37” vs 38” Tires for the Jeep Gladiator, PLUS How To Pick The Right Wheel | Inside Line

Are 38's the new 37? There's definitely a case to be made that things are going in that direction. On this Inside Line, we'll look at the two of the most popular 37-inch and 38-inch-tall tires on the market. Dive into what you need to know about buying wheels for the Jeep Gladiator and give you some insight into our 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon build.
Nitto Trail Grapplers: www.nittotire.com/light-truck...
Method Wheels: www.methodracewheels.com/prod...
00:00 Intro
00:16 35's No Lift
00:35 Upgrades Needed for taller tires
01:26 37 versus 38 Nitto Trail Grappler
02:49 Wheel backspacing and offset explained
04:38 Method 701 Bead Grip 17x8.5 Wheels
05:35 1-inch LIFT and 38s
06:09 Tire Rubbing
07:14 Spare Tire relocation
07:42 Driving Impressions
09:07 Wrap up
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[@MountainMan677]

With the Clayton 3.5 lift kit a 38 spare will fit under. Also the 3.5 clayton is closer to 4 inch and is an awesome lift with heavy duty springs and a track bar that allows a bigger tire to fit under the bed

[@DrivingLine]

I keep forgetting about that track bar. That's good to know.

[@MTHuntN]

MetalCloak also has a rear trackbar for larger spares@@DrivingLine

[@KTMcaptain]

I have the 703 in the 0 offset 4.75” backspace with 35” Trail grapplers. Amazing look and has handled 10-15psig off-road beautifully.

[@ShaunsJeep]

I love this color. Wish my 21JTR had this. Great video. I have 37's KM3's and looking at 38's down the road after i regear and see 8th all the time with the mopar lift and steal bumper and winch combo and see around 14 mpg with the stock 4.10s. I live here in Albuquerque at around 5700 feet and have been on the fence for 40's or 38's after regear. Great video as always.

[@YonisJeep]

I have the same method wheels. Absolutely love them .

[@ptoole53]

Very informative video! thank you for sharing.

[@Blue-P51]

Great vid! Straight to the point.

[@onebridge7231]

Great review. I have this same Gator Gladiator setup, but I went with 38 Ridge Grapplers, 3.5” Clayton Overland lift kit, Rough Country Vertex 2.5 Adjustable shocks front and back. Was pleasantly surprised by the Vertex shocks as they were recommended as a good value for money and so far so good. I didn’t need to chop my fenders thanks to the lift, I have plenty of room. I do occasionally hit 8th gear on highway around Minnesota, but rarely. Will be upgrading to chromoly CV shafts and 5:13s when budget allows.

[@DrivingLine]

Sounds like a nice setup! I helped a friend upgrade his suspension with a set of those Vertex shocks. They worked great.

[@EngiTrek]

I would recommend checking out ECRI. I’m running 38” ridge grapplers. I see 8th gear frequently after using their proprietary GPS based tire size calibration. My tires calibrated out to 36.25” which made a huge difference to shift points and fuel mileage. I see similar, 14.5 around town, but 20-21 mpg highway. Standard 3.6L JLUR. I won’t be regearing at all.

[@DrivingLine]

Interesting. I'm currently using a Tazer JL, which works great as well. I'm definitely going to re-gear however.

[@mehdiabderrahmane2439]

Thanks for your advises Ali !👍🏼 I have a Gladiator Rubicon on 38 tires and i m thinking to install the Accuair Dynamic lift kit suspensions. I would love to know what you think about this suspension system ?

[@off-roadingexplained8417]

Yes , you DO need 37s on a gladiator to have enough lift for serious off roading (along with a lift if course) ... unfortunately... But .... With a decent lift and tires , besides departure angle , this might be one of the most stable off road vehicles ever made all in all and because of the long wheelbase, it's actually more likely to keep all the tires on the ground. Because math...

[@ghernandez6457]

I run Milestars MT-02 (not the crappy MTs) 38s on my JLUR on a 2.5 terraflex lift. They are probably lighter than a Nitto 37s. It's hard to believe that I can get 17-19mpg on the freeway at 75mph on 7th gear (I rarely see my 8th gear). Jeep really thought about big tires when designing the JL-JT. Imagine how much lift you need in a Ram 1500- F-150 just to clear 35s 🤣🤣.

[@kayloradventure]

I think regearing needed a bigger spotlight here, some viewers might not understand that the 6th and 7th gear issues and poor mpg have more to do with the stock gearing and RPM than the new tire size. Thanks for the comparison, have you done any tests with the Methods to see how low they will hold a bead?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

I understand what you saying. I actually made a 4.88 vs 5.13 gearing video a little over a year ago. I will go more into gearing on the next video with this Jeep. I’ve only dropped these down to 15 psi so far. Time will tell how they work real world wise. I’ve got a wheeling trip planned next month with this Jeep.

