Trade offs - Tire Size (diameter)

As with anything in life there are trade offs when it comes to selecting tires for your vehicle. Increasing tires size can greatly increase the off-road capabilities of your vehicle. Larger tires provide increases in total ground clearance, an increased traction footprint & flotation, make climbing obstacles easier, and just plain look better on your Jeep. However all of these benefits have a price.

Larger tires are more expensive in general and may require expensive suspension upgrades for proper clearance, especially on the trail.

Tires more than an inch or two larger than stock may require you to change the ring & pinion gears in the differentials of both the front and rear axle in order to keep your engine running in the optimum power range - especially when off-road, going uphill or driving on the freeway.

Increased tire diameter increases the torque loads on the axles, u-joints & drive shafts. For significantly larger tires it is usually necessary to upgrade these components, especially where traction aiding devices such as lockers or limited slip is used, or you may risk breaking one of these components on the trail.

Bigger tires are heavier tires. This increased rotating mass and the increased leverage provided by the larger tire often call for increases in braking power: changing brake pad materials, rear disc brake conversions, beefing up the master cylinder or even switching to larger disk and calipers are all options. Driving a tall, heavy, modified short wheelbase Jeep with 35" tires and stock brakes in poor condition at highway speeds can be a recipe for disaster!

All increases in weight caused by the larger tire and any axle or brake upgrades also increases unsprung weight. This does not matter much on the trail, but can make the ride at higher speeds much more harsh. When mounting the tire you will find that it is often much more difficult to balance the tire correctly. This is due to the extra weight of the tire, the increased rotating inertia of the tire, and manufacturers tolerances on larger tires. It can take quite a bit of weight to balance a large tire and many shops that do not routinely handle tires of this size may not do a good job.


So - bigger tires have a price, the bigger the size change the more modifications are needed to properly set up your Jeep; still, on the trail, there are times when putting more rubber on the ground, or more space between the vehicle and the ground, is exactly what you need.

Trade-Offs - Tire Size (width)

Tire diameter is not the only issue - tire width is important to. Wider tires increase footprint which can be important for traction or increased flotation. The trade off include that wider tires can also require extended fender coverage in many states and may require changes in wheel width & offset to work properly. On stock offset wheels the tires may be mostly covered by the stock fender flares but rub on suspension components when turning thus reducing effective turning radius. The incredibly tight turning radius of a jeep is one of it's important advantages on the trail. Wider wheels or wheels with increased offset move the tires outboard and can greatly reduce the rubbing when turning but make the vehicle wider. This increased width may be an advantage for stability if you drive a lifted vehicle or a disadvantage of you are squeezing down a trail better suited for a Samurai or a quad. Lastly narrower tires can sometimes be an advantage where the best traction is located just a few inches below the surface (such a shallow snow or mud) and the decreased footprint and increased pressure aids the tires in getting down to where it can get a bite.

Tread Patterns

The choice of tread pattern is important in your new tire decision making process. Tread pattern should be chosen based on the intended use of the Jeep. The most popular tread pattern for all around off-road use is a mud terrain pattern.

The mud terrain or mud tire pattern is characterized by large lugs on the tire with large voids between these lugs. The large lugs provide plenty of bite in low traction conditions while the large voids allow the tire to clean itself by throwing off mud or other material when spinning thus providing a good bite on every rotation of the tire. These tires are also very popular for rock crawling as the large lugs can provide a way of gripping and pulling the tires up and over irregular rocky edges where a smoother pattern would just spin. The biggest disadvantage of these patterns is that they run rough and loud on the highway. To reduce this problem choose a tire with irregular or asymmetric spacing of the lugs and voids to reduce harmonic vibration at highway speeds. There are also situations such cold powder snow or sand where an all-terrain pattern would be better.  It is also important to take side wall tread patterns into consideration.  Side wall tread patterns that extend well beyond the normal foot print of some mud tires provide greater traction on deeply rutted, muddy trails and provide greater lateral grip when traversing smooth rock formations.


The general purpose all terrain tire generally has an interlocked tread pattern with siping (small cuts) on the tread blocks. The voids in these tires are also generally much smaller than those on tires designed for use in the mud. The denser pattern of blocks and smaller voids make these tires quieter on the street. It also increases the surface area of the tread which gives the tire improved flotation on surfaces such as light powdery snow or sand. The increased siping can be important in snow were it is the number of edges, even quite small edges, biting into the snow that provides the "bite". The downside is that the smaller voids cannot clean themselves as easily of packed mud or slush as the larger voids on mud tires do. If these voids fill up with mud the tire loses much of it's "bite" and traction is lost.

While the all terrain pattern's improved flotation and additional siping may be an advantage in absolutely dry powder or packed snow, the mud terrain may be the wiser choice if the snow or underlying terrain is, or can turn, slushy or muddy. In these cases the all terrain pattern can become packed with mud and stuck where a mud terrain pattern would self clean and plow on through.

In sand the improved flotation provided by the dense tread pattern of the all-terrain tires can be a distinct advantage.

A variety of manufacturers also offer a family of tires sometimes called trail tires or something near that. These are most often tires designed for use on light trucks or sport utility vehicles which see most of their use on the street. They will generally be quieter, get better gas mileage and last longer than either of the other off-road patterns. The tread patterns are designed to provide significantly improved comfort or performance on the street which can sometimes compromise serious off-road capability. I personally would not recommend them for anything other than light off-road use in dirt, on unpaved roads or trails where you are unlikely to encounter mud, significant rocks or other unpleasant conditions. Fortunately this is the limit to which most of their intended market are likely to take them.

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