33 vs 35s for my XJ Overland Build

[JandDGreens]

I don't want to totally derail this thread but I had a quick question. Do you all think that a nice set of 31's would cut the cheese for overlanding in an XJ? I am stock now and wanted to go with a mild lift and was going to go with 31's for fuel economy, ease of availability and also to hopefully put less wear and tear on all the other components on long trips. I live on the East coast and drive her across country once a year as well as having a pretty hefty commute so that is my thought process behind going with 31" instead of 33".

Mods can delete my comment if it is too far off course for this thread!!

Evan

Absolutely In fact I would stay with 31"s if the axles I ran across did not have 4.56 gears and rather had 4.10s in them. Unfortunately money plays a big roll in where I go with building my rig and most of my mods are second hand. And when I ran across these axles already loaded with ARB's I jumped on them knowing where I was going with my XJ and overland travels. The one thing you need to consider is if you jump that high in tire size you will need to modify several things. I would re-gear your axles. If you don't you will not only lose performance on and off the road. If you have a auto tranny you probably will experience issues with over heating the tranny and engine. Also it is best to do some mods to you front frame rails. At the very least buy a heavy brace that they make to go from the opposite frame rail to the base of the steering box so that those tires don't fatigue the area the steering box is mounted to. I have had two XJ (My son's and My own) where the frame cracked.

 

[JandDGreens]

It seems as the forum grows, it becomes increasingly "rock crawler portal". While 90% of people on here will never go on an actual "expedition", there is a common desire for offroad camping. That said, I think 33s and a 3 or 4" lift are plenty big for an XJ doing camping and exploring duty. If you want to go to Moab and run the hard trails, the bigger meats might be what you're after.

I think a lot of people who are just now becoming interested in the Overland experience are coming out from there roots of 4 wheeling. I honestly would not even own a 4-wd if my son did not want a XJ for his first car. We all went camping and we took his XJ and my son in laws Rubicon and I was hooked. Then I bought one for me and after about 3 seasons of doing trails in the Rockies the interest in Overland travel is kind of natural. It is funny but you have just described me to a T!

 

[Evan.Fiorentino]

Absolutely In fact I would stay with 31"s if the axles I ran across did not have 4.56 gears and rather had 4.10s in them. Unfortunately money plays a big roll in where I go with building my rig and most of my mods are second hand. And when I ran across these axles already loaded with ARB's I jumped on them knowing where I was going with my XJ and overland travels. The one thing you need to consider is if you jump that high in tire size you will need to modify several things. I would re-gear your axles. If you don't you will not only lose performance on and off the road. If you have a auto tranny you probably will experience issues with over heating the tranny and engine. Also it is best to do some mods to you front frame rails. At the very least buy a heavy brace that they make to go from the opposite frame rail to the base of the steering box so that those tires don't fatigue the area the steering box is mounted to. I have had two XJ (My son's and My own) where the frame cracked.

That is pretty much my thought process. I know the slippy slope really begins after you go bigger than 31" tires. At least with 31" I can have a relatively stock vehicle aside from some control arms and some geometry adjustments. My thing is if I am overlanding, I want to try and keep the truck as stockish as possible so when something does happen, I have a better chance of being able to fix it with OEM parts instead of trying to find the frankenstine parts I would need otherwise.

I just figure the ease of doing 31" will be well worth whatever small penalty they'd have in ability VS. 33s. I think an XJ with a 3.5" lift, 31" tires, chasis braces and some lockers would take me damn near anywhere I'd ever wish to go and probably more! It would also keep my COG lower once I do get that RTT on there.

 

[Evan.Fiorentino]

It seems as the forum grows, it becomes increasingly "rock crawler portal". While 90% of people on here will never go on an actual "expedition", there is a common desire for offroad camping. That said, I think 33s and a 3 or 4" lift are plenty big for an XJ doing camping and exploring duty. If you want to go to Moab and run the hard trails, the bigger meats might be what you're after.

Don't worry, there are some of us newbies who are truly interested in the activities that started this forum. I have little interest in hardcore rock crawling unless I had a dedicated rig for it. All it does is beat the crap out of your rig and require setups that are completely specialized for rock crawling only, in my opinion. I am looking for a much more rounded and usable build that will take me the long haul over 1000 miles of off road, varying terrain in places I haven't yet dreamed of.

 

[JandDGreens]

That is pretty much my thought process. I know the slippy slope really begins after you go bigger than 31" tires. At least with 31" I can have a relatively stock vehicle aside from some control arms and some geometry adjustments. My thing is if I am overlanding, I want to try and keep the truck as stockish as possible so when something does happen, I have a better chance of being able to fix it with OEM parts instead of trying to find the frankenstine parts I would need otherwise.

I just figure the ease of doing 31" will be well worth whatever small penalty they'd have in ability VS. 33s. I think an XJ with a 3.5" lift, 31" tires, chasis braces and some lockers would take me damn near anywhere I'd ever wish to go and probably more! It would also keep my COG lower once I do get that RTT on there.

I agree, You don't need to dump a lot of money. Buy one relatively in expensive piece that I would not do with out is a winch. You don't really need it but you'll be glad if you do.

 

[Kevin108]

31s have some other benefits as well. You can piece together a quality 3"-3½" lift very affordably. You can run 31s on stock rims, saving you money by not needed aftermarket rims. You also don't have to modify the wheel wells. And you're less likely to explode axle shafts or u-joints.

