I had a blast at the French Lick Jamboree this weekend in my ’14 2-door Sahara, but I now feel the need to consider a little more aggressive tire. Given my stockers are 255/70-18, I would welcome any suggestions on a budget-friendly wheel/tire combo that is road friendly (this is my DD) yet still provides a bit more trail/snow worthiness. I would like to keep fuel economy up and limit road noise.
My Jeep has a 3.21 rear (no LSD) with an auto trans, and I am not planning a re-gear - so I need to limit the tire/wheel weight.
For a DD, i went with the duratracs. I'm extremely happy with them and would highly recommend them. I run an odd size so they were pretty expensive.
If i was going to do it over again, and had time to wait, I would have purchased the new BFG KO2's. They are now considered a hybrid because they have a more mud terrain outside with the AT inside like the duratracs. What they have over the duratracs though is the BFG's have a 3 ply sidewall. Many concerns have been raised about the possible punctures you could experience with the duratracs since they are only a 2 ply sidewall. The KO2 solves this and is a hybrid for DD/wheeling. I'm guessing though that the Duratrac will be a bit on the lighter side of things.
I would look at the specs on BFG and Goodyears website and get the size for the wheels you have closest to a 33" tire (if not thinking about a lift).
Duratracs, Toyo A/T's and some nice tires, but if you go any wider than 255 than you will need wheel spacers, or you can trim off a little bit off the plastic so it won't rub when you turn.
I'm running 265s on my stock Sahara with no rubbing. I'm about to put 32 inch 275s on this spring and have read numerous posts from people with no rubbing and only a few with minor rubbing with stock rims. My impression from reading the forums is that it's with 285s that you really start to need spacers or wheels with less backspacing--but even some with 285s on stock rims have reported no rubbing.
Are you planning any lift at all? Maybe a leveling kit?
If so, then I would look at moving up to 33's. The 285/70-17 is very popular for getting a little more tire without going overboard.
The tire of choice is the Goodyear Duratrac to give you the aggression and minimize road noise, etc. It isn't necessarily budget friendly, but it's the right tire. This tire is usually around $250.
You can stay good with budget by choosing something like the Mammoth 8 wheel from Extreme Terrain, it's got great spec's and it's only $105.
A full budget minded package might be something like the Mammoth 8's in 16" which are $99 each with free shipping, then take them to Discount Tire where they currently have Falken Rocky Mountain ATS II's in a 285/75-16 for $142 each. Now that's a deal. Throw on a $150 leveling kit and bingo!
If you are staying stock height and want to stay at stock diameter, there is a Duratrac at 275/65-18 that you drop right on your factory wheel that is a great option. Tire Rack has them at $199 and my local Goodyear Tire and Auto quoted me $189 this weekend. It's my wife's DD and she likes the Sahara wheels...
Are you planning any lift at all? Maybe a leveling kit? If so, then I would look at moving up to 33's. The 285/70-17 is very popular for getting a little more tire without going overboard. The tire of choice is the Goodyear Duratrac to give you the aggression and minimize road noise, etc. It isn't necessarily budget friendly, but it's the right tire. This tire is usually around $250. You can stay good with budget by choosing something like the Mammoth 8 wheel from Extreme Terrain, it's got great spec's and it's only $105. Mammoth Wrangler Black Mammoth 8 Wheel - 17x9 J100603 (07-15 Wrangler JK) - Free Shipping A full budget minded package might be something like the Mammoth 8's in 16" which are $99 each with free shipping, then take them to Discount Tire where they currently have Falken Rocky Mountain ATS II's in a 285/75-16 for $142 each. Now that's a deal. Throw on a $150 leveling kit and bingo! If you are staying stock height and want to stay at stock diameter, there is a Duratrac at 275/65-18 that you drop right on your factory wheel that is a great option. Tire Rack has them at $199 and my local Goodyear Tire and Auto quoted me $189 this weekend. It's my wife's DD and she likes the Sahara wheels...
I drive Duratracs and probably get similar snow that you would get. Maybe a little more. They are great snow tires for sure. They chug right through whatever snow you throw at them. Of course, they still slip on ice like every other tire out there. They really aren't that good in mud even though they look like they would be. If you plan on hitting a lot of mud trails, you'll want a more mud oriented tire.
They do have a very little bit of hum on the freeway but it's not bad at all, especially if you religiously rotate them.
Staying with stock tire size means you can keep the stock wheels. But that might drive up your cost. Though looking at tirerack.com I see that Duratracs in 255/70R18 are just under $200 each and that's not terrible. There are a couple of other decent candidates in that size but for my money, I'd take the Duratracs.
I paid $558 OTD for a set of Cooper AT/3's just about a year ago for my Tacoma. That includes mounting, balance and tax. They were offering an $80 rebate which got me down to $478 for 4 tires, 265/75/16. They are currently offering a $70 rebate through the end of October.
That size will cost a bit more, but I consider the Coopers the best deal going. They ride quite, and give more than enough traction for most uses. You'll have to drive out of the way to find an off road spot bad enough that you cannot get through and a true mud tire will.
I had mine put on just a few days before "Snow Jam 2014" hit North Georgia in January. ( I bought the tires in November to get the rebate, waited till January to mount them because the old tires still had a little life in them.) I spent most of the night getting people home and to work and never spun a tire.
Putting the same tire on my Wrangler when it needs new tires. You can spend more and look cool, but won't get a better tire.
I'm going to go against the grain a bit here and say that the BFG Rugged Terrain might just be the tire you're looking for. They have a more aggressive tread than a regular highway tire, but not quite as aggressive as a true AT tire. Road noise is non-existent and they actually look pretty good. They're a great tire for a DD with occasional off-roading.
I have them on my Nissan Titan and my wife's JKU, my cousin has them on his Silverado and my brother-in-law has them on his Ram 1500. We've all been very happy with them.
I put 265/70R18 (One size up from stock at 32.6" x 10.4") on the factory 18" JKU wheels. They fit fine with no lift and no spacers, but I added spacers anyway to help fill out the fenders a bit. They also fit and ride fine on the factory spare carrier.
If you plan to level your Jeep and run spacers, the 275/70R18 would fit and look pretty good (33.2" x 10.8") and probably still fit the factory spare carrier without any clearance issues.
This is a picture of the exhaust I just put on this weekend, but it also gives a perfect view of the Rugged Terrain's tread...
not sure if this will help out or not on your decision, but I just got 33 12.5 on 17 inch wheels on my sahara unlimited. no lift. no spacers, nothing. and I haven't had rubbing at all. They look great!
I LOVE my KM2's I have had them 2 years. They have approx 30,000 miles on them and they have a lot of tread left. Do they create more noise than stock.....yes. But really un-noticable under normal driving conditions (radio,talking, ect).
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