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Tires

Gonepostal

NAXJA Forum User
Location
WY
I am looking at purchasing a set of tires for my sister's 95 XJ Sport. My problem is my driving conditions and rig are far different from hers. She is not a hardcore wheeler but their home is located at 9100 feet just outside of Grand Lake, Colorado. The XJ has no lift and is bone stock. Her driving is primarily on snow covered county roads with icy conditions on the local highways. I have been looking at a set of Firestone Blizzaks for her. What would you recommend for a good all round stock sized winter tire?
 
No offense but I would not recommend a BFG AT, on snow and ice you want more biting edges, not large tread blocks or lugs. I have had good luck with the Michelin M+S and the Goodyear Silent Armor tires. Whatever you look at just remember the more biting edges the better, factory sipping is also good, if they are not sipped check into getting it done when you by the new set.
 
i'm running Goodyear Wrangler durra tracs on my xj. they may be too aggressive for her rig as they are all terrains but look like a mud terrain.good year has other Wranglers that are an Excellent snow tire. check out the good year site or tire rack.tire rack has ratings also from them and some of there customers.
 
Well the bfg a/t's are awesome in snow and ice. They are pretty much the most popular tyre here in kodiak,ak where we do the snow, rain, freeze, thaw, repeat for about 8 months out of the year. The only tyre I have liked more was the goodyear work horse which was studable. Bfg makes a good commercial traction tyre a lot like the workhorses were.
 
235/75R15 BFGoodrich AT.

Jim www.yuccaman.com/jeep

X2
http://www.farmandfleet.com/product...ive/tires_tubes_wheels/tires_tubes/suv_truck/

I run a set of 30's on my Sport. It snowed last night, and the roads have been packed down all day. Tonight they plowed, which means that they just uncovered the ice, and did not put anything on the road. No sand, no salt. There is a steep hill by my house that gets very slippery in the winter. I went right up it in 2wd. The tires slipped just once; I backed off the throttle to re-grip the tires and kept going.
 
I just got the latest Road & Track and one of the editorials was about driving in snow and ice and had very nice things to say about the Bridgestone Blizzak tires on a RWD car.

I'm on my second set of Firestone A/T's on my 2 WD Cherokee with PowerTrax and they were a little too entertaining on ice and snow in Yosemite.

Mike
 
Nokian Vativa or Goodyear Duratracs

The Vativa is considered the best overall M&S tire available anywhere, bar none. It comes in an A/T, H/T or M/T design. Have a set of these on my work truck.

I have a set of Duratracs on my XJ.

Both are year-round tires and both have the coveted mountain snowflake rating.
 
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If she's dealing with a lot of icy roads, I would agree with getting a dedicated set of studded snow tires. I've got BFG ATs on my MJ and they suck on ice compared to the studded tires on my Equinox. Especially if it's really cold (like below 0F) the BFGs are rock hard and just don't seem to bite all that well on slick ice. They work well on wetter deep snow. Granted my MJ is a light pickup truck with 32" tires, but they just don't do well on glare ice for me.

I did a lot of shopping on the Equinox's studded tires. I went with the Firestone Winterforce tires with studs from tirerack.com. One complication was the oddball size on the Equinoxes limited my choices. The Winterforce tires were about $100 each and the Blizzaks were close to $200 with most reviews on the Blizzaks clamming them for wearing out really fast. I wanted them on a new set of wheels, so mail order saved me a reasonable amount.
 
I know that the General Grabber A/T2s are studable..

For an all around A/T tire I would say Bridgestone Dueler A/T REVO.
I have not run the Duratrac's yet, but hear they re amazing.
 
Duratrac X5

They are stable as well. My aunt has some 31's on her th and they seem to be doing her a lot of good. She doesn't have studs cause they're her year round tire. But throw some studs in and I bet they would be even better in ice and snow.

