Going smaller

[nctj]

I have 35" KO's that the PO installed. They are nearing the end of their life and I'm starting to look for replacements. Because this Jeep is mostly used as a road vehicle and some minor trails, I'm considering dropping down to 33's. (I'm hoping this will also help a bit with some occasional DW issues I've been experiencing)

After doing a ton of maintenance work to bring this thing back to health, as well as having a new JKS track bar installed and new correctlync steering, I really have to be careful about what I spend next.

So my question is this: Will changing to 33's be as simple as just installing new tires? Or will any of my hardware need to change as well? I just want to get an idea of what to expect and save for.

PO installed a Rough Country 4in suspension lift (I think?) with a 1" body lift. (The RCA bushings are shot and I'll eventually need to replace.) I'm assuming the Dana35 was re-geared since I don't experience much trouble with acceleration — although I don't know much of what else was done to accommodate those tires.

Thanks for any insight you can give!

 

[JMT]

Figure out what you have first. How much actual lift? No guesses. Measure. Figure out what gears you have. Don’t assume it has been regeared. Measure the number of driveshaft rotations per tire rotation. DW is related closely to tire balance. If you really have 4”, remove the 1” BL for 33’s.

 

[Irun]

There is a lot to unpack here. Here's more information needed for us to help:

What transmission and gearing do you have?
How much bumpstop are you running?
Are your fenders modified?
Do you have a SYE?
Do you have adjustable control arms?
etc.

Bottom line, without more information, we have no way to give advice.

 

[nctj]

These questions are very helpful - thanks! I figured more would be involved, but just didn't know what to look into. I'll get this information and post back this week - thanks!

 

[pagrey]

Other than looks and your speedometer you can run smaller tires without any issue if that's the direct question. No problem just bolting them on and hitting the trail. Going bigger generally you have problems to solve, going smaller you know they are going to fit as good as the bigger tires did, nothing much new is going to pop up as a result of smaller tires.

 

[jjvw]

If all you want to do it drop down a tire size, then that's all you really need to do. The suspension doesn't care. The gearing will feel a bit peppier and considering that most don't regear deep enough, if at all, chances are decent that this will be an improvement. And the braking will be better than it was.

 

[707kevin]

You can drop to 33's from 35's with no other changes.

Personally I would probably loose the body lift unless you have other plans like a tummy tuck or something requiring a body lift.

I'm sure everyone could give you some good advice on the worn control arm bushings (hopefully not stock on a 4" lift!!) and state of your lift in general with some good pics of it all from a few different angles.

 

[nctj]

Ok - I've finally had some time to take a deeper look at my setup. Because everything is inherited from the PO, I'm going to need some help understanding what I have here:

• Front springs measure a bit over 15"
• Rear springs about 13 1/4"
• 1" Body lift (via aluminum spacer pucks)
• Rough Country control arms
  • (It looks like the PO purchased the full RC 4" Lift Kit that included control arms, springs, and transfer case drop kit with spacers)
  • Rear bushings are pretty rough - but good-enough to last a bit longer. I eventually want to replace with savvy adjustable control arms
• It looks like a Motor Mount 1" Lift was installed — (what is this for??)
• No bump stops (just rusted empty cups)
• OMIX 7" OEM-style fenders

My end goal is to go down from 35" tires to 33". I'm not doing any crawling - mostly on-road and old logging trails.

Personally, I don't necessarily like the look of the body lift — but at this point are there too many modifications corresponding to that body lift? (It drives great — so I don't want to mess up a good thing by changing any of the drive-line parts)

Or - would it be simpler to just drop the suspension lift a bit via shorter springs?

Alternatively - will 33" tires still look ok with this current setup? I could leave everything as-is, but just don't want it to be goofy looking and out of proportion!

Again - I appreciate any insight or thoughts

 

[UKTJ]

Motor mount lift does at least 2 things. It keeps fan and fan shroud aligned after the body lift and it can help to counter vibration caused by suspension lift to some extent.

If you remove body lift and leave motor mount lifts in you will need to adjust fan shroud alignment I think.

How much is the transfer case dropped by? Was a SYE and DC drive shaft fitted by the last owner?

 

[eastbloc]

+1 to ^
I also see transfer case drop, looks like an inch.
What you have going on here is a connected hodgepodge of things that rely on each other just to accommodate 35's and keep rear pinion angle happy... if it is happy at all.
If you remove body lift, motor lift will likely have to go, same way around. Then there is also a skid plate spacer which plays some role around your entire lift. Could be there because of non adjustable control arms, could be as result of MML + BL.

 

[nctj]

I'm unsure as to if the PO had a SYE and DC drive shaft installed (how would I check?)
And yes - It's a 1" transfer case drop. I'm attaching a photo showing the spacer that must have come with the RC lift kit.

I'd like to do things right - so I think I'd be OK removing some items if that would help solidify everything. (rather than just slapping on new tires)

 

[sourbluff]

Here is 4” lift with BL, MML, and worn 33s. It will look fine.

The t-case drop suggests that you don’t have SYE. T-case drop is one of first thing I would consider changing as it takes away clearance gained from the lift. Unfortunately it also requires SYE, new drive shaft and rear control arms so isn’t a cheap removal.

 

[nctj]

Here is 4” lift with BL, MML, and worn 33s. It will look fine.

The t-case drop suggests that you don’t have SYE. T-case drop is one of first thing I would consider changing as it takes away clearance gained from the lift. Unfortunately it also requires SYE, new drive shaft and rear control arms so isn’t a cheap removal.

Oh - that looks great! Thanks - that helps me formulate a plan.