Choosing Tires for your Jeep Wrangler JL 

That is so great that it was helpful to you! Thank you for watching and please let me know if I can help with anything. Been around the Jeep block a few times 😀

Thank you!

Dick's 4x4 Garage thank you for watching and subscribing! Hopefully it helps someone who is in the process and entertains as well.

Thank you Kevin! Makes me want to get another set 😀

Hey man! Thanks for watching-appreciate it! I’ve been through the tire decision a time or two!

Aaron Kindsvatter my pleasure and thanks for watching! What size are you leaning towards?

Jesse Strange my pleasure and I am glad you found it helpful. Which tires are you leaning towards?

American Jeeper I chose BFGoodrich KO2 285/70-17 and new wheels with -12. They fit nicely and give the Jeep a more aggressive look/stance. I coupled that with a 1.5” leveling kit to give a bit more space in the wheel well.

Jesse Strange very nice! Sounds like a great setup 👍🏼

American Jeeper I am very satisfied with the setup.

Jesse Strange that’s what is important. If it works for you, that is awesome 😀

Up to what size could I put on a JLU Sport with stock wheels with out a lift or cutting anything?

Armand Couture maybe narrow 33” tires I would say

Ricky Miller my pleasure! What size do you think you are leaning towards?

Thank you. The KO2’s aren’t bad-just a little soft for more aggressive off road

Anthony Coffey thank you for watching! Yes the KO2 run small (height and width). That is exciting about the JKU. I’ve owned three and they are great Jeeps!

Efrain Suarez II thank you for checking it out! Are you in the market for tires?

American Jeeper negative AJ. Gonna pull the trigger on a purchase. I’m one for extensive research. Began on the JK then the JL happened. So I kinda had to sort of reset my search, not knowing if the two had no differences, some differences or was it a new beast. Looks like for it’s falling under the some differences department. Your channel and reviews are confirming this fact. Plus you have some cool builds and projects that are giving me some ideas. I appreciate what your doing for the newbs like me and the community. Keep up the great content.

Efrain Suarez II hopefully the decision-making process is fun for you, and doesn’t matter if it is a JK or JL, you’ll no doubt end up with one sweet ride. Thanks again for keeping up with the channel. Had a long day on the trail today and got some awesome footage, so stay tuned 🇺🇸

Alpha Data and the KO2’s run small in my experience

Wrangler AZ you got it. I’ll go back through and put links in there 👍🏼

BlazingLove3:16 I have to inject a little humor here and there 😀

fiftyfishbottom That is pretty nice that your dealership will switch those out for you. Based on what you’re describing I think those tires will be perfect. The Mopar lift is treating most people right I believe, but there of been a few issues with springs. For what you get I don’t think it’s a bad way to go. I will be testing a new lift out on the channel here in the next few weeks. Mine will be a 3.5 inch, but there will be a 2.5 inch version that might work for you if you end up needing to lift. Sounds like you have some fun spots to wheel in, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Toyotas are great; I had a 4runner back in the day and enjoyed the heck out of it. There is something special about the jeep though

Funny how one begins to think, wanted cement grey Tacoma, accepted white. Ordered a Sting Gray Rubicon. I am a bit older than many I see in videos, but not dead yet (did 12k nm. offshore alone, Atlantic some years ago). The overlanding sparks me a bit when need some spark. Done enough camping in jungles to satisfy that part of it. Interested in what I see in Jeep groups, seems some good people seeking adventure. As kid, grew up hunting/driving through swamps with father in Central Florida. My father a Ford Dealer, we used a Bronco (1967) with big tires, and winch used often.

fiftyfishbottom It sounds like you have some great experience. You’re only as old as you feel and as long as you keep on getting out there doing things you can continue to enjoy yourself and feel young. You’ll find that the jeep community is very helpful and there are definitely some good folks to hang around by and large

John Brock jr you are correct. Stock Sport and Sahara tires are 32” and stock JL Rubicon tires are 33.” Thank you for adding your additional info

I am completing a Mopar dealer installed 2” Lift on a 2019 Rubicon and would like to run KO2 315/70R 17 tires on it with my factory rims. Do you think I can do without needing spacers or other changes except for recalibration?

