'00 XJ - Tire recommendations?

[gw204]

COSTCO sucks!!!!!

I sent the wife there w/ specific instructions to get the 235 BFG All-Terrain T/As over the weekend and the bonehead told here there is no way they would fit!!! I ended up stopping there just to make sure they didn't over-torque the lug nuts and ended up arguing w/ the guy for like five minutes. Does he honestly think a 235 will rub where a 225 didn't on non-sagged suspension????

So, I'm going to give it another shot this afternoon and try to get him to call the dealer to verify the 235 is A-OK (which I just did). What a pain in the you know what.......

 

[Kejtar]

in all honesty.... 235's will rub...... (a weeeee bit) but they will on most older XJ's.... and you can't blame him for looking at company presented bible which tells him what is good and what is bad and sticking to his guns. For all he knows he will sell you the tires, they will not work right, and you will come back and chew him out and get him in trouble claiming that noone ever told you that they will not fit right.... And on top of everything, the 235's never came stock, whereas the 225's did...

Kejtar

 

[gw204]

Huh, and I thought I had talked to enough people that said 235s won't rub. If they do on the older ones, what about this XJ, which is an '00?

I guess the main reason I'm upset is because I got them to install 30x9.50s on a 2 wheel drive Ranger w/ a 3" lift a few years ago and that certainly wasn't in their "bible" as Kejtar calls it! And my parents had them put 235/75/R15s on a '96 Grand Cherokee when they weren't listed as an optional tire in the "bible" either.

I dont' really want to go back to the 225s since they don't have anything in a LT tire. I do quite a bit of towing on "questionable" boat ramps so I don't want to take the chance on just a regular tire. I want something that is going to stand up to some abuse. Maybe I should be looking elsewhere.....

Brian

 

[Kejtar]

at full lock you will probably rub a bit at the lca... but it's nothing bad. I had them before I lifted my 98 and it was all good.

In regards to the bible following and not... it all depends on who's behind the counter, whether they have been recently burned, what mood they are in and so on....

Kejtar

 

[martin]

GW204

I had tire rub with BFG AT 235/75R15 tires. I lost about 1/2 turn to the left once I had the tires installed. My solution was to install the Grand Cherokee LCAs as described on madxj.com.

You will not need to change speedo gears but you could rub. The Lower Control Arms are the problem. That "C" section with ears outboard, if they were bent in then you may not catch on the ears.

I will say the 99 Grand Cherokee LCAs is a very elegant solution to the problem.

Martin

 

[Dlip]

I think that 235's are optional on the newest XJ's... standard with the Upcountry suspension package, I believe.

My '00 Sport (NOT Upcountry) got a HUGE upgrade from the stock 225 RT/S's to a nifty set of 235 Pirelli Scorpion AT's last fall. They seem stiffer in the sidewall... which makes 'em ride a touch rougher... but they also steer much more positively. It feels much better at highway speeds. And they turned the Jeep into a TANK in the harsher-than-normal winter we had here.

$75 a pop from TireRack.com... plus shipping. Totalled, I think, about $375 for 4. Plus mounting and balancing at the local garage.

Just to pile on... I'll ALSO say that the RT/S's SUCK, and were possibly the worst tires I've ever owned. (Although BFG Euro T/A's on a rental car were the worst tires I've ever DRIVEN ON!)

Den

 

[Kejtar]

ummmm 235's on newest XJ's? There is/was no newest XJ for a while and I beileive that through the end they offered 225's as biggest size... btw... where is here for you?

Kejtar

 

[gw204]

Got shot down the second time as well. No 235s from Costco for me. I just went ahead and had them install a set of 225 Michelin X Radial LTs. They weren't my first choice but I am expecting to get long life from them. Besides, the wife drives this XJ most of the time and I was tired of hearing her complain about the RTS tires wobbling cause they were unbalanced, squealing on turns, etc.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

 

[RINGKONG]

Got shot down the second time as well. No 235s from Costco for me. I just went ahead and had them install a set of 225 Michelin X Radial LTs. They weren't my first choice but I am expecting to get long life from them. Besides, the wife drives this XJ most of the time and I was tired of hearing her complain about the RTS tires wobbling cause they were unbalanced, squealing on turns, etc.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

What you need is a 6llb hand sledge, a tire spoon and about 2 hrs of fun. and install the tires yourself..

I don't think I have ever taken my vehicles in to install tires, but all I drive is old crap anyway.. so it doesn't matter. plus I am a cheap person..

but I get the tires I want

 

[Dlip]

*sigh*

First off... I updated my profile. I'm from Pittsburgh PA... home of the world-class Pirates baseball team.

As for the 235 as a factory size.... I *swear* that was the case. Maybe I'm thinking of Wranglers! But all the "documentation" I would have been working from is LONG GONE...

At any rate, I have not had any rubbing with the 235 Pirellis...

Den

 

[Judd W. VA]

Costco and 235's.....

I went through this with Costco too when buying Michelin LTX AT's for my '98. They said "for insurance reasons" they will only install a tire size the vehicle originally came with. I still got the 235's (in an XL capacity for higher load rating and still retaining the 'S' speed rating) by removing the wheels and running them down there. Year before last i paid $110 ea for the XL's. I believe i recall the non-XL's were ~$8 cheaper. Have 40k miles on them so far and don't see any real wear as of yet. They did not rub on anything at all even before the Up Country mods. 950's WILL rub.

 

[XJFREK]

I put 235 Dunlop RT's on my 94 before I lifted it. And they did not rub. I could have sworn when I bought the jeep that when checking the dealer brochure there was one model of cherokee that came equipped with 235's as stock. That's why I decided to put 235's on after I bought it because I knew they would fit. The Liberty is available with 2 different sizes of tires depending on whether you get the sport or limited model. I believe it was the same with the Cherokee, but I'm afraid those brochures are long gone.