TIRE WIDTH.... which is better?

[SLADE]

Plain and simple, whats everyones thoughts on tire width for the TRAIL?
Can you go TOO wide?
How wide is too wide?
Too narrow?
benifits of wide/narrow/average?
What does everyone consider Narrow, average, and wide?


Just looking for Opinions, thoughts, descussion

[wvjeepers]

wider creates more contact which is better, unless you are trying to dig to the bottom of mud to the dry ground, then get out the pizza cutters

[suzukirider08]

I would say average is 12.5 might be 10.5- this is a little narrow, which personally i like better. Depending on what kind of jeep you have sometimes is better to have a little bit narrower tire so that you can run the same size tire without rubbing on the inner fender wells. ex. 35x12.5 rubs inner fender, 35x10.5 does not

[Jeepers-Creepers]

I think a 12.50 is a good all purpose width good wide tread for crawling on rocks and good stability on and off road. A 10.50 good for mud and a smaller lower vehicle. I wouldn't consider anything wide until atleast 15" great crawling but sit and spin in the mud prolly to wide for most applications on the road though. Another down fall to wider tires is slippery in the snow and hydroplain easier. Skinny tires just look like crap unless there on a off set wheel to stick out to the fender.

[okw]

Wider tires look better. Narrower tires run better in just about every situation except really deep mud, sand or snow. As long as you have enough ground clearance, narrow tires dig down to the bottom of the mud to get to hard(er) ground where wide tires tend to float more. Obviously, "floating" will also not be a good thing on wet or snowy roads and the more weight you can get on each square inch of tire tread, the better. Even on rocks narrow tires, when aired down, will perform just as well or better than wider tires.

Check out the sizes of the tires linked in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12105

When I bought new tires a few months ago, I went from 33 x 12.50's to 33 x 10.50's for this reason. I knew that I'd like the performance better, but I didn't think I'd like the skinny look. But now that I've had them a while, I'm beginning to like them better. On the road, I don't think I'd go any narrower than 10.50 unless it was a smaller diameter (30" or less). For a dedicated trail rig, I don't think I'd go any bigger than 10.50 unless it was at least a 35". The trick is finding the compromise for both.

[RAMaJEEP]

I think slade needs a 16" wide bogger for his tj

[JeepCreep]

My personal preference is narrow, like 9.50 or even 9.00. Of course, almost all of the 'wheeling I do is in red clay mud (western WV ridge tops and hollows). My buckshots measure out to 32 X 9.25-16 and I am very satisfied.

Think back to Model T days and the country roads they had to deal with. Basically ran bicycle tires. That was for a reason.

Now, for rocks, sand, and snow, I can see wanting a lot of ground contact and/or floatation. But it also takes horsepower to turn them. More than what my four banger has...

I guess it all depends on the type of 'wheeling you do.

[XRKJ]

I've always preferred the pizza cutters.Can't justify it,just a preference.