Chris Mak they aren’t a bad choice at all for light wheeling. I found them to be a little soft, not as capable to grip rocks, and unable to clear mud well off road.

chris deckard good thinking on running two sets. Most 35” tires should work without too much rubbing, but it depends on actual tire width and wheel offset.

Allan Wagner it seems to!

Lol

Varian Mccray not fast enough though really 😀

Quint Flores there are a lot of people running 33” tires with no issues on JL Sports with no lift. It really depends on backspacing and how much your Jeep is loaded down, but I would go with 33’s. I believe you would actually be going down in size-you might double check the diameter of tires your JL came with but as far as I am aware the Sports come with tires just shy of 32” from factory.

Hi Marc, thank you for watching and appreciate the compliment! I have actually been blown away by these tires. I have run BFG and Goodyear, and never really considered Firestone, but the reviews were great. They are super quiet and have excellent road manners. It’s almost like an on-road AT that has the performance of a mud tire off toad. I haven’t had a ton of snow but they have siped lugs and handled very well in the snow that we have had. I would compare them most closely to the BFG KM2. These have the edge in dry conditions and the KM2 (and would assume the KM3) have a little edge in wet conditions. These tires are a much better price, so that’s a win. I just wish they made a 13.5” wide 37....

@@AmericanJeeper That is awesome feedback, thank you! How much of a change in on-road and highway performance in the JLRU did you appreciate with the transition from stock 33's to 37's?

Marc Comaratta my pleasure! I am averaging 16-18 mpg now, sometimes less on long highway trips at 70+ mph. The cool thing is you can go 70 mph - in a Jeep! With the 37’s you rarely see 8th gear and it fights between 6th and 7th at highway speed. Other than that is it very responsive, smooth, and plenty quick.

jimmy dizon sounds like you have a few steps to get through. Stay focused, you can do it!

Danny Elam My pleasure. Yes, the synergy MFG wheel spacers are designed specifically for the jeep Wrangler JL. You can get them through Poly Performance. Are you thinking about getting bigger tires but keeping the stock rims?

@@AmericanJeeper Yes. I have a MOAB JL with black factory rims. Didn't realize it sits lower than a Rubicon when I ordered it so I'm considering options on lifting it a bit along with beefier tires. I'll be using the link for Poly Performance for the spacers.

Danny Elam those rims are cool-don’t blame you for wanting to keep them! They are super easy to install and not only give the Jeep a nice stance, but help keep those larger tires from rubbing.

That’s the idea 😀. Thank you for watching ✋🏼

Daniel Attwood congrats on your soon to arrive new Jeep! That question depends on the width of your tyres. If they are 12.5” or greater, I believe you will need spacers to avoid suspension rubbing at full turn.

do 2 or 2.5 lift and put 285/70/17 , and wheel size 17/9 with 4.5 or small backspacing,,, you will love this combination because I did it for my Sport JL

Pat E my pleasure and thanks for watching! I believe those tires are 12.5” wide, so you’ll want spacers. The two high quality spacer options for the JL that are available last I checked are Spidertax 1.5” and Synergy MFG 1 5/8” spacers. I used the Synergy spacers and had 9k trouble free miles

American Jeeper thank you so much I can’t wait to go out wheeling this spring

Pat E you bet, have a blast!

Roman Rodriguez you should be good with that lift, so long as your tires are 12.5” wide or narrower. Regear may be necessary, but it’s really a feel as much as anything. You will notice a small power loss, but it shouldn’t be too significant unless you are driving on a lot of mountain passes.

@@AmericanJeeper Thank you so much for answering my questions. Can't wait to get lift and hit the trails.

Roman Rodriguez always happy to help. Good luck and enjoy 😀

Paul & eva Smith thank you for checking it out-totally agree!

Paul & eva Smith thank you for checking it out-totally agree!

Paul & eva Smith thank you for checking it out-totally agree!