With any project, I think the most important thing you can do is NOT overbuild your rig. It's a waste of money, and you end up making sacrifices in other areas. Do 35s look awesome? Of course! Loved the look on my old truck. Have I ever needed them? No.


While I would not recommend stock height and 235/75R15 Michelin street tires on rocky trails like this, it can be done, and it makes the JKs on the 35s look silly.

 

[JandDGreens]

Kevin 108 Quote; 31s have some other benefits as well. You can run them on stock rims, saving you money on aftermarket rims and mounting/balancing. You also don't have to modify the wheel wells. And you're less likely to explode axle shafts or u-joints.

With any project, I think the most important thing you can do is NOT overbuild your rig. It's a waste of money, and you end up making sacrifices in other areas. Do 35s look awesome? Of course! Have I ever needed them? No.

While I would not recommend stock height and 235/75R15 Michelin street tires on rocky trails like this, it can be done, and it makes the JKs on the 35s look silly.


Very true!

 

[osinrider04]

Don't worry, there are some of us newbies who are truly interested in the activities that started this forum. I have little interest in hardcore rock crawling unless I had a dedicated rig for it. All it does is beat the crap out of your rig and require setups that are completely specialized for rock crawling only, in my opinion. I am looking for a much more rounded and usable build that will take me the long haul over 1000 miles of off road, varying terrain in places I haven't yet dreamed of.

I actually personally have no desire to rock crawl anything. That being said, if I take my XJ across the country and then wind up on some trails where I need my long arms, then I'm glad I have them installed. My XJ is built to meet the needs of many situations and it actually drives much better on the highway now than it did with short arms. Also, what I do with my jeep is less of a many week or month long expedition and more of camping trips when I go mountain biking. The plan is to start driving to different trails around the east coast and just camp out near trail heads over the weekends. Eventually I'll start to make my way out west and do longer road trips with the same concept in mind. If I ever took a leave of absence from work I would totally love to do this for entire spring and summer (~6 month journey) but not quite there yet .

I have 2 truck bed fork mounts that were welded to my roof rack (and Thule thru-axle adapters on that) that allows 2 bikes to mount vertically off my tailgate. My bike frame is actually too big to fit inside the jeep and with my design being built for longer trips, I wouldn't want to take up interior space anyways. Plus I have the RTT up there now and getting a bike up that high is tough on the shoulders too.

 

[Steve F]

It seems as the forum grows, it becomes increasingly "rock crawler portal". While 90% of people on here will never go on an actual "expedition", there is a common desire for offroad camping. That said, I think 33s and a 3 or 4" lift are plenty big for an XJ doing camping and exploring duty. If you want to go to Moab and run the hard trails, the bigger meats might be what you're after.

I don't know what it's like where you are but I ran 35's on my XJ (now sold and have a JK) and it was a true expedition rig, did 10's of thousands of KM's on dirt roads etc. As an example two of us were able to get through this track, a CJ on 33's and my longer XJ on 35's. The only other to attempt it needed to be recovered.

CJ in the shot behind

It was the Jeep that went first and tested the waters etc, why, because there was confidence it would get through

Not saying you need 35's but doesn't mean it's a rock crawler just means the overlanding may be a bit more extreme.

Cheers
Steve

 

[98dango]

I may be late to the party hear I spend most of my life in the full size world

hear is my 2 cents any way

I run 35s on my wifes 98 xj 4door locked 4:56 gears 4.7 stroker and cromo shafts out back. Why she likes to play with the boys and has been known to drag race it a time or 7 on the track and in town.
she can get 18 mpg on a road trip but honestly it gets 10 90% of the time

my jeep 1989 comanche has many sets of shoes from 33" all terrain junk to 38" tsl super swampers. I run a 4.0 5 speed 4:88 gears I have a super 35 with Detroit and a dana 30 with arb I run Yukon shafts in front and superior axels out back. I average 12-15 mpg and drive it most places

yes my Jeeps"s have seen Moab and the simple fire road to just get out of town. I feel 35s are the perfect size for my set ups and I have taken steps to make sure I don't walk home.

for the money 35s are the best bang

 

[Se7en62]

I don't know what it's like where you are but I ran 35's on my XJ (now sold and have a JK) and it was a true expedition rig, did 10's of thousands of KM's on dirt roads etc.

Cheers
Steve

Steve F, Your rig is exactly what I am imagining mine will look like when I'm done building it, except for 3.5" of lift and 33's instead of 35's. Question - Did your Bushwacker flat fenders come with inner fender replacements?

 

[Steve F]

Steve F, Your rig is exactly what I am imagining mine will look like when I'm done building it, except for 3.5" of lift and 33's instead of 35's. Question - Did your Bushwacker flat fenders come with inner fender replacements?

No they didn't have inner guard replacements, I just took them out altogether and hosed it out more often

Cheers
Steve

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

For an XJ, 35s seem like overkill especially for an overland truck. I just did some double black diamond trails with an unlocked XJ on 33s. He did everything I could do in my triple locked JKUR on 35s, everything the JKU on 37s could do, and some stuff neither of us could.

@BrutalxBob

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Much of what a vehicle can do is not the vehicle, it is the driver! :ylsmoke:

Da Frenchman

Especially when you don't care about denying it

 

[TheGetLostTaco]

Get the 35's , carry spare axle shafts , bigger is better ....I'd even consider 37's. FACT: Women love big tires ...

LOL! Almost spit my coffee on my phone!


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