Tires

[icarl]

I see tiretrack has included the General Grabber AT 2 in their tire comparison. Not bad they got in the top runners even ahead of the infamous BFG T/A KO's.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORAT

 

[Dave]

I use General Grabber AT 2's. The tread is similar to the BFG T/A KO but has an even more agressive looking tread with a deeper tread pattern. A big plus is it comes with a 60000 mile treadwear warranty and a 30 day manufacturer test drive period. Also it is less expensive than the BFG. I've used them for 4 months now and I can not see any wear. They look and work great! Love em! \/

http://www.generaltire.com/generato...es/van/all_terrain/grabber_at2/master_en.html

Those look good but they are not listed in the size we are talking about. We have the 235/65/17. There's not much choices in an A/T in this size.

 

[zeke1312]

OK, I've seen some posts here using the term "silent" in their description of a tire. What's with that? Also, any tire better than another for improving gas mileage?
Looks like there are several choices for a 17". Because of the expense, I'll have to wait until my current OEMs wear out. What's the avg life of the Goodyear wranglers (stock)?
Thanks

 

[MoladoGuy]

What's the avg life of the Goodyear wranglers (stock)?
Thanks

Until they total your Jeep. I think you will find a one sided opinion here on this site about those tires. Just be a careful driver, like 2mph when turning on wet pavement, and you should be fine until you can get anything better.

 

[hyde]

What's the avg life of the Goodyear wranglers (stock)?
Thanks

Until they total your Jeep. I think you will find a one sided opinion here on this site about those tires. Just be a careful driver, like 2mph when turning on wet pavement, and you should be fine until you can get anything better.

I don't want to jinx it, but I cannot say that I HATED those tires.. I have seen worse tires. Again, it might be that Wrangler HPs perform better than SR/A or other stocks, but so far no serious slippage, yes they slip, but you are supposed to drive carefully in wet roadways, anyways. Only thing is they are pretty bad in snow. They do stop just average in wet, but they cannot grip.. I am putting 34k on my HPs, and want to get rid of them soon.

 

[Stampey]

OK, I've seen some posts here using the term "silent" in their description of a tire. What's with that? Also, any tire better than another for improving gas mileage?
Thanks

Not sure what all that silent aromor stuff is, but the more agressive the tred, the lower your mileage goes down. Id say though getting revos, or BFG's wont do much (Not noticeable) to your mileage unless, you go with a larger size.

Currently Im running some Continental contitrac (I think) tires, i think they usually come stock on Ford Escapes... But overall i get pretty good traction with them, they are a street tire.

 

[hyde]

Not sure what all that silent aromor stuff is, but the more agressive the tred, the lower your mileage goes down. Id s

Also aggressive treads = less contact with road on highway, sloppier response.

 

[liberator]

I have researched the ideal 'all condition tire' and have the Tripletred and HL versions of the GY Forteras and love them particularly in wet. Got em based upon Cons Reports 2005 review of All Season passenger tires... rated No 1 for the tripletred passenger tires so I got the SUV Fortera version. I run these on several vehicles.

I had the GY Fortera's HL's and also the Tripletreads based upon Consumer Rep's SUV/truck in 2004 and last years Top rating for passenger tire who compare them side for wet, dry, handling braking emergency etc etc objectively and found them good too. I had the stock GY ST, GSA and also the Mich Artic Ice snows. The Trips gripped as good as my snows. I highway mostly and city with little or no off roading.

I buy the best tire on the market with $$ not an issue based upon CS report since I spun out on stockers long ago too and can't afford to risk an accident. It rains here alot with some snow.

I still run various snows in winter for best traction as colder it gets, the rubber compounds harden = less traction so dedicated snows are best in zero below temps.

My advice is that the ratings on the tire shop sites are fine but are subjective to the individual based upon their past tire usage and don't measure them objectively... it's like I like KJ's while others like Explorers... all opinions are subjective and everybody has one... CS compares them objectively side by side with quantifiable measurements.

Good Tires are critical as they are your only contact w/ your driving surface... all the 4x4, ABS, traction control, ESP features, mods and driver skill are secondary if you don't have proper traction/surface contact... all these are of little value.

I recommend you get the best tires for your intended use that you can afford.

