quick question for those running 35's

[jeep-N-montero]

So I'm on the fence about upgrading to 35's, my original plan was to order the OME coils and torsion bars along with the 2 inch body lift and raise the gas tank. My question for those who made the jump to 35's is, was it worth it? Do you feel the 35's get you into places 33's wouldn't work without body damage? After spending the weekend in the mountains with the offroad tent trailer behind us I don't think 35's even with 4.92 gears would be enough power. Right now I'm running the 33x9.50's with stock gears in my 98 and it's so gutless going up the pass it isn't funny, not funny at all. So my suspension and 4.92 gear plan would still be added to the Montero but might stick with some 33x10.50 km2's for aggressive trails.

Thoughts from those running 35's and have driven at 8k plus feet in elevation are welcome.

 

[JamesW]

I don't think there anywhere that high up over here,but my 35s would be much heavier and more aggressive than the average M/T in a 35. Mine will stay at 55Mph up a 5 mile hill that is fairly unforgiving to small engined petrol cars,but you can forget about doing any overtaking with them on. What I have is another set of rims with standard sized tyres on them,which I use for day to day use,saves fuel,and saves my 35's from gutting worn away.

It depends on what other vehicles you head out with,Right now with the 35s I have pretty much the same diff clearance as my buddy's Defender 110 on 33s,which I used not be able to drive behind because i'd get my diff caught,but if you're going to be going out with monteros or patrols,which have bigger diffs you may as well go for the same size tyres they have. Depends on the terrain too though

 

[Toasty]

if you're going to be towing uphill in high altitude a lot you should probably stick to the 33's. Unless you plan to get into some really rocky terrain offroad then you'll want the 35's. In a LWB Montero 35's are good for keeping your rocker panels and doors out of trouble, not to mention the break over angle points at what we call the crush member (transmission crossmember).
With 35's and towing a trailer just stick the slow lane hit the hazards and take it easy in a lower gear. One of my friends actually runs 2WD LOW range for towing up hill, seems to work nicely for him.

 

[nckwltn]

I'm at the 4.636 gears, but also recently pulled a pop-up camper trailer through Utah and Colorado. Running on my 33x10.5s, with the trailer, it was quite gutless as you mentioned even with the 4.636 gears. I'm sure the 4.90 gears would be helpful, but I wouldn't expect it to change things night and day.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

if you're going to be towing uphill in high altitude a lot you should probably stick to the 33's. Unless you plan to get into some really rocky terrain offroad then you'll want the 35's. In a LWB Montero 35's are good for keeping your rocker panels and doors out of trouble, not to mention the break over angle points at what we call the crush member (transmission crossmember).
With 35's and towing a trailer just stick the slow lane hit the hazards and take it easy in a lower gear. One of my friends actually runs 2WD LOW range for towing up hill, seems to work nicely for him.

But the problem is you see I don't know how to slow down and take it easy, my man brain says to give it more gas to go faster.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I don't think there anywhere that high up over here,but my 35s would be much heavier and more aggressive than the average M/T in a 35. Mine will stay at 55Mph up a 5 mile hill that is fairly unforgiving to small engined petrol cars,but you can forget about doing any overtaking with them on. What I have is another set of rims with standard sized tyres on them,which I use for day to day use,saves fuel,and saves my 35's from gutting worn away.

It depends on what other vehicles you head out with,Right now with the 35s I have pretty much the same diff clearance as my buddy's Defender 110 on 33s,which I used not be able to drive behind because i'd get my diff caught,but if you're going to be going out with monteros or patrols,which have bigger diffs you may as well go for the same size tyres they have. Depends on the terrain too though

I have multiple sets of tires for it in the garage as well to swap out as needed, but when most camping and off-roading activities here are over 7-8000 feet in elevation the power suffers a lot.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I may even look at the option of running a set of the Interco radial tires in 34x10.50, they measure the same diameter as a 35x12.50 km2 but will weigh a bit less, also will clear the fenders better.

 

[Toasty]

BFG's are super light, shouldn't be too big of a deal running those. If you need to go fast the Montero will do it but it's going to be at a high RPM, on last years Sierra Challenge we regularly were pulling up hills in the 4500RPM range (3.5DOHC (overloaded to the max with gear)) it sucked.

 

[eurosonic]

I run almost 35 and Im happy now that I have the 4.9 gearing. Yea ok, its doesn't have as much punch as my old Gx470 but it does the job. I wouldn't tow anything though.

If you're not planning doing a lot of rock I say stick to burly 33s.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

BFG's are super light, shouldn't be too big of a deal running those. If you need to go fast the Montero will do it but it's going to be at a high RPM, on last years Sierra Challenge we regularly were pulling up hills in the 4500RPM range (3.5DOHC (overloaded to the max with gear)) it sucked.

Holy crap, no wonder most guys were only averaging about 11mpg from what I read.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I run almost 35 and Im happy now that I have the 4.9 gearing. Yea ok, its doesn't have as much punch as my old Gx470 but it does the job. I wouldn't tow anything though.

If you're not planning doing a lot of rock I say stick to burly 33s.

Most of our Utah trails have big rocks, but my appetite for hardcore trails has decreased a lot the last few years in favor of more scenic trails with fishing involved. Maybe I'll start with the OME lift plus the body lift/gas tank raise along with the 4.92 gears and 33x10.50 km2's, then if I feel like it has the power to turn 35's and tow the offroad trailer I can look at that option.

 

[nwoods]

I'm not at altitude. Our Rocky trails in and around the local Mtn's in SoCal are between 6,000 and 8,000 feet, but my 33x10.5' KM2's with stock '98 gearing seem okay. I do dearly miss the 4:1 transfer case in my Rubicon, but mostly descending through the rocks, not climbing. I find the brakes on the Monty to be a bit weak, mostly due to the ABS not letting me lock up when I really really want to!

 

[eurosonic]

I'm not at altitude. Our Rocky trails in and around the local Mtn's in SoCal are between 6,000 and 8,000 feet, but my 33x10.5' KM2's with stock '98 gearing seem okay. I do dearly miss the 4:1 transfer case in my Rubicon, but mostly descending through the rocks, not climbing. I find the brakes on the Monty to be a bit weak, mostly due to the ABS not letting me lock up when I really really want to!

I removed one of the ABS sensors, so the abs no longer works. I prefer it that way for off roading.

 

[nckwltn]

I removed one of the ABS sensors, so the abs no longer works. I prefer it that way for off roading.

my ABS light usually comes on when hit 4wd low and goes a few miles.... I thought this was the feature, but last time I was out on the trail, the ABS stayed on too long and gave me a few pucker situations on the down hill.... possible to add a switch to cut out the ABS on demand?

 

[mapper]

Off the top of my head, presuming this ABS systems is similar to others I've dealt with....usually the ABS pump has a fused connection. You could tap a switch into that circuit. If you shut it off the computer will "think" the ABS pump fuse is blown and likely illuminate the ABS light and log a fault code while shutting off all ABS functionality. Obviously try this in a safe location with your hand ready to use the hand brake in case something weird happens....but I can't imagine a braking system design that wouldn't fail "safe" to standard brakes.