Hi All,
I have a very stock 2001 TJ 4.0L with automatic transmission and 3.07 diff gearing with Dana 44 rear. The bug has finally bitten me and I am at a stage where I need to change the tyres. Currently I am running 225/70R16 BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KOs on factory aluminium Icon 16x7inch rims. After doing the last run on the track, it seems that I need ground clearance, and fast. I have spent about a week researching what available in the local market and what everybody else in the club is running and the choice has come down to tyres.
1) Goodyear Wrangler MT/Rs - they are only available in two 16 sizes 235/85 (32 inch equivalent) and 255/70 (30 inch equivalent). I have read a lot of good reviews about them in magazines, but nobody is running them in NZ. They are expensive and hard to find. One of the dealers said, if you blow a tyre it would be a week or two for a replacement to arrive. I do like the look of it and the reviews in mags have been wonderful.2) BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM - they are available in various sizes and everybody is running them here. They are also relatively cheaper to buy and more commonly available. I am interested in three sizes 235/85 (32 inch), 265/75 (32 inch) and 255/85 (33 inch). I don't think I can go wider than 265s on 7 inch rims. Also I don't really want to change the rims at this stage.
The questions I have:
1) Any personal opinions on how the two tyres would perform in mud, wet tracks and wet rocks (it rains a lot in NZ).2) Two guys in our club are running 32/10.5 R15 BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain on stock TJ suspensions and without sway bars and have no rubbing at all at any stage. I was thinking, can I perhaps then go with narrower 33s (255/85R16) for now and upgrade the suspension in 3/4 months (which I can't do rightnow due to the need for spreading the budget a bit). I am new to this sport, so don't do it every weekend. I can be careful during the period while my suspension is stock.
3) How much of a power loss would it be due to 3.07 gearing. Its an auto. Regearing to 4.10 or 4.56 is in the plans, but more like 9/12 months away.4) Which speedo gear would I need to recalibrate my speedo with 32 or 33 inch tyres. I am more inclined towards 33s as almost everybody else is running at least 33s here and following those setups is not fun with my bum rubbing on even pebbles in stock tyres.
Thanks all for your valuable input, you guys have been really helpful in the past.
Cheers TW