Can't comment on others as I have not tried them on the KJ..

 

[hyde]

What's the difference between tripletread and HL versions?
Tripletread does not have very dep treads and does not look aggressive. Of course looks should be last thing, but they loke like rav4 tires to me. How are the HLs?

Also what size did your run? it can make a difference, i assume.

On Tirerack, the reviews come from variety of drivers, and should be mixed and accurate, since the reported miles show millions of miles, with avarage driver 30k report you would get about 60 reviewers to post to get to 2mil. miles. Anything less might be one sided or not complete. Plus I don't think CR does long term driving with those tests, they just test the brand new tires against good asphalt surface on their test courses. I am not saying it is not adequate, but I don't think it can replace the average drivers opinion.

 

[SnowgodCCR]

Of course looks should be last thing, but they look like rav4 tires to me.

Which would explain why Consumer Reports liked them so much. I can't believe that people still take CR seriously these days. It's ridiculous. If it isn't a toyota, it's worthless. If it isn't a Canon, it's worthless. If it isn't rated to 70 mph, they'll test it there anyway just so they can bash on it (the infamous child seat testing ](*,) ).
When you go out to buy tires, ask the guy at the desk which ones he reccomends for what you want to do. Go in with a list of tire attributes that are important to you. My list went like this for my sports sedan:
1) Traction
2) Wet Traction
3) Ride Comfort
4) Tread Life
5) Road Noise
For my Jeep, it's a similar system:
1) Dirt/rock traction
2) Mud Traction
3) Road Manners
4) Tread Life
5) Comfort
6) Noise

You need to make your own list of what's important to you in a tire, CR rates them by how THEY want a tire to perform (be OE on Toyotas namely). It's not going to be the same things that you want in a tire. The guys at the tire store will be able to tell which tire you want (or which few to narrow it down) by hearing what you want.

 

[hyde]

1) Traction
2) Wet Traction
3) Ride Comfort
4) Tread Life
5) Road Noise


Although this is your list, is this necessarily the equation. I mean, can't you get Silent tires with Great traction, or it doesn't work that way? All I know is that deeper the treads less handling/response you will have on highway.

That's why I want good tires that will work best on highway and wet surfaces, and also will look good. I hate to have one of those sports or "flat" tires that lick the pavement on my Jeep.. It looks like I am running worn tires..

I thought you couldn't have these together, the way you change the order another one will always be last.

Handling
Ride/Noise Comfort
Treadlife

 

[SnowgodCCR]

That's just the order that I want my tires to perform in. Translation: I really want a GREAT handling high traction tire, and I couldn't care less about how noisy it is. If I blow through it in 10,000 miles, I don't care. I want to be glued to the road. Everybody's lineup will be different, but you're correct. You can generally pick two of these three:

Noise/comfort
Handling/traction
Treadwear

 

[liberator]

As I said, everybody has an opinion and preferences... CS reviews them on the same vehicle doing the same course: dry, wet, braking, emergency handling, objectively... I don't have the time nor $$ to test them so I rely upon them for good intel.... all the car mags and others take ads so the testing can be somewhat 'jaded' I trust them more than other although I don't totally believe their entire scoring as I have found slower speed rated tires provide better traction... given how I drive.

u r right they don't test for wear but do comment on the industry rating for each... wear is not a big a factor for me as it opposes traction. Hell, everybody should be driving on snow tires all year for best traction but they won't last long given the softer compounds. That is why snow tires don't offer a mileage guarantee.

I have over 6 different sets of tires for the KJ and speak from that experience and find the CS very helpful... moreso than some tire salesman to sell me on what pays him the best. Throw out your stockers GY as they are hard as pucks after one year... but I am sure many ppl will keep them thinking because they have tread left, they will be fine....

The trip treads have a design to wick water away Pic 3... the HL's for example come stock on the Commanders Pic 1 ... see left is page one of this thread for pix

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Nobody is making you drink this cool aid... so you will have to decide for yourself...

If I said on TireRack that brand X tires was da bomb and u can climb walls w/ them and never wear out... based upon a comparison to the stockers, I am sure ppl will think it is the definitive tire #-o

BTW, I love my Toyota and Canon products... CS only gave the KJ a 'recommend' of all Jeep models but that doesn't stop the huge sales of GC and Wranglers. Use CS as a benchmark to shortlist... not as a divine product bible...

