More Wheel & Tire Questions: 33 vs 35

[H3Ray]

I've been sick but now I am back halfway healthy and almost ready to drop some big money on the Alpha/H3. If I may ask a few more questions, please don't kill me! Does anyone have any regrets going 33 over 35 tires (No Lift Kit)? I'm leaning to 33 tires just because of possible better MPG and I need to be under 7 feet to enter my Garage. This is a one time splurge of cash so I don't want any regrets so I'm at the mercy of other's input, your experiences, the good and bad.

I am looking at this set-up:

Lift front end using T-bolts to level vehicle at 23.5".
Bilstein shocks with 1/2" extended bump stops on front.
Bilstein shocks on back also.
Warrior Products #128 shackles on rear springs.
-----
18x9 Dick Cepek DC-2 wheels
Nitto Trail Grappler LT295-70R18 tires

My Questions:
33 vs 35 tires?
Dick Cepek vs Rock Star?
Nitto Trail Grappler? Road noise?

My Rig is 90% street / 10% off road mainly Florida Beaches (sand).

Any advice or feedback very much appreciated.


Thanks!

 

[IISPEEDYII]

I went 35 m/ts and I love them. I have an i5 and I get about the same gas mileage as I did before give or take a few miles (10-20 at most). The 35s make your car look like a brand new rig. But gotta watch for the slight rubbing. The first time it happens it's scary but not much to worry about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[H3Ray]

Example pics provided of the look and height I desire ...

 

[Panzer07]

I'd say go with 35...after leveling it and seeing that you want to put shackles in the rear...personally I think the 33 will look or feel a little small. Plus 35 gain you about an inch or so of height and clearance...as for rig overall height you should be well under 6 feet. Right now with my Rancho lift and 35 the trucks height is about 6'2 or so (no roof rack or anything on top).
Just go with 35's I'm sure you'll regret not going with them a little after cruising around with 33's and the level. I know this because right after I level my 3 I wanted 35's because 33's just look a bit little...got my 35's about a year later and have love them ever since...however now with the rancho lift I want to get 37-8's. As well I'd say stick with the stock rim...and use that money towards something else...unless you getting a Rancho lift there's really no reason to upgrade rims, and even with a rancho lift, it is still good rig and set up with the stock rims with some wheel adapters. If anything I'll recommend you get some wheel adapter so your tires stick out and it will gives your truck a meaner cooler look 1.75 in should be good enough with the stock 16 in rims as well this way you decrease rubbing against the frame and front sway bar when at full turning, anyways IMO unless you are going with bead locks rims or anything over 37 in tire (there's just not too much variety on 37 and up tires size for stock 16 in rim) there's really no reason to upgrade the stock rim. Unless of course you have the money to do so...but even then I'd use that money for other mods. Such as a rack, or a bumper with a winch set up, performance, tune, protection. Etc


Torres

 

[Panzer07]

Here some examples
Leveled with 33's

Leveled with 35 and wheel adapters

Front view of how the adapter make the tires stick out as well the meaner tougher look you get

And now with the lift still with 35's and stock rims and adapters.

Torres

 

[rsc]

I have to agree with Torres about the 35's. I love my truck on 35" Kelly TSR's wih shackle lift. There is a power hit going from 33's to 35's but it doesn't feel that bad, especially if you live on flat land. My wife's H3 is on 33" Nitto Terra Grapplers and no lift, much easier to get into without the steps. I prefer taking hers on trips because I still get 17 mpg at 70 mph and it isn't strained running 75-80 like mine is. You DO notice the extra power going from 35's to 33's. I'm not sure how the Trail Grapplers are, but the TerraGrapplers are quiet and will get dry rot cracks before the tread is half gone.

 

[rsc]

Also, my truck has the wheel wells all filled up with tire, aside from the aggressive look of the sidewall and tread, it doesn't look that much taller sitting by itself. On 33's there is a lot of space over the tire in the wheel well that makes it look taller (but the tire does look small in there if that bothers you). If I didn't need the bigger tires for those times my confidence overpowers reality offroad, I would be pretty satisfied on 33's.

 

[4speedfunk]

35"s...Yes.
T-bar crank...Yes.
Bilsteins...Yes.
Shackles...No.
Wheel spacers...Never.
Rockstars...Hell No.

A PCM tune will help with the tires. It corrects the speedo, and also adjusts the shift points of the trans so it doesn't hunt as much.

 

[Synthetickiller]

I put 35s on a truck w/ more horses/torque than our Alphas, that had a 3" lift (although it was the same height as cheape 6" lifts). Going from a 31 (yes, I know, tiny) to 35s was incredibly noticeable. From an acceleration point of view, the truck performed horribly. Any vehicle would. In general, the larger (heavier) the tire, the worse your MPG/acceleration. From a view point, Even 33s would look "ok" on the lift, so unless you're staring at two H3s side by side, 33 vs 35, it's not something that's strikingly underwhelming sitting by itself.

