Choosing Tires for your Jeep Wrangler JL

today on American Jeepers will help you choose the best type and size of tire for your Jeep Wrangler Jael besides helping you decide between an all-terrain and mud tire I will tell you what modifications you need to make to the Jeep to run more rubber and you will learn what to expect both good and bad about the different sizes and types of tires available now the first decision to make to narrow down your choice is do you want all-terrain or mud tires if you pick the right tire you can't go to wrong with either if your Jeep never leaves pavement unless you're in love with the look of a certain tire all-terrain is the way to go some say they want a more aggressive looking tire and there are plenty of aggressive all terrains now such as Duratrax that takes looks mostly out of the equation so your decision can be performance oriented if your Jeep leaves pavement even occasionally you may want a mud tire and here are some suggestions on how to decide what will work best for you all in all it is really important to do research on tires to make sure that you don't just buy the biggest coolest looking tire and throw it on the Jeep an all-terrain tire is typically going to be better in the snow and wet conditions it will also have better on-road manners and be more quiet all terrains are typically lighter than the same size mud tire which will help with gas mileage there are really only cons to all-terrain tires if you go off-road they will have weaker side walls and made of softer compounds which can wear more quickly and get damaged more easily I've taken big chunks out of my all terrains but I wheel in areas that have sharp rocks and brush on the trail or very close to it all terrains will pack rocks and have poor off-road traction with less biting edges mud tires give you an edge over the all-terrain tire off road because they'll do a better job of clearing dirt and rocks they also have thicker sidewalls and are made of tougher rubber compounds they have wide lugs and biting edges that help grab onto rocks and propel the Jeep up obstacles cons of the mud tire are that they weigh more can be loud at speed and may not handle as well on the road especially in snow ice and wet conditions heavier tires can wear suspension and other jeep components faster so how do you decide what type of tire will be best for you really comes down to how much of an edge do you want off-road and how much are you willing to live with on-road for that edge where you give up a bit of gas money and maybe a little bit of on-road manners remember by once cry once personally I want the edge off-road but I have a Rubicon and it is used as intended besides maybe lockers tires are one of the biggest factors in off-road performance where I take my Jael and I'm sure that applies elsewhere so I run mud tires but I was calculated and did some research before buying and also applied my experience with past jeeps as well as tire brands and types to make the decision no matter which tire type you choose you want to make sure that you identify the best quality tires in your price range and that doesn't necessarily mean the most expensive all the friends recommendation shouldn't be totally discounted aggregate data is pretty easy to find on the Internet these days a little research goes a long way and looking at compiled consumer reviews is a way to determine what tires are best for you based on your needs you can find some great tires that handle well both on and off the road and shop around for the best price don't forget to factor in tax shipping and any service or installation you will need I have ordered tires and wheels together online and they will ship already balanced with TPMS sensors ready to mount to your Jeep these are the km to s on my old JK but be sure to check out my review of the firestone destination mt 2s here on the American Jeepers channel so now that you have a better idea of what type of tire you might want it's time to pick the size if you have a sport or sahara model jael there will be different requirements for you than a Rubicon and we will cover the requirements for each different Jeep Wrangler here let's get the negatives out of the way first so you know what to expect with putting bigger tires on your Jo these negatives can be a positive to a lift for example is negative because it cost more money but it also looks good and is the name of customizing your Jeep to make it your own and perform better for your needs besides a lift you may need modified or aftermarket fenders you may need new wheels or wheel spacers you may wear out suspension and drivetrain components faster this includes things like ball joints axles and the transmission you may need a programmer to reset your speedometer and recalibrate the Jeep or need to beef up axle so they don't bend or break with the extra leverage a larger tire creates you may need to re gear or even upgrade axles you will also likely lose gas mileage because someone smarter than you made up terms like rotational inertia unsprung weight and aerodynamic profile on-road handling and comfort can be effected meaning bumpy or loud and a less pleasurable highway driving experience you may need to upgrade your tire carrier or reinforce your tailgate like houses bigger and better wheels and tires cost more than their smaller counterparts and you could face possible loss of warranty coverage or headaches at least if the failure is determined to be caused by the modifications ok before you think I'm on the stock rocks bandwagon know that I'm clearly in the mod camp I have a lift of jail with 37 inch tires who cares about me though remember that you're building a go anywhere do anything machine that conquers any rock garden or mall curb in its path so don't let these little mainly financial detriment stop you just be aware of these things remember it's only money you don't really need to retire that early your kids probably don't really need to go to college unless they're smart enough to get a scholarship anyway and you're really not a full-fledged American if you don't carry at least some credit-card debt so let's get to sorting out how big you can go besides the OL oh the lesson here is to try and resist going bigger than you think you will need even if the tires will look very cool on the Jeep you may also want to look at the lightest tire and wheel combinations that makes sense