 

[icarl]

... We have the 235/65/17. There's not much choices in an A/T in this size.

I was responding to the original post about a good all around tire. Not to a specific size of tire. I did quite a lot of tire research before buying my tires and I am happy with my choice. Perhaps someone will benefit from my input.

However, I was seriously considering getting the Pirelli Scorpion ATR's when I was buying as they are ranked the number 1 all-terain on www.tirerack.com and they are cheaper than the wranglers and the revos. And they do come in the size you mentioned. They probably would not work great in mud though. But AT's in general are limited in mud anyways as the tread is too close together causing the mud to pack in turning the tire into slicks.

Pirelli Scorpion ATR -- 235/65 HR17 Rank 1
Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor -- 235/70 TR17 Rank 2
Firestone Destination A/T -- 235/70 SR17 Rank 3
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo -- 235/75 SR17 Rank 4

 

[jimheem]

However, I was seriously considering getting the Pirelli Scorpion ATR's when I was buying as they are ranked the number 1 all-terain on www.tirerack.com"

Which blew my mind when I first saw that, since I had a set of Pirelli Scorpion ATRs on my Wrangler when I bought it (brand new tires from the dealer) and they absolutely SUCKED. I would go careening around corners in even the mildest rain. They hardly even bit any traction in the snow. I took them off and put on BFG All Terrain's - some 60,000 miles ago.. and they still work and look great.

 

[icarl]

However, I was seriously considering getting the Pirelli Scorpion ATR's when I was buying as they are ranked the number 1 all-terain on www.tirerack.com"

Which blew my mind when I first saw that, since I had a set of Pirelli Scorpion ATRs on my Wrangler when I bought it (brand new tires from the dealer) and they absolutely SUCKED. I would go careening around corners in even the mildest rain. They hardly even bit any traction in the snow. I took them off and put on BFG All Terrain's - some 60,000 miles ago.. and they still work and look great.

Interesting. Are you sure yours weren't Pirelli Scorpion A/T's? If you read the reviews for the ATR's they sure sound impressive. The reason I didn't get them was because I compared the tread with the Generals and the General was more impressive to me. The Scorpion seemed like it would be a better on road tire because of its tighter tread while the General seemed better off road for its deep tread holes. The Pirelli tread looks cool but when you compare them with other off road tires they just don't look the part. If you look at the tread on the Pirelli they have smaller grooves cut into the tires to allow for wet traction but the larger grooves do not look that large which means in deeper snow and mud they may not self clean that well.

Harder Rubber = wears slower = slips easier
Softer Rubber = wears faster = better grip
Tighter tread = better wet/ice traction on road = worse off road traction
Larger tread = worse wet and ice traction = better off road traction
AT = compromise between onroad/offroad traction

Also tire pressure makes a huge difference
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=3

 

[hyde]

Interesting. Are you sure yours weren't Pirelli Scorpion A/T's? If you read the reviews for the ATR's they sure sound impressive.

although, you may be right, the comparison of reviews say otherwise. Either his PSI was wrong, like you mentioned, or there was something wrong with his tires, because the comparison shows there is not a HUGE difference between tires, I think the difference is off road performance, since one has deeper treads.

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at least they do so much better than my

Wrangler HPs (Stock in LTD's)

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OUCH! But as you can see, dry surface is good enough, just don't go offroading with these..

I am now doing comparison on silents and fortera triples..

PS: take a look at the miles reported on pirellis.. I head they were cupping bad.

=========================

Finally, here is the comparison of my choices, so far. I am planning to add two more to this and make my decision soon.

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Here is a link you might fine useful, strictly our 17 size:
LINK

Other groups:
Result Comparison

 

[thecause17]

Personally I'm going to the 245 to get the Wrangler Silent Armor...I thing they're going to be one of the best overall tires we're going to get with the 17". While some of the other tires compare well in some of the categories, they seem to be superior off road to the others, and pretty much every review I've read has been a good one.

 

[hyde]

Shouldn't this topic be under tires category? 8-[

 

[thecause17]

Shouldn't this topic be under tires category? 8-[

you mean where we've covered this topic before?