Weight is going to be your main enemy. If you're going up in weight a lot, yes, you'll notice. My increase, at the time was 33 lbs per corner! It went from responsive to sluggish.

You said you're leaning towards 33s. Just remember everyone's POV. This is an offroad forum, so of course everyone says buy 35s & interjects into the conversations that they want 37s.... yeah, that's be just awesome for mpgs! Get a good tire that does well on sand/road (No clue if there's a better tire than what you picked out for that purpose) & stick with 33s.

I agree with Panzer07, use the saved money to get better mods. Save the money on rims (a smaller rim with a 33" will look just as beef as a 35" on 18s, so take that into account) & larger tires & put that towards other mods or keep you wallet full for more gas.

​

 

[skeptic]

I ran 35" Duratracs on my I5 H3T. The mpg hit was slight, the power hit was noticeable on the highway. Around town and on trails I didn't really notice a difference though. I would definitely go 35s again, even on an I5. With an Alpha I'd go 35s without a second thought.

 

[rascole]

35"s...Yes.
T-bar crank...Yes.
Bilsteins...Yes.
Shackles...No.
Wheel spacers...Never.
Rockstars...Hell No.

A PCM tune will help with the tires. It corrects the speedo, and also adjusts the shift points of the trans so it doesn't hunt as much.

Agree 100%

 

[derian06]

I put 35s on a truck w/ more horses/torque than our Alphas, that had a 3" lift (although it was the same height as cheape 6" lifts). Going from a 31 (yes, I know, tiny) to 35s was incredibly noticeable. From an acceleration point of view, the truck performed horribly. Any vehicle would. In general, the larger (heavier) the tire, the worse your MPG/acceleration. From a view point, Even 33s would look "ok" on the lift, so unless you're staring at two H3s side by side, 33 vs 35, it's not something that's strikingly underwhelming sitting by itself.

Weight is going to be your main enemy. If you're going up in weight a lot, yes, you'll notice. My increase, at the time was 33 lbs per corner! It went from responsive to sluggish.

You said you're leaning towards 33s. Just remember everyone's POV. This is an offroad forum, so of course everyone says buy 35s & interjects into the conversations that they want 37s.... yeah, that's be just awesome for mpgs! Get a good tire that does well on sand/road (No clue if there's a better tire than what you picked out for that purpose) & stick with 33s.

I agree with Panzer07, use the saved money to get better mods. Save the money on rims (a smaller rim with a 33" will look just as beef as a 35" on 18s, so take that into account) & larger tires & put that towards other mods or keep you wallet full for more gas.

​

Completely disagree went from 33's to 315's that measured out to around 33" to 37's. The power with the alpha is perfect. And somehow with a 4" lift and 37's I get better gas mileage than before. The alpha has more than enough power for 37's stock. The I5 has enough power for 35's easily. It's a brick on wheels as long as you don't expect your 0-60 to be 7seconds you'll be fine. With the 37's I still get shoved into the back of my seat and the front of the car pulls up when flooring it.

Driving style plays a bigger role than 33's vs 35's.

 

[rsc]

And WHERE you drive is important, on Texas and OK highways you are doing 75-80 just to do the legal limit and are still getting passed. Around town and on the trail I think 35's are awesome, not so much at high speeds and in hills. I don't believe the PCM tune will help that, but it will help with the shifting.

 

[derian06]

And WHERE you drive is important, on Texas and OK highways you are doing 75-80 just to do the legal limit and are still getting passed. Around town and on the trail I think 35's are awesome, not so much at high speeds and in hills. I don't believe the PCM tune will help that, but it will help with the shifting.

The OP says he is going to be getting an alpha, so he should have no problem what so ever on highway with 35's. Atleast I had no problem hitting 100+ and staying there with my H3 on 37's.

 

[H3Ray]

Guys,
I have ALPHA.
Located in Florida.
Sounds like 35 is best tire size ...
My Garage is 7 feet max height.
I would love to go Ranch 4' Lift Kit and 35 tires but worried about pulling in to my parking Garage.
Thanks.

 

[derian06]

Guys,
I have ALPHA.
Located in Florida.
Sounds like 35 is the best tire size ...
My Garage is 7 feet mas height.
I would love to go Ranch 4' Lift Kit and 35 tires but worried about pulling in to my parking Garage.
Thanks.

You'll be fine in a 7ft garage.

