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need street tires for 5.38's

712 views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  **DONOTDELETE** 
#1 ·
need street tires for 5.38\'s

my new tj has 5.38 gears and i want to drive it.. a lot..the nv4500 has OD, but what kind of street tires should i be looking at? anything smaller than 37's might the revs up.....
I havent sold my new tsl/sx yet.. should i just run those till they are bald?? seems like that the most cost effective since i have the tires already.

~~Elusive~~
1 ton tj-7 thingy R.I.P. (Ressuerection In Progress)
Current State...improving quickly
http://www.jeepgod.net
 
#2 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

I would go for some BFG-all terrain AT-ko's. Provide exelent grip off-road and are very stable, quite, and look great. Are your tires mud? If so i would get another set of rims and put those tires on them and put the BFG's on your current rims. IT is up to you.

Headed for Gunnison, soon....
 
#3 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

So...is that saying that you actually have the TJ locked on???

I may not like what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
Semper Jeep
 
#5 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

I would sell your sx's and get something that will last a lot longer, the 37" ssr's might be a good option or maybe the 42" bfg option. Also if you want to try running a 35" tire general and uniroyals are really cheep.

BarrelRoll

97 TJ

Wheel it or drive a minny van
 
#6 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

Chris, everyone laughs at my Ground Hawgs, but they perform very well and last FOREVER. You can get them in 17x40 which probably are 38" tall. My 38's are about 36.5" . I just did some tire grooving and hopefully won't destroy the longevity. However, I would keep what you have 'till you loose traction in the rocks.
Ricky...seeya...

CJ-7 with LOTS O' CRAP
http://hometown.aol.com/ericselz/myhomepage/profile.html,
http://www.aphlac.com
 
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#7 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

Go with the 37" BFG's those things should last well and do OK with those gears... Or maybe some FUN COUNTRY'S (do they still make those?) I always thought fun country's were cool looking for the street and sand...

Jon - 1985 CJ7, 258, 77k, T-176, Dana 300, 1" body lift, 31's, wrangler tub, yellow!
 
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#8 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

Why did you go with 5.38's! are you asking to blow out your pinions? I know you have OD with the NV4500 but man 5.38's! I think you should have gone with 4.56's and t-case gears here. I hope I'm wrong in thinking you're still running the stock TJ axles, please say your not. Even with 35 or 37 inch tires, 5.38's are too much.

waiting on the 1-tons!
 
#9 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

The TJ elusive is talking about has Dynatrac Dana 60's f/r and an Atlas II 3.8. It's HarryB's old Jeep.

I may not like what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
Semper Jeep
 
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#10 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

5.38's aren't too much, for years that was the only ratio that came in a Jeep. Personally in a a four cylinder Jeep I wouldn't want anything but 5.38's. I was just thinking on my CJ2 that if I could find an overdrive I wouldn't even mind lower gears. Yes you tooth contact area can be reduced in some gear sets, in some even to only one tooth. In most of the D25's and 44's and 41's that I have messed with the teeth really weren't a problem. I would suspect that in the D60's that the gears are large enough that contact isn't an issue. I think 5.38's are great. I don't know about the 5.38 gears for a stock TJ, maybe they are not so good, but in many Jeep axles they are great.

Cage Up, Wheels Down
Jeepfiend
All my Jeeps are in pieces! Except for one!!
 
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#11 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

Thank god, one guy I know had 5.38's in his dana 44's and kept breaking teeth in the rearend. In a Dana 60 the size probably makes them a strong set. That's one hell of a crawl ratio! with 35 or 37's still.

waiting on the 1-tons!
 
#12 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

Rich, I am going to try to go get the tj next weekend.
yes it has d-60's front and rear..
one other thing... the tj has 38.5 tsl/sx (5 of them) on it right now. I have a new set of the same exact tire here.. that means i'd have 9 total.. seems like i could have a street set and an off-road set.. and it would be cheaper than buying 37" radials...
ricky, I looked at the hawgs, they are a bit pricey, but i know they last a long time... what kind of milage are you getting out of them? seems like my old 33 hawgs got about 35k till they were hurting...even at 35k, thats a couple years..

~~Elusive~~
1 ton tj-7 thingy R.I.P. (Ressuerection In Progress)
Current State...improving quickly
http://www.jeepgod.net
 
#14 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

exactly.. same o... pat broke on kodak rock.. AGAIN....tore the rear d-shaft in half this time...someone got some good carnage pics.. we'll see if we can get them posted...he had a spare shaft in the back and we swapped it in.
he isnt home yet.. wondering what happened...probably be a good story on here tomorrow....
tracys tj performed flawlessly, suffered some minor scrapes i blamed on her..
missed having you out there.. our tj was the "little" one this time.

~~Elusive~~
I DO NOT OWN A JEEP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
http://www.jeepgod.net
 
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#15 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

I agree with that, after about the first 2 hours it's all the same terrain. Travis, the guy with the black TJ *tried going up kodak rock unlocked, it wasn't pretty. Mine squeeked all the way home, thought it was the control arms in need of grease, but I got under, and the whole bushing had come out of my shock on the top. Trying to keep up with lead foot Travis doing 20 up daniel was probably the culpret. :( Know of any way to keep the bushing from traveling too far that it'd come out on the bracket? Oh yeah, about you signature, you know they say the first stage of addiction is denial... :)
 
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#17 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

What kind of engine does the jeep have? Stock 4.0? and trans? It seems you would most likely be around or over 3k RPMs at highway cruising speed with 37" or so tires and no overdrive. For around town it may be ok, but with 5.38's I would say the bigger tire you go the better off you will be on at highway speed.... I still think some 40" Fun Country's would be the cat's meow... If cost is the meain issue perhaps kep the swampers you have...

Jon - 1985 CJ7, 258, 77k, T-176, Dana 300, 1" body lift, 31's, wrangler tub, yellow!
 
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#18 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

if i were to choose i'd say a set of 37 mtr's or bfg's. which ever you can get the cheapest. stay away from the ssr's. i heard of problems with the sidewalls blowing out on the highway. not good with a tire that big on a jeep.

brian wilson
80 cj5 "high 5"
stretched to 100" wb
vortec350/4L80E/d300/d60fr/14br/detroits/4.56/38's
 
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#19 ·
Re: need street tires for 5.38\'s

Anyone have true height measurements on the BFG's and GY's? I heard they run a little short, so if the 37's are really around 36" then you are looking at ~3k RPM's. But if you don't mind slow poking at 50 or so you are hitting ~2500 RPM's. This seems doable if it isn't seeing the highway very often... WHat is the powerband of a 4.0? I think a SEFI mustang 5.0 is in order! that would cruise all day at 3k.

Jon - 1985 CJ7, 258, 77k, T-176, Dana 300, 1" body lift, 31's, wrangler tub, yellow!
 
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