Tires?

[93GRNXJ]

hey

I have a 93 sport XJ (all stock) and I need new tires. I am looking at a

235/75 R15 and I am stuck between the

BFGoodrich Mud-terrain T/A KM or

the All-Terrain T/A KO,

or the Michlin LTX M/S

I do mostly (70-80%) dry road driving and some snow (tahoe ski trips) and off

roading trips about once a month with mixed terrian. I like the look of the

Mud terrains but I think they may not be practical. what do you guys think? thanks much. Nate

 

[GI-John]

Based on how you drive, the AT's will do you the best.

The muds are great in the ......(go figure).....Mud.

I'd take a look at www.tirerack.com and do a search for your tire size. The Bridgestones and firestones seem to come out with the best warranty, and pretty good reviews. You can check out prices, and reviews there too

I ran a set of Wilderness AT III's and loved them. (see other tire post)

HTH

John

 

[Drewlee77]

BFG AT's work great in gravel and sand, and work well in most other types of terrain - but in mud they tend to pack up quick and clean out slowly. Avoid mud with AT's. Mud is not your friend. Other than that, they are great tires - though they tend to skit around on rainy roads (no where for the water to go like those fancy Aqua-Tread tires).

 

[Turricane II]

tires

Just put some 30/9.5/15 scorpians by pirelli on my stock 89 XJ, they rock so far. Not much rub at all.... Very tight turns like turning around within a street... but no problems turning or in tight parking lots yet... got the four of them installed for $475 at big O. If in the SF let me know i can probably help... 235/75 were like $420. These tires are a lot smoother on road and handle alot better than the BFG TA/KO's off road can't tell the diff either, waiting for SNOW though.....hope this helps

 

[XJFREK]

I have also been considering the BFG AT/KO's. My main issue is that their tread pattern doesen't appear to evacuate water like a tire with a large center channel. This would only really be an issue if you are driving at high speed in heavy rain, but still, you want the best performance you can get. The MT's will make a decent drone on dry pavement, you might not want that with 70-80% of your driving on the road. I have often wondered if the Michelins are worth the money, they don't really look it, but who knows. I agree with John Boy, go check out tire rack, and you can get some ideas for the size you are looking for. I'll go ahead and plug my tires, Dunlop Radial Rover R/T's. They used to list them on Tire Rack, but not anymore. Still on the Dunlop website though. They have a severe winter rating, plus they have a very agressive shoulder lug with a AT style center tread pattern. I'm pushing 50,000 miles on this set and they should make it till spring. If you really want some interesting ideas, go search the major manufacturers web sites. BFG, Firestone, Goodyear, Dunlop, Uniroyal, Toyo, Cooper, Kumho, Sumitomo, Yokohama, you get the idea. There's an incredible amount of choices, be sure to let us know what you pick, and tell us your impressions. User feedback is always appreciated.

 

[DXJ]

I have to give a thumbs up to the BFG ATs.

I had a set of Kelly DTR mud tires that howled like mad. I don't want to do that again. I think the BFG muds are quieter but I really haven't found a need for them. My ATs have gotten me everywhere I've pointed them. Although I avoid real gooey mud. (I can usually do that in California)

For me, on road, wet, dry, or Tahoe the ATs are perfect. Off road the ATs have worked great for me.

I do get the itch to get mud tires on occasion but it's not a need so much as a coolness factor thing.

 

[Atl XJ]

So what about the Michelin LTX's mentioned in the 1st posting of the thread. He does mainly road driving and I know they are good on the streets and long lasting, etc. But, are they at all suitable to offroading? Snow?

 

[HollandXJ]

Hey,
I know not many of you have info or experience with Cooper tires but, I just put on the Cooper Discoverer S/T's and they are waaay better than my old BFG AT's. The BFG's were to mellow off-road and did not drain well on the wet pavement. The Coopers clean extremely well off and on road. Not sure of the tire life, but for 300 installed, I am not too worried. By the way, I did put the 235's on. One nice thing I did like about the BFG's was that they do not wear quickly. Partly due to the low weight of an XJ so I assume most tires will have longer life.

 

[MACH90XJ]

I also just put Coopers on,about 1000 miles ago.The discoverer st is an aggressive tread,you gotta like the howl on pavement though but not that bad.I hit some mud and they stick almost too good,actually had to try to spin tire in mud.No snow yet though.Kinda of spendy out here,$120 mounted&balanced each.Do a search on coopers,I got input from here awhile back,and I beleive out of all the post only one did not care for them that had them on.

 

[93GRNXJ]

I am leaning twoards the LTX's because they will last the longest , and my

jeep will remain stock until I finsh college, and have money.

but has anyone had these on their cars?

thanks
nate

 

[Fred]

Yep, I did.

