70hemicuda

sorry to start another thread about this but i really havent made up my mind and need some help. I got a 2000 aw4 6 cylnder. just lifted to 4.5 and looking for some new tires. Firestone has 31s and 33s and for basically the same price and was wondering how cherokees are with 33s with stock gears. I have read it either sucks completely or is fine, split 50/50. this is my daily so i just want some input on which size to get. thanks!

Martlor13

To drive daily you want comfort and close to stock. Change gears for 33s

Krakker

I'm on 33's with 4:56's.
Trust me, you need the gears.

CherokeeCam

yeah change the gears. I have 33s on mine and hate waiting to do gears now.

thatXJguy

With 33s, you will lose a lot of torque to tire rotation, but it also depends on the tire because there are some light ones and some really heavy ones that really bog you down.

I went with stock gears with 33" Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires for a few years and they're light enough that you can drive around without much crying about the power loss. I drove daily on them and I never had a problem keeping up with people and got a solid 300 miles to a tank. Not re-gearing saved me $1600 and I was perfectly happy with this setup. Judge for yourself.

As soon as I went to a heavier tire like the Cooper Discoverer STT Pros, I lost all my power and I was revving high just to keep up with other cars when the light turned green. It was miserable. So I re-geared to 4.56 and loved it, but it still turned that 4.0L hard on highways because it's not a high HP engine by any means.

That's my experience. And if you do get a heavy 33, 4.56 is the right gear, not 4.10. 31s might look goofy with so much lift.

70hemicuda

I know a gear change would be the best but I wouldn't be able to swing that for awhile. I know it's going to be a slug and not ideal, but is 33s with stock gears livable? Because I really want them

unidentifiedbomb

I'm running 33x10.50 KM2 (55lbs/tire) and I can't complain. But I don't DD and tow it to wheel out of state. When aired down I have no issues crawling though with the 3.55 gearing.

XJlimitedx99

Honestly it depends on whether you can put up with it or not. How far is your commute everyday? Traffic? Hills? Highway? It will be a dog but it's not bad for just putting around town. It will put stress on your drivetrain but it would be okay to drive for awhile before doing gears.

Fred/N0AZZ

First hand experience with the same thing mine was just tolerable with 31's when I changed to the 33's it sucked. For one the trans was up/down shifting all the time even on almost level ground on highway and mpg's were about 10. Changes to the 4.56's and lockers mpg's increased to 15-17 and no more constant shifting either, power was very noticeable difference


33" tires aren't all 33"'s either some are not as tall and closer to a 31, mine 33's measure a true 32 7/8" when I checked them.

70hemicuda

I drive to Syracuse like 6 times a year for school so highway performance is kinda important. With 31s it isn't bad at all and there's still power to screech them if I want too. Hmm I want 33s but if you all said it sucked big time then maybe I'll just get 31s again

unidentifiedbomb

Why do you want 33s? Looks? How long until you are finished with school? I ask because 31s might be best for you. If you're set on 33s but need tires now and not enough money to regear I would search craigslist for a used set and start saving up for 33s and gears.

70hemicuda

One more year of school. And yeah pretty much the looks. After thinking it over I probably will go with 31s again. Maybe later down the road I'll upgrade gears and then do 33s

Turbo X_J

Cherokee is a pig anyways, if it's gonna make you happy, just do it. Just think of the four cylinder wrangler crowd.

TwistedWrench

Probably a good plan. They might look a little undersized beneath that lift, but the driveability will be much better.

Mine had stock gears and 33/12.5 MTs on it when I got it. I switched to 33/10.5 BFGs, helped a LOT, but definitely looking forward to whenever I can get around to regearing it.

Honestly, if it wouldn't have looked so weird with the cut out fenders, I probably would have gone with 31s.

I do love the look though, and the extra ground clearance.

70hemicuda

so i was looking at tires tonight and found out that kumho 33s actually measure 32... hmmmm