Let's Talk Tires. 35's, to Be Specific

[Mac]

I have run, 285/70/17s, 285/75/17s and 315/70/17s as well as several stock sizes. IMO the best tire width is 285, the 315s are floaty, follow grooves on the highway and are not as good in the snow as 285s. My next tires will be 285/75/18s, again IMO, these are the best width in a 35" tall tire and you can use them on stock Sarah wheels. There are no 315s or 12.5" wide tires that the manufacturer recommend a 7.5" rim for.

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[RonH]

I found this very informative about the engineering that went into the design of these tires. Start at 1:37.

I become more and more sold on the STT Pro's the more I read about 'em... I can get 'em locally for +/- $310 a tire. Not cheap, but for an approx. 35x12.5 tire, not out of line, either...

 

[DanW]

I have run, 285/70/17s, 285/75/17s and 315/70/17s as well as several stock sizes. IMO the best tire width is 285, the 315s are floaty, follow grooves on the highway and are not as good in the snow as 285s. My next tires will be 285/75/18s, again IMO, these are the best width in a 35" tall tire and you can use them on stock Sarah wheels. There are no 315s or 12.5" wide tires that the manufacturer recommend a 7.5" rim for.

315's will do fine on 7.5" rims. I never air down below 20lbs, anyway, so it won't be an issue.

Another tire that is interesting to me is the Mastercraft Courser MXT. They are light, apparently quiet, and not so expensive. They are also made by Cooper. Hmm.

 

[AZCrawl]

I become more and more sold on the STT Pro's the more I read about 'em... I can get 'em locally for +/- $310 a tire. Not cheap, but for an approx. 35x12.5 tire, not out of line, either...

Yeah, I have been running them on and off road for a year and love them! I will be putting them on my JLUR once I get my lift because I will be going 37's.

 

[Mac]

315's will do fine on 7.5" rims. I never air down below 20lbs, anyway, so it won't be an issue.

Another tire that is interesting to me is the Mastercraft Courser MXT. They are light, apparently quiet, and not so expensive. They are also made by Cooper. Hmm.

I don't think airing down would be an issue with a rim that is too narrow, just the opposite actually, a narrow rim would probably help the tire stay on the rim. The issue is the tire tread cannot flatten out when mounted on a rim that is too narrow, if 7.5" wide was okay it would be listed as a suitable size for that size tire.

 

[DanW]

I don't think airing down would be an issue with a rim that is too narrow, just the opposite actually, a narrow rim would probably help the tire stay on the rim. The issue is the tire tread cannot flatten out when mounted on a rim that is too narrow, if 7.5" wide was okay it would be listed as a suitable size for that size tire.

Many, many JK drivers have run 315s on stock rims. I don't recall hearing any complaints. I'll let you know how they do. My Discount tire store manager says they are gtg on 7.5 inch rims.

 

[sandtrooper]

I'm 100% sure now, after seeing the JLUR today at the Indy Auto Show, that I'm going to upgrade to 35's. I'm looking at 3 tires, and the favorites are in this order, with pros/cons:

1. BFG KO2 315/70/17 Load Range C....Pros: price (256), weight (64 or 65 pounds), Cons: 15/32 tread depth (Not bad, but not as deep as Duratracs, C range should ride nice, but are the sidewalls as tough as the E rated BFG's? If so, then it is a pro.

2. BFG KO2 315/70/17 Load Range E...Pros: price (276), weight (64 or 65 pounds), tough side wall, Cons : 15/32 tread depth, maybe a little stiffer ride than the C's (better handling though?)

3. Goodyear Duratrac 315/70/17 Load Range D...Pros: load range D is a good compromise, weight (63 pounds) 18/32 tread depth, more open tread, almost like a mild mud-terrain, Cons: price (309 ouch!), Some say weak sidewall is more prone to cuts than BFG KO2, said to get noisy with wear, and sipes disappear sooner than KO2, supposedly.

Here's the great news: I'm taking the 285 KO2's off my JLUR and putting them on my JKUR, which happens to need tires! I'm ordering some Quadratec Hard Rock wheels, black with polished lip. They should fit the 285's better than the stock Jeep Moab wheels on it now. It already has a 2" lift, so it should look and perform well with these new shoes!

I looked closely at the standard plastic rear bumper on the JLUR today. It looks like it has room to clear the 35's, but it will be tight.

Which of these would you choose? What tire are you looking to get, if up sizing? Pros? Cons? Other tires I considered were KM2's, Nitto Trail Grapplers, and General Grabber XT's. I just have a hard time getting away from BFG, since they have served me so well, so long, especially off road.

I ran Goodyear Duratracs on my 2013 JK for the last 4 years and just switched the Nitto Ridge Grapplers on it and I’ll never go back to the Duratracs. The feel and road noise are improved and handling in snow is better then ever. My brother just put Falken Wildpeak AT3W in his ‘05 TJ and they look and feel amazing as well in the snow and quiet on the roads... the Falken have super deep tread gaps too, almost makes me want them in my JK but the Nitto Ridge Grapplers have more of an aggressive look that I wanted but both I like the feel and look better than the Duratracs or BFGs. I’d look at those 2 options before pulling the trigger on any of the pricier ones you mentioned. Just my opinion!