I had them on the XJ before it was lifted. They wear well(but so do BFG AT's), drive very nice on the highway. Good in the wet, never drove in mud, handle very nice, not so good in the dry snow we get here, very good in deep wet snow. OK off road, I never really did anything difficult with them, but I didn't have a lot of confidence in them in the rocky stuff we have here.
I had the M+S types. I like Michelin, I bought the cross terrains for the wife's WJ, but I like the BFG's better for what rock crawling I get out and do.
Fred

 

[93GRNXJ]

I got the BF goodrich T/A KO

they are awsome looking, and my jeep looks like , well a jeep! I cant wati until these wear out when I am going to buy a lift kit!! yaya
thanks for the help guys

nate

 

[techno1154]

I am buying this weekend a set of BFG's 31 X 10.50 X 15. Has anyone been able to carry this size inside the XJ mounted to the OEM position or do I need to get an outside mount for it? I am having 4.10:1 gears installed in my D44 so I can turn this tire.
TIA

 

[Mick]

You can (sort of..) put a spare 31" tire in the OEM position - I'm running 31/10.5 Trxus and I put the spare in the OEM position but the seat cannot lock into position on the left side. (off by an inch +-) Depending on the actual diameter of the tire it might fit with the seat locked on the left side as well.
-Personally I don't care because it keeps my seat from squeaking! (annoying habit older xj's seem to have?!) And passengers certainly don't notice.

One thing's for sure it's it pain to get it in - you have to make sure it's up far enough forward so that it doesn't push on the back door. Worth the pain in the butt factor as it gives you a lot more useable room. That said, I'm thinking of eventually building custom bumpers and building a rear swing mount, or perhaps building a roof carrier and putting the spare up there.

Mick.

 

[codus_1]

I know this is location specific but I will never ever run BFG A/T's again, I had them on my Wrangler and ran them when I lived in California, when we moved to the midwest they were worthless, unless it was dry out. In the gooey midwest mud they would ball up and become slick. (You can only be pulled out by your buddys bone stock 99 Ranger so many times..) I only put about 50 miles every couple weeks on my 99XJ, I went with the 235 75 15 Kumho Venture M/T's. tested them out yesterday in some deep sticky mud and rocks, they were great. Probably not as quiet as A/T's but I ditched the muffler anyway...who cares...

got them at tire rack

my02cents

 

[sidriptide]

although i'm not a BFG fan at all, stay away from MICHELIN!! french owned company.. and we know how helpful the french have been in our recent "political" efforts.... i appologize for brining the politics into the forum.... my personal advise for a tire of choice would be a Goodyear Wrangler AT/S... friends don't let friends buy french!!
(steps down off soapbox before it gets kicked out from under me)
mike

 

[xjmoser]

IVE HAD YOKOHAMA GEOLANDER AT ON MY CHEROKEE OVER A YEAR. THEY WORK GREAT. GREAT IN SNOW AND RAIN. ALSO HAD THEM ON MY WIFES 98 AMIGO MANY TRIPS LOTS OF MILES. THEY ARE GREAT TIRES I PAID ABOUT $90 EACH.

 

[Jared]

The whole enchilada...

although i'm not a BFG fan at all, stay away from MICHELIN!! french owned company..

Actaully, the company is named Michelin America Small Tire (MAST). They are based in France, Canada, Australia, and America. Their brands include Michelin, BF Goodrich, Uniroyal and a host of Associate Brands. The LTX A/T's are a good all season and dirt tire. They do average in the deeper snow and are fairly good on wet roads. Their resistance to hydroplaning is superb through the first 2/3 of treadlife. Then the outer tread blocks have a ridge which connects them all at at depth of about 4/32". With good maintenance, expect about 60-100k miles out of these babies. I have personally seen more than one set of these Michelin beauties break the 100,000 mile mark. If you get the LT235/75r15's, expect a fairly harsh ride, but no worse than the 3-ply sidewall BFG A/T's. Go for the P235/75R15 XL (extra load), they hold more weight with less air, and ride smoother. The 4 ply and 6 ply versions both have the same tread depth and each will last an equal amount of mileage.

The BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO's will ride a little rough, but do substantially better off road. They have a more durable shoulder area and sidewall, so are harder to puncture than the Michelin. Expect to see between 40-60k miles out of a set of them. They do very well in snow and even carry the RMA (rubber manufacturer's association) Severe Snow Rating. This rating is difficult to acquire and the tire must pass some pretty rigorous snow traction tests to recieve it. It is one of the few non-snow tires to have it. They are fairly quiet on the road. All A/T KO's are 6-ply rated and higher.

Both of these tires are ones that I'd recommend. If you want a smoother, quieter ride, go for the Michelins. If you want a bit more off road prowess, and are willing to sacrifice a little highway manners, go for the BFG A/T KO's. Both tires are close to the same price, at about $105 retail.

By the way, I sell tires for a living, and have for years... Sam's Club is hard to beat on the price for most Michelin tires, BTW.

Jared

 

[93GRNXJ]

I went with the bf goodrich T/A (235/75r15) I have some rubbing problems up

front when they are stuffed( steering at lock and sus at the top of its travel)

but other than that I live em, it gives my stock jeep a little better look, and

they are good off road, except in deep mud, but in snow and light mud they

are great.

thanks much for the advice!! I love this forum and my Jeep!!!!