First Jeep owner inquiry

[Rangerheave]

I'm 44 years old and finally bought my first Jeep. Keeping in mind that I am a complete rookie, here is my inquiry:

This is my daily driver. I live in the Anchorage Alaska area and mostly highway commute 30 miles one way to work. This vehicle will not likely see any off-road driving for a very long time. Having said that, I would like to upgrade the wheels and tires to something more aggressive looking while maintaining stock suspension. Performance in snow and ride quality are important to me. I like the looks of the KO2's and Ridge Grapplers.

I would prefer black or matte black rims and 33" A/T tires that do not extended more than 1/2-3/4" beyond the fenders.

What are your thoughts?

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[$uicide$hift]

Larger lugs that generally give that more aggressive look are not the best for snow. For ride quality they are not the best either and they will be louder on the road.

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/w...we-test-the-best-tread-design-for-driving-in/

 

[HardRock]

I'm 44 years old and finally bought my first Jeep. Keeping in mind that I am a complete rookie, here is my inquiry:

This is my daily driver. I live in the Anchorage Alaska area and mostly highway commute 30 miles one way to work. This vehicle will not likely see any off-road driving for a very long time. Having said that, I would like to upgrade the wheels and tires to something more aggressive looking while maintaining stock suspension. Performance in snow and ride quality are important to me. I like the looks of the KO2's and Ridge Grapplers.

I would prefer black or matte black rims and 33" A/T tires that do not extended more than 1/2-3/4" beyond the fenders.

What are your thoughts?

Leave it "as is" - You don't need to blow it out. If you want some muscle looks/teeth put the the 17 inch (although I think you have 18 inch now) stock black wheels with the polished lip and stock Rubicon tires. Add Mopar 2" lift kit. If you get crazier than that and don't rock crawl it could hurt your daily driver comfort and fuel economy. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Beardedgator]

Only stopping by to say I’m jealous.. we almost moved to anchorage/Palmer this year.. love that state. Also a first time new owner that commutes 60 miles round trip per day. 37s coming soon! Haha

 

[Shots]

KO2's are a great tire. I had them on my wife's Grand Cherokee, which completely changed the look of it. They have great road manners, and are very quite for an all terrain tire, plus they look good.

We mounted 255/70/18 KO2's on take-off Sahara rims from a JK. Those only work out to 32", but that was the biggest I could go on the Grand Cherokee while still being able to fit the matched spare into its storage compartment. Coincidentally that's exactly the same size tire that's on our Sahara JL's so you wouldn't have to worry about fitment issues of any kind.

Here's a photo of it ↓↓↓

And another shot with a close up of the rim/tire. ↓↓↓

 

[Shots]

PS, like you, I'm completely new to this whole Wrangler business. Likewise, I also don't intend to do any serious off-roading with it. I doubt I'll do more than a random light trail to get back to a hunting, camping, or hiking spot just like I did with the WK2. Though I think those tires will do way more than that.
Oh and yes they handle snow very well. I happen to live/work in an area that gets A LOT of it. I know that probably sounds funny to someone from Alaska from someone in Ohio, but in this particular part of the state we get lake effect snow from the great lakes which amounts to several feet of snow every year. Those tires walk right through it.
If there was a size that would fit the Renegade, I'd buy them in a minute for my wife's BU (traded the WK2 for it because she wanted something smaller). If I decide to change tires on my JL, these will be on the short list of options.

 

[Rangerheave]

PS, like you, I'm completely new to this whole Wrangler business. Likewise, I also don't intend to do any serious off-roading with it. I doubt I'll do more than a random light trail to get back to a hunting, camping, or hiking spot just like I did with the WK2. Though I think those tires will do way more than that.
Oh and yes they handle snow very well. I happen to live/work in an area that gets A LOT of it. I know that probably sounds funny to someone from Alaska from someone in Ohio, but in this particular part of the state we get lake effect snow from the great lakes which amounts to several feet of snow every year. Those tires walk right through it.
If there was a size that would fit the Renegade, I'd buy them in a minute for my wife's BU (traded the WK2 for it because she wanted something smaller). If I decide to change tires on my JL, these will be on the short list of options.

Thanks for the reply. I know all about lake effect snow. I'm originally from Michigan (Go Blue!). Those tires look great on the Cherokee.

 

[mwilk012]

I recommend getting KO2's, in a near 33" size, they handle snow very well.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Buy some rubicon take off 33s, and call it good. You'll get good snow traction, a quiet ride, and it will do well on dirt. Have the wheels powdercoated black if you want, or plastidip them. Can get a set of 5 for under $1000.

 

[Rangerheave]

Buy some rubicon take off 33s, and call it good. You'll get good snow traction, a quiet ride, and it will do well on dirt. Have the wheels powdercoated black if you want, or plastidip them. Can get a set of 5 for under $1000.

The likelihood of me finding takeoffs here in Alaska is not good. I really am better off buying a suitable after market wheel/tire combo.

Right now I'm leaning toward 275/70r18 KO2's

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Take a look at Duratracs as well. I've been running them on my rigs for the last 6 years, and the only reason I will be looking elsewhere for my JL is solely because they don't come in 37" flavor. Fantastic tires.

 

[Shots]

Agreed. Those are #2 on my "short list" of tire options. I had them on my 2007 Ram. Great tires, with lots of grip. Not as quite as the KO2's but not loud either. When they're new, they're equally quite, but as they wore they got slightly louder. The KO2, despite the tire wear, didn't increase in road noise.
Don't get me wrong I wouldn't consider either of them loud, it's just that the BFG is a little quieter. Both wear well, ride smooth, and grip great off road and in the snow.

So in case you're wondering. Rounding off my list of tires after the KO2, and Duratrac, are the MT/r and Trail Grappler. I had the MT/r on my '99 Dakota, and those things were aggressive and grippy. They are lower on my list because they're heavy and expensive. That said, they're very strong/thick so they're a good choice of heavy off-road use. The Grappler falls to 4th because I don't have actual experience with them. I short listed them because I have lots of friends who like them, so they'll be a consideration when it's time to buy tires.

 

[Shots]

On a side note. I've had many other off road tires over the years. Specifically the Kelly Safari, which is the "budget" version of the Duratrac. They weren't bad, but much louder than the Duratrac. Otherwise they match up well, regarding grip, ride and wear.
I would recommend finding reviews for any tire you're considering and do some reading. I also try to find reviews written by people driving a similar vehicle too. It's always nice to hear from people who are running the tire you're looking at, especially after they've gotten some miles on them and the newness has worn off.

 

[Waiting]

Buy, trade for, or make an equivalent wheel and tire set up of the stock Rubicon

 

[mwilk012]

The likelihood of me finding takeoffs here in Alaska is not good. I really am better off buying a suitable after market wheel/tire combo.

Right now I'm leaning toward 275/70r18 KO2's

That is a good size if you decide to mount on the stock Sahara wheels, but if you go with aftermarket wheels you may want 17's. The tire and wheel options are just so much better with 17's.

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