Tires and Axles

[Patrick Langan]

Want 35's but reading I now need to upgrade my axles, is 35's better than 33's? I have a 2015 Sahara JKU... I went that route because, I eventually will upgrade axles and they'll be better than what's on a Rubi. I want to put 35's on but now reading that I should also upgrade axles for any tire 35" and above. Should I just stick with 33's?

 

[James Deaton]

What are you planning to do with it? If you follow Expedition Overland on YouTube, their primary focus is Overlanding, not wheeling or mudding, then you know they run 33" tires. They can run whatever they want, but for Overlanding they choose 33s. I realize they are not everyone's cup of tea, but they Overland often, and make a living doing it, so their opinion is valid in my opinion.

If you are truly Overlanding, there shouldn't be any reason to upgrade the axles on your Jeep. If you need to upgrade the axles on your vehicle to Overland, then you need a different vehicle. People are using Subarus to Overland... We used a Ford Expedition last year (stock drivetrain), and will use a Mitsubishi Montero next year (2019). I'm trying to keep it as stock as possible because it just makes things easier, and way cheaper.

Remember, Overlanding is not mudding, is not wheeling, is not 4x4ing... It's the relentless pursuit of normally unseen locations via expedition into the backcountry with your vehicle. Nothing more. Some people make it more, or think they need Unimogs to Overland, but you don't... If you do, then perhaps you are on the wrong forum... :)

James

 

[MazeVX]

There are many driving 35" with dana30 without any problems, more important is your axle ratio, when you are fully loaded with 35" tires and stock 3.21 ratio it's really not ideal, manual transmission will make it even worse, that's the point you should think about.
Depending on driver skills and type of terrain you should be good on 35".
To me personally it is not necessary I went with 33" with 3.73 stock ratio and auto transmission and I got a diesel in my wrangler jku so I have absolutely no problems and don't feel I need bigger tires.

If, and only if, I break my axle I will upgrade it and would stay with 33" or upgrade to 37" because 35" is to big or not big enough, hope you understand what I was trying to say ...

 

[Patrick Langan]

What are you planning to do with it? If you follow Expedition Overland on YouTube, their primary focus is Overlanding, not wheeling or mudding, then you know they run 33" tires. They can run whatever they want, but for Overlanding they choose 33s. I realize they are not everyone's cup of tea, but they Overland often, and make a living doing it, so their opinion is valid in my opinion.

If you are truly Overlanding, there shouldn't be any reason to upgrade the axles on your Jeep. If you need to upgrade the axles on your vehicle to Overland, then you need a different vehicle. People are using Subarus to Overland... We used a Ford Expedition last year (stock drivetrain), and will use a Mitsubishi Montero next year (2019). I'm trying to keep it as stock as possible because it just makes things easier, and way cheaper.

Remember, Overlanding is not mudding, is not wheeling, is not 4x4ing... It's the relentless pursuit of normally unseen locations via expedition into the backcountry with your vehicle. Nothing more. Some people make it more, or think they need Unimogs to Overland, but you don't... If you do, then perhaps you are on the wrong forum... :)

James[/QUOTE

Thanks for the reply... I wish to be primarily overlanding. My goal is go to Moab and explore there mostly, so with things I was reading people were preferring 35's there. 33's were my original intent but started second guessing myself. Cheers!

 

[Graeman]

With the gearing that you have you should definitely look into better gears for the tires that you want. It will help with performance, economy and all around drivability. If you could find someone selling their Rubicon axles you should buy them. They have 4.10 gears in them plus the 44's are stronger axles than the 30/35 combo that you are currently running. 3.73's for 33" tires and 4.10's if you would like extra pulling power, 4.56 or 4.88 for 35's would be preferred gearing and the same thing 4.56 for everyday use with 4.88 for the wheeling and low gear crawling around easier on the engine gear of choice.

 

[Graeman]

I wonder who told you that your axles are better than a Rubicons? They are so wrong... With axles the higher the number the better the axle so 44 is higher than 30 & 35. Even the new Gladiator will have beefier 44's in them due to towing heavier loads.

