[jerseyt719]

I have a question. I just got a YJ this year and we put a 4" lift on it. I am running 31" tires on it and the husband says for "safety" reasons, I need 33" tires. Is this true and if so, why are the bigger tires "safer"? Thanks so much,
Tara

[ThirteenthCurve]

Originally Posted by jerseyt719

I have a question. I just got a YJ this year and we put a 4" lift on it. I am running 31" tires on it and the husband says for "safety" reasons, I need 33" tires. Is this true and if so, why are the bigger tires "safer"? Thanks so much,
Tara

Its for roll over reasons. 33's tend to be wider (usually a 12.5) where 31's are only 10.5. This can give you a wider stance and helps stabilize the vehicle in corners. The other option is to run spacers and widen the stance of the vehicle that way. Im running 6" on 33x12.5 with a really low offset wheel and LOVE the way it handles in the corners.

[mrmud4x4]

Originally Posted by jerseyt719

I have a question. I just got a YJ this year and we put a 4" lift on it. I am running 31" tires on it and the husband says for "safety" reasons, I need 33" tires. Is this true and if so, why are the bigger tires "safer"? Thanks so much,
Tara

I can't see why 33's would be safer per say...with 31's you have a lower center of gravity. As for the 10.5 verses 12.5 tire width. I went from 31x10.5 to 33x10.5 after lift. My 33x10.5's handle great on and off road!!

Here's mine with a 3.5" lift and 33X10.5 BFG Mud Terrains.
Planning on a 1" daystar body lift.....soon.

[+Crusader+]

Originally Posted by mrmud4x4

I can't see why 33's would be safer per say...

Psst ... dude, some guy is trying to get better looking tires, and his wife is coming on here to shoot him down.



Yes ma'am, 33's will make the Jeep A LOT safer!!! Seriously, a 33" tire will raise the center of gravity up 1" and not increase the tire width enough to alter that negative affect. BUT in defense of fashion and practicality, 33's will look A LOT better and clear obstacles better offroad. So I say get the 33's ... your husband knows what he's talking about.

[irish_loveAWD]

Originally Posted by +Crusader+

BUT in defense of fashion and practicality, 33's will look A LOT better and clear obstacles better offroad. So I say get the 33's ... your husband knows what he's talking about.

I agree with this. You should take the advantage the 33's will give you off road. Plus....they just look so good on.

[jerseyt719]

Originally Posted by +Crusader+

Psst ... dude, some guy is trying to get better looking tires, and his wife is coming on here to shoot him down.

Ok, BOYS, yes, it is my husband trying to talk me into it, BUT it's MY Jeep. He really has no stake in it. He never drives it, just me.
With that said, if it is for safety reasons, that's one thing, if not, I don't see a reason for me to put out more money when the tires and rims that are on there are great and look just fine.
So, seriously, give me the truth....Please????

[sprowley]

Originally Posted by jerseyt719

Ok, BOYS, yes, it is my husband trying to talk me into it, BUT it's MY Jeep. He really has no stake in it. He never drives it, just me.
With that said, if it is for safety reasons, that's one thing, if not, I don't see a reason for me to put out more money when the tires and rims that are on there are great and look just fine.
So, seriously, give me the truth....Please????

I can't think of any reason larger tires would be safer. Quite the contrary, they would only serve to increase the height of your Center of Gravity. As far as on-road performance goes, it would be less safe.

31"s on 4" of lift can look a bit small though. This may be the motivation behind the effort.

I am not saying that 33"s or larger are unsafe or are inferior to smaller tires, but as far as safety is concerned on-road, I cannot see the reason larger tires are an improvement.

What tires are currently on your YJ?

[jerseyt719]

I currently have Hankook 31"x10.5" on there and there's plenty of tread left on the tires. He said he wants me to go to 33 x 12.5 because the larger tire would provide a wider base.... He's worried about me taking our daughters down the shore in the summer and having to hit the brakes and turn to avoid someone and rolling over with the width I currently have in comparison to the height.

[sprowley]

Originally Posted by jerseyt719

I currently have Hankook 31"x10.5" on there and there's plenty of tread left on the tires. He said he wants me to go to 33 x 12.5 because the larger tire would provide a wider base.... He's worried about me taking our daughters down the shore in the summer and having to hit the brakes and turn to avoid someone and rolling over with the width I currently have in comparison to the height.