for you to minimize the negative performance effects published online tire specs gives you a good estimate of tire weight and actual dimensions so determine those during your online research tire these tell you a lot too now that we discuss the bat let's talk about the good and what it's going to take to make your Jeep look sweet perform well offroad give you that much-needed confidence boost let's start with the jail sport and Sahara which have the same basic requirements for upgrading tires 33 inch tires maybe okay but could need a one and a half to two inch lift or a fender chop there are several brands of spring spacers you can get from half inch to an inch that could also do the job 35 inch tires will need a two to two and a half inch lift or a little smaller lift and fender chop as well as consideration to adding a different tire carrier tailgate reinforcements or dropping the spare which I don't recommend especially if you're going off-road add in a programmer with 35 s or larger as well unless you don't care about your speedometer being off it will be off slightly with 33 s but Jeep has stated to me that because it is within a 3% margin of error it is not necessary 37 inch tires on a sport or Sahara will likely need a regear so you don't have a business and axle reinforcements or axle upgrades will be needed to avoid problems with bent or broken axles which are now reportedly happening at the front axle disconnect this can even happen with stock wheels and tires ask me how I know for almost any upgraded tire height and width you'll need properly back spaced wheels or wheel spacers like these from synergy manufacturing to avoid rubbing on suspension components or fenders while flexing off-road if you have a JL Rubicon then congratulations you already have a small lift over the sport and Sahara and 33 inch tires from the factory in fact my old JK sport with a 2 inch lift and 33 s sat lower than my stock gel Rubicon with the exact same tires in the exact same size as what comes stock on the gel Rubicon's Rubicon's also start with high clearance fenders 4:10 gearing and the ability to run and I quote up to a 35 inch tire with no modifications the key here and what let's Jeep off the hook is up to a 35 inch tire because depending on the back spacing and tire and wheel width that may not be the case the actual tire height and width could cause fender suspension rubbing with a 35 especially wider real entire setups to be safe a small lift like what is recommended for 33 inch tires on the Sportage Sahara would be good for a ruby with 35 we may not need a tire carrier but something to extend the carrier out to be able to use your rear wiper and to keep the tire off the glass will likely be needed again depending on wheel back spacing a programmer is recommended for 35 and up here - to run 37 inch tires like on this Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon you will one a minimum 2.5 inch lift the tires on this jail are 12.5 inches wide and are on the narrower stock rims with synergy manufacturing wheel spacers anything wider than this and there would be rubbing issues one solution of course is to chop the fenders or the other is to go a little taller on the lift if you go a little taller like three to four inches then you could run into the need for more complete or more complex lift as well as potentially drive shafts you should reinforce the tailgate like I did with the Mopar solution or one of the emerging aftermarket products coming out for the JL a regear is still looked at as optional on this tire size especially if you have the automatic 8-speed transmission but you will lose eighth and sometimes seventh gear on the highway and that could cause long-term issues with the drivetrain axle should be okay with 37's but no guarantees since the jail is so new it is still speculation as to what may happen long term but unless you have a really cool service department at your dealer don't expect warranty coverage for issues related to running larger tires so how much extra height do you get from bigger tires and the associated lift on my Jeep I have a two and a half inch lift but now that I've added a front bumper and winch the roof rack a heavy spare and beefed up the tire carrier and rear hinges I'm about two inches taller than stock lift height if you add the two inches to the two inches I gain from the 37 s over the 33 s the jeep itself is about four inches taller roof rack gives me a little more but I still clear the garage door and now have a jail that is more stable and better performing than the stock version so I have a quick consumer message about wheel diameter with the previous model JK Wrangler some got away with using 15 inch rims but most do 16 to 18 inches to go off-road keep in mind that the jail brake rotor diameters are 1 inch wider than JK's but you will be fine with 17 or 18 inch wheels bigger than that and you on an off-road performance will suffer and although jeepers are a kind bunch in general they are quick to snicker and sneer at the big wide rim and low-profile tire look street cred means nothing because it's all about off-road with the Jeep Florida Jeep rules say you get a pass here but if you live in any of the other 49 states consider yourself warned so there you have it how to decide on what type and size of tire to get for your Jeep Wrangler Jael if you like this video consider giving it a thumbs up and if you already subscribe to the American Jeepers channel thank you for your support if you are new consider subscribing to stay up on all things jeep wrangler jail including product installations off-road tips and trips and reviews make sure you also click the bell to receive notifications on new videos so you don't miss a thing thank you for watching and see you on the trails

Channel: American Jeeper

Views: 167,863

Rating: 4.893857 out of 5

Keywords: Jeep JL, Jeep Wrangler JL, Wrangler JL, Jeep JL tires, Jeep JL mud tire, Jeep JL All terrain, Wrangler JL Tire, Wrangler JL mud tire, wrangler JL all terrain, Jeep JL tire choice, wrangler jl tire choice, jeep jl best tire, wrangler jl best tire, jeep jl biggest tire, wrangler jl biggest tire, choosing tires wrangler JL, wrangler JL wheels, jl Wrangler wheels, Wrangler JL lift, JL wrangler lift, Jeep jl lift, jeep jl tires, jeep jl tire choices

Id: 3NizZQCtBVw

Length: 11min 42sec (702 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 15 2018