Will I regret not going with 35s?

[1969]

OK, back to 500hp never being usable. Sorry if I'm harsh but you nay-sayers have not gone where I go with my buddys-and you won't ever get to w/o 500+ hp. Never!

I can set you up with a ride with a few of my buddy's or myself and in 5 minutes you'll understand what 500+ or 600+ hp allows you to do what you just can't do without it-nope, not even close.

Obvious as black & white and several of us corrected James on that mistaken unqualified claim also (& others).

I get tired of hearing so many say "yeah, you can't use anything more than 300 hp what a waste of money".

Well, I guess I could be just as brash and say for those that say 4-500+ hp is a waste of money I could say you are missing out on places you cannot go because your Bronco isn't equipped for it.

Ask around to those that just don't play on the street or rock crawl where, why & how 500 or 600 hp or more is needed. Kinda like saying it's a waste of money to have lockers frt & rear or a winch, or larger tires or efi for extreme off camber, or low gearing or whatever because you've never had the opportunity to see what you're missing. lol

Maybe I should rephrase what I said. A majority of people will never use 500+hp. But to each their own! I’m sure there are plenty of people that would say super duty axles are to much for my use but it’s my build.. so to each their own.

 

[nvrstuk]

I'm good.

 

[Sendero]

All,

These are great responses and very helpful for me to determine which tire size to go with. It seems that I stirred up a debate much larger than myself. I've been thinking about this for a while and after reading the comments, I have decided to go with something closer to 33's in a load range C. Probably 285/70/17 or 285/75/17. The decision is based on the following:

- I am building a street/trail classic restomod bronco which I want my wife to be able to drive comfortably. It will see off road but will likely spend most of its time on the street. I have other off road toys to tear up on more extreme trails etc.
- I already have 4:11 true tracs in both of my differentials and the smaller tires seem like they will probably work better with this setup.
- I like the look of a 2.5" lift, 1" body on 33's
- It will be easier to get in and out of.
- It will probably handle and stop better
- I prefer to run factory front fenders and the Dennis carpenter all metal flared rears, which I think will look better with 33's. I also don't like tires to be too wide or have too much offset and stick out way past the fender.

To each his own!

Also, regarding the 500 hp. The snow is much like the sand when it comes to traction, the more power the better. My bronco will never see either. I plan to build a 300-350 FI hp motor which is streetable, reliable, has torque, and works for my application. Cheers!

 

[toddz69]

All,

These are great responses and very helpful for me to determine which tire size to go with. It seems that I stirred up a debate much larger than myself. I've been thinking about this for a while and after reading the comments, I have decided to go with something closer to 33's in a load range C. Probably 285/70/17 or 285/75/17. The decision is based on the following:

- I am building a street/trail classic restomod bronco which I want my wife to be able to drive comfortably. It will see off road but will likely spend most of its time on the street. I have other off road toys to tear up on more extreme trails etc.
- I already have 4:11 true tracs in both of my differentials and the smaller tires seem like they will probably work better with this setup.
- I like the look of a 2.5" lift, 1" body on 33's
- It will be easier to get in and out of.
- It will probably handle and stop better
- I prefer to run factory front fenders and the Dennis carpenter all metal flared rears, which I think will look better with 33's. I also don't like tires to be too wide or have too much offset and stick out way past the fender.

To each his own!

Also, regarding the 500 hp. The snow is much like the sand when it comes to traction, the more power the better. My bronco will never see either. I plan to build a 300-350 FI hp motor which is streetable, reliable, has torque, and works for my application. Cheers!

I think you've made a smart decision . If you're interested in those sizes, I'd look at the BFG KO2s and the Toyo Open Country AT3s for the 285/70 and the Open Country AT3s for the 285/75s. They both have good on/off road manners. Jeep/Stellantis specs load range C 285/70 KO2s for the Wrangler Rubicons so you might be able to find take-offs for less than new (that's what I did for my rig - paid about $140/tire for tires that had about 20 miles on them). Downside on them, in my experience, is that the tread seems to chunk a lot with relatively low mileage. I have a Detroit Locker in my rear and I drive in a lot of rocks (not huge ones) so that might be the culprit. The AT3s are really solid tires and do well on and off road. My only complaint with them was that I felt they didn't do that well in snow. I ran the load range E versions for about 6 years. They have since introduced the load range C version of the 285/75 since I changed to the BFGs and plan to go back to them when it's time for tires again.

