40's -vs- 42's..... Ready.. Discuss!

WINspeed

Member
What do you guys think? I know there's pros and cons to each. Is the extra size worth the loss of some up-travel? Possible reduction in turning radius? Possible stability reduction? I'm sure there will be some street/freeway drivability reduction, does anyone have any experiences with 42's they care to share?

Seems like there are some more manufactures building 42's or larger these days.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I love the 42s we're running on our Gladiator but honestly, I don't know how much of an advantage they provide over 40's. Unless you're running a V8, the power loss alone would be enough to make me go back to 40's. I definitely would NOT run 42's on Moby even with his LT under the hood. They're just a bit too big in my opinion.
 

WINspeed

Member
I love the 42s we're running on our Gladiator but honestly, I don't know how much of an advantage they provide over 40's. Unless you're running a V8, the power loss alone would be enough to make me go back to 40's. I definitely would NOT run 42's on Moby even with his LT under the hood. They're just a bit too big in my opinion.
Thanks for the reply, what motor is in your Gladiator? I hear you about the power issues. The 42's sure look good IMO.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for the reply, what motor is in your Gladiator? I hear you about the power issues. The 42's sure look good IMO.
Because of how big the Gladiator is, 42's look great... like they were meant to be on it. I have seen JL's with 42's and they just looked... a little off. I don't know, maybe it's just me. That said, we're running the V6 on our Gladiator but only because it was the only thing offered when it first came out. I have driven EVO's Gladiator with 42's on and off road and the diesel they have does help but just. I still didn't feel like it had any passing power on the highway.
 

WJCO

Meme King
What do you guys think? I know there's pros and cons to each. Is the extra size worth the loss of some up-travel? Possible reduction in turning radius? Possible stability reduction? I'm sure there will be some street/freeway drivability reduction, does anyone have any experiences with 42's they care to share?

Seems like there are some more manufactures building 42's or larger these days.
Wait about 5 years when 44s will be out.
 

WINspeed

Member
Because of how big the Gladiator is, 42's look great... like they were meant to be on it. I have seen JL's with 42's and they just looked... a little off. I don't know, maybe it's just me. That said, we're running the V6 on our Gladiator but only because it was the only thing offered when it first came out. I have driven EVO's Gladiator with 42's on and off road and the diesel they have does help but just. I still didn't feel like it had any passing power on the highway.
Plus you guys have a more efficient transmission in the JL/JT platform, which makes a big difference. I might have the Jeep version of anorexia, 40's look small to me after owning them for a couple years. Hahaha.

If I didn't live in Commifornia I'd do an engine swap.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Wait about 5 years when 44s will be out.
You know, a part of me thinks that we may have come to the end of tires getting bigger and bigger or at least, for the average consumer with money to burn. I could be wrong but with all the upcoming changes we'll be seeing in 2025, new regulations and vehicles needing to be electric... I have a feeling the direction of the aftermarket Jeep industry will start to change as well. If only because they have to.
 

WJCO

Meme King
You know, a part of me thinks that we may have come to the end of tires getting bigger and bigger or at least, for the average consumer with money to burn. I could be wrong but with all the upcoming changes we'll be seeing in 2025, new regulations and vehicles needing to be electric... I have a feeling the direction of the aftermarket Jeep industry will start to change as well. If only because they have to.
Good point.

Except for:

hold-my-beer-e171a0489b.jpg
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Plus you guys have a more efficient transmission in the JL/JT platform, which makes a big difference. I might have the Jeep version of anorexia, 40's look small to me after owning them for a couple years. Hahaha.

If I didn't live in Commifornia I'd do an engine swap.
LOL - well sure, 40's "look" small compared to 42's but I was under the assumption that we were talking about performance. Pros and cons. For that, I would say that for my needs, 40's on my JK have been a perfect size. In fact, I still have some rubbing with them because I like to run with a lower stance. For how I use my JK, it get the job done well - this more than a set of 37's. So far, I have not seen any significant pros to 42's on my Gladiator other than "looking" bigger or at least, compared to 40's. I'm sure my approach, breakover and departure angles are slightly better but I had to raise my Gladiator almost 6" to clear them and even with trimming, I still have some rubbing. My Gladiator "looks" amazing but I feel the tall stance on the trail.
 

WINspeed

Member
You know, a part of me thinks that we may have come to the end of tires getting bigger and bigger or at least, for the average consumer with money to burn. I could be wrong but with all the upcoming changes we'll be seeing in 2025, new regulations and vehicles needing to be electric... I have a feeling the direction of the aftermarket Jeep industry will start to change as well. If only because they have to.
Uggggg..... True, and very depressing....
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Funny thing is, there's nothing new about 42's. In fact, guys like Mel from EVO was running a set of Goodyear MT/R's in a 42's way back in 2009. That's over 12 years ago. Here's a shot I took of EVO 1 on the Little Sluice before they blew it up and paved it over.
DSC03685.jpg

With that said, there's a reason why he moved back to 40's. Likewise, if I thought 42's provided a solid advantage on a JK back then, I would have been running them on Moby as well.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
If anything, this is the direction a lot of us went in - WIDER. As in, 40x15.50's.

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Still one of my all time favorite setups.

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WINspeed

Member
Funny thing is, there's nothing new about 42's. In fact, guys like Mel from EVO was running a set of Goodyear MT/R's in a 42's way back in 2009. That's over 12 years ago. Here's a shot I took of EVO 1 on the Little Sluice before they blew it up and paved it over.
View attachment 370290

With that said, there's a reason why he moved back to 40's. Likewise, if I thought 42's provided a solid advantage on a JK back then, I would have been running them on Moby as well.
I remember seeing that jeep on some of your videos. Cool stuff!
 
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