Sent from my HTC Liberty using Tapatalk
 
I run Uniroyal Liberator A/T on my '89 XJ here in Montana. They are pretty reasonable. They are good all around tires. With the wide range of temperatures here (-10 winter to over 100 summer) these tires seem to work great. They have a S rating of 100 and they clean themselves of snow and mud really well. I had no issues driving during our latest 12" snowstorm and I used them over the summer for trail rides around the Crazy Mountains and they navigated rocks well. They are not for hard core off-roading but a good all around tire.
 
i would never tell anyone to get the BFG a/t's.
they are great during the summer on dry road where you will see nothing of moisture or sand. aside from that they are one of the most garbage tires made (yes i am allowed to post my opinion just as much as you were allowed to post yours)

if the patter is something you like, then go for the cheaper General tires.
ultimately, if she is driving in snow and ice you want a few things out of the tire.
you want a tread pattern that has a good outward flow. you want something to push the moisture out of the tread so it doesnt pack up...

here you can see the blizzak has a flow to the outside..
bs_blizzak_lm25_ci2_l.jpg


look at how tires, like the famed bfg a/t have an interlocking tread pattern that traps in snow water sand mud, whatever, even the shoulder lugs make it difficult for stuff to get out...
bfg_at_tread.jpg



you also want a tire with good siping. little slits here and there are better than nothing, but you want sisping that goes all the way through the tread block

again, blizzaks as an example: lots of siping that crosses entire tread block
bs_blizzak_lm25_ci2_l.jpg

the bfg, as shown above does not have as many sipes nor do they cross the entire tread block, limiting the blocks ability to flex and move water out....
another side note is that the BFG at's are still a rubber based compound, get with the times, silica based compounds are the way to go, quieter, softer, and last longer....

cooper is one of the leading comapnies for th silica based tires.....

a tire they make for the Big O franchinse is silica based, heavy siping more open tread pattern while mantaining a quiet and smooth ride and a 50k rating....(its not the same crap tire kelly safari used to make for them)
140.jpg


there is a reason woodland park-co, divide-co, florrisant-co and other surrounding areas on the west slope are running those tires on their city trucks, their ranch trucks, and personal trucks. the warranty is great, ride is great and traction is awesome due to UPDATED TECHNOLOGY being used in the tire, not an old concept from before me!!!!

just saying, look for tires with what you need, not tires that have been around for 20+ years and have yet to change? and no, thats not a good thing? are motors better now than 20 years ago? yes. are chemicals better now than 20 years ago? yes. what about cell phones? would you sa that ANYTHING from over 20 years ago is still the top of the line compared to all the amzing things new technology has made? no.(ya find an exception, the point is still being made)


good luck on your search
 
Thanks everyone this is great advice. I have several to look at now...but keep it coming. Nothing beats more choices.
 
No offense but I would not recommend a BFG AT, on snow and ice you want more biting edges, not large tread blocks or lugs.
Likewise no offesne, but you're in Tempe - don't know what your actual snow and ice driving experience is, but my XJs with BFG ATs did real well in a variety of weather conditions including snow and ice...back when we actually had winter in this state. Contrary to the later post with pics of treads, the ATs clean themselves real well and I rarely had traction problems that weren't driver-caused.

If she's dealing with a lot of icy roads, I would agree with getting a dedicated set of studded snow tires. I've got BFG ATs on my MJ and they suck on ice compared to the studded tires on my Equinox. Especially if it's really cold (like below 0F) the BFGs are rock hard and just don't seem to bite all that well on slick ice.
I would expect that from a pickup, especially compared to an SUV with better weight balance and studded tires. If you're on ice a lot, definitely stud whatever tire it is. For packed and drifted snow, I stand by my recommendation. It's what's on my XJ now...just waiting for it to snow down here.
 
I think people are looking for all around winter tire, no? WHo buys a tire for one type of winter and switches tires with the daily weather. The tire should work well in rain, light snow, deep snow and ice. continue...
 
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