Never Late

Hey all, I currently have a mixed lift which nets me about 4.5" in front and 4" in rear. I am in the process of upgrading from my 31s to 33s but was wondering what it would take for run 35s. I am having new 4.56s installed in the next week or two in anticipation of jumping to 33s. However from searching and looking at other XJs, I may be able to run them ok with flat flares and the 4.5" lift...I also may throw in a .75" extended shackle as added insurance in the rear. My jeep is not my DD and doesn't see much offroading. I snow wheel when the weather allows and I would like to hit a few novice trails this fall. Let me know your thoughts...

shooptube

My 4.5 lift on 35s. Minor trimming.

Never Late

Shooptube, is the amount of cutting you did about the same that would be needed to run Bushwacker flat fenders? I need to have some sort of fender flare, but I don't expect the stock flares to work. I wouldn't mind the bushwacker if it provides reasonable clearance...Again this is a snow wheeler, light trail jeep.

HYRYSC

One thing that you will definitely want to look at with 35's is regearing. I moved from 30's to 33's recently with my addition of a 4.5 inch longarm. Gearing was just OK, but even a little hill caused it to want to downshift and hunt for the next gear and cruise control was out of the question. Stock gearing with 35's would probably be no fun at all.

Then I regeared to 4.88's and I can run the cruise control on everything but the steepest grade. Offroad? Well there is no comparison. It almost wants to idle over and through anything.

4.88s are a bit low for 33's, but when I upgrade to 35's after trying these 33's, it should be about perfect.

You will also need to do some trimming. It won't take much with a 4.5 inch lift, but it will definitely take some unless you bumpstop the heck out of it.

shooptube

About that yeah. The rear I just did the slices and bent it all in with a hammer. Pretty standard procedure. The front I cut along the first bend outward and left the bent metal lip so it looked like a flare.

Jeepin'_Aint_EZ

Neverlate, please take the time to fill out your vehicle information so we can easily reference what kind of vehicle you have and the modifications.

35's can be done with 4.5" lift but there is certainly a considerable amount of cutting to be done as well as properly bumpstopping the suspension to prevent the tires from eating the body. Bumpstops are your friend, especially essential for creating a suspension that works well.

4.56 gears are just fine for 35's. Dana 30 pinions become dangerously small with 4.88's. This horse can only be beaten so much...

XJwonders

This is my jeep on 4.5" of lift with 35" tires

I THINK I cut out same area you would need to cut for bushwackers you will definitely need to bumpstop properly.

TRCM

You're right....and for 99% of the people out there, 4.88 & 5.13 pinion gears in a dana 30 will be just fine.

It's only the hardcore or the high power crowd that breaks them......

Jeepin'_Aint_EZ

I definitely don't agree with this. You don't have to be hardcore at all to break a D30 pinion with 4.88's or 5.13's. This isn't some fabricated idea. It's fact. You're severely reducing the strength of your pinion going with that kind of gearing in a D30.

HYRYSC

Meh, to each their own, but I have seen u-joints and shafts let go before pinions with 4.88's or even 5.13's.

Its true that it does become a bit of a softer spot, but that doesn't mean that it will just break the first time you hit a trail.

I use (and carry spares of) standard axles and won't upgrade to chromoly axles because if something does let go, I would prefer it be an easy to replace axle.

With that said, I have read about and seen several folks with 5.13 gears on 36's and up with the Dana 30 and have seen broken shafts, ujoints etc, but never seen (but have heard about) broken pinions.

Nothing lasts forever. Wheel your stuff, usually it doesn't break, sometimes it does, built it back better.

Never Late

Updated my signature. Sorry about that. I have 4.56 gears in my living room waiting to go in, so gearing will be fine. I currently have 4.5" in the front and about 4" lift in the rear. I have 31s and they don't rub at all at this point. I thought about adding a .75" extended shackle in the rear if necessary to ensure I clear the tires. Bump stopping is new to me but I can research how to do it properly. My lift is pretty firm so I don't wobble around cutting the tires.

Jeepin'_Aint_EZ

I would definitely prefer a u-joint or shaft let go before a pinion lol. I think we can both agree that it depends what kind of wheeling you do. The end of your post is signature worthy for so much truth

gleason51

This is 5" in the front and 4.5" springs with boomerang shackles in the rear with 35s. I trimmed quite a bit then bumpstopped accordingly.

If you plan on Bushwacker flats, the instructions have you use the top mounting holes from the stock flares then cut more fender away from the sides if that makes sense. So if you cut those factory holes off you would just have to do some extra work to make them fit properly