the clearance I think 33 is the sweet spot in looks and $$ for a DD/weekend play-Jeep.
 
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you'll love it. as we go bigger we pretend to not notice the compromizes, the price of going big. But as you go smaller you will start saying why the heck did I go so big. I'm back to 32s stock suspension and driveline, with a HighLine. My only mod is a body kit. I love it and went from 17mpg to 22mpg. When going bigger I never even saw the negatives. Now I see the benefits of stock components.

ps, my son is the most cautious driver I've ever seen. But yes, give him every advantage.
 
Sounds like a move in the right direction to me, my son has been driving mine on 4.25 lift and 33s and loves it. I know what is not to like for a young guy, try to get him to work on it some to have some sense of ownership and pride. Might make him more likely to treat it right, good luck....your son is a lucky guy.
 
yep, I bought s 1st gen 4Runner 25 years ago. My son got his license so I told him to remove a bunch of bolts. Like any 16 year old there was a bit of a grudge. Soon tho he asked, "does the roof come off". I said "yeah, I thought you and Gerald would enjoy taking it for a cruise". Never seen a bigger smile.
 
If my 16 year old was driving it, I'd put on 31s and stock springs...

..it's your jeep.. dont worry about what other people think!

The OPs profile states 4.88 gears...that sucker will rev high with 31s...better check the charts and see where his rpms will be
 
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Here’s some before and after photos of the lowered Jeep. Went from 4.5 springs to 3.5. Swapped out the 35 Mickey Thompson’s for 33 BFG’s K02’s.
Drives much better!!!!

2221731D-80CC-4E01-9C7D-838CD00F7CEB.jpeg


6E5622CA-728C-4F86-A419-87259639FD5B.jpeg
 
Drives much better!!!!
Agreed !!
Been there, doing that right now.

Building bigger is a blast, no idea why we do it, maybe hype, marketing, advertising, challenge. But eventually it is fun to build for the results and maybe reduced need for the challenges bigger opens up. I enjoyed building forv35s more than driving them, I went back to 33s, and then I realized I should build what works for me. And I'm loving building a retro Wrangler on pizza cutters.

Looks are secondary to function.
 
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After driving my wrangler around for over 15 years with 35’s, I’ve made the decision to lower the jeep from a 4.5 lift to 3.5 springs and go to 33 inch tires.
Just wanted to share my rationale and then thought I’d duck - as I know I’m definitely not swimming with the current:)
My 17 year old son (newly licensed) will be driving. My wife would kill me if he got hurt.
Never upgraded the brakes (shame on me).
Will keep the 4.5 springs so I can easily go back to 35’s

Just wanted to share and see if the group thinks I’m really nuts.
I prefer 33’s over 35’s, as do many here. I may recant if I go to 35’s 🤣
 
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I went from 32s to 33s to 35s all on 5.5" of lift.. Looking back I should have stayed at 33s and just bought shorter springs but I'm to far in to go back now.
 
I just love to turn a wrench. Absolutely love it. And these TJs are so easy to work on. That is probably half the reason most of us bought one. And new seat covers hardly seems the place to stop. If I had bought a Chevy Canyon then anything past seat covers becomes a problem. Probably why I love CJs over YJs. Just so much easier to work on. Nothing else gives you a compliant coil and link suspension, solid axle front and rear, minimal computer intrusions, real hi/lo transfer case, the list goes on and on. It's a Lego made for big boys! The same reason someone buys an AR instead of a Rem 700. By the time we stop and step back to look at the Jeep we somehow have a nitrous burning big block whith 5 or more levers in the cab riding on 60" tractor tires!
 
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