Tire wheel vs lift

[BRuss610]

Hello all here is the situation I want to know what size tires and wheels i should get for my 1997 jeep wrangler however...

I don't want to completely remodel my jeep. I was thinking about getting a 4in lift i don't know much about tires but i was thinking about getting 15in 16in wheels but what size tire should i get with a 3in to 4in lift. i want to go off road but it still is my everyday veh.

[BlueFlu]

33"s will fit nice though a few guys I wheel with run 4" lifts and 35"s. I'd skip the 16" rims just based on tire selection. 15" or more and more 17" rims have the most choices.
What gear ratio do yours have?

[daniel_buck]

33" would definitely fit good. 35" would also fit, but once you get to 35" tires, they start hitting the rest of your jeep pretty hard. Steering, brakes, gearing ratio, and what not.

[BRuss610]

idk what gear ratio i have... im new to all this and im not sure.

Daniel that's my problem i don't want to get into all that steering, brakes, gearing ratio all that so ill probably just sit with 33"

its my first jeep and my day to day car so i dont want to go to crazy on my first one

[BlueFlu]

Look on the diff cover, there "should" be a tag. Get a pic or write down what it says, it'll say the ratio.

[Russ Chung]

......
its my first jeep and my day to day car so i dont want to go to crazy on my first one

Since this is your first Jeep and your daily driver, I suggest that you consider upgrading your Jeep in stages so that you can evaluate for yourself the necessity, the usefulness and the tradeoffs of each upgrade.

1. In 2005, I bought my first Jeep, a Wrangler X. It had Dana 30 and 35 axles, open differentials, and 3.08 axle ratio. I did not want to invest too much in upgrades; my intent was to leave it nearly stock, then trade it in for a Jeep Rubicon in a few years after I learned to drive offroad. The first upgrade was to switch to slightly larger all-terrain tires (30x9.5x15) and add some armor (engine skid plate and rocker guards). I found that I was able to run about 90% of the offroad trails in Southern California and Arizona with what was a basic, stock configuration.



2. After about a year of wheeling a "stocker", I added a 2.5" OME lift and upgraded to 31x10.5x15 MTR tires. I kept the stock wheels, so I made use of 1" wheel spacers and an adjustable front track bar to keep the wider tires from rubbing. I learned that when you install a lift kit from one manufacturer (OME) and an adjustable track bar from another manufacturer (Procomp) that you must check the clearances; the track bar rubbed my front diff cover, which eventually caused the bushing to wear which led to death wobble. I also realized that with the slightly larger tires and my 3.08 axle ratio, I had to downshift often on the freeway. With this mild lift, I was able to run about 95% of the trails in the area.



3. In 2009, I decided to upgrade my Wrangler X instead of trading it in for a Rubicon. I added 1" spring spacers to my 2.5" OME lift for a total of 3.5", a 1" body lift, an AEV Tummy Tucker, and I upgraded to 33x10.5x15 KM2 tires. I also upgraded to Dana 44 axles with a 4.10 axle ratio, Rubicon lockers, and an NV241 transfer case. (I had previously upgraded the steering with Currie heavy duty components.)



I have run the Rubicon, Fordyce, Dusy Ershim and Swamp Lake trails in the Sierras. I know that I cannot do the more extreme trails such as the Hammers, but this is still my daily driver; I can drive from my home to the Rubicon trail (400 miles), air down, run the trail, air up, and drive home.

4. Wait there's more--After I upgraded to 33" tires in 2009, the brake pedal pressure with the stock disc brakes was high; I could never get the front brakes to lock up no matter how hard I pushed the pedal. Last year, I upgraded my front disc brakes with a Vanco big brake kit. Shortly after I upgraded the brakes, I was driving in the mountains when a deer ran across the road in front of my Jeep. I was pleased when I jammed on the brakes and was able to lock the front wheels!

The point that Dan and I are trying to make is that there are tradeoffs when you lift your Jeep and get bigger tires. Since this is your first Jeep, I suggest that you upgrade in stages so you can manage the tradeoffs.

[daniel_buck]

I too did mine in stages, kind of like Russ. Though granted, I started out with a Rubicon, so I already had low gears, stronger axles, and lockers. (boy, was I spoiled!)

I went to 32" tires (factory was 31" for Rubicons) and a 2" spacer lift. Then started upgrading the steering and skids, and control arms and such. I'll tell you what, 32" tires and a bit of a spacer lift with lockers will get you through just about anything (obviously though, not the hammers trails and crazy rock-buggy trails) Anything larger than 32" or 33" is really overkill for the majority of trails you will find. Not to say it doesn't make those trails easier to run, but 35"+ tires aren't nessisary for almost all of the trails out here.

I later put on 35" tires, flat belly skid, and more armor, bumpers, winch. And I'm sure sometime soon the axles will probably be swapped out for something stronger... haha! It's a cycle. Start out slow

[USMC 0369]

Since this is your first Jeep and your daily driver, I suggest that you consider upgrading your Jeep in stages so that you can evaluate for yourself the necessity, the usefulness and the tradeoffs of each upgrade.

....

The point that Dan and I are trying to make is that there are tradeoffs when you lift your Jeep and get bigger tires. Since this is your first Jeep, I suggest that you upgrade in stages so you can manage the tradeoffs.

[COLOR="#800000"]^^^^ Listen to this guy. ^^^^[/COLOR]

[6spdYJ]

[COLOR="#800000"]^^^^ Listen to this guy. ^^^^[/COLOR]

^^^^Listen to this guy telling you to listen to that guy.^^^^

[daniel_buck]

^^^^Listen to this guy telling you to listen to that guy.^^^^

^^^^ Listen to this guy telling you to listen to that guy telling you to listen to that other guy. ^^^^

[USMC 0369]

[COLOR="#800000"]One more thing BRuss... I would advise against getting 16" wheels. Unless you're going to the big brake kit, or going to a Hi-Steer set-up, you don't really need them. Plus take a look at the difference in price for meat to wrap around them! I was contemplating doing 16" wheels also and a friend passed on this advice to me. When (not if) you decide step up to 37" tires, then just skip up to 17" wheels. [/COLOR]