 

[Patrick Langan]

I wonder who told you that your axles are better than a Rubicons? They are so wrong... With axles the higher the number the better the axle so 44 is higher than 30 & 35. Even the new Gladiator will have beefier 44's in them due to towing heavier loads.

Haha...no one said they were better. I said that I didn’t buy a Rubicon because when I do upgrade my axles in my Sahara those axles I go to would be better than the Rubicon. However I wasn’t planning on upgrading for many years, so I was saving money on the front to buy more toys with.

 

[MazeVX]

So the sahara should have the same axles as the the sport which is dana30 in front and dana44 in the rear. The spline count is different from the sport/sahara 44 to the ones in the rubicon. The housing is the same so the axle shafts are a little bit weaker in the rear and the front obviously... Dana30 has same axle tube diameter than 44 in the front but smaller gears etc ... As long as you not gear higher than 4.11 you should be fine. I would not regear a dana30 I would buy a teraflex tera30 with different gears if you really need to but ask yourself do you NEED something bigger than 33" Probably not if you drive smart and think a little bit you are good to go.
Go 2,5" lift with 33 save your money and go explore!

 

[Patrick Langan]

So the sahara should have the same axles as the the sport which is dana30 in front and dana44 in the rear. The spline count is different from the sport/sahara 44 to the ones in the rubicon. The housing is the same so the axle shafts are a little bit weaker in the rear and the front obviously... Dana30 has same axle tube diameter than 44 in the front but smaller gears etc ... As long as you not gear higher than 4.11 you should be fine. I would not regear a dana30 I would buy a teraflex tera30 with different gears if you really need to but ask yourself do you NEED something bigger than 33" Probably not if you drive smart and think a little bit you are good to go.
Go 2,5" lift with 33 save your money and go explore!

Yep that is exactly what I was gonna do originally...that is what I will do. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Moabcj7]

I saw you wanted to got and explore Moab. I’ve been going to Moab every year since 1987 and have seen a lot of changes in Jeeps. There really isn’t to many trails you can’t do in JKU running 33s on stock axles with us mild lift. The only thing on a JKU is you have to watch the break over angle because their so long. I run 35s on my 09 JK with a RK 2.5” Max Travel list. It’s an X so it has the 30 in the front and 44 in the rear. Other than running an Aussie locker in the front and a ARB in the rear with 5:13 gears its stock. My plan was to replace when the 30 broke but it’s still going. If you go over 33s than you will need to re gear with the auto is a slug. I overland with my 2012 JKU its running 37s on stock 44s with c gussets only. I light on the pedal so it’s holding together so far. I am upgrading to 60s next year. Both Moab and Colorado are great places to explore in a Jeep.

 

[Kent R]

What are you planning to do with it? If you follow Expedition Overland on YouTube, their primary focus is Overlanding, not wheeling or mudding, then you know they run 33" tires. They can run whatever they want, but for Overlanding they choose 33s. I realize they are not everyone's cup of tea, but they Overland often, and make a living doing it, so their opinion is valid in my opinion.

If you are truly Overlanding, there shouldn't be any reason to upgrade the axles on your Jeep. If you need to upgrade the axles on your vehicle to Overland, then you need a different vehicle. People are using Subarus to Overland... We used a Ford Expedition last year (stock drivetrain), and will use a Mitsubishi Montero next year (2019). I'm trying to keep it as stock as possible because it just makes things easier, and way cheaper.

Remember, Overlanding is not mudding, is not wheeling, is not 4x4ing... It's the relentless pursuit of normally unseen locations via expedition into the backcountry with your vehicle. Nothing more. Some people make it more, or think they need Unimogs to Overland, but you don't... If you do, then perhaps you are on the wrong forum... :)

James

If I didn't have 35" tires for overlanding I probably would not get to many of the places I do. Better to be over prepared than under prepared. This is my experience and not meant to stir up anything.

 

[James Deaton]

No worries :)