Going Expo

I have for a long time been into rock crawling and over the years, I have built my Jeep to reflect that.  With time I have changed my interests though.  I still want to do trails like the Rubicon but I also want something more of a jack of all trades.  To some extent my Jeep is already that but I have sacrificed 'on' for off road along the way.

Now the expedition movement isn't new by any means but until recently has taken a back seat to other forms of recreational offroading.

Currently, my Jeep stands on 35x12.5R15's which at the time was still considered big.  It had been on 32x11.5R15's and before that the stock 205.75R15's (27").  Since it's now a daily driver, the 35's aren't practical for all of the street driving it's required to do.  The tires, Goodyear MT/R's were good all around tires but the reduced performance as well as gas mileage has really taken it's toll on my driving as well as my wallet.

I bought some new to me OE 15x7" 5.25" BS steel wheels just for the new tires.  I current have 15x8.5" Aluminum wheels with 3.75" BS on the Jeep.  These would push the tires outboard where they would stick out well past the stock flares and give it a roller skate look.  I'm wanting to go back to stock width flares and keep the tires under them.

Since the Jeep is running 4.56's and SOA/SUA suspension (SOA up front, SUA in back) it didn't make sense to go with anything smaller then 31x10.5R15's and even that's probably a stretch for the amount of lift.  Gearing wouldn't have been too bad though.  The compromise would be 33x10.5R15's.  Skinny like the 31's but tall for the additional ground clearance.  The only dilemma is that these are common sizes and not too many companies make them.  Even if they make them they might not be available year around.

So that's where I sit, waiting.  

Well, here's an update.  Went to Discount Tires and they said there were 5 (KM2) in the network but they were probably taken.  Whatever that means.  I could have order them but it would be a 4-8 week thing with no confirmation that they would actually be there in that amount of time.  

While I'm waiting here's a pic of the wheels I'll be going to.



I'll also be going back to stock flares as I don't really like the extended flares much.  Not to mention they will mostly be covering air as the new tires should stick out no more then the stock 2.5" flares cover.  

Got a reply from BFG.

"We have no stock available in the Mud Terrain T/A KM2 in a 33X10.50R15.  We also have quite a few backorders.  We apologize for the inconvenience.  This size went back into production 3/20/2011.  Please check back with us in a month."  

Finally got around to getting the new tires mounted.  I'm in the middle of trying to sell my old tires and some other Jeep relayed parts on Craigslist to make some room.  Removed my Warn Trail Flares and went back to stock flares.  Also put my Con-Ferr rack back on so I could haul all the old tires back home.

Went to the local Discount Tires and they were able to match Tire Rack's price and had them delivered the same day.

Still have to do some more tweaking my adjust my steering stops a bit more and bolt the flare extensions back on.  I also need to pull the speedometer gear for a larger one as my speedometer is running a bit fast (2-5mph).

After having 35's for so many years it's strange to have 33's and skinny ones at that.  The Jeep feels a lot smaller.  Almost stock like.





 

Finally getting around to calibrating the speedometer.  Installed the 41T which is the stock gear.  It's about 4MPH slow at 65 MPH which isn't too bad.  I can't believe the speedometer gears have shot up in price.  They used to be $18 at the Dealership.  Now they're $80-$118.  If you've ever done a speedometer gear swap, you know it takes longer to get your tools then it does to swap the gear.

There are some electronic pulse modifiers out there on the market but they're pretty expensive and add additional electronics into the mix.  I want a simple solution that doesn't break the bank.  After some searching I did find that Advance Adapters uses the same gears (4.5" long shaft) for their Atlas.  And they were $37.  Still expensive but palatable.  So I ordered one.  It will hopefully be here before the end of the week.

So far I love the tires especially the size.  The Jeep brakes a whole lot better as well.  No grip issues in the rain.  Gas mileage seems to have increased enough for me to notice it over the % error the speedometer reads.  I'll know for sure once I swap the gear though.