I have an 87 YJ with 4 inches of suspension lift and 2 inches bodylift. I run 35x12.50x15 BFG MT's now and rides good. When my tires wear, I am thinking of going to the 36x12.50x15 Swamper TSL radials. Will that make any significant difference in highway ride? Will it slow me down? also, how would wider tires (14.50) change the ride onroad?Can you put a 14.50 tire on an 8 inch rim? does wider make more load for the engine? I have a 4.2 six with 4.10 gears and it feels good now though slightly lower gearing would be better. what do you think?

I believe wider tires will make it loose traction in the rain and such.

I'm not really worried about that. Wider tires will also give more stability. Will they increase the load on the engine/axles? I have d30 in front and d44 in rear

i was running 36x12.5 tsl Radials i loved them rode great wore great (i drive like your grandma on the street) 9K miles and 3/32" tread loss off road they kicked ass... if you mount them on 8" wheels they look to tall and skinny i ran mine on 10" and they looked like 14.50's

Brian

I guess my basic questions were, first, does the weight of a 36 inch swamper feel very different onroad from a 35 inch BFG MT, and I hear about taller tires putting strain on axles and drivetrain, does that also apply to wider tires, or not as much?If you can run a 12.50 inch wide tire, will a 14.50 wide tire strain your engine and axles more?

A buddy of mine has been running 36x12.5x16 TSL Radials on his Commanche fo a few years now. He's on his second set. I have ridden with him & they seem to ride & handle quite well & no louder than the BFG-muds. He runs them on a 7" rim.
As for wider tires, I run 10" rims. I don't think you would want to put 14.50's on an 8" rim. I went with the wider wheels & tires for more stability when I went SOA & put in a front D44 at the same time. When I went from 32x11.5 BFS's to the 35x14.5 SSR's it made a BIG difference. They don't track quite as straight on the highway & they do sap a lot of power & put a lot more stress on the drivetrain. I never broke my D30, but I have broken 1 joint on the 44 with the big tires.
I helped a buddy swap his 35" BFG's for 35x14.5 SSR's, both on alloy wheels, and I would say the SSR is 30-40 #'s heavier. The SSR also looked about an inch taller.
I also have the 4.2L & run 4.56's. These gears are a good compromise - just enough power to pull up the big hills at a decent speed - but I don't really like running 3000rpm. I'm going to 5.13's when I get my rear 60 in, but I now have a truck to tow with & plan on getting an overdrive when Jack has them available.