"Downgrading" from 37's to 35's

[MrTorque]

I have said it before and I will say it again. IT ISN'T THE WEIGHT!!!

The 37s change the over all gear ratio of the truck compared to the 35s.

The 37s should have come with 4:30 gears. With all the "engineering " put into the package you would think Ford would have done that. All the engineering went to suspension and packaging (fitting spare tire) and not into powertrain.

Oh I don't blame Ford, having 4:30 geared axles would have made the 37s even more costly to produce and given current production bottle necks possibly impossible.

The 37s performance is equal to what a 35s would be with 3:73 gears.

I agree 4:30 gears would have been nice! But you can not deny light weight wheels making a difference. There is a reason serious drag cars use light weight wheels. Or for example gt500/gt350r with carbon wheels, or Porsche GT cars with magnesium wheels. There is definitely more performance to be had losing un sprung mass off the wheels.

 

[Old-Raptor-guy]

I agree 4:30 gears would have been nice! But you can not deny light weight wheels making a difference. There is a reason serious drag cars use light weight wheels. Or for example gt500/gt350r with carbon wheels, or Porsche GT cars with magnesium wheels. There is definitely more performance to be had losing un sprung mass off the wheels.

Oh don't get me wrong any weight savings is a good thing, and unsprung or rotational weight savings are even better.


Some here have stated the 37s are the very very close in weight tonthe 35s (i have not verified this).

But "the feel " or perception of less power is mostly due to the change of the effective gear ratio. I dare say very very few people could detect a 2lbs per tire difference. But I am fairly sure the majority of people could tell something has changed with the loss or gain of 0.40 of gear ratio.
(I know I can, and most everyone I know can)

 

[TheTeej]

I just put the C rated 37’s on my truck and even though the weight is effectively the same, you can definitely tell the truck isn’t as snappy nor corners the same. Looks cooler, not going back, but I definetly “feel” the bigger tire more than I thought I would

 

[racebannon]

So what’s the verdict here? Will going to 35” tires on a factory 37 Raptor cause problems? Is it something to avoid?

 

[Pacific Wheel]

Nobody’s gonna notice 1.2lbs per tire. What you’re gonna notice is increased moment of inertia and taller gearing on the 37pp from the tires. But it’s still gonna be significantly more responsive than most 37’s people typically throw on a Raptor.

Also lighter wheels don’t equate 1:1 with lighter tires since the tire weight is distributed so much further out.

Perfectly said.

Lighter wheels have very little effect when all the weight (tire) is so far away from the point of energy (hub). The lighter wheel will help with suspension performance but will do almost zero for acceleration and braking. I've went from stock 32lb wheels to 22lbs wheels and noticed no difference. But swapping a 73lbs tire for a 60lb tire was night and day in terms of acceleration and mpg.

 

[Dudebrodude]

I’ve had my 37PP for just over a month now. The truck looks awesome with 37’s however, I echo the OP’s feelings as well. I prefer to drive my truck in a more spirited manner and the truck just doesn’t give me the same motivation/confidence as my previous Gen2’s with 35’s.

Knowing there is more sidewall flex with 37’s, I’ve considered buying a set of 18” TE’s since they’re a forged wheel that weighs <19 lbs. Looking at 37” tires in an 18” diameter, there isn’t a whole lot to my liking when I started to look at the weight of the tires. The reason I was considering 18’s is to reduce some of the sidewall flex when cornering.

I could install 35’s but like others have already mentioned, I wouldn’t have the same total travel compared to a 35 packaged. So do I just trade mine for a 35 Packaged truck? Lol

I think a majority of what people are feeling is that sidewall flex. When I put 37s on my TRX I noticed a similar impact even with the 18" wheel. When cornering, especially with the TRX's full time 4wd, understeer is noticeable as the sidewall flexes compared to the 35s.

 

[downforce137]

another first on FRF... people asking about smaller tires than their truck came with... what is this world coming to?

 

[ELmx479]

I’ve had my 37PP for just over a month now. The truck looks awesome with 37’s however, I echo the OP’s feelings as well. I prefer to drive my truck in a more spirited manner and the truck just doesn’t give me the same motivation/confidence as my previous Gen2’s with 35’s.

Knowing there is more sidewall flex with 37’s, I’ve considered buying a set of 18” TE’s since they’re a forged wheel that weighs <19 lbs. Looking at 37” tires in an 18” diameter, there isn’t a whole lot to my liking when I started to look at the weight of the tires. The reason I was considering 18’s is to reduce some of the sidewall flex when cornering.

I could install 35’s but like others have already mentioned, I wouldn’t have the same total travel compared to a 35 packaged. So do I just trade mine for a 35 Packaged truck? Lol

Too bad we couldn’t have worked out a deal.

 

[Gsteve]

yup... looks great but if i need to replace tires im not sure id go with 37s

 

[FordPerf Addict]

Probably cheaper to sell your 37pp for a 35. The shocks and the entire truck are tuned for 37s. You could probably trade for one straight up if you have low miles .