4WD Tyres Explained - 33s Vs 35s ( Pro's & Con's )

When talking 4WD tyres 33s Vs 35s Which tyres will best suit you?
Does the size of your 4WD tyres matter? 33s Vs 35s Let’s have a chat about both 4WD tyres and compare the two.
What size 4WD tyres should you consider?
That question I’m often asked about.
What size 4WD tyres should I have fitted?
Firstly, I think you need to consider the style of four wheel driving you are planning to drive. (Mud, Deep Ruts, Bog Holes, Touring etc)
I this video I talk about the pro’s and con’s for both 4WD tyres 33s Vs 35s.
Have a think about the points covered in this video, and hopefully it will help you decide between the two different 4WD tyre sizes before you go out and have a set fitted on your 4WD.

[Nick-sdum]

Each to their own really.

I want my car set up so that I can do the weekend fun trips to the watagans or my local beaches or drive up to Fraser for a week, or into the bush or into the snow, etc. So personally for me 33s on 2 inch lift on my GU is the perfect balance between reliability (paramount), fuel usage, cost and availability of spares.

I could go 35s and a 4 inch lift but wheres the fun in that (unless you're doing insane rock steps every weekend it's not going to perform as well as 33s. Plus having 33s and a 2 inch lift makes you pick your lines and actually drive the car instead of floating over most obstacles.

4wd'ing is like fishing - You can make it as easy or as hard as you want, as long as you're having fun though, but you should strive to find that happy medium that suits your style.

[loganollett]

Love my 2002 Nissan patrol I’ve got 33”s on my big rig they go great and still look tuff

[billmccarthy]

Got rid of the big Mickey Thompson 35s on my 1hz troopy, put the standard skinny 33s and rims from the new troopy on it. Increase in power, performance, braking and ability is incredible. Doesn’t look tough but hey, she’ll go almost anywhere that I want. Mr Toyota knew what he was doing.

[biblethumber]

Thank You so much; answered all my questions very well. I was in decision about how much to go up. Going tomorrow to get my 33s a 2 inch lift and new wheels. ✌

[johnkoniw]

My petrol 80 has been running on 35s for over 10 years now. MTRs since 2001. It sits on an engineered 3” lift but I couldn’t get it signed off on the 35s. Passed every lane and braking tests but he couldn’t do it. He passed the Safari turbo kit too. Has upgraded rotors, hoses and fully maintained callipers and stops well. New genuine steering box and pump. Full service history including parts used and so on. 😬 Nearly every part is OEM except the std stuff. It’s an alcohol but has never broken down and a keeper to me. I’ve really enjoyed watching your videos Tim and hope to bump into you one day.

[L-lpfl]

Missed by 9 minutes but getting closer, great talk. Thinking off gear ratios, speedo calibration. I, m pondering on the idea of fitting double rims on the rear of my Jeep as the track is narrower than the front. Thank you Tim, always a joy listening.

[garrygraham]

G'day Tim.
Insurance issues are a major risk when running tyre diameters greater than the 1 inch or 5% of standard diameter. The dual cab utes and mid size wagons like Prado, Everest and Pajero have 31 inch standard. That means to stay strictly legal you are limited to 32 inch (275 65 x 18 or 275 70 x 17), although 33 inch (285 65 18 or 285 70 17) would probably be okay if clearances are adequate. But I would be squirming if making an insurance claim. My Fortuner will only take 32 inch anyway because of really small guard clearances (the 2 inch lift doesn't help).

[havoqrules]

Hey Tim,
This is a great topic to cover and always causes lots of debate. I'm in a 79 dual cab that came stock with 265/70R16 which equates roughly to a 30.5x10.5 tyre. I'll be chucking a set of 255/85R16 (33x10) on it in the very near future. I know they're not a particularly common tyre size, but I don't often head much further afield than the Vic high country.
Cheers for the video!

[patroltraveller]

Just recently started watching your YouTube vids, I own a 2.8 1998 and now a zd30 2002, the 98 has 411 thousand kms and the zd30 has 328 thousand, bought the zd30 with minor issues just got to spend 3 grand on in but happy with buy, the zd30 has all receipts dating back to 2011 30 grand spent on it, mostly upgrades and services every few months, it has brand new 33’s on it, the 98 is going to go to a new patrol owner, Although the 98 took me from Perth to brissy and thru the centre back to Perth by myself I might add, the patrol I’d have to say is the most reliable car anyone could have if they look after it, my way back from brissy to Perth I got underneath fixed a few issues did a all oils and liquids, I think you should do a prep vid if you haven’t already, meaning preparing for a long distance trip, the only issue I had on a long distance trip was the maf got dusty and I had a can of maf cleaner and it worked a treat, when on long distance runs I tend to spend a few bucks extra and drop into the take diesel injector cleaner

[troopey]

Another great vid batesy! Missed the live stream by 22 mins the other day, I'll make it on time one day!

[livingadamman]

Two things that werent covered are; bigger tyres than 285/75/16 aka 33's will put more load on the brakes on and off road so brake upgrades may be needed, also the cost of 33's is big enough yet alone 35's and 35's on a Patrol GU will mean more work to make them fit and track corrctly... So stick to 33's and 2" lift to start with and see how your performance goes... Buy a quality tyre too if you can like Mickey MTZ p3 or BFG's, I've had two sets of Mickey MTZ p3 33's and love them

[theozBandit]

Patrols with 3L ZD30 on 35 brings the rpm down to around 2000-2100rpm at 110kph. The max torque with a ZD30 is made between 1800-2100rpm, this aswell is the engines economy sweet spot....so at 110, your now cruising at 800rpm less rpm.
At 12L /100km, 4cyl x 800rpm div by 3000ml (3L) = 3.75ml (per 60 sec/per min/ R PM)
3.75ml x 60min = 2.25L
A ZD30 that does approx 12L/100km will use approx 2.25L more diesel phr, ..driving at 2800rpm compaired to with 35s doing 2000rpm..

[caseymckeeborrego]

Man, the fun police is in full force out there on modifications ay?
I'm starting with 33s on our current rig. I I will probably have to build a dedicated crawler, out here 40s are quickly becoming the standard (we live near the king of the hammers course).

[jarrod]

If i could run 35's legally and be insured i would, would regear the diffs and never look back, but 33's more than get the job done, km3s have done well so far. I just like the idea of clearance, keep the diffs up high, with a modest 2 or 3 inch lift to match to keep the center of gravity reasonable

[hunting]

Wow. Such excellent practical info. Thanks very much Tim.

[rjl]

THANK YOU FOR DETAIL VIDEO AS GET LISTING ABOUT TYRE SIZE
LOVE ISUZU 300 4X4 CREW CAB RIDE ON 33IN GO TO SINGLE WHEELS GO UP TO 37IN

[sahilsahil]

Thanks for another great video and sharing your knowledge with us really helpful mate,
What about the rims size, will it make a big difference I was deciding between 16” or 17” steel rims for my GU patrol with 33” tyres. Right now I am running factory 17” factory alloy. Is it better to get 17” steel wheel?
Please suggest?
Thanks

[davidday]

I’m very happy with the 305s I put on my Patrol, would be silly if I went a 35

[jackojacko]

GREAT topic everything is a balance 👍🤠

[allankarika]

Can a 35" fits 2"lift on a ranger