Tire weight

justin mazzon

justin mazzon

Member
I'm currently running 33" KO2 tires which weigh 63lbs. Want to go up to 35" tires KO2 which weigh 68lbs. 5lbs more can put more stress on parts. I do have an option to buy a General A/T similar to KO2 @ 63lb 35" tire and was wondering if that makes the most since for wear and tear and MPG or is there much difference?
 
justin mazzon said:
I'm currently running 33" KO2 tires which weigh 63lbs. Want to go up to 35" tires KO2 which weigh 68lbs. 5lbs more can put more stress on parts. I do have an option to buy a General A/T similar to KO2 @ 63lb 35" tire and was wondering if that makes the most since for wear and tear and MPG or is there much difference?
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I'm no physicist but the larger diameter of tire is going to decrease your gas mileage. Any 35 will likely do this. I wouldn't worry about finding the lightest tire, just buy quality.
 
Disciple Off Road said:
Run what you want, you won’t notice a difference with 5lbs and won’t be a deciding factor on parts breaking. Wheel offset is what really puts extra stress on components.
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WJCO said:
I'm no physicist but the larger diameter of tire is going to decrease your gas mileage. Any 35 will likely do this. I wouldn't worry about finding the lightest tire, just buy quality.
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What these guys said ^^^

5 lbs is nothing and I would add, even more than weight or even diameter of your tire, rolling resistance is what'll really eat up your mpg. The more aggressive the tread, the more the resistance the less mpg you'll have.
 
jeeeep said:
IMO, the only time tire weight becomes an issue is when you have a flat and you need to lift that tire onto the tire carrier if you can't fit it in the back of your Jeep.
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I think that my 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers plus wheel weighs 105 pounds. Going to 37" would add even more weight, and beadlock wheels would be even heavier. Trail Grapplers are even heavier.

It has yet to be seen how well I can lift the 105 lbs tire+wheel!
 
wayoflife said:
LOL - try lifting a 40x15.50 mounted on a 20" spyderlock beadlock. We're talking almost 200 lbs each 🤪
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Noooo LOL

The 135# combo Cooper Pro 37x13.50 on beadlocks I have on the JKU used to be easy, but when I tried lifting it on the JLU carrier, nope, and why I went with the 37x12.50 NItto which is about 20# lighter but I had a hell of time lifting it lol

All I could think as I was grunting and praying, I didn't drop a ball was "OMG I was considering 38's" 😂
 
I am thinking of going from 33" KO2 tires to 35". I have 4.56 gears. Will I notice much difference in how my 2door JK drives, steering, braking, etc? Also sense my closest trail is about 200 miles away, any ideas on how much my MPG might change?
 
justin mazzon said:
I am thinking of going from 33" KO2 tires to 35". I have 4.56 gears. Will I notice much difference in how my 2door JK drives, steering, braking, etc? Also sense my closest trail is about 200 miles away, any ideas on how much my MPG might change?
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4.56 is the proper gear ratio for 35" tires. That will bring your performance back to stock. If you like the more power that you've been feeling with 33's, 4.88 will give that to you but if it were me, I'd just stick with the 4.56.
 
justin mazzon said:
I am thinking of going from 33" KO2 tires to 35". I have 4.56 gears. Will I notice much difference in how my 2door JK drives, steering, braking, etc? Also sense my closest trail is about 200 miles away, any ideas on how much my MPG might change?
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My 2012 Rubicon with the 3.6 does fine with 35s and 4.10 gears. It’s my daily driver and I’ve done a few long distance trips in it. The only way to find out if you’ll like 35s on your Jeep is to give them a try. Discount Tire can help you out in that regard.
 
justin mazzon said:
I am thinking of going from 33" KO2 tires to 35". I have 4.56 gears. Will I notice much difference in how my 2door JK drives, steering, braking, etc? Also sense my closest trail is about 200 miles away, any ideas on how much my MPG might change?
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There will be a change, and primarily due to the limited number of gears in the JK automatic transmission. If you have a manual, then also a factor.

Braking will feel slightly reduced, but your brain will adjust and make up for it.
 