[@krashnpa]

For reference, Dave Chappelle was running beadgrips on his ex-DED YJ (see dirthead shed) so I asked him how low of a PSI he's run them at -he said he successfully ran them at 5psi. I'm sure tire bead design plays into that somewhat. I have them and know that the tire shop had fits with getting the bead situated on the wheel.

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

@@krashnpa I've known Dave for a long time. He has them under his YJ. It's so much lighter than the Gladiator, he can get away with that much easier. I doubt I will need to drop these less than 10psi for most of what I will do with the Jeep.

[@cradb1248]

@@Ali_Mansour_Editor So the fuel mileage mentioned in this video includes you having regeared from 4.88 to 5.13.?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

@@cradb1248 no. I still have the stock 4.10 gears in this video.

[@karmicforce01]

Ready to move up from 37. Have been thinking about 38s... already at 5.13, so I'm ready. Only question about upgrading to chromly axles, etc?

[@DrivingLine]

RCV front axleshafts and better front ball joints are the only two other mods I would like to have.

[@samhouston5217]

Thank you. Well done video. Mojave edition. I am doing 37x12.50 this week and regearing to 5.13 in a couple of weeks. Going to try the EAV 2 inch lift in a month or so (finances). See how that goes.... then maybe upgrade to 38x13.50 down the road. think 38s would fit OK with only the 2 inch AEV lift? (No crawling)

[@DrivingLine]

If you are just looking to clear the tires for the road that will work. Off-road, you will need more bump stop up front than that kit provides.

[@samhouston5217]

@@DrivingLine Roger that. I just hate to lose the stock shocks on the Mojave..(more money). I'll run the 37s for awhile and see by then if I can afford the redo up to 38's. Thank you for your response and knowledge.

[@jason8795]

Great video once again. Thank you! I have a 24 wrangler with XR package. I want to go to 37's. I was going to put a 1" spacer lift all around with a 2" bump stop in the rear. Was going to use method 703's in a 25mm offset. Will i be good with clearance?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

You should be fine with the wheels. Unless your 24 is a 392, you will need to add a bump stop up front as well. You can get away with a 1-inch bump stop up front with that wheel backspacing. If it rubs more than you like, you can swap to a 2inch up front. You definitely need the 2 inch out back.

[@jason8795]

Thanks Ali. Ya it's not a 392. Would you run a 0 offset or a 25? Want to keep the tires somewhat under the flares.

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

@@jason8795 if you want to keep the tire under the flare more, the 25 MM is the way to go. However, if you plan on going with an aftermarket suspension down the road, I would go with the zero.

[@morningdrums]

will jeep be working on uping the mpg and range of all jeeps down the road? If your off roading and its a daily driver, that 12mpg might get rough. I had thought of getting a gladiator and having 37 inch tires on

[@DrivingLine]

If you changed the differential gears to accommodate for the larger tires, you can average around 16mpg in my experience. If you want better fuel economy with this platform, the diesel version is only real option. It does sound like the 2024 is going to get a revamp, but I don't know if we will see the new engine options this year or next.

[@fiftyshadesofurban]

Is there a way to gear it so you retain the factory MPG? 12mpg on the highway sounds terrible. I thought regearing was supposed to help to maintain 8th gear on the highway.

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

This one needs differential gears. A 5.13 or maybe a toucg higher would help tremendously.

[@jkh168]

You will never get back factory MPG when running bigger tires (and lift) due to wind drag and rolling resistance. Regearing will help marginally.

[@chrislarsen1033]

Ali I just got a Gladiator and I’m running my stock suspension on 37”. I can’t decide how to carry my spare and be able to use my bed for cargo. I’m thinking of a cargo rack and mounting the spare on top or finding / building a spare tire carrier at the top of the bed. Any suggestions on manufactured carrier or a design to fab one up? Thx brother

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

EVO has a nice bed rack that allows you to mount the spare on top of the rack. JCR and Expedition One both make really nice tire carrier/bumper combos. You could also just carry a 35-inch tall spare too. I did that for a while. Barnes 4WD also makes a vertical mount for the inside of the bed too.

[@onebridge7231]

@@Ali_Mansour_Editor Was this a typo? Why would he carry 35 when he has 37s? He’ll smoke his gears if he puts a 35 spare on while running 37s on other side.

