Which tires to get?

[tukinc]

Hi All,

I've been lost without my daily reading of the site forums... glad to see they are back up!

Anyway, I have had some problems with the front end of the Jeep recently (death wobble on Calf Robe bridge) and the dealership said all 4 tires were out of round.  Hard to believe with a 2003 TJ with 45,000 km on it... :?  They wanted me to replace them all, I said no way to a new set of stock tires, and wanted to look for a better deal...  

Started doing research and took it to National 4WD for a second opinion.... brilliant service, and very helpful guys pointed out it was probably the steering stabilizer.  Took it back to the dealership and they replaced it for free under warranty.  Now the problem has disappeared...

So, I stopped looking for tires... now it just happens that on the May long weekend I went wheelin... and what happens... punctured a sidewall on a rock hidden in some snow.... so now I have to get new tires! :x

Long story short, I'm sick of the stock Goodyear Wrangler GSA's... they are horrible in the winter and they have only lasted 45,000 kms.  I want to go bigger, but have a VERY limited budget...  So, the question is... what is a good all around tire for a daily driver, that I wont hate in the winter, and that still can get me where I want to go off road.  Hopefully road noise is acceptable too.

I've been looking at the BFG A/T, Bridegstone Dueler Revo, Firestone Destination M/T, all in a 31 x 10.50 x 15.  All of which are crazy $$$$  Is there a place to buy quality second hand in Calgary?  What should I look for?  Are there other brands and models to consider?  

And finally, if I do go bigger, how does the ride change on a stock TJ?  Is fuel economy really effected?  What else do I have to worry about?

Thanks for helping out.

[henry]

Can't beat for all around usage, BF Goodrich All Terrains.  I would suggest 2" coil spacers for a slight cheap lift, and then 31's, then you're good to go.

Darren  

[Milan]

Just slap some 31x10.50 BFG ATs on a call it a day. No lift needed on the TJs.

[SwampSinger]

Tuknic,... don't go with the Bridegstone Dueler Revo... they are good all season tires but the rubber is too soft and you'll ware them out in a year or so. I had them on my XJ and they lasted me just over a year...(about 35,000KM)...

I never had BFG A/T but your sure see them on alot of Heep out there.

There's my 2 cents... good luck

[fug]

Count me as another vote for BFG A/T's.

I replaced my Goodyear GSA's with 31x10.5 BFG A/T's within 4 days of buying my TJ and I can't say I regret it.  In the few days I had the Goodyear's I was not impressed with their performance in snow which is why I replaced them.  The BFG's are great in the snow.  They also handle pretty well in the rain and aren't overly noisy or anything.  I'd definitely buy them again.

They are pretty pricey but I have seen them for sale used around town (in the bargain finder or on various 4x4 websites).  

Fug

[Asia]

I've had the BFG A/Ts, pretty good tires ... but I like the Interco TrXus M/Ts better...more traction for our conditions.  If you buy 31" tires you'll be in good company, several of us run them.  I look at the 33" tires with envy...

[TJ54]

On centre street south, just north of glenmore, 62 ave?? there is a used tire shop, I can't think of the name, right now. If you drive down there you should see it..
But why not just wait a while on this board, some used tires are bound to show up, or post a message in the wanted section. You will probably get the best deal here. Most people are just wanting to clear out garage space not make a profit.

[Becker]

Check out "Big O" tires on Centre St just south of Glenmore. They carry pretty much anything but also carry some stock of decent used tires as well.  Talk to Ryan, I have dealt with them for quite some time now and always found them to be extremely helpful and accommodating.  

The BFG All Terrains are great tires, have ran 2 sets now on my truck with well over 80,000 K per set.

[TJ54]

Check out "Big O" tires on Centre St just south of Glenmore. They carry pretty much anything but also carry some stock of decent used tires as well.  Talk to Ryan, I have dealt with them for quite some time now and always found them to be extremely helpful and accommodating.  

The BFG All Terrains are great tires, have ran 2 sets now on my truck with well over 80,000 K per set.

That's the place, I have heard good things about them too.

[apex]

The BFG AT's are a stand-up tire. We run all of our shop vans those BFG's. On road, off road, rain, snow, light mud, they seem to do remarkably well.

I have a set of Toyo Open country AT's that I use as city slicks and winter tires. I am quite impressed by the quality and they held up quite good off road. Though the BFG AT's have a more agressive tread and perform better.

I have been running 33's TrXus MT's for a couple of weeks on the street and I find they are wearing quite fast. Exceptionally quiet ride tho. Seems to be either very soft or cheap rubber. Remarkable performance off road tho... definatly not for a daily driver.

As for buying used, check the buysell.com site. Usually some good deals in there. For new, I recommend National. Don't forget an alignment!

Just my two bits
 

*Added* There is a set of 4 BFG AT's for sale in the Classified section

[tjd60]

BFG A/T's, no question.  

[CJ-7]

Mickey thompsons

Baja Claws seem to work alright

[tukinc]

Thanks for all the advice...

So it looks like I will looking for a set of BFG A/T's...

To continue with my original post though, does this choice affect ride characteristics at all?  I mean, moving from the stock 29" tires to 31" must have some effect.  Does it change fuel economy?  Is there anything else I have to worry about?  Axles, gear ratios, speedometer?  Anything?

I'm not mechanically inclined at all... and really dont know much about this stuff... so try to garner as much knowledge as I can from sites like this.  Figured you guys were the right people to ask...

Once again, thanks for all your help.

[fug]

My 04 is a 4.0L, 5 speed with a dana 44 rear and 3.73 gearing.  I've been getting around 19mpg (about 380KM before the low fuel light goes on) with my 31's.  I haven't noticed my speedo being out any appreciable amount (comparing with another car... so not exactly scientific)... but my TJ did come from the factory with the 30" tire package.  I read somewhere once that the speedo/odo from the factory is a bit out and changing to 31's actually makes things more accurate.  No idea how much truth there is to that.  

I'd say if you have 3.73's from the factory, you'll have no problems with 31's.  You might notice a bit of a power loss with 3.07's tho but I've heard of lots of people running them so I figure it can't be too bad.

Fug

[youngen18]

I run 31x10.5" Hankook M/T's and know 2 others that do. They got a good rugged tread and u can add studs in them as well if u wanted too. I think the best prices i found was at TireLand.

I took em out on may long and they worked great. I'll be gettin some more when these ones are done and you cant beat the price compared to BFG M/T's.   Although i was going to get the BFG's cause i heard good stuff about them, i just couldnt afford it in my budget as i am a student.

Anyways, good luck with the tires.

Jon