Since going to 17" wheels 10 years ago, I've done a ton of research into 17" tires, particularly with regards to load ratings, and my big takeaway is that there are very few 17" tires in load range C. A few in D, and a majority are load range E. Zillions of people out there running E's but in my experience, I really like the ride quality of a load range C tire as compared to E's in our EBs.

Todd Z.

 

[DirtDonk]

I’ve never tried it myself, so take this with a grain of salt and listen to others who have.
But for your application (body wise), I think 9 inch wheels are too wide, and 285 tires are too wide.
I’m guessing that the wheel you mentioned in your first post has a lot of positive offset? That offset would keep it tucked in the way you like, but it’s really gonna fill those wheel wells and you’re possibly gonna rub on a lot of things.
Believe it or not, stock front fenders still require a lot of trimming to fit larger tires.
You’ll lose some of your turning radius too, because the tires will rub the radius arms very quickly.
You might consider adding long arms with the bend for tire clearance.
But again, wait for others who have tried such a set up.

Good luck!

 

[Sendero]

I think you've made a smart decision . If you're interested in those sizes, I'd look at the BFG KO2s and the Toyo Open Country AT3s for the 285/70 and the Open Country AT3s for the 285/75s. They both have good on/off road manners. Jeep/Stellantis specs load range C 285/70 KO2s for the Wrangler Rubicons so you might be able to find take-offs for less than new (that's what I did for my rig - paid about $140/tire for tires that had about 20 miles on them). Downside on them, in my experience, is that the tread seems to chunk a lot with relatively low mileage. I have a Detroit Locker in my rear and I drive in a lot of rocks (not huge ones) so that might be the culprit. The AT3s are really solid tires and do well on and off road. My only complaint with them was that I felt they didn't do that well in snow. I ran the load range E versions for about 6 years. They have since introduced the load range C version of the 285/75 since I changed to the BFGs and plan to go back to them when it's time for tires again.

Since going to 17" wheels 10 years ago, I've done a ton of research into 17" tires, particularly with regards to load ratings, and my big takeaway is that there are very few 17" tires in load range C. A few in D, and a majority are load range E. Zillions of people out there running E's but in my experience, I really like the ride quality of a load range C tire as compared to E's in our EBs.

Todd Z.

I appreciate this input and the tire options. I have K02's on my daily driver and like them but they don't have an aggressive enough look for my taste. I am leaning toward Nitto Ridge Grapplers or Nitto Trail Grapplers. I really like trail grapplers for aesthetics but obviously they are a little more noisy on the highway etc. Something I may be willing to live with considering it isn't a daily driver and I want it to look good. Also considering KM3's.

 

[Shimmy]

check out the mickey thompson baja boss AT. I have them and they are awesome! quiet too.

 

[ba123]

I really like my Nitto Ridge Grappler looks. Haven’t gotten to drive on the yet.

When deciding for certain, I think I used tiresize.com to look at the actual diameters.

I looked at different tires and sizes. You CANNOT go by what the manufacturer calls it.

https://tiresize.com/tires/Nitto/Ridge-Grappler.htm

 

[nvrstuk]

To each his own!

Also, regarding the 500 hp. The snow is much like the sand when it comes to traction, the more power the better. My bronco will never see either. I plan to build a 300-350 FI hp motor which is streetable, reliable, has torque, and works for my application. Cheers!

I think you made a great choice for your wants/needs!

Your 500HP comment is spot on! Soft loose sand on dunes sucks HP almost as bad as headlight deep, wet, heavy snow!

I was sooo close to posting a video (to respond to those that say you never need 500+HP) of me making it up a super steep, very soft sand dune!

