Replacing Tires

Hi,
I bought a stock 2000 Classic XJ a few months ago and it came with Firestone Wildnerness AT 255/70/16 tires. This weekend I pierced the sidewall with rebar that happened to be sticking out of the ground in the mountains. I'm probably gonna just replace the remaining 3 since I can't find a used Wilderness AT fire the life of me to replace the ruined one.

The tires are decent but rub just a bit on the rear fenders when I have a bunch of weight in the back. I'm thinking about getting the same size Dunlops Rover RVXT, Yokohama Geolander AT+11, or Pirelli Scorpion A/T. But I'm afraid that with a new tire it might rub more and even cause a little damage. Should I get 235/70/16 instead or do you think I'll be okay with the 255's?

The stock size for a 2000 Classic was 225/70R16. If you absolutely want to avoid rubbing, that's what you should get. 255 is too large -- if you feel you MUST go larger than stock, don't go larger than 235/70R16.

I would highly recoment the Yokohama's. Been running them for about 2 years, great tire on roads; wet/dry/snow. Decent all terrain for trails. As far as the size I can't make a recomendation; I have 15" rims and run a 30 x 9.5.

Thanks for the replies!

I think I'm gonna go with 235/75/16. It's basically the same height and width as a the 30x9.5x15 which I had luck with on my old XJ...no rubbing at all on the rear fenders, even in really rough terrain with a heavy load in the back. I do realize that the fenders are a little different on the newer XJ's...hopefully I'll be able to get away with it on my newer jeep.

The 235/75/16 is just a tad shorter and almost an inch narrower than the 255/70/16. I think the reason why the 255's rub is because they are so damn wide and stick out of the fender too much...looks pretty good and mean but isn't very practical. The current rubbing is really mild and you can barely tell on the fender where it's rubbing...the noise is just a little annoying when I have 350-400lbs in the back. But damn, they fill the fenders perfectly. Anyway, a narrower tire would probably grip better. Also, I wanna try to get away with a taller tire for a little more clearance on those rocky forest service roads around here.

I'll prolly go with the Dunlops. The Yokos look really good and tempting but I can't justify the $30 more they are charging around here for that tire. I had the old Dunlop Rover RVs (30") and I loved them, especially on snow. Obviously my bias is gonna lean towards the Dunlops.

Firestone AT spec for 255/70/16: Diam 30.5", section width 10.2"
Dunlop RVXT spec for 255/70/16: Diam 30.1", section width 10.3"
Dunlop RVXT spec for 235/70/16: Diam 29.1", section width 9.4"
Dunlop RVXT spec for 235/75/16: Diam 29.9, section width 9.4"

I've used Dunlop Radial Rover R/T for 2 yrs, and they've held up great. I'll probably won't have to replace them for a couple more yrs. I've never had a tire last so long. So, I'd have to say I'm a Dunlop fan. :thumbup:

I HAVE BEEN A FAN OF THE B.F.G. AT's AND MT's FOR YEARS,
I HAVE HAD ABOUT FIVE OR SIX SETS NOW ON DIFFERENT VEHILCES.
EVERYSINGLE AT I HAVE RUN HAS GONE MORE THAT 60,000 MILES.

TRACTION, WITH THE AT's ON DRY, WET OR SNOW COVERED PAVEMANT HAS BEEN OUT STANDING. oFF ROAD THEY SUCK ON MUD BUT WORK VERY WELL IN ROCKS AND DIRT LOGGING ROADS.

TRACTION WITH THE MT's ON DRY, WET, PAVEMENT OR HEAVY SNOW, MUD AND ROCKS OFF ROAD IS ALSO SECOND TO NONE.

MY BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THEM HAS BEEN WITH THE OWNERSHIP. I HAVE A PROBLEM SUPPORTING A FRENCH OWNED COMPANY.

DUNLOPS ARE A GOOD TIRE BUT IN MY EXPERIENCE THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYWHERE AS LONG A TREAD LIFE.

cw

no rubbing with 2000XJ with Dunlop RVXT 235/70R16 I have had them for about 30K miles thus far

How do you like them?

They are good, I have no complaints. Tread wear looks good.

Silverxj2000 said:

They are good, I have no complaints. Tread wear looks good.

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That's promising. I ordered the 235/75/16 which are about and inch taller than yours but about the same width. It's an uncommon size of tire. Discount Tire searched high a low for an entire day and finally found some in Tenn.

