tires: 32's rear, 33's front

I got a little gash on the sidewall of my 33. City tire tells me they can't fix it, so immediatly I thought about putting the 32's from my m38a1 on. I realized my 32's arn't balanced and also they have a ton of beef (tread), and I'd like to keep it that way. I thought about putting the 33's up front since I don't care if they wear down, plus they're balanced. I've run bigger tires in front on my van for years. Then my friend told me, it's a big no-no and on 4x4 vehicles, you need 4 tires the same size. ???? Is this a must?

 

Running tires of different sizes front to rear on a 4 wheel drive is a no no. It will bind up the drive train and eventially break parts.

 

If you want to put it in four wheel drive and your front and rear axles have the same ratio. Tires need to be same/veryclose to the same dia. Measure your tires and if by chance they are very close to the same diameter(different mfg differ sometimes)you'd have a better chance of getting away with it. Ford got away with it with 4.09 and 4.10 ratios in the early Bronco's. Where it is really critical is on a hard non slipping surface.hth

 

Yes you must use the same size tires. Have you ever tried to drive in 4wd on hard pavement? Even with the same size tires the Jeep running gear binds up. I don't know what would happen if you had miss matched tires.

Not a good idea. Now if you only run in 2wd. I don't see a problem.

 

I would say go ahead and measure them first. If it is close I would say run it. You could even run a little less air in the 33's to bring the loaded radius down a bit to even it out.

 

There is an inch difference. Thank you for your opinions. Most of the driving in the next few days will be 2wd. I think I will leave them on for now and try again to get the blown tire fixed. Won't be too long. I'll leave it out of 4 wheel drive and if its needed, it will obiviously be able to slip. Once again thanks for your opinions. Its nice to know my idea's arn't completly unthought of.

 

If it were me I wouldn't repair sidewall damage.

 

Yea, thats what the survey says. My dad was a foreman of the city garage and anytime he needed a sidewall fixed on a truck, they'de have it vucanized no problem. Apparently noone does this anymore...or has even heard of it. Must be a liability thing

 

I've been reading alot of websites on how to patch your sidewall well enough to get home. One website tho, showed how to get the tire off the rim to patch it or put in tube. The patch sounds kinda iffy but the tube sounds like an excellent idea! No????

 

Jeez man, you're cheaper than me! Just buy a new tire.

 

Heat buildup is a issue with tubes.

 

well one tire means two tires which means $400. If I could fix it for $30 to ride trails for another day...

 

Also, isn't there something about needing a radial tube if you're running radial tires?

 

i wouldnt run different size tires if your going to use your jeep alot on city streets. but if your just going to trailer the jeep to a mushy trail to have fun, then it should be ok.

 

What would happen with them on city streets with the T-case in 2H ?

 

I'm running different sized tires on my truck . 265/75 vs 245/75 or something like that. Pretty squirlly and bucky driving down a snow covered road in 4wd. It's constantly breaking traction...

 

It won't handle any differently than it did before.