Skinnies

Uncommon

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2019
Messages
35
Location
Kentucky
Is anyone running skinnies on their TJ?

Myth or truth? Do skinnies help a jeep to ride truer than the fatter tires do? I've heard that but have no idea if it is true.

If you have skinnies as tires, if possible, share your experience along with any pics you might have.
 
Narrow tires do have their uses, like to cut down through several inches of snow to reach the pavement for better traction or to increase the speed at which hydroplaning on a wet road happens. I can't say they improve the ride over that of a tire with a larger volume of air in it.
 
What do you mean by 'truer'? What do you consider skinnies?

If we're only talking about off-road (vs. pavement), I have read that narrower tires provide the best traction except for deep, soft sand or mud (probably can include snow too).

I would like to eventually move up from 31" to 32" tires once my current ones wear down, but I have only been able to find them in an 11.5" width.
 
I've *heard* that wider tires are harder to balance and hold their balance and are more susceptible to road wander. Again, I don't know if it is true because I've never run skinnies, but I am thinking about trying them.
 
Many prefer the look of wider tires, and if you do a good amount of deep mud, sand or snow, they make the most sense.

In all other conditions, narrower tires will have better traction and weigh less (a plus in my book).
 
If we're only talking about off-road (vs. pavement), I have read that narrower tires provide the best traction except for deep, soft sand or mud (probably can include snow too).

In all other conditions, narrower tires will have better traction ...

Aside from the snow conditions mentioned by Jerry, how does less tire on the surface equate to more traction?
 
I think @billiebob has used narrower tires.

I use 12.5 wide 35s, personally. Not as good on the road especially in snow, but I can spread out the load more in loose material. I get about 13 mpg at 70 mph.
 
You won't find a skinnier tire than stock. So every tire with a larger diameter should still work at least as good as the original tire. I wouldn't consider a 33 x 10.5 skinny just because 33s are normally 12.5 wide. I doubt most would even notice the difference in traction if you had a 33 x 9.5. Just whether you like the look or not.
 
define "skinnies"

I run 33x10.50's which to some are skinny
ZPy5CfC.jpg
 
I had "skinny" tires on the LJ when I bought it — it handled GREAT and didn't wander at high speeds at all. Put spacer/adapters on and added my '18 Rubi wheels/stock tires and it was wander-y and scary over 60mph on my local highway. I put the stock wheels back on and bought some meatier BFGs than what I bought it with...it's now in between (doesn't handle as well as the skinny tires, but better than the fat JK tires).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blondie70
I had "skinny" tires on the LJ when I bought it — it handled GREAT and didn't wander at high speeds at all. Put spacer/adapters on and added my '18 Rubi wheels/stock tires and it was wander-y and scary over 60mph on my local highway. I put the stock wheels back on and bought some meatier BFGs than what I bought it with...it's now in between (doesn't handle as well as the skinny tires, but better than the fat JK tires).
Very interesting. That's what I suspected. I read the blog link that was posted earlier and it did a great job explaining how the skinny tires do better with traction in hard areas, but it didn't touch so much on how they do in normal driving. The link did mention that wider tires will corner better than narrow tires, but other than that, didn't go into any deeper discussion about normal driving habits.
 
I suspect the handling better with wider tires on corners applies to highly spirited driving. Literally there is no aspect of handling with my new/wider tires that is better than the skinnies I had...if I hadn't dumped the big chunk of coin for the BFGs, I would go back in a heartbeat. True, the Jeep looks cooler now but it's not as fun.

The first are the skinnies, the second are the JK wheels, and the bottom has the current BFGs.

cropLJ.jpg


LJ Rubi wheels.jpg


LJ.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uncommon
I run 33x9.5x15 BFG AT with studs for my winter tires. While I wish the tread compound was softer, they work decent and handling is good. There is something to be said for smaller contact patch so there is more pounds per inch for a lot of different terrains. Ran 34x9.5 TSL on a previous rig and if there was a bottom to be found it would pull through it be it mud or snow.
 
Aside from the snow conditions mentioned by Jerry, how does less tire on the surface equate to more traction?
Wide tires are only better on dry surfaces. We don’t get a lot of dry surfaces here in Oregon unlike you down in Cali. There are two ways to get traction (a function of friction) on any surface: increase the contact area or increase the pressure per square inch.
1. Contact area only increase in the front to back direction (done so by lowering pressure) so a wider tire only increase contact area by a very small amount.
2. Pressure per square inch significantly increases while using a narrow tire.

Hopefully this clears up some confusion for you.