Biggest tires you'd put on a 95 4-Banger

[BostonJeep]

I'm about to purchase my lift ( november my bday) and i'm looking at new meats.

I'd love to run 33"'s but can my 2.5L with no engine mods handle that?

I cant afford to replace the gears just yet, but dont want to settle for 31's...

What do you guys think?

 

[far_right]

just keep the stock tires, till u can get some gears

 

[BostonJeep]

well thats another problem, my tires are running dangerously low on thread. I need to buy new tires this winter. adds urgency to the situation and i dont want to spent my money on pansy tires. Are there any cheap engine mods i can make to make more sense of the 33" situation?

 

[TwistedCU]

I have 32's and drive about 100 miles a day with the 2.5l. I'm ok with it.

 

[K-Phat]

Hey there are some engine mods you could do to gain some power. Some are cheaper than others. The cheapest and simiplest thing to do is put a K&N air filter in. Cost you 40 bucks. If you are looking to spend more you can go with a air intake system, but those run from 140 to 250. Finially a throttle body Spacer will add a little power and will run you around 70 bucks. Check out Quadratec. They have a whole section on power upgrades.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

www.rustysoffroad.com has an airtube and K&N for $50 or $60, works great. I've also got Rusty's Flowmaster cat-back for about $150.

4.0L throttle body is about $50 and a direct fit, and a 4.0L throttle body spacer is also $50.

I run 32" tires with those engine mods and stock 4.11 axle gears, it's liveable. 33" is liveable until you can afford to regear, you just can't pass on the road and rarely use 5th gear.

 

[jps4jeep]

Come on you cheap-skate, throw four more hampsters under that hood and toss a V in fron of that number, Now we are talkin!!

It is definatly liveable, But If I was you and the way you like to drive, ya I noticed, I would go with 32's with the lift your getting have extra room for flex, cause you need that, cost saving, better for your stock 4:11 gearing. Put in the 1/2 inch shackles for now! If you want to up the ante for 33's get them after you regear, and use them as Off Highway tires only, they will last ten times longer, and increase your savings! then just perform either a TJ flare cut out job, or a 1" body lift and your all done!

Johnny

 

[outerbeachyj]

Check out my post "Lift Spending Advice?!" Looks like we are doing the exact same thing! I was also wondering about the max tire size for my 2.5 and it seems like 32" is the biggest we should go. We don't want to put too much strain on the engine, gears, etc. Which lift are you getting? (brand, size etc) We may have the same set up by next spring...
I am going with the BFG tires 31 or 32" and the 3.5 BDS lift. Good luck with the install! Take notes as I may need help too.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

You won't notice any difference between having the 32" and the 33" tires, they are so close in size. Get what fits and what you want for the long run.

When considering tires for the 4banger consider heavily on getting skinnier tires. Two reasons:

• Less weight equals less rotating mass, easier to accelerate with the 2.5L
  Less width equals less frontal surface area, less wind resistance, better road manners, less resistance in mud

BFG is one of the few manufacturers that makes a 33"x10.5" in the MT and AT, and the swamper radial in 32"x10.5" is a good tire if you want more aggressive at the expense of quicker tire wear. The swampers run true to size, so even though it's a 32", it's comparable to BFG and other brand's 33" tires.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Skinny tires don't have the coolness factor of adding large fat tires to a 4x4, but it's a tradeoff between looks and what works best for your drivetrain.

 

[Snitty]

if you are looking for a good way to get some power out of that... get rid of the clutch fan and go electric... a clutch fan creates a lot of drag... use that power for the wheels, not for cooling

 

[Tug-n-pull]

even 31's will slow you down! Tug

 

[Sully]

31 inch tires are perdy big.They arent 33's,but they will take you up and over what you need.I would go with 31's,then just trim the flares down a bit.I will try and post a pic of my friends 95 YJ on 31's with no lift or flare trimming.

 

[jeepin916]

i got 33x12.50's on my 2.5 and its doing fine with an auto trans rite now but i would save up and do the gears and the tires at the same time. and for some xtra power i got a k&N and a cold air set up with a header.

 

[hi_c]

I can't speak from experience yet, but I'm gettin the Ruff Country lift and some 33x10.5 this winter to go with my 2.5L as well. I already have the K&N, but I didn't see that much of an increase in power.

However, my cat.converter went out 2 months ago. I gutted that thing like a 20lb. catfish. That gave me more power than anything I have ever noticed. If it's legal in your state... or rather, if you don't have vehicle inspections, I would remove your cat and put in a straight pipe. Then you will get more horses back. I would estimate that I got 10hp (+ or - 2) back to the rear wheels.

The 4.0 Throttle body is gonna be my next mod.

 

[Tug-n-pull]

My YJ was set up with a K&N straight exaust with a Flowmaster and I still lost 5th gear when I went to 31 x 11.5 x 15 Mickey Thompson Baja Claws. It was liveable as I am not one to go real fast anyway but mileage suffers and power is lost. Had it to do all over and I do "many times I hope" I will be searching out lower geared front and rear axels and or regearint the stockones prior to the future lifts and tires. tug