New TJ: Should I keep 35s and build up or drop down to 33s?

[Elliot-G]

35s vs 33s... I'm not wanting to open up another one of these discussions. I just want to hear others opinion on my situation. I recently got a TJ where PO put 35s on without doing anything else aside from suspension and body lift. 6 speed manual with original gears (It feels sluggish on highway but being first Jeep I just assume that is usual). My question to those out there is would you spend the money to build up to handle the 35s? Or drop down to 33s and slowly start to build up? I'm leaning toward dropping down to 33's but the devil on my shoulder is saying to take the money I'd spend on new tires ~$1,300 and build up to the 35s it has right now. They are from 2018 so a little older but easily 50%+ tread life left.

Any opinions on either side?

 

[rasband]

New Tj to me - Keep 35's and build up or drop down to 35s?

You may want to update the post title, I figured it was an accident but was confused scrolling by for a second.

Running 35s properly isn't cheap, so unless you want to wheel and could benefit from that tire size (as you could definitely do in AZ) I'd go to 33s. Gearing, shafts, lockers, drive shafts, possible SYE, adjustable track bars, steering hardening, brakes, control arms, quality springs and correct length shocks. You're about to age out on those tires - so that cost is going to need to be factored in to whatever approach you take.

 

[jjvw]

35s work better than 33s do. And you live somewhere that quickly benefits from 35s.

 

[Rickyd]

What height do your springs measure with the jeep on them?

If its less than 4" actual spring lift and you have stock gears,and especially a rear Dana 35 i would go to 33s on your next tire change

 

[Plumber1]

To run 35's will be a lot more than the $1,300 for tires. Now a lot of us run 35's but most have moved up from running 33's and have found that we actually need the larger tires. You will need to consider building your diff's, brakes, steering, re-gearing and that's if your suspension is set up properly to run 35's. Now if you need 35's you may most likely need lockers it's a rabbit hole. Now if you don't need 35's your jeep can go a long way on tough trails on 33's with money on you pocket.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Everything you need to run 33s properly, you'll need for 35s. Just more of it. Having one of these helps.

 

[JoseA]

stick with the 35s. You'll end up doing most of the same modifications to run 33s anyway. Start by re-gearing that thing to 4.88 or 5.13 and some sort of traction aid (locker or limited slip).

 

[BlueC]

A good built TJ on 33 or 35 should basically be the same, with maybe the gear ratio being different. One of the first things the OP should be doing for 33s or 35s is addressing that stock Dana 35, which is on borrowed time. OP either needs to build out a Super35, or swap in a stronger rear end like a Dana 44. This will also be the time for a gear change and any LSD or locker. It will be a big expense up front, but will go a long way.

 

[JMT]

Decide what your final tire size will be. You don’t seem to know. If you’re just building for looks you should re-assess. The main mods are the same between 33’s and 35’s, but 35’s opens another doorway into big $$$. Read more on the forum and decide what tire size you will need. Be patient. Think now about what you’ll be doing.

 

[BC Moto]

35's are cool but is that what you need? Are you trying to run trails or do some crawling? I would look for a Dana44 and then get that put in and then do gears at the same time. You will have a little less sluggish feel

 

[Chris]

I don't think the price difference between running 33s and 35s is that much.

I'd just go for the 35s, because if it's already in your head now, that's inevitably where you'll end up.

 

[LJ owner]

I run 33s on my LJ with a 4.5" lift and 4:10 gearing. I've been considering 4:88s with the 33s. I wouldn't go to 35s without a brake upgrade, body lift, and more $$ spent on the undercarriage. Depending on how serious you want to rock crawl, I would consider 33s unless you are opening up the wallet.

 

[Old Pueblo]

I run 33s on my LJ with a 4.5" lift and 4:10 gearing. I've been considering 4:88s with the 33s. I wouldn't go to 35s without a brake upgrade, body lift, and more $$ spent on the undercarriage. Depending on how serious you want to rock crawl, I would consider 33s unless you are opening up the wallet.
View attachment 545490

I did 4.88 with 33's on my LJ, and it was MEHH. Wasn't great but didn't suck too hard. 35's with 4.88 was horrible. I'm running 5.38 now and it is awesome.
The long and short is, don't consider a 4.88+ 35's.
You'll hate it.

 

[LJ owner]

I did 4.88 with 33's on my LJ, and it was MEHH. Wasn't great but didn't suck too hard. 35's with 4.88 was horrible. I'm running 5.38 now and it is awesome.
The long and short is, don't consider a 4.88+ 35's.
You'll hate it.

Good counsel, thanks

 

[BC Moto]

I did 4.88 with 33's on my LJ, and it was MEHH. Wasn't great but didn't suck too hard. 35's with 4.88 was horrible. I'm running 5.38 now and it is awesome.
The long and short is, don't consider a 4.88+ 35's.
You'll hate it.

Im currently on 35s with 4.88s and its just fine, I have a 5spd not auto

 

[BlueC]

The long and short is, don't consider a 4.88+ 35's.
You'll hate it.

Auto vs manual.

 

[jjvw]

Good counsel, thanks

Good council would be to aim for 3k rpm at 75mph. That separates out the gearing differences between auto and manual.

 

[ChadH]

This is likely the unpopular opinion but it depends on what you want to do with it. Is it a daily driver, grocery getter, weekend cruiser, or are you going to MOAB? Different use cases warrant different components, unless you just want the look regardless.

 

[Elliot-G]

What height do your springs measure with the jeep on them?

If its less than 4" actual spring lift and you have stock gears,and especially a rear Dana 35 i would go to 33s on your next tire change

Measuring the springs they are 14" in front and 10" in back should be a 2" lift based on what I've found. If 4" is the usual for 35's then seems like a no brainer to drop down to 33s

 

[Elliot-G]

I run 33s on my LJ with a 4.5" lift and 4:10 gearing. I've been considering 4:88s with the 33s. I wouldn't go to 35s without a brake upgrade, body lift, and more $$ spent on the undercarriage. Depending on how serious you want to rock crawl, I would consider 33s unless you are opening up the wallet.
View attachment 545490

Beautiful LJ! My plan isn't to do some serious rock clawing in the future but would still want to take some off road trails here in Arizona and area around. Based on other posts it seems I'll be more than fine doing those types of trails without 35s. The money pit is already forming after day dreaming of all the stuff I could do lol