so right now i have a 4.5 rc lift and 31s on my 96 xj. the tires are getting pretty worn a lot sooner then i would have hoped for. my original plan was going to wait for winter to try and pick up some axles with 4.10s from the junkyard and get 33s but im not sure when i will have the time to do all that. for now should i wait till get axles then get 33's or will i be fine with 32's on stock axles?

 

Well winter time is a good time to have money put away ,so I would just get a set of tires for now , and start putting money away for that project first thing in the spring, but if you got no other bills and live for free .I guess you can do it when you want but good luck.

 

which size though will i notice much more of a power drop from the 31's to 32's?

 

The larger the tires the more they rob power.

 

I run 32's on my stock gear. I wont lie, I could definately tell a power loss. But it still does great on the trails and in the mud. if your not trying to race teenagers with vettes on the highway they will be fine!

 

Did you mean to say, " will I be okay on stock gearing?" swapping to an axle assembly with 4.11's won't prevent you from breaking axles... I would be more concerned about the transmission dealing with it...

 

Yeah im pritty sure thats what he meant. I think he's mostly concerned with power loss due to gearing

 

I run 32's on stock gears as well. It's prefectly fine. Honestly i didn't really notice a huge loss in power from stock to the 32's. Although i drive my Jeep like a grandpa, i rarely ever put the pedal to the floor.

 

Yeah me either, i cant afford to!

 

I guess it depends on what your stock gear ratio is, if you have an auto trans with 3.55s you could probably get by running 33s in a pinch. If you have a manual with 3.07s I wouldn't want to run 33s, my Cherokee with stock 3.07s feels sluggish with 30s.

 

how does your manual do out on the trails. I think it would be great at first but get aggrivating after a while

 

i had 33/12.50/15 on mine with stock gearing (3.07) and it sucked. no 5th gear (o by the way mine is a 5 speed) just put in a 8.25 with 4.10's now i don't have to down shift to go up small hills but if your buying new tires i say get what you want and get gears when you can. i wheeled on old setup for a good bit no problems just getting there sucked

 

Alright so... My ex gf runs 32's on stock gearing with an auto and the 4.5" RC lift as well. Her jeep still has plenty of power, you can feel it dropped yes, but its not terrible...


I run 33's on my stock 3.07's and i have MORE than enough power still and i have 5th gear , can beat little stock cherokees.... .... But i also have some engine mods. The biggest thing you will feel is gas mielage, 32's or 33's on a stock axle wont be bad, keep your foot out of the gas on the trails and no hard starts and you will never notice. Btw she runs a D35 out back

 

bte sorry she got in the picture but.... here is her's

 

I really haven't had it on the trails that much yet I don't have bumpers or my winch on yet, plus no lift or decent tires, so I've just did a few two tracks nothing much. I haven't even put a hand throttle on yet, but I think it will be ok when I get it ready, and get use to running a stick on harder trails again.