 

[offcamber]

I had horrible wear issues with BFG KM2's that sent me on a goose chase thinking there was something wrong with my suspension. It caused death wobble and I was at the end of my rope. Then I just bought a set of Nitto Trail Grappler MT's to monitor for wear issues. None ever developed and the tires lasted over 60K miles and still had about 20% tread on them when I replaced them. No more BFG's for me.

 

[DanW]

I'm still leaning toward the BFG KO2's in 315/70/17. They come in E or C load rating, but the weight difference is only about 1/2 a pound. I'm betting the C rated tire would ride a little better, and probably have more sidewall flex, but with the weight that close, how could the construction really be that different? Anybody have experience with the C rated tire?

The C rated tire goes for about $256 each, while E goes for 276. That's not enough difference to sway me one way or another.

Thoughts? If you had to choose between the C or E KO2, which would you choose for your Jeep, and why?

Btw, If I went with a mud tread, I'd probably be leaning toward the Cooper STT Pro. I'm still heading toward the BFG, though. I've had great luck with the KO, and there is a guy on a 2 year 80,000 mile drive around Africa running the KO2. I corresponded with him and he said the tires have been outstanding, from sand to mud to rocks, to pavement. He said they have exceeded his expectations, and he's put them through hell and back. On top of that, they are made in Indiana, so I like to support the home team.

 

[Tintop]

I'm leaning towards a compromise between a more aggressive mud terrain ( KM2 or STT PRO) vs all terrain KO2. I'm thinking that the Cooper ST MAXX looks great and has good onroad manners like the ko2. The 315/70/17 comes in an D rating, and looks more aggressive than the KO2. Has anyone run the ST MAXX before and offer some input? The weight at 67 pounds seems reasonable.

 

[Klausvanwinkle]

I run 35x12.5r17s BFG KO2s on stock rubicon wheels (7.5in JKUR). And I haven't had any issues with sidewall flex, bead unseating etc. I've run them on everything from highway to 10psi on the Dusy. No issues. They are a little taller than if it was on a 8.5" rim. And I'll eventually upgrade. Even if you do unseat the bead, you should have a good air compressor for running 35s and airing down that low. America's Tires and 4WheelParts will mount them with some prodding.

I also haven't had any warranty issues. In my experience the dealerships don't want to turn down free money from Chrysler for doing warrant repair work. My local dealer replaced everything on my serpentine belt in order of most to least expensive despite my telling them that it was the tensioner pulley on day 1.

Do what you actually want the first time, or it'll cost you later. And don't over analyze it.

 

[DanW]

I checked JK-Forum and it looks like there are literally hundreds of people with 35's on stock rims. After lots of searching, I didn't find one single complaint. Not one.

@Klausvanwinkle thanks for sharing your experience!

I've been all over the map on the ST Pro, Firestone Destination MT2, and KO2. I keep coming back to the KO2. I just have to buckle down and decide between the C load version or the E. I still can't believe the weight is virtually the same on the two, but every source I've seen, including BFG, says that is the case. I'd love to talk to one of their engineers to find out why that is.

 

[Tintop]

I checked JK-Forum and it looks like there are literally hundreds of people with 35's on stock rims. After lots of searching, I didn't find one single complaint. Not one.

@Klausvanwinkle thanks for sharing your experience!

I've been all over the map on the ST Pro, Firestone Destination MT2, and KO2. I keep coming back to the KO2. I just have to buckle down and decide between the C load version or the E. I still can't believe the weight is virtually the same on the two, but every source I've seen, including BFG, says that is the case. I'd love to talk to one of their engineers to find out why that is.

Dan check out the st MAXX. They seem like a great hybrid solution to the KO2 vs ST Pro. Slightly heavier, but come in a D rating- which is good because I would like to avoid an E rated tire if possible. Anyway that is what I'm ordering from discount tire. They have no issue mounting in a 7.5 wheel.

 

[Klausvanwinkle]

I was worried about the E-rating too. But it hasn't really been an issue. You just have to run a slightly lower air pressure to get a full contact patch. Like 28 instead of 32psi. Both are great tires IMHO.

 

[DanW]

I was worried about the E-rating too. But it hasn't really been an issue. You just have to run a slightly lower air pressure to get a full contact patch. Like 28 instead of 32psi. Both are great tires IMHO.

I'll probably go with the C, if I go with the KO2. @Tintop, I will definetly check out the ST Maxx. I've been intrigued by that tire. The questions I'll have will be, will the sidewalls be as tough as the BFG? I've had many BFG's, including KO's, KM's, and KM2's, and the sidewalls are darned near bullet proof.

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