I went from 35/1250 KM2s to 35/1250 Falken Wildpeaks after moving from SoCal to South Dakota. Absolutely loved my KM2s but the KM2s were basically not safe to drive on the highway in the winter. Slick as ice skates. The Falkens are manageable… slightly better but still a no-go in severe winter weather.

For the rest of the year - the difference is in the on-road ride quality. The Falkens are very, very heavy. I knew that going in - and knew that there were plenty of opinions that weight wasn’t a big deal - but I wanted to try them out and just try the different brand. Well… the increased weight causes noticeable rebound inertia felt in the suspension at city and highway driving speeds. The BFGs were really mild mannered for daily driving. They seemed very well matched with my spring rates and shocks (2.5 JKS lift with Fox 2.0s). I’ve played with psi on the Falkens and nothing seems to really bring the Falkens even close to the BFGs for daily driving.

Off highway - both are fine. Different manners but both adequate for my use. Weight essentially non-factor for low speed offroad use.

If it wasn’t for the winter conditions I would’ve run a new set of KM3s. Really liked those KM2s.

The change in daily driving feel definitely made me aware of the effects of rotating mass though. If/when I buy tires for one of my vehicles again - I will definitely look for lighter options if it’s a daily driver. If it’s a trail rig I’d just lean towards traction on the trail and not worry much about the weight.
 
lizard pizza said:
I went from 35/1250 KM2s to 35/1250 Falken Wildpeaks after moving from SoCal to South Dakota. Absolutely loved my KM2s but the KM2s were basically not safe to drive on the highway in the winter. Slick as ice skates. The Falkens are manageable… slightly better but still a no-go in severe winter weather.

For the rest of the year - the difference is in the on-road ride quality. The Falkens are very, very heavy. I knew that going in - and knew that there were plenty of opinions that weight wasn’t a big deal - but I wanted to try them out and just try the different brand. Well… the increased weight causes noticeable rebound inertia felt in the suspension at city and highway driving speeds. The BFGs were really mild mannered for daily driving. They seemed very well matched with my spring rates and shocks (2.5 JKS lift with Fox 2.0s). I’ve played with psi on the Falkens and nothing seems to really bring the Falkens even close to the BFGs for daily driving.

Off highway - both are fine. Different manners but both adequate for my use. Weight essentially non-factor for low speed offroad use.

If it wasn’t for the winter conditions I would’ve run a new set of KM3s. Really liked those KM2s.

The change in daily driving feel definitely made me aware of the effects of rotating mass though. If/when I buy tires for one of my vehicles again - I will definitely look for lighter options if it’s a daily driver. If it’s a trail rig I’d just lean towards traction on the trail and not worry much about the weight.
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Unless you physically measured the two tires to get an exact measurement, I'm going to have to disagree with your assessment. I say this only because BFG's ALWAYS measure on the small side of whatever is stated on the sidewall. Size more than weight WILL make a noticeable and measurable difference in how your Jeep performs and feels on a daily driver basis.
 
Bfgs were definitely smaller. I only share the size for reference to which tires I installed. I have had the same experience with all my bfgs on other vehicles (bronco/truck/cj). Always smaller than advertised. Worn down too. Less rubber… less mass. I think .75” shorter (diameter) if my memory is right. Measured for my programmer.

Didn’t weigh them before and after. All I had was comparisons online and the tire installer’s info that I was adding weight. I knew Falkens were going to be heavy but honestly when they showed up I was still suprised how much heavier they were.

As for disagreement… ok. You say radius/diameter (?) I don’t think I disagree… but larger radius or diameter could reasonably increase mass too.

So… larger diameter or more rubber or whatever changed made the ride quality suffer. I’m not an engineer but I can feel the tires loading the suspension with more inertia at normal driving speeds on pavement. I’ve had the jeep for 15 yrs with 4 sets of tires. I can only compare what I’ve run.

Its a Jeep though so it’s not like that is a primary concern for me. Just sharing my experience.

MPG not measured. Stopped paying attention to that after 1st jeep.
 
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