I just got my rubicon express superflex lift on and now it's time to figure out the shoes. I had a set of BFG MUDs 33x10.50 on my other jeep and loved them but would like to consider some more hardcore trails in the more capable rubicon but don't want to mess up my highway drivability, thoughts?
Your definition of what works must be different than most. If you search and read you'll find most (myself included from actual experience) will say 4.88/5.13 is the best setup for 33s with the 42RLE. And 35s need to be materially beyond that but most can't or don't have their axles setup that deep.
We run mainly desert trails and washes here rocks get pretty knarly in the washes and my old yj would pull all those rocks no problem with stock gearing on 33's I'm not gonna be doing any comp crawling or anything, my old mans got a 06 unlimited non rubicon on those same 33's and his runs well too but I would hate to think I could run 35's and find out I can't that would be an expensive mistake so maybe I'll just stick with 33's
You need to compare apples to apples. What was the transmission gearing in your YJ? Is your father's LJ a auto or a manual? You auto has very steep gearing that you have to compensate for as tires get bigger.
Is have to look at the yj I never paid much attention to it dads is an auto just like mine, only reason I even want to run 35's is I would like to try the rubicon trail in the next year or two once I get my goodies on there, everything I read says it's much better to run the 35's for that. I wonder what I would need to change the gearing to If I went that route, I just need to e able to run 65-70 mph at a decent rpm
Sticky with stock jeep specs will show you the 42RLE gearing. Grimmjeeper has a gear calculator. You can expirement with it to see what your RPMs will be with different gearing. Play with that.
Don't wish to argue with you but your lift is ideal at 3.5 If you couple that with 4:88's, you go to the state of awesome. If your rims are 15x8 and your tires are 12.5, you get the right size footprint for gripping sand and washes. Bear in mind, you purchased a Rubi and that means lots of torque. Torque is a jeeper's goal. You may disagree because you seem to have already made up your mind on what you want.
Hey brotha don't worry bout "arguing" with me I'm on the forum cuz I don't know what to do haha. All input and options are welcome. I was really happy with my 33's in the past and the thing is pretty tall sitting on the pizza cutters. I just didn't want to make a purchase that pricy and regret it down the road, I think anybody that has owned jeeps for any amount of time can understand that
From what I have experienced with my friends jeeps and people on this forums, 33's are a lot less hassle. In order to run 35's reliably it is much, much more expensive than 33's.
Then it comes into play what you want. If you desire to do the rubicon trail with 35's are are willing to go through the process, take biff's suggestion. Play with the gear calculator. Hell you might need new axles to run the proper gears. Control arms. Does your lift give you enough room for 35's?
This is no small decision. Compile your options and evaluate them all. Personally, as long as my jeep is a DD, I won't take it to a high enough level to feel confident running 35's.
Oh it will hold 35's fine enough and it's not a dd just a toy, I just don't always like pulling it behind my fifth wheel so it's nice to be able to let the wife drive it out when we go camping, that's were the drivability on the highway comes in
I run 35s with the 4.0/42rle combo and 4.88 gears. My rig is terribly undergeared on the freeway and downshifts at the slightest incline. You absolutely need to regear for 33s (4.88) or 35s (5.13 or 5.39) if you plan to drive your rig on the freeway. Do not forget to install an auxillary transmission cooler otherwise your transmission will not last long.
That's sounds like it's settled then haha looks like I will go with the 33's. Maybe later down the road I will look into changing the whole setup and look into the big boy rubber.
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