By the numbers, you're not going to have practical difference in width of the wheel base.

The listed "width" you always see on tires is the "section width" - the width at the widest point of the tire. This is NOT the width of the tread - the part that actually meets the road and that the vehicle sits on. A 10.5" tire probably has about a 8.5" tread width, and a 12.5" tire probably has about a 10" tread width. My Firestone Destination MTs in 31x10.5 have a tread width of 8.3" and the 33x12.5" flavor has a tread width of 9.9" for a difference of 1.6"

Now you must remember that the tire is centered on the wheel so that increase in width gets split between each half, meaning that only half the increase goes towards the outside to widen the stance. Which then means that, using my MTs, a 12.5" wide tire only increases the vehicle's wb width by 1.6" overall, and that is not significant enough to keep you from rolling or to improve handling over the 10.5" wide tires.

Now, with 12.5" wide tires AND 2" spacers, you could increase your width by almost 6" and that would help. But then the tires would be about 4" outside stock flares, and that's illegal in a lot of places, so either new flares or run the risk of being pulled over.

What will make a much more significant difference (considering tire only) are things like sidewall strength, tire pressure, tread design, siping, et cetera. They'll all have a much larger impact on handling and control than a 12.5" tire will.

In fact, a 12.5" MT will probably weigh about 20-25 lbs more than your current set, and that increase in unsprung weight will not only impact your acceleration, power at the wheels and fuel economy, but more importantly in terms of safety it will drastically affect your braking ability and distance. Larger heavier tires require more force to stop, and would require brake upgrades to return it to stock braking specs.

33"s are going to look a lot better though with that amount of lift. If you got some BFGs which come in 33x9.5 or 33x10.5 you wont be increasing the weight at all, might even decrease (33x9.5 BFG ATs weigh only 42lbs) and if you coupled those with some 1.5" or 2" spacers, you'd have 4" increased width and only be 1.5" short of the 12.5" wide tire's increase with spacers. A set of 42lb BFG ATs in 33x9.5 will be MUCH kinder on your 2.5L than 60-65lb 33x12.5 MTs would as well. That difference would probably be very, very drastic.

Or you could just get 2" spacers and use your current tires. This costs about 120 bucks and would net you 2.5" MORE than a 33x12.5" tire upgrade, not to mention saving you probably 700-800 dollars.

Lastly, a 2" lift would match your tires better and also do much more for your jeeps cornering ability than the 4" lift. I have no idea if you can change this now but if emergency driving safety is the concern, this would have a much greater impact than increasing the width with 33x12.5"s by 1.5"

I hope that was informative enough for you. Opinions can be all over the place but the numbers don't lie.

[mrmud4x4]

Originally Posted by sprowley

By the numbers, you're not going to have practical difference in width of the wheel base.

The listed "width" you always see on tires is the "section width" - the width at the widest point of the tire. This is NOT the width of the tread - the part that actually meets the road and that the vehicle sits on. A 10.5" tire probably has about a 8.5" tread width, and a 12.5" tire probably has about a 10" tread width. My Firestone Destination MTs in 31x10.5 have a tread width of 8.3" and the 33x12.5" flavor has a tread width of 9.9" for a difference of 1.6"

Now you must remember that the tire is centered on the wheel so that increase in width gets split between each half, meaning that only half the increase goes towards the outside to widen the stance. Which then means that, using my MTs, a 12.5" wide tire only increases the vehicle's wb width by 1.6" overall, and that is not significant enough to keep you from rolling or to improve handling over the 10.5" wide tires.

Now, with 12.5" wide tires AND 2" spacers, you could increase your width by almost 6" and that would help. But then the tires would be about 4" outside stock flares, and that's illegal in a lot of places, so either new flares or run the risk of being pulled over.

What will make a much more significant difference (considering tire only) are things like sidewall strength, tire pressure, tread design, siping, et cetera. They'll all have a much larger impact on handling and control than a 12.5" tire will.

In fact, a 12.5" MT will probably weigh about 20-25 lbs more than your current set, and that increase in unsprung weight will not only impact your acceleration, power at the wheels and fuel economy, but more importantly in terms of safety it will drastically affect your braking ability and distance. Larger heavier tires require more force to stop, and would require brake upgrades to return it to stock braking specs.

