Tire question
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Tire question
- Thread starter Jimmy Jeep
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- 1965 CJ-5 Buick V6 Ford T-18 4-Speed Spicer 20/18,Warn Overdrive Dana 30 & 44 w/Powr-Lok posi / both,4.27 gears 33" tires.
Jimmy,
2.5 inches is at the bare minimum even with a 31" tire.........assuming you still have the Dana 25 or 27 stock width up front and the stock width Dana 44 in the rear they will always rub inside the tubs and if it's not high enough the rear fender radius will need to be enlarged.You need to get to 3" on the springs and then take out those old original flat pieces of rubber Willy's called body mounts that were barely 1/8" thick when compressed and use a High energy mount the shortest they have which is 5/8" thick and now you have 3.5" of lift. Stay with the 10.5 " wide tires they work fine.
By doing the Dana 30 narrow track up front you gain 1.5" per side and if you put a 3/4"-1" spacer on the rears it about makes it all line up front to back ....
BusaDave9
Always Off-Roading Jeeper
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- 1979 Jeep CJ5 with 304 V8, T18 Transmission, Dana 20 Transfer case with TeraLow 3:1 gears, 4.88 axle gears, Detroit Locker up front and Ox Locker in back with 1 piece axle shafts, 36" SuperSwamper SX Tires, Shackle reversal, MileMarker Hydraulic winch, MSD 6A ignition.
The real problem with putting bigger tires on a CJ is the rear fender has a radius for a 31 inch tire. You have to lift the jeep a lot to fit a tire just a little bigger than that. Cutting a little in around the rear wheel well will help you get bigger tires.
I have 36 inch tires but I have done a lot of cutting.
I assume you still want a stock look. If you cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch off the front and rear of the rear wheel well you can fit 33's with a 2.5 inch lift. And still use the OEM fender flairs.
I have 36 inch tires but I have done a lot of cutting.
I assume you still want a stock look. If you cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch off the front and rear of the rear wheel well you can fit 33's with a 2.5 inch lift. And still use the OEM fender flairs.
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- 1965 CJ-5 Buick V6 Ford T-18 4-Speed Spicer 20/18,Warn Overdrive Dana 30 & 44 w/Powr-Lok posi / both,4.27 gears 33" tires.
The real problem with putting bigger tires on a CJ is the rear fender has a radius for a 31 inch tire. You have to lift the jeep a lot to fit a tire just a little bigger than that. Cutting a little in around the rear wheel well will help you get bigger tires.
I have 36 inch tires but I have done a lot of cutting.
I assume you still want a stock look. If you cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch off the front and rear of the rear wheel well you can fit 33's with a 2.5 inch lift. And still use the OEM fender flairs.
Busa,Unfortunately on these early CJ's there really is no room forward on the rear fender wells to cut without getting into the body seam and structure in that corner........I measured that factory seam on mine and it barely makes 1/2".
Good news I guess is the tire is moving towards the rear under compression.
I'm putting 33" on mine with the 3" lift and the 1/2" on the body. Well see.
Jimmy Jeep
Jeeper
Thanks for the info and photo. I forgot to add that I've removed tub mounts and replaced w/energy. I also have 1/2 inch shackle. The 30x950 that I have on the Jeep sure look small now. I may have to find a 33 to put under it to see how it fits. Thanks again.
BajaEdition
Resident 'Old' Jeep Shaman
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- 67 cj5,225 Dauntless, D30,chrome molies, detroit, D44, full floating detroit, custom steering, disc all the way around,2 inch lift on 31s, armored up
70 cj6 4 inch lift
I run a 67 with 31s and it goes everywhere I want to go
I bought it with 33s on it and it had major rubbing issues that Limited me a lot and I had proper offset on the rims it came with.
The difference between 31s and 33s will be 1 inch in ride height and 1 inch in extra clearance, that is not much for the amount of effort it is going to take to get them in there.
We live in a world that guys want bigger and think that is better, but a early CJ5 on 31s is a jeep to contend with, it can go a lot of places and helped build the jeep reputation.
Poly Bushings in the body will help if you just have to do it, they will give you a good bit of clearance ut the major issue you are going have is that close knuckle D27 you have and getting clearance for the front tire, Even with a 4 inch lift you need rims with extra offset because of the 10 inch width of the rim you should use for 33s.
I bought it with 33s on it and it had major rubbing issues that Limited me a lot and I had proper offset on the rims it came with.
The difference between 31s and 33s will be 1 inch in ride height and 1 inch in extra clearance, that is not much for the amount of effort it is going to take to get them in there.
We live in a world that guys want bigger and think that is better, but a early CJ5 on 31s is a jeep to contend with, it can go a lot of places and helped build the jeep reputation.
Poly Bushings in the body will help if you just have to do it, they will give you a good bit of clearance ut the major issue you are going have is that close knuckle D27 you have and getting clearance for the front tire, Even with a 4 inch lift you need rims with extra offset because of the 10 inch width of the rim you should use for 33s.
Jimmy Jeep
Jeeper
My main reason for looking at the 33 is to stay with the 9.5 width. The jeep seems to handle much better with the narrower tire.
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Almost all 33's are 12.5 when the 31's are all 10.5 so if you want to run a narrower tire I think you would want 31's. The taller you go the wider they get.