I'll keep this thread alive regarding any rubbing that might happen and general performance. There's a lot of questions regarding what's the biggest tire a stock late model XJ can handle without any rubbing what so ever, especially with a 16" rim. I know a 30x9.5x15 will rub a bit on the lower control arm (an easy fix with a simple washer on the stop bolts) and occasionally on the rear fenders when it's loaded down. The tires I'm getting are basically the 30x9.5x15 but on a 16" rim...perhaps 1/2" taller and 1/4" narrower depending on what brand you are talking about.

Sorry to disappoint anyone that has been following this but FedEx managed to loose one of the tires shipped to the store. After waiting for a week and half and riding on an unmatched spare for two weeks, I said the hell with it and bought some 235/70/16 Yoko Geolandars AT+II they had in stock.

Actually, I'm kinda glad I have the smaller tire. It's a bit more aggressive looking and really doesn't look that much smaller. I'm hoping that I might get a tad bit better mileage (maybe 1 mpg) and I've already noticed a bit more response at accelaration. Also, I don't ever have to worry about rubbing on the rear fenders.

Kreutz said:

I've used Dunlop Radial Rover R/T for 2 yrs, and they've held up great. I'll probably won't have to replace them for a couple more yrs. I've never had a tire last so long. So, I'd have to say I'm a Dunlop fan. :thumbup:

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Are the R/Ts really like a cross between a mud and all terrain? I'd been eyeing them for about two years and then went with BFG ATs. Oddly, some local places insist they don't even exist, while Land Rover guys swear by them.

Timber said:

Are the R/Ts really like a cross between a mud and all terrain? I'd been eyeing them for about two years and then went with BFG ATs. Oddly, some local places insist they don't even exist, while Land Rover guys swear by them.

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I think so. The R/Ts look pretty aggressive. I owned the RVs for a few years on my 88 XJ but unfortunately I can't find them. Those were great tires, a little loud but they handled great on and off road and were excellent in the snow.

A quick update on those Yokos I bought. They have a smooth, quiet ride for as aggressive the tread is but on the HWY the cornering and sidewall roll is a little alarming. Not sure what to think about that.

I hope they work out for you. I didnt like my Yokahama Geolanders. They wore very well, so well I pulled them off half worn out since i got tired of trying to wear them out. I didnt like the unstable handling and I had a lot of trouble getting traction in the rain. They were only traction rating B. The difference between them and my Revos is night and day.

They were a few years old so hopefully they have improved the tread pattern since then.

Good luck with them. Post back what you think about performance in the rain and such.

I'm sold on bridgestones. Just put some on mine 2 weeks ago. Didn't get the revo's cause Costco would have to special order them and i didn't feel like waiting longer. Went with the 693's which are a very similar tire. Very happy with them and quite impressed with rain performance. Mud traction is decent for a relatively in expensive all terrain. Leaps and bounds better than the Uniroyal Laredo's that were on it when I bought it.

I dropped the psi down from 35 to 30 (max on tire says 35). Before I had a chance to drive it with the lower pressure I had to go on vacation. Got back today and drove her to work....handling seems fine now. It's a bit on the soft side for my taste but it doesn't bother me like it did earlier. Maybe I needed to recalibration my driving skills a bit with the rental car I had.

Anyway, I'm anxious to get them in some compromising situations to see how they perform. Thanks for all of the input.

99XJSPORT06 said:

Good luck with them. Post back what you think about performance in the rain and such.

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We are finally getting some rain. The traction seems fine on wet pavement, haven't had a tire slip yet. In dirt, the tractions seems fine too. It's better than the Firestones and probably comparable to the Dunlop Rover RVs I had on my old jeep.

Yokohama Geolanders A/T +II

If your feeling that your tires are not quite cutting it in mud or deep snow you have the option of void widening the tread on AT's ( or anything else that has little tread wear) I've used a soldering iron with a chisel tip on it and melted out 2-3mm of extra void between lugs and it makes a huge difference in mud and snow. Also a little better on rocks. The downside to this free tire upgrade is they will be noisier and its really time consuming. May have problems with manufacturers warrenty too.

LostintheWoods said:

If your feeling that your tires are not quite cutting it in mud or deep snow you have the option of void widening the tread on AT's ( or anything else that has little tread wear) I've used a soldering iron with a chisel tip on it and melted out 2-3mm of extra void between lugs and it makes a huge difference in mud and snow. Also a little better on rocks. The downside to this free tire upgrade is they will be noisier and its really time consuming. May have problems with manufacturers warrenty too.

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That does sound time consuming and I doubt I'll need to resort to something like that. I think the tread is aggressive enough for what I need anyway.

Yeah, I bet that really voids the warranty. Plus, you'll probably wanna get those tires rebalanced after taking chunks of tread out of the tire.