Richard Miller they are great tires unless you do a lot of heavy wheeling or rock crawling. I bet the have treated you right in FL for sure! That road trip sounds like a blast! Are you going to do some off-roading or just vacation/sight seeing?

@@AmericanJeeper May do a little in Moab. Heading to Las Vegas, last time I was there was around 1990 and my wife has not seen it. Then up the coast on US 1 to San Francisco and east to my home town of GrassValley and to Reno. Then back to San Francisco and up US 1 again to Seattle then over to N. Idaho to Sandpoint area where my family lives now. ( California got too crowded). Then back home to Florida.

Richard Miller that sounds like and amazing trip with some great places to visit. Moab is beautiful-I’ll be there in April for Easter Jeep Safari.

Brian Goldstein hybrid or all terrains are a good move if you won’t be doing anything too serious. I like that size, right around 33” or so. The best advice I can give outside of the video would be to see a Jeep that is running what size you want in person. If you like it, you’ll know you have a winner. Far too many get one tire size then bump up later because they want more. For that size of tire you may want a small spacer lift

@@AmericanJeeper Awesome thank you! I've been using the gallery at CustomWheelOffsets. I appreciate the feedback!

Brian Goldstein awesome, I forget there are all kinds of tools like that to help with the visual aspect. Good luck with them!

265 should read less miles than the stockers would by a little bit. Because your speedo will be a little off. If doing tires on a lease I would buy a seperate set of wheels as well. Swap the stock ones back on when the lease is up

Kevin Williams I’ll be interested to see how they wear, because the set I saw after not too many miles was pretty worn and torn up. That’s the compromise of a hybrid tire-softer compounds. Keep me posted!

Kevin Williams you've given me a great idea to consider those tires almost as if a "Brite Lite" has come on

Fit Pro great point and I am glad you found something that works for you. Coopers seem to get very positive reviews. The carrier is good insurance in case you come down off of an obstacle and catch the tire. How are you liking the turbo?

I love the turbo. It kinda feels like a snappy electric car. Very quick, but powerful and the 37s don't even feel heavy at all.

Fit Pro that’s good info. I haven’t driven one yet, but I am likely getting a second JL (2 door this time) and thought I would consider it. I have a few turbocharged cars now and they have done well.

I want the turbo jlur with 37s. I read they got a tune for 700$ that gives you 37 more pounds of torque. Funk yeah

No spacers here! Plenty of weight in the back too

Jon Erik Greene great question! White was the available color, and my last three Wranglers were grey. They darker grey was a little tougher to keep clean, but it really came down to doing something different.

American Jeeper My JKUR was white and I really liked the look of it, ease of cleaning, and cooler in the summer. But.... damn the Magnetic Grey looks good. I’ve got some time to figure it out. Thanks for putting interesting and informative videos together, keep it up!

Jon Erik Greene if I did it again I’d have a hard time deciding between those two colors. My pleasure to do the videos-thank you for watching!

Thank you for watching. You will likely have rubbing but that depends on the lift, wheel offset, and if you are going off road or staying on pavement. What axles and gearing are you running? Those two things may be the real issue.

American Jeeper this will be mainly on the road for the wife. Stock axles and I would like to to keep stock gearing. Do you suggest running different gear ratio?

For 37’s you will likely want a minimum 4.10 gear ratio and Dana M220 option that comes with the Rubi and some Saharas and Sports as an option. Your Sahara probably has 3.45 gearing which will make it tough to run 37’s.

rle737ng you may have some fender rubbing, as the Rubicon has slightly taller suspension and high-line fender flares. I would recommend a 1.5” spacer lift at least to avoid that

Nice information. Now, what’s that front bumper please? Looks just right.

We did not need to regear, got Goodyear Duratrac on the Rubi

Thatcher Tagle if you go with 11.5” or narrower tires, you should be okay. If you do wide tires you will need wheel spacers and you still could be a small spacer lift to avoid rubbing. If you don’t take it off road you should be okay.

@@AmericanJeeper thanks for the info, I do some light offroading to get to fishing/hunting spots but nothing to rough. Thanks again for the response!

