It crossed my mind that I would save a decent amount of money and wear and tear on my 99 XJ if I scoured Craigslist for a random set of ugly stock rims with 215 or 225 tires, and just rocked those for longer trips/ until the snow falls. I know it would look goofy with my 4 in lift but any of you guys consider doing it?


I love the roar, look, and feel of my 33's but the truck is just a dog on these mundane 50 degree trips to work and the gym. I know it would be a 30 min swap to go from the big 33's to the stockers, but would it be worth the 3-5 mpg and just over all wear and tear on the u joints, trans etc?

 

U might be surprised at the git-up-n-go u get back going from 33" to 28". We went with 235/70/15.....keep a little width while staying with stock height.

 

I say get some 30x9.5s or 235/75/15s. Here is my rig before I got bigger tires.. 4.5" RE lift and 30x9.5 BFG's

 

It's basically gonna come down to these questions for you. Will the price of the rims and tires plus however much time you put in to constantly swapping, be easily covered by the mileage you save? Run some numbers and see how long it'll take for them to pay for themselves. And be honest with yourself, will you actually take the time to swap? Obviously you're not gonna hit the trails with little 215s but how many times will you say "eh I'm just running to the store, I'll leave the 33s on"?

Personally I don't think it's worth it. The stockers will take a bit to pay for themselves, plus all the time going into frequent swaps? I'd get lazy and end up only doing the swap for 100+ mile trips.

I'd compromise down to 30-32 inch tires for good. I have 31s and yeah, 33x12.5s look wayyyy cooler but where my tires aren't fatter my wallet definitely is

 

Have you ever considered correctly gearing your axles?

 

ya I have to admit the swapping would get old, and I would hate to get caught next to another lifted/built jeep and be riding on four spares But I was just thinking now until december and the 33's would basically be full time. I have sold two sets of stock sized 15's for $100 or so, and this is the season where guys are selling their stockers to go bigger.

Absolutely. I know that is the only true fix, but with the cold weather here to stay, and the cost, that is one mod that will have to wait until spring.

 

This is something to keep in mind:



Blue is power, black is balanced, and yellow is fuel economy.

My yj had 33's and 3.73 gears, and I saw it get around 22 miles to the gallon on a few highway only trips. I couldn't use 5th gear if there was any hill or headwind.

 

I'm only going to be running 31's and Im having my gears changed from 3.55 to 4.10's figured since i was getting my front axle rebuilt might as well gear them in case i roll larger than 31"

 

So, that chart says you should get better fuel economy with 3.55s and 31's than stock? lol. Sounds accurate.

 

If you keep your foot out of the gas, yes.

Think about it taller tires do take more power to turn, but they move you further with the same amount of turns of the axle and such.

 

According to that chart I'm severely off :-/ 31s on my stock 3.07 gears (I have a manual), but if yellow is mileage shouldn't left of the yellow be Prius-status? lol

 

Right... IF you're running down the interstate the entire time.

Run those gear and tire in any kind of traffic it's the complete opposite.

Bottom line, that chart is vague as hell.

 

Yes its vague no doubt, and the increase in mileage would be probably be in decimals, but I guess its still something to ponder.