Rubicon or willys ????

[WindyCityWilly]

I found the Firestone MT's on my Willy's to be good in deep snow but almost criminal in how bad they were after the plows had come through. I made the decision to