On Road Snow Performance - Willys vs Rubicon

[aldo98229]

It's interesting these tires have been out for around 3 years and so few reviews on them.

The issue with Firestone tires is that they only sell them at Firestone stores. The big retailers like Discount Tire/America’s Tire can get then, but they don't carry them in stock. I.e., you would have to ask for them. I don’t even know if Costco or Sam’s Club sells them.

Over the years I have followed the advise of these survey results published on tirerack.com https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORMT with good success. Thanks to their advise, I have owned BFG KO2 and General Grabber AT-X and been very happy with them.

Notice that in the MT tire category, Firestone Destination ranks a little below average. There’s a new Destination MT2 that ranks better, but still below others. It appears the Firestone MTs have some areas where it performs below other MTs; the General Grabber X3 is the rooster of the MT coup right now.

FWIW, I was very happy with my General Grabber AT-X tires. It appears General has put a lot of effort over the past few years developing state-of-the-art truck tires.

Hope this helps.

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[dloreski]

My plan is to order my Willy's and also purchase 285/70/17 K02's hopefully from the dealership and have them swap them before taking delivery and credit me a bit for the M/T tires. We'll see if they'll go for that.

I looked at these tires in person and there are some sipes in the treads.
Not like a snow tire for sure, wondering if the minimal amount on them makes a difference.
Although only a few people commented on real world experience with them, they were positive.

 

[WhereRU_A-A-Ron]

You could just do what everyone down here in the South does whenever it starts snowing.

1.) Panic.
2.) Stop in the middle of the road no matter where you are.
3.) Abandon your vehicle.
4.) Walk home.

 

[Punjabi New Yorker]

You could just do what everyone down here in the South does whenever it starts snowing.

1.) Panic.
2.) Stop in the middle of the road no matter where you are.
3.) Abandon your vehicle.
4.) Walk home.

Sounds like Atlanta in 2014 to me when they had that snow storm that dropped a dusting and people panicked

 

[WhereRU_A-A-Ron]

Sounds like Atlanta in 2014 to me when they had that snow storm that dropped a dusting and people panicked

Exactly. Had the same thing happen here in Little Rock around that same time. Abandoned and stuck cars EVERYWHERE. We still had our 2008 JKU at the time thankfully

 

[emptyminded42]

Why don't you just spec a Sport S with an LSD and keep the all-seasons or spec all-terrains? Do you need the HD suspension and brakes from the Willys?

You could also go up to a Sahara which gets you the HD brakes and shocks. Sahara is like $1k more than a Willys and then a little extra to check the box for the LSD and the A/Ts. Maybe by the time you do that on the Sahara you end up pretty pricey but seems a little silly to replace tires right off the bat. Maybe buy an extra set of winter wheels and tires?

Frankly speaking blocky M/Ts are going to be pretty terrible in the snow, ice, rain, and slush. You need sipes to clear away the water. My all-seasons are pretty darn good IMHO and even in the lake effect snows out here I don't think I need more tire.

 

[Ruby Mike]

Exactly. Had the same thing happen here in Little Rock around that same time. Abandoned and stuck cars EVERYWHERE. We still had our 2008 JKU at the time thankfully

Amazing. Down here in San Diego county if interstate 8 gets more than an a couple inch of snow over the pass (only 4,000 ft) the entire freeway is shut down. People freak out. Or even worse, the big pine creek bridge gets icy and people fly across it. Last year a car went spinning and a good samaritan who stopped to help another person jumped off the bridge not knowing it was a 400 foot drop to the ground. People down here lose what little mind they have when it rains and even worse up in the mountains with snow. I am currently running stock KO2 tires and what little I have used them in the snow I am pleased. When the tires I have wear out most likely going to get 37 inch coopers.

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