Tires for my Jeep Wrangler

[ecampbell]

After 70,000 miles I am in need of new tires for my 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport. The tires that came with it are Goodyear Wrangler 30x9.5 R15lt. They are fine in deep sand but have a street tread. If I'm in a mud hole or climbing a hill in wet snow they just spin, they won't bite.

I know alot of you are 4 wheelers, and even some Rubicon owners, like you Ben. I don't want to rattle my teeh out with an extreme tread but I need more than I have. I drive around town, but most of my driving is in the pines (every day). I have normall clearances and don't intend to install a lift kit. Suggestions and experiences will be appreciated.

Ed

 

[LARGO]

Suggestion

I would go on JERSEYDEVIL 4X4 site. There are experienced Jeepers and
4WD folks there and in the many forums you could learn, ask, and get solid
advice as to what best fits your application. Nice bunch of folks too.
No jerks.
The site owner posts here often.
g.

 

[woodjin]

Hey Ed, I have some Cooper mud tires on my Bronco. They are way way better than the AT BF goodrich I had on my Jeep wrangler. Nothing against BF goodrich, I think the aggressive tread is just tons better. More so for mud than sand, but generally better overall. I have 31's but I am sure you can get them in various sizes.

Also, when I occassionally take the bronco on the street I really don't notice the ride being unreasonably rough. I guess you get used to it. The pavement does wear the treads out quicker but if your not on the pavement that much who cares.

The coopers are pretty inexpensive! As far as mud tires go. Just my 2 cents.

Jeff

 

[Ben Ruset]

If you care more for traction in the woods over street comfort, the Goodyear Wrangler MT/R is a great tire. It's what I had on my Rubicon. If you care more for street comfort, the BFG All Terrain T/A KO is a great tire. It lasts a LONG time on the road, but some people say it's not the best for mud.

I had them on my Jeep Cherokee and they were great. I had the Wrangler MT/R's on my Rubicon and I could go just about anywhere without having to put the Jeep in 4WD.

Now that I have a Grand Cherokee I need to get new tires. MT/R's are out because I drive to New York, so I'll probably end up getting a street tire that does decent in the woods.

I wish I still had my Rubicon.

 

[MarkBNJ]

I've heard good things about the Nitto Terra AT Grapplers as a compromise between excellent on- and off-road driveability. I'm considering them for the FJ when I decide to get rid of the crappy stock Bridgestones.

 

[doc]

I have also heard good things about the Grabber AT's. They look like BFG AT's but apparently have a better rating (according to tire rack).

 

[Trailhead00]

Check out www.tirerack.com. I go on there to read the reviews before I shell out all that money for new tires. Here's my .02 worth. BF Goodrich All Terrains K/O are the old standby, there is a reason they have been around so long. Stepping up to a mud tire does obviously help in well mud but can dig a lot in sand. Plus mud tires usually perform very poor in snow unless you get them siped (spelling?). They need smaller voids cut into them so they work better on ice and snow. A nice all terrain that is geared towards the road is the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo. Love that tire. I also had great luck with the Yokohoma Geolander A/T II's. They worked well and were inexpensive. Plus if you look at the Baja 500 and 1000 buggies, most of them have Geolander A/T II's on them. Good luck!

 

[Ben Ruset]

My Wrangler MT/R's did great in snow. *shrug*

 

[Trailhead00]

My Wrangler MT/R's did great in snow. *shrug*

I think it really has more to do with ice and wet pavement. Mud terrians I would imagine do very well in wet snow. I guess it doesn't really snow that much around here anyway. I have driven trucks with mud terrians and it did skid around a bit on wet pavement. Probably some of the newer tires have a little more technology built into them. You can talk to some serious four wheeler guys and they laugh at mud terrians. A lot of the big four wheelers run Super Swampers, that is a serious mud tire. I think the Wrangler MT/R is another good tire though. Isn't it nice having choices.

 

[Hewey]

I put kumho mt tires on my jeep. they look just like bfg mud terrains, but only they do not cost as much. had a set of bfg mt's on it before that, they cost about 850.00 mounted, the kumhos 450.00, mail ordered the tires from summit and mounted at a local shop. had a toyota with 36" swampers on it in my younger days, never got stuck with that truck in the pines. only drove where I should to. yea and at that time I looked at mud terrains as a joke.

 

[MuckSavage]

General Grabber AT's

Ed,
I have the General Grabber ATII's on my Cherokee, same 30x9.50 size. It is a bit more aggressive than other AT's, but still road/sand friendly. I look at it this way, we drive on asphalt & sand mostly (not requiring aggresive tread) The mud that I do encounter, I feel I don't need to throw mud/cause more erosion, etc. Plus, we don't happen upon the sticky-clay type mud. It's more saturated sand. I'll proceed until I experience minor tire spin. At this point, I'll tread lightly & use the winch.

My wife's RamCharger has 32" BFG Mud Terrains. In the rain, they're terrible. She'd rather drive the Cherokee. She "had to have" the BFG's "because they'll look cool" (and they do). But, they're loud, not good in rain/certain snows, and they just dig unnecesarily in the sand.

If you'd like to take my Cherokee for a ride, by all means, let me know.

 

[ecampbell]

Anyone have experience with Firestone Destination mt? they're #1 at Tire Rack.

Ben, how were your Goodyear MT/R's in sand?

 

[BobNJ1979]

i have firestone destination A/T's on my 4x4 ranger.. great in the dirt or the road.. hooks up nicely when needed. haven't had the pleasure of riding in the snow in the woods though..