I actually had it linked and thought better of it.
Only two 4wd vehicles (rzrs don't count) made it up that we knew about in the 6 days we were there & we were both north of 600hp. Myself and a supercharged 6 litre hand-built Colorado (waaaay cool truck). I'm sure others did but we never heard of it.

No paddles or anything to help but we can both drive our rigs home the 8-9 hrs w/o issue also. Maybe only a couple others can.

Have fun with your Bronco!!!

 

[ba123]

I think you made a great choice for your wants/needs!

Your 500HP comment is spot on! Soft loose sand on dunes sucks HP almost as bad as headlight deep, wet, heavy snow!

I was sooo close to posting a video (to respond to those that say you never need 500+HP) of me making it up a super steep, very soft sand dune!

I actually had it linked and thought better of it.
Only two 4wd vehicles (rzrs don't count) made it up that we knew about in the 6 days we were there & we were both north of 600hp. Myself and a supercharged 6 litre hand-built Colorado (waaaay cool truck). I'm sure others did but we never heard of it.

No paddles or anything to help but we can both drive our rigs home the 8-9 hrs w/o issue also. Maybe only a couple others can.

Have fun with your Bronco!!!

I saw that video…you posted it on another thread, don’t remember what, not that long ago. Loved that! Looked like lots of fun!

 

[nvrstuk]

I was thinking I (should finish this post!) lol

I was thinking I had posted it already. I've got others but this one when looking down at the tops of the trees shows the steepness. Sand was so soft you couldn't see your tracks when you backed down after repeated attempts at climbing it. Fun, high RPM day!

 

[jamesroney]

I saw that video…you posted it on another thread, don’t remember what, not that long ago. Loved that! Looked like lots of fun!

Soft, loose sand. Uphill. Not 500HP. Closer to 3000HP. Google "Dubai Hill Climb."

 

[nvrstuk]

550?? Maybe a touch more... LOL Looked like hood or body parts flying off there towards the end!

Yeah, purpose built rigs for anything are flipping amazing. THAT baby has some power getting to the sand!

Hard to get ice cream with your wife in that on a 90 deg day and drive thru town eating it in that beast!

 

[sprdv1]

I'm good.

For ? lol J/K my brother

 

[sprdv1]

Yes, I believe they were - that's one example I had in my head from those days.

Todd Z.

glad you could remember it sir hee hee

 

[sprdv1]

I prefer tons and 37s+.. it’ll go to the rubicon once a year or more, and the rest of the time it will be an ice cream getter. Could I get through the rubicon on stock axles and 33s? Yup most definitely but that’s not my style so I built it how I wanted it built. I don’t care if it doesn’t accelerate quickly and I have to cruise along that’s what I got it for. A lot of people here on the forum want 500hp+ engines in these tin cans but it’ll never be useable as James has mentioned before. If you want 35s purely for looks then I say do it! If you don’t feel like the 4.10s are enough after driving it around throw some 4.88s in it.

View attachment 907722

bad ass....

 

[sprdv1]

Brakes to ball joints will be happier on 33s. Especially if street/highway driven. Better performing brakes and less premature wear on everything else.

35s will rub if you ever get flexed out with your planned lift.

absolutely...

 

[EB70]

Yup, yup, & yup.

What everyone said!

Last thing- don't buy tires until you can drive it!! Slap some leftovers from a buddy or tire shop on and try them PLUS you won't have 3 yr old tires w/o a mile on them when you finally "finish" your build 2 yrs late. Just saying.

I had a friend that took so long building his truck that he went through three different sets of wheels and tires and never drove the truck. It was like 30 years. He had a brand new set of Goodyear polyglas GT's with baby moon caps.

It was kind kind of sad actually. I agree borrow some.

 

[nvrstuk]

Wow, that is a long build!!

I had a friend who really wanted to buy my wheels and tires off of shorty that i'm building and I said not until I need them!

I thought I would have a rolling vehicle by this summer or fall and some major "life" got in the way last November and I haven't touched it since then.

 

[ba123]

Yeah, well, see my signature???

Although I didn’t buy wheels and tires until about a month or two ago.