How much tire is too much?

Have you guys seen the 36x12.50xR16.5 Goodyear military tires? Is this tire too large for a Jeep? I think physically I could get them under my Jeep with a little more arc in my springs.

Right now I am running 33's with no problems. Any thoughts?



Dana 30 up front, Dana 44 in the rear, 5.38's, T98, 225 V6, Dana 18 twin sticker, spring over, reverse shackle setup.

 

A lot of guys are going to tell you that your Dana 30 won't hold up to the 36" tires but it all depends on how you drive. I went down to Moab 3 times with my Dana 27 front and 33's and never broke anything. I think the 36's would be about as big as you would want to go with that short wheelbase. I would even consider chopping some fender over adding lift to keep your center of gravity down.

 

X2 on chopping the fenders over lifting it. Might want to go chromoly with the front axles and you will probably be ok. I personally would want to go wider with the axles though since it will be riding higher, but you might be ok with what you got.

 

You will be pushing the 30 to it's limits. Chromolly shafts and 297 Ujoints and you might be able to do it. But then the carrier and R&P become suspect.

 

Yep, cause even though some may say it's just a :v6: , if it is running good you should be able to grenade the front end on command.

 

One thing to consider before you start upgrading your Dana 30 is even if you go chromolly shafts like MCScott suggests (which is a great idea) you will still just have a dana 30, You might want to consider putting that money aside toward a dana 44 front or even a ford 9 front axle.

 

I wouldn't upgrade the 30. If I did grenade the 30, I would go straight to a Dana 44. I am a firm believer anything can be destroyed if you try hard enough. Granted I am not a rock crawling guy but I have been trail riding for 15+ years now and I have never broken any running gear.

So it sounds like the 36 would be on the edge of acceptability if not outside. If I ever do this, I will post some pics of it.

Thanks for the help.

 

i have also found that the weight of the tire make's alot of differnce.not the rolling weight but the adctule weight i had 35 on mine with a d27 only trouble i ever had was the nukle bolts. the 35's were bf's wich are about 15 pounds a tire lighter than the coopers i had. but the coopers were 8 ply ,jared

 

I would be looking at brake upgrades if you are still on drums. Thats a whole lot of rotating weight.

 

I have 38.5/15/15 Boggers on my 1960 CJ5 with a 225V6 T-18A and dana 20. I have upgraded to dana 44s with 4.56s. So no 36 aren't to big. I went for more lift over cutting which wasn't the best but i don't like cutting body up. I can spin the tires with the deeper gearing. My axles are 60 wms with rockcrawler rims that have 2.5 inches of backspacing. This helps the sidehill wheelin but i am still top heavy. Hope this helps Cody

 

just go grab a matching pair of dana 44's out of a waggy or a J-truck and swap em in..the extra width will help as well.

then agian I have been known to do odd things to classic vehicles

 

FYI J-truck axles are reeeaallly wide. The narrow track Wagoneer or Cherokee (FSJ!) axles work well for a trail Jeep - they are only a couple of inches wider than the CJ wide track axles (front 58" v. 56").

As I recall, the wheel cutout diameter in the rear is something like 33" or 34" diameter. Easy to measure. You'll either have to cut, or else lift enough so that the wheel isn't ever stuffed into the wheel opening. IIRC Hudsonhawk has 34s on his CJ, and he had to cut the rear openings when using flexy springs and a moderate lift. I'd also measure the front fenders to make sure you won't hit the lip at the rear, or bend the front edge.