Thatcher Tagle my pleasure - any time! Good luck with your build and if I can help with anything more let me know. Have a great day!

Was looking to get some 20 X11.5 Black Rhino Wheels and some 305 55 20 tires to go on my JL Sport S. And I didnt wanna do any modifications. Will I be ok if i want to keep everything stock with this set up?@@AmericanJeeper

Me Too!

Vernon Fletcher depends on wheel offset and how much you go offroad, but you may have some issues running with that tires size.

@@AmericanJeeper Wheel offset is -44 and I do no offroading at all... I also have an aftermarket bumper that i received for xmas

Vernon Fletcher you should be okay then. Tight, but okay. If you decide to go off road or have issues in the future, a small spacer lift is $200 or less. I’d give it a shot at least

@@AmericanJeeper Thanx!

Vernon Fletcher any time, always happy to help

FozWasHere you should get both. The Gladiator can tow the JLUR to the trail and maybe share a few parts 😀

American Jeeper I can’t afford that haha

FozWasHere well you will have a sweet Jeep either way and that truck looks like it is going to be awesome 👍🏼

I would drive it for a while and then see. It's 50/50 and how the power feels to you.

American Jeeper what about the axle should i upgrade it ?

Teddy Vargas I can’t speak for Jeep, but I don’t believe they would have a leg to stand on trying to void your warranty with 35” tires on a Rubicon. I can see some dealers not being cooperative if they don’t do the install, but my thoughts are surely you would have the support of Jeep if it came down to it. It’s always best to talk to your dealer and get a feel for how cooperative they are. Some are great and others not so much

It is the Maximus-3 long rack maximus-3.com/2018-jeep-wrangler-jl-jlu-roof-rack/maximus-3-jl-roof-rack-system-long

chris pomplun are you asking if you can do it?

good luck I ran them for a long time and they did the job well!

vani you can put on “up to” 35” tires on a JL Rubicon with no lift

@@AmericanJeeper hey! Can I throw that on a stock rims or do I need bigger rims too

vani you made need spacers but should be able to get away with the stock rims

Gregory Fowler I did mention those tires, but in my experience for the money they are not as good as a few other options. They are too soft and retain debris too much to do more serious trails and rock crawling.

@@AmericanJeeper you are aware that a softer compound is what is desired for rock crawling especially on the west coast places like Moab, Rubicon, Sedona...

John Brock jr there is such a thing as too soft. Put all terrain tires vs. a good mud tire off road and the mud tire wins.

@@AmericanJeeper sure and put a MT against an AT on the road, basic offroad, overlanding etc etc the AT wins. I have a dedicated off road only YJ and I run an aggressive MT but on a daily driver JL I run an AT. My point is buy the tire that performs 100% where you need it 90% of the time and you can get through most off road situations the other 10%. If I'm driving 515 miles to get to the 22 mile rubicon trail or the 700 miles to Moab for what an extra 75 miles of off road use What tire is best for those trips? easy an All Terrain Granted if I lived in Moab and was wheeling every weekend and wasn't commuting 50 miles round trip for work every day then yes I would probably run a Mud Terrain full time. Most people have a daily driver that occasionally they take off road a MT isn't the best for that. BFG A/T 37x12.50x18 on my JL and Maxxis creepy crawler 40x13.50x17 on my YJ

John Brock jr makes perfect sense. I wheel enough and want the edge off road with a mud tire, and have found that all terrains on my JK’s failed me in places and got a little shredded too fast. Most will do fine with an AT and not really have a need for a mud tire. That’s awesome you have a trail rig and a JL! I love those Maxxis tires!

froger5762 well we can’t all be born with infinite knowledge, and some of us have to start somewhere and learn fundamentals. If this feels like rocket science to you, I wonder how you might perceive actual rocket science. 🚀

Mark makes sense to me 😀

D'Arcy Jousset some Jeepers I talk to say they added 500 lbs, a lift, and big tires but physics be damned gas mileage is the same or improved. If it is worse it just can’t be the lift or tires though 😀