Newbie 31" Questions

I mostly lurk here and pickup what I can about my Jeep?but ?cars? are not my strong suite and I'm more of a ?gear head? when it comes to computers. So, my 2003 Wrangler Sport is, basically, stock and came with the 30" GSAs?but one of these tires is wearing poorly, even with good rotating hygiene, and, I guess, I'll be in the market for new tires soon.

I've decided that I don't do enough off-roading to warrant 33s, especially as this is still my daily driver which is mostly highway, so I'm considering

31" MTRs. I have the V6, 4-speed automatic, D44s and 3.73 gearing.

Also, in the future, because I'm heavily annoyed by them on the trails, I plan to do something that'll make it very easy to disconnect and reconnect the sway bars, but not something as easy as the neat electronic disconnects on the 07 Wrangler, so I don't know if I need to account for these being disconnected as well with 31s.

My questions:

  • There don?t seem to be consistent agreement between 31s and 3.73 versus
4.10. My question is, am I going to notice the reduced power coming from 30s and 3.73 with the 31s?
  • If I go with the 31s, do I want a 1" lift or something to make certain there's no rubbing in all conditions?on and off-road? If so, is it a 1" shock spacer? 1" body lift? Do I need to deal with steering stops and such? Muck with the speedometer?
  • Should I not bother with all of this and just go with 30? MTRs?
  • Any recommendations on a solution for the sway bars that is reliable and "Just Works?"

I guess what I want to know is, if I need to make any adjustments to allow for the 31s to "breath well," what is the MOST CORRECT way in going about doing this? I'm not interested in saving a dollar if I might need to spend two in another year or two.

I just believe in doing things right?the first time.

Thanks in advance, Danny

Reply to
Daniel Melameth
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Hi Dan:

First, you have an I-6, not a V-6. "I" means "inline." All 6 cylinders are in a straight line.

Second, you will have no problems with 31's and 3.73 gearing. I had that combo on my '02 TJ and it worked just fine. No rubbing on mine either, but if you to have rubbing, a simple adjustment to the steering stops is all that is required.

Check it out here:

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This is a very easy adjustment, but you might not even need it. Some TJ rub and some don't with the 31's. No lift is required.

Tom

disconnects

Reply to
mabar

Get the 31's, you will be happy.

You can get a 2" Budget boost for under $140 shipped to your door from

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It's coil spring spacers and bar pin eliminators. It's easy to install and you won't need to mess with your steering, and your speedometer should stay pretty close to dead on. You shouldn't have any problems with driveline vibes or any handling problems, and your Jeep will still ride as good as stock.

Don't get a body lift! Body lifts are just plain awful. Body lift = SHAME LIFT.

A set of sway bar disconnects are about $75-100. Many like many different brands, lots like JKS. check out

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and RRO for different options. I would say pull the rear sway bar and get disco's for the front. Defanetly don't go w/o the front bar.

Where are you located? I may be selling a set of 4 31x10.5 Mickey Thompson Baja Claws soon. They are in decent condition with about 75% tread left.

Carl

Reply to
CarlSaiyed

Ya my gf has 31's w/ 3.73 gears and no rubbing or lift was needed. Still drives fine with automatic transmission.

I had made some swaybar disconnects from a website on the internet, outta parts from home depot but ended up taking it out cuz of wear. Don't really need them here though in Florida.

Troy

Reply to
Troy

In my experience, no. I went from 30s to 31s and still have 3.73s and had no difficulty. Noticed a little change in the speedo, but not bad. Since you've got the 6-cylinder, you probably won't notice much difference.

You'll want/need to adjust the bumpstops on the front so you don't rub when you've got the wheel cranked. If you're not wheeling a lot, I don't think I'd bother with a lift - unless you're doing something at full articulation, odds are you're not going to run into trouble with stuffing the tire. You can change the speedo gear if you want, but I didn't bother.

If you do decide to do a lift, the budget boost that someone mentioned will likely be all the lift you'll want. IMHO if you start going too big on lifts with 31s, it ends up looking goofy. ;)

If you're doing mostly highway driving, you may want to re-think on the MTs? They'll wear down faster than ATs, and you'll get more road noise from them. Just a thought. I know there are folks who love their MTs. I've tried MTs when I went to 33s, but don't do enough in the mud to make them worthwhile for me, so I'm going back to ATs next week.

How annoyed is "very annoyed"? =) For me, a crescent wrench and a ratchet worked just fine to disconnect, and a pair of bungee cords keeps the swaybar out of the way while on the trails.

Tirya '99 TJ Sahara

Reply to
Tirya

See if you can find a set of Rubicon wheels and tires in your local area. Adjust your bumpstops, and it will work. Throw on the 2" budget boost for a little clearance and you will be happy.

Reply to
mark

On my '02 TJ, changing from factory 30's to BFG 31's actually made the speedo more accurate.

I checked it with my GPS and with the 31's the speed was accurate.

On many vehicles, the speedo reads a little faster than the actual speed right from the factory.

Tom

. I went from 30s to 31s and still have 3.73s and had

Reply to
mabar

With Rubicon wheels and tires, you definitely won't need to adjust the steering stops. Rubicons use a 245 x 75 x 16" tire, which actually is about

9.5" wide. A 31" x 10 x 15" tire is about 10" wide. That 1/2" extra width is why you MAY need to adjust the stops. I did not need any adjustment on my '02 TJ with 31's x 10"

Tom

Reply to
mabar

Thanks Tom--I didn't realize the adjustment was so simple.

Reply to
Daniel Melameth

Point taken ;)

Yea, I've thought about this, but I think I still want the MTRs for the off-road prowess. Also, hopefully in a year or so the Jeep will become my "second car" so it won't get as much wear.

I've been there and done that and want something else ;) .

Reply to
Daniel Melameth

Good advice--I'm going to give this one a shot. Thanks.

Reply to
Daniel Melameth

I think I will.

Thanks--good to know.

I took a peek at the Baja Claws and they look quite nice--but I'm in CO (and I see you are in VA). I'll try to find someone local that's looking to get rid of their wheels and tires from a new or fairly new Rubicon.

Reply to
Daniel Melameth

Thanks for the feedback guys. Unless anyone can convince me otherwise, it looks like I'll go with 31s and sway bar disconnects--and try not to make any other changes at this time unless necessary.

Reply to
Daniel Melameth

Dan- You'll enjoy the 31's. Yes, it would be very impractical to come all the way to the east coast. Definately get the MT/Rs if you can. I have a set of 30x9.5" MT/R's on an 89 XJ and they are fantastic. Put them on at about 128k, now have 148k, still look new, ride great, great traction off road and are pretty quiet for a mud tire!

Carl

Daniel Melameth wrote:

Reply to
CarlSaiyed

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