Road trip through varying climates on 255/70R 18 113T M+S tire question

[Bruce Willys]

Know anyone who would trade my 900 mile tires for the KO2's?

The Rubicon take-offs are for a 17" wheel, so you would need the wheels also. Make sure to compare the weight of the tires you're considering, buying heavy A/T tires will negatively effect gas mileage for your trip on top of making the vehicle less responsive/will feel sluggish compared to more light weight tires. Unless you offroad, maybe skip the aggressive all-terrain tires (like K02, Duratrac, etc) for a tire that is more optimized for the street/highway that still has the snowflake symbol, they will have more grip on the pavement (even icy pavement) vs something like the K02 that has big voids for offroading, there is less rubber in contact with the road and less sipes in contact with the road on the 'cool looking' A/T tires so they don't grip pavement as well as a tire made for the pavement first and foremost given the same size. The snow would have to be pretty deep for a K02 or any aggressive A/T to outperform/out grip a quality street tire on snow covered pavement.

I'd check out the Yokohama Geolander A/T G015, its still an all-terrain tire but more of a street tire. It's significantly lighter than the LT K02's and has the snowflake symbol. They do excellent in the snow on my other vehicle.

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[grandpaq]

The Rubicon take-offs are for a 17" wheel, so you would need the wheels also. Make sure to compare the weight of the tires you're considering, buying heavy A/T tires will negatively effect gas mileage for your trip on top of making the vehicle less responsive/will feel sluggish compared to more light weight tires. Unless you offroad, maybe skip the aggressive all-terrain tires (like K02, Duratrac, etc) for a tire that is more optimized for the street/highway that still has the snowflake symbol, they will have more grip on the pavement (even icy pavement) vs something like the K02 that has big voids for offroading, there is less rubber in contact with the road and less sipes in contact with the road on the 'cool looking' A/T tires so they don't grip pavement as well as a tire made for the pavement first and foremost given the same size. The snow would have to be pretty deep for a K02 or any aggressive A/T to outperform/out grip a quality street tire on snow covered pavement.

I'd check out the Yokohama Geolander A/T G015, its still an all-terrain tire but more of a street tire. It's significantly lighter than the LT K02's and has the snowflake symbol. They do excellent in the snow on my other vehicle.

Having a fun time finding 'all season ' tires in stock in Miami. Everyone has to order.....

The Geolanders look very good - cheaper than the Duelers on my jeep now. Thanks for the info. If I need them I'll buy them in Denver when I go next week.

 

[aldo98229]

In case you haven’t seen this, here is a good AT tire resource: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORAT

For some reason, they have Duratrac and one Cooper Discoverer in a separate category:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORCT

 

[grandpaq]

PS - snow chain laws vary by state. For instance, vehicles are required to carry them on all three west coast states. However, they are illegal in other states. You have to check locally.

As the previous post indicates, you don’t want chains; you want cables. Chains will void your warranty.

Personally, I carry tire cables for compliance but I don’t really want to have to use them. They are a PITA to mount.

Around here, when it snows the police will let you go with (1) traction tires (which the peaks symbol denote), and (2) carrying chains —i.e., cables— inside the vehicle.

See smaller sign below. These are effective Nov. through May.

Good advice. I bought the chains just to keep in case of a police inquiry. I plan to return them in January unopened.

 

[aldo98229]

You bet.

BTW: read the fine print; most places don’t accept returns on tire chains/cables. Even if unused.

 

[1quick1]

Chains are not required (they are for semis) but there are other requirements: https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/tractionlaw

CO State Patrol will ticket you as every year we have people come who don't know how to drive in the snow, get stuck and literally block/shut down the high way for hours. I spent 6 hours at a dead stop coming home skiing when a couple passenger cars got stuck and blocked the entire highway.

With that said your stock tires and 4wd will be enough for the laws.

 

[grandpaq]

Good advice. I bought the chains just to keep in case of a police inquiry. I plan to return them in January unopened.

 

[Oldbear]

Check the Veredstein tires @Tire rack. Really good tires, reasonable and have the three peak sign. Run them on the wife’s Touareg and they are great in snow.

 

[BriKan]

Welcome to the forum!

Not long ago there was a similar thread from a fellow Floridian looking to travel the states in winter and wondering about tires as well.

You will get a zillion different replies.

Like you, I own a Sahara as well: the Bridgestone Duelers that come from the factory are surprisingly capable All-Terrain (AT) tires.

However, if you want an added margin of safety, look for an AT tire with the peaks embossed on the tire wall. Most popular such ATs are BFG KO2, Goodyear Duratrac and General Grabber ATX. All of these are extremely comfortable, quiet, and capable in snow and dirt trails.

I swapped the OE Bridgestones on my Sahara with a set of 275/70R18 KO2s and venture into snow covered trails with little issue. I had good experience with General Grabber ATX as well.

Good luck.

Here’s some evidence:

Aldo, How quiet are they really?
Would you say close to the stock Duelers? I'm trying to stay as quiet on the highway as possible and just slightly increase traction while still having a comfortable ride. How long have you run them? I'm looking at the stock Duellers on mine with 28,000 miles and they're going to need replaced in 2-5K. I'm disappointed in how long they lasted.

I've had Michelin Defenders on my 2007 Commander and they lasted over 60,000 miles already with almost 3/4 of the tread left. They were as quiet as a luxury SUV/ passenger car tire. Perfectly fine in the snow/ ice on the highway in AWD but, they let me down one day when I couldn't get out of the driveway with 12"s of snow.

 

[aldo98229]

Aldo, How quiet are they really?
Would you say close to the stock Duelers? I'm trying to stay as quiet on the highway as possible and just slightly increase traction while still having a comfortable ride. How long have you run them? I'm looking at the stock Duellers on mine with 28,000 miles and they're going to need replaced in 2-5K. I'm disappointed in how long they lasted.

I've had Michelin Defenders on my 2007 Commander and they lasted over 60,000 miles already with almost 3/4 of the tread left. They were as quiet as a luxury SUV/ passenger car tire. Perfectly fine in the snow/ ice on the highway in AWD but, they let me down one day when I couldn't get out of the driveway with 12"s of snow.

Yes, as quiet as the Duelers.

I had them for a year. Traded them recently for a set of 35” General Grabber ATXs.

 

[DadJokes]

My stock Duelers have been very good. With about 8k miles on them, they worked great on UP snow packed and fresh snow roads while driving cautiously. A few days ago I thought about the tires being good in the snow and ice, even with 31k miles on them now and then a matter of hours later, I couldn’t even get over a wet ice hump and into a driveway. The rear locker didn’t help. I started sliding towards the downhill side and towards a van giving it a bit of power so I just quit and parked on the street lol. Jinxed myself .

 

[grandpaq]

Good advice. I bought the chains just to keep in case of a police inquiry. I plan to return them in January unopened.

 

[grandpaq]

The trip was flawless except for the ubiquitous windshield crack in southern Colorado on the way home. The stock Duelers performed very well in the Breckinridge? Fairplay area and 6-12 inches that fell on top of the icy roads there.
The entire trip of 5400 miles with my wife and the two under 20 pound dogs was fun every minute.

The Jeep became part of my dependable family, and I couldn't be happier with it.

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