33"s are going to look a lot better though with that amount of lift. If you got some BFGs which come in 33x9.5 or 33x10.5 you wont be increasing the weight at all, might even decrease (33x9.5 BFG ATs weigh only 42lbs) and if you coupled those with some 1.5" or 2" spacers, you'd have 4" increased width and only be 1.5" short of the 12.5" wide tire's increase with spacers. A set of 42lb BFG ATs in 33x9.5 will be MUCH kinder on your 2.5L than 60-65lb 33x12.5 MTs would as well. That difference would probably be very, very drastic.

Or you could just get 2" spacers and use your current tires. This costs about 120 bucks and would net you 2.5" MORE than a 33x12.5" tire upgrade, not to mention saving you probably 700-800 dollars.

Lastly, a 2" lift would match your tires better and also do much more for your jeeps cornering ability than the 4" lift. I have no idea if you can change this now but if emergency driving safety is the concern, this would have a much greater impact than increasing the width with 33x12.5"s by 1.5"

I hope that was informative enough for you. Opinions can be all over the place but the numbers don't lie.

I agree with everything you state here....except the spacers.....I would not use spacers because they put inreased stress (wear) on your wheel bearings. A rim with some offset would be fine. 2" spacers.....not on my jeep. Probably not good on your u-joints up front when in 4wd either, albeit....I do not have the numbers to show....lol

I do agree with the braking problems that may occur with the heavy/larger tires. This may create a safety problem. You have to realize this before the larger tires are installed and check/upgrade your brakes also.

The statistics are not good for any suv at highway speeds......they have a greater tendency to roll. The higher you lift your vehicle....the higher the center of gravity. No matter what the width of the vehicle, within reason, the laws of physics will take over once a certain speed is met.....what is that speed? If you run 70MPH on the highway, or faster, probably wouldn't make much of a difference because whether you have a lift or not, that rollover speed has more than likely been met.

just my .02

bottom line......33's are probably not safer than 31's in most daily driving scenerios.

[iowajeepers]

And thus dreams die. Beaten and battered. Ripped and torn to be cast into the wind. Way to derail a guys chance at bigger tires :P

I personally think 33" tires are safer than 31" tires. 39.5" is safer yet!

[+Crusader+]

Originally Posted by iowajeepers

And thus dreams die. Beaten and battered. Ripped and torn to be cast into the wind.

I agree, a Jeep is already an inherently unsafe vehicle, might as well have the better tires.

YouTube - Army jeep crash test

[GrimJeeper91]

Originally Posted by +Crusader+

I agree, a Jeep is already an inherently unsafe vehicle, might as well have the better tires.

YouTube - Army jeep crash test

It should be noted that the vehicle in the youtube video is in fact NOT a Jeep.

[jerseyt719]

Thank you all so much for the information. I have decided NOT to get the bigger tires and what made that decision for me is the decrease in power (pick up) that will happen with the larger, heavier tires. I mean, let's face it, a 2.5 isn't very quick as it is, but I'd still like to be able to get out of my own way. If it is fashion reasons, I'd be willing to get new rims, but keep the tires. I mean why not, they're in great shape with a whole lot of life left on them.
I know a Jeep is supposedly an unsafe vehicle, but I have to tell you, I've never felt safer than in a Jeep. Perception, maybe, but sometimes you just go with your gut.
Again, thank you all so much for the thorough information. You all saved me about $1000.

[+Crusader+]

Originally Posted by jerseyt719

Thank you all so much for the information. I have decided NOT to get the bigger tires and what made that decision for me is the decrease in power (pick up) that will happen with the larger, heavier tires. I mean, let's face it, a 2.5 isn't very quick as it is, but I'd still like to be able to get out of my own way. If it is fashion reasons, I'd be willing to get new rims, but keep the tires. I mean why not, they're in great shape with a whole lot of life left on them.
I know a Jeep is supposedly an unsafe vehicle, but I have to tell you, I've never felt safer than in a Jeep. Perception, maybe, but sometimes you just go with your gut.
Again, thank you all so much for the thorough information. You all saved me about $1000.

Just give us a heads-up when your husband comes around, so we can hide.

I suggest getting a smaller lift, like 1.5 or 2.5" springs. That will in fact lower your center of gravity, and be safer. Not to mention look more proportionate with your 31's. Keep the 4" springs in the garage in case you ever move up in tire size.