Break in

troy b · 10-03-2005, 05:20 AM

I am picking up my '05 Unlimited today and was looking at swapping to 33x12.5 tires. My question is, will this hamper the break in period, and should I wait until a certain mileage till I swap?
Thanks,
Troy

RockRunner85 · 10-03-2005, 05:40 AM

Your going to need a lift as well to run those tires. No it is not going to affect your breakin. However if it was my rig I would run it stock for 1k or so to make sure everything was good. Some dealers give crap about mods for warranty coverage and it would be nice to know everything was sound before making mods.

KaiserJeep · 10-03-2005, 07:45 AM

The real purpose of the breakin period has little to do with the Jeep and everything to do with the driver. Statistics say that the most accidents happen to brand new vehicles that the drivers are not yet familiar with. Therefore the dealers insist that the owners drive at reduced speeds during the most dangerous 500 miles.

It matters little how many Jeeps or TJs you have owned or driven. In fact the correlation goes the other way, first-time Jeep owners are among the most cautious and drive the slowest. A longtime TJ owner will try to thrash his new vehicle at least as fast as his old one and will experience the highest accident rate.

By all means observe the breakin period. There are a few not-so-obvious items. Brand new tires, for example take a few hundred miles to lose all the mold release compound and become flexible and to conform to the road. So remember to be cautious after every tire purchase, including a brand new vehicle.

**Jerry Bransford** · 10-03-2005, 07:51 AM

Your new Unlimited doesn't really need a break-in like older cars used to need. But don't try to install 33" tires on it without a proper suspension lift. For 33" tires, 4" is recommended, which can also be a 3" suspension lift and a 1" body lift. 3" just doesn't provide enough clearance except for maybe a street-only Jeep.