Running 33-35s for DD, 37s for wheeling

[MuddyWaters]

Hello friends!

I hope you're all enjoying your Broncos. I surely am enjoying mine. I am doing some planning for the future, as we all tend to do, and have a question for you all:

Is it possible to run 33/35" AT tires for daily driving use, then switch to a set of 37" MT for the weekend off-road trips?

My intent is to build for the 37s, but utilize a smaller, more practical set during the week to save on wear and tear as well as fuel consumption.

Thank you all for your inputs and have a wonderful day

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[Ramble_Offroad]

I’ve long considered having two sets of wheels & tires (winter 35x10.5’s & summer 37x12.5’s). I’m just not willing to dedicate the space in my garage. Maybe someday, I just have too much stuff in my shop.

Swapping wheels is easy enough but going from 35 to 37’s may require an alignment depending on many factors. That said I’ve never tried it. Good luck!

 

[Danielsand]

Hello friends!

I am doing some planning for the future, as we all tend to do,

Thank you all for your inputs and have a wonderful day

We all plan for the future of course. In my case,....I am planning my funeral. It needs to be just right.

 

[MuddyWaters]

To sweeten the deal:

Here are some pictures from my first outing in the stock 2025 Badlands (non-Sasquatch). I was very impressed with the capabilities despite of the Bronco in stock form. Most features (save the Trail Turn Assist) proved extremely useful and worked flawlessly.

The deepest hole came over the hood and we experienced no issues from the vehicle until we hit an extremely steep climb after a washout / mud hole. The Bronco coughed out a cloud of white smoke after being fuel starved, then we were back to the races after the turbo kicked in and we got spooled up.

Cleanup wasn't too bad, either, due to the drain plugs and water resistance of the interior. Took a pressure washer on low settings to everything and it dried out in a jiffy!

Let me know if anyone has any questions regarding performance or off-road behaviors.

 

[Karsa]

That looks like an awesome day! I also have a standard Badlands, and it is absolutely unstoppable!

I’ve noticed when I get in deeper mud or I go vertical, I always keep it in one of the goat modes (mud/ruts and rock crawl respectively), that way the turbo stays spooled up, it hangs onto the lower gears and you always have plenty of power on tap!

I’ve thought about a second set of wheels and tires, but have always wondered if it’s more trouble than it’s worth?!

I’m not sure I’d go different sizes, just a very different tread pattern - think Nitto Recon for roadways, Nitto Mud Grappler for off roading???… just a lighter more pavement friendly tread pattern could save mpg? Then the heavy, howling pig of a mud terrain for the long weekends camping and off roading?!… I might worry about the transmission suffering a little whiplash bouncing back and forth between 33’s and 35/37’s!

A guy could always give it a go though?!

 

[Brian_B]

Is it possible?
Yes, it's possible.

I have a set of 35's in my garage right now, and I'm running 38s. So I've done it.

But.

It's a pain in the rear. If you only go wheeling once in a great moon, it might be fine. But if you were doing it back and forth a couple of times a month, it would get pretty old pretty fast.

I swap mine to the 35s when it's about to snow and I'm mostly done out on the trails for the season, then they stay on until next Spring.

 

[MuddyWaters]

I guess my concern is more about alignment issues springing up. The only thing keeping me from doing it really is the looming dread of having to re-tune my suspension setup every time I make the switch. But if there's no setup necessary, just a hot-swap, then I'll probably do it.

Thinking the classic 33/35 KOAs for dealin' and a nice set of 37 Trepadors for wheelin'.

Also been eyeing the 74 Weld portals for when I do make the switch.... Yikes.

 

[Tricky Mike]

I've done this. Just leave the suspension set up for 37s all the time.

It's a 3-5 mpg difference between the sets with all else the same, worth doing if you drive a lot of road miles. Plus you can wear out cheap stock Goodyears instead of expensive 37s.

 

[mpeugeot]

I guess my concern is more about alignment issues springing up. The only thing keeping me from doing it really is the looming dread of having to re-tune my suspension setup every time I make the switch. But if there's no setup necessary, just a hot-swap, then I'll probably do it.

Thinking the classic 33/35 KOAs for dealin' and a nice set of 37 Trepadors for wheelin'.

Also been eyeing the 74 Weld portals for when I do make the switch.... Yikes.

Alignment really hasn't been an issue. I run the stock BD/OBX 32's, stock Badlands 33's, 295/70r17 M/T's, and 315/70r17 A/T's.

Yes, I purchased 3 sets of take-offs just to burn for highway miles. Swapping them isn't a pain because I have a lift, that makes swapping wheels a 15 minute proposition.

I typically paid $500-600 for a set of take-offs.

 

[MuddyWaters]

Alignment really hasn't been an issue. I run the stock BD/OBX 32's, stock Badlands 33's, 295/70r17 M/T's, and 315/70r17 A/T's.

Yes, I purchased 3 sets of take-offs just to burn for highway miles. Swapping them isn't a pain because I have a lift, that makes swapping wheels a 15 minute proposition.

That's great to hear! Thank you for that info.

My other concern is the gearing: Gearing for 37 is a ~25% reduction. Have you experienced any issues running 33s with that?

 

[mpeugeot]

That's great to hear! Thank you for that info.

My other concern is the gearing: Gearing for 37 is a ~25% reduction. Have you experienced any issues running 33s with that?

I just use either FORSCAN or my Ford Performance Tuner to change the tire size. It's not a problem.

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