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

@@onebridge7231 not a typo. The idea is the same as what they do from the factory with the smaller than stock donut that is included with most modern vehicles. Have a slightly smaller sized spare to get you safely to a place where you can repair or replace the other tire. You can easily drop the pressure in the 37 to the reduce the negative effects of the slightly smaller tire. Is it ideal? No. However, it’s better than not having a spare at all. When we are talking 37 to 35, the difference is minimal. I’ve personally been on adventures where this exact scenario has played out and never heard of or seen any differential damage coming from it.

[@user-nk6cn1mr7k]

Do you know if the 38” trail grappler will rub with the 3” jks lift?

[@DrivingLine]

Great timing on that question. I actually just installed a 3 inch BDS Suspension lift with this tire and wheel. For the little bit of light wheeling I’ve done, it clears fine. I haven’t fully tested it in the rocks yet, that will come soon. So far so good.

[@arthurleyba3549]

Did you measure the tire height, and how close is it to 38 inches.

[@DrivingLine]

Yes. Mounted under the Jeep, they are just a touch under 37 inches tall with 32 PSI in the tires. It's a tall 38.

[@dougg8280]

Thanks for information. What preasure do you run with those Method rims? I have the same rims.

[@DrivingLine]

I keep the front at 12 psi mainly due to steering gets too heavy off-road with it any lower. The rear I have no issue dropping to 10, but I don’t feel comfortable going any lower than that on the Gladiator. If I had a light rig, I could probably push it a bit more, but 10 is my cutoff.

[@dougg8280]

​@@DrivingLine thank you.

[@GoneAgain-Outdoors]

Hey man, what was your wheel size? Was it 17x9 or 17x8.5? I’m going through this exact thing right now myself.

[@GoneAgain-Outdoors]

I have the JKS 3.5 with the same control arms and I’m wondering if I’ll hit like you did. My wheels are 17x9 with 0-offset or 5 inches of backspace. You said you had like 4.75 with 0 offset?

[@Viking1276]

Curious to hear your opinion on going to 37" tires without gearing with the diesel engine.

[@DrivingLine]

I have limited experience with the diesel Gladiator. I do have friends with that platform and both opted to re-gear when moving up to 37s. Nitro gear makes a few different gear sets that are designed for the diesel platform. If you live in a fairly flat area, it's probably not as critical. Elevation or routine speeds above 70, it seems like it's worth the investment.

[@betweenthepines4000]

I had 35” on my 21’ 3.0 and it didnt even notice. I would pull my 2000lb overland trailer without issue as well. Didnt run 37” but my would be it will be totally fine. That 3.0 has gobs of torque, I miss it. Mostly lol.

[@sunrisesurfshop1]

Im running 37’s with stick 4.10 gears on my jlu diesel, no re gear and its great. Went from 27mpg to 22-23mpg

[@chrisprice279]

Now that you’ve had this rig a while do you still prefer 38” tires over 37?

[@DrivingLine]

Off-road, the 38 puts a lot more strain on the steering. That’s really the main thing I dislike about them. I think they ride better overall than a 37 for sure. I’m still glad I went with them, but I think the 37 is probably easier on the vehicle overall.

[@Wrangzilla]

The reason I wont go over a 37" wheels is because 13.5" tires are horrible looking unless you go to a 42 and above. (and the reason I dont have 42's is because I'm poor and cant afford all that comes with going that size.)

[@Vehiclesupportedtravel]

What's the offset of that wheel is it a zero?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

Yes. It’s a Zero offset.

[@Vehiclesupportedtravel]

@@Ali_Mansour_Editor thank you!

[@davidstevens8300]

Have you measured the 38s?

[@DrivingLine]

Yes. Mounted under the Jeep, they are just a touch under 37 inches tall with 32 PSI in the tires.

[@jram0001]

Did you get a new JT??

[@DrivingLine]

No. I've had this one longer than my other one. It's just been in the background as a daily driver. The kids are getting a little bigger, so I figured I could finally make this one a little bigger too!

[@TwistedOff]

👍

[@Dman67106]

Ali, you got another JT??

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

I’ve actually owned this one longer than the big one everyone knows. This had sort of been my background kid hauler for years. Now that I have a little Ford Maverick as a run around truck, I decided to make this one not practical as well.😂

[@Dman67106]

@@Ali_Mansour_Editor nice 😂! Always looking forward to your content on both your personal and Driving Line channels.

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

@@Dman67106 thank you!

[@Natezoinks]

Not a short joke but that Gladiator looks huge on 38”s…. 😂 sorry.

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

It’s a big tire….and I’m little😂