Confused on what tires to go for..

[wizzo]

Hey guys.. Looking to buy tires for my cherokee, this winter it will be seeing alot of the desert size i am looking for is 265/70R17 or similar.. What tires would u suggest?

- BFG Goodridge (If so which tires perform well in the sand)
- Cooper STT (I think thats the name, prob is they look like mud tires which i've heard wouldn't be very good)
- Michelin LTX (Which ones?)
- Nitto dune grappler

[MB Hammer]

Hi Wizzo
BFGs seem to be one of the most popular tyres in the club - they are a bit noisy on road though, but apparently not as noisy as the coopers or the Nitto. The Michelin LTX are good, I have just got a second hand set of the M/S for my patrol, apparently the A/T would have been even better but cash was tight and I couldn't find a second hand set here in Al Ain. Anyway I like my tyres, they are performing fine, and lovely and quiet on the road. Good luck with your choice!

[Wasif Ahmed]

I am sure our resident Cherooke man Tintin will eb able to answer you on this much more accurately than any of us who drive other cars so wait for his responce.

In the meantime do post some pics and details of yoru ride in the members rides thread that si on this link below

http://www.uaeoffroaders.com/showthread ... bers-Rides

[tintin]

Hi Ho Wizzo.

Depends on what you plan to do later really. Will you be lifting? If so, then it may be best to either
a) Wait until you lift and go bigger
b) If you really need tires badly, get some used ones from Sharjah and then go bigger after the lift.

If you don't plan on lifting you may have trouble finding that size in Abu Dhabi as our mate outlaw was also looking for the same size and struggled. He could only find one or two brands that were carrying anything in 17" and they were the BF Goodrich Rugged Trial and another street tire.

My personal choice is either a BFG MT KM2 or the Kumho RoadVenture MT (I have these in 31x10.5.15) The mud tires are great for the WJ, especially with a little lift as the drivetrain is very strong and can take a real beating.
As for noise, well, that is all part of the fun if you ask me. The coopers, Kumho's and most other mud tires are pretty noisey. So if noise in an issue go with an AT such as the Pirelli Scorpion, BFG, or Kumho RoadVenture AT. Again, 17" can be a pain to find in AUH, but with some good searching you will find them. Or go to Sharjah and you will find a wonderland of tires and rims.

It may help to first get a set of 16 or 15" wheels as these seem more popular with the offroad tire manufacturers though.

Good luck

[scubamaster]

Hi wizzo
For me I would recommend copper set, I have them on my car and they preform good in the sand however they're a bit noisy on the road.

[Uncle]

Hello wizzo
Don't want to confuse you but for the Cherokee, I would rather go for 15" or max 16" mud terrain tires like Emad's STT Cooper, or Pseacraft's BFG's, or Pirelli Scorpios. The idea is that on the 15", your footprint will be bigger and a wide choice of tires are available. As Tintin said, it all depends on whether you are going for a lift or not. On my Cherokee, I installed 16" Nitto Highway Grappler tires (oooppsss) but hey, they performed well on the sand and besides that, the Cherokee, or Silver Craft as I named it, is my 2nd offroader.

Aside from all of this, it doesn't really matter that much which tires you install, after all, as the saying goes, it is the driver and not the car...hehehehehe

I wish you luck in your search and HOPE I HAVEN'T CONFUSED YOU....

[PR]

wizzo, above advice refers to the size of the metal rim - you said you have 17" rims. So you can't go to 15 or 16" tyres without buying 4 more rims as well as 4 more tyres ("tyre" is the rubber part + "rim" is the metal part = together are called "wheel") - the reason for not liking 17"+ rims off-road is that they are made for low profile tyres which don't deflate nicely.

As for which tyre, I love Sumitomo tyres - check out http://www.sumitomotiresuae.com/ (but you'll see most are for 15" or 16" rims)

[tintin]

Yeah sorry, forgot to mention that bit. I am sure you knew that thought wizzo

Well, you can always go and see the guy in mussaffah and see if he has any rims that will fit your WJ in 16". I am sure he will be happy to sort you out!

Call me or PM me if you need any help with the scrap yard for wheels!

[PR]

Yeah, choosing tyres can get pretty confusing actually!

As an after-thought, wizzo, if you are going to buy new rims, then you might consider seeing if wider ones will fit (10" for example)...

[tintin]

here is where we get even more confusing PR. 10" wide rims should fit the WJ fine, so long as the backspacing is ok. This can be fixed by fitting wheel spacers to gain an extra 1"-1.5" depending on the brand.
The backspacing is the distance from the center of the rim to the inside edge of the rim (side closest to the engine/suspension components). So a 10" wide rim with 4.5" backspacing will have a disproportionate center of 4.5" inside - 5.5" outside edge. You may benefit from going to www.jeepforum.com and checking through the WJ forum to see what is going on there as these guys are dedicated grand cherokee owners.
Look me up if you sign up, I am there as tonymartin.

Cheers