I bought an 2002 Sahara last July. It has the Dana 44 and 3.73s. The previous owner put a 3" lift (2" spring, 1" puck) and has 33x12.5 BFG Muds on 15x8 wheels. The suspension is probably getting older. It's Rough Country, but I replaced the shocks with Rancho RS5000Xs a few months ago. The springs aren't really sagging from what I can tell they measure 10" in the rear, and 14" up front or at least within a 16th of that.
My main issue is the ride is still rough with those muds, and tends to bounce around when I hit pot holes, or bumps. I really don't wheel it much, although I'd like to but just don't have the time to get out to trails lately. That being said, I'll never be doing anything extreme just fun day trips of mild to maybe moderate trails.
So, to the point. I want to improve the ride, without sacrificing too much of the look and capability. I was hoping maybe going to a slightly smaller AT tire will do that for me. My question is do I go with a smaller tire to better match my gears and my 3" lift or stick with the 33s and save money for new gears. Which for me would be pricey since I still want ATs for the ride issues so I'd have to spend money on gears, and tires. The jeep is only really sluggish out of 1st but it chugs out of 1st on the 33s unless I'm perfect with the clutch and gas, and that is annoying. Here are some pics for reference.
My main issue is the ride is still rough with those muds, and tends to bounce around when I hit pot holes, or bumps. I really don't wheel it much, although I'd like to but just don't have the time to get out to trails lately. That being said, I'll never be doing anything extreme just fun day trips of mild to maybe moderate trails.
So, to the point. I want to improve the ride, without sacrificing too much of the look and capability. I was hoping maybe going to a slightly smaller AT tire will do that for me. My question is do I go with a smaller tire to better match my gears and my 3" lift or stick with the 33s and save money for new gears. Which for me would be pricey since I still want ATs for the ride issues so I'd have to spend money on gears, and tires. The jeep is only really sluggish out of 1st but it chugs out of 1st on the 33s unless I'm perfect with the clutch and gas, and that is annoying. Here are some pics for reference.