 

[H3Ray]

To you guys who have the Rancho 4' Lift Kit over leveling the front ... Any regrets?
Dick Cepek 17' wheel + 35 tires + Rancho 4' Lift Kit = Solid Set up?
7 feet max height Garage.
Or play it safe, go with 33 tires.
I have Alpha H3.
Thanks.

 

[derian06]

To you guys who have the Rancho 4' Lift Kit over leveling the front ... Any regrets?
Dick Cepek 17' wheel + 35 tires + Rancho 4' Lift Kit = Solid Set up?
7 feet max height Garage.
Or play it safe, go with 33 tires.
I have Alpha H3.
Thanks.

My garage is a 7ft and it's caved in on the front, rancho with 37's fits fine.

I still have 3" of clearance.

 

[Synthetickiller]

Completely disagree went from 33's to 315's that measured out to around 33" to 37's. The power with the alpha is perfect. And somehow with a 4" lift and 37's I get better gas mileage than before. The alpha has more than enough power for 37's stock. The I5 has enough power for 35's easily. It's a brick on wheels as long as you don't expect your 0-60 to be 7seconds you'll be fine. With the 37's I still get shoved into the back of my seat and the front of the car pulls up when flooring it.

Driving style plays a bigger role than 33's vs 35's.

So you went from 33s to a 315/60/16 (?) to a 37 & your mileage increased? What tire? I took a look at the old BFG AT KO (info on those is easy to find) & for 33s (285/70r17), they weigh 59 lbs & take 635 revolutions to make a mile. The 37s (37x12.5R17) is only 10 lbs heavier at 69 lbs, but only take 574 revolutions. So the 37s revolve 10% less to hit a mile, but weigh only 17% more. I can see that working out, possibly, but it's relative to the tires in question. I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that... I ran 35s that were 81 lbs each... & I bet they get far worse mileage than either of the 2 or 3 tires you had, or the nittos in question. You have to compare apples to apples. Nitto doesn't provide weights of their tires on their site, so I can't say if the increase in height matches up w/ a BFG, does better, or worse.

If the tire weight doesn't increase much from 33 to 37, sure you'll get better mileage. If the rolling resistance isn't high, you'll get better mileage as well. These are tire specific issues. Tires are not all created the same, so unless we get away from apples to oranges, the discussion of your mileage improvement might not apply in the slightest to his tire of choice. If making a blanket statement about tires sizes across the board was easy, no one would have tire questions posted on forums.


So yeah, I'll keep disagreeing unless you mention the tire or show weights for the tire he's getting, since I don't see them listed.




I do agree 1000x over that driving style matters most though.

And WHERE you drive is important, on Texas and OK highways you are doing 75-80 just to do the legal limit and are still getting passed. Around town and on the trail I think 35's are awesome, not so much at high speeds and in hills. I don't believe the PCM tune will help that, but it will help with the shifting.

Yep. Depends on the type of tire. I experienced this myself. Shifting is a different experience once the tires get heavier.

If someone says they went from a 31 to a 33/35/37 (same exact tire model) & the way the vehicle didn't change in performance at all (positive or negative), you either are oblivious or aren't sure what you're looking for.

 

[Panzer07]

To you guys who have the Rancho 4' Lift Kit over leveling the front ... Any regrets?
Dick Cepek 17' wheel + 35 tires + Rancho 4' Lift Kit = Solid Set up?
7 feet max height Garage.
Or play it safe, go with 33 tires.
I have Alpha H3.
Thanks.

No regrets here with the Rancho, it turns the H3 into a whole different vehicle. T-bars crank is good but now that I have tested and drove the Rancho for a week and put about 500 miles I must say I love it over the T-bar crank as well I believe my trucks sits about 6'2 or so definitely no last 6'5


Torres

 

[Larry_Musgrave]

Nothing ruins the look of a Hummer faster that going to aftermarket wheels. The signature hummer wheel is a huge part of the hummer persona. Please stop doing this.

A 35x18 tire is around $400 give or take depending on your tire of choice. A 35x16 is almost half that price. 5 35x18 tires will put you back $2000.

Stay with the Hummer wheel, go with the 16" tire and let your hummer look like a hummer.

Every time someone pits an aftermarket wheel on a hummer, a baby seal is clubbed to death and a baby cat is drowned whole being anally raped. Yea, its that bad.

 

[Bigunit]

What happens when you put an 18" OEM HUMMER wheel on a HUMMER? They did make them and they are out there. Is it the aftermarket wheels you don't like regardless of size or just any 18" wheel, OEM or not.

 

[USMC_TOP]

Dam. I was thinking about replacing my wheels but I don't want any seals to get clubbed.....

 

[H3Ray]

About tire an wheel size ... if you can post pics ... that would be awesome!

 

[IISPEEDYII]

I got 5, 35" maxxis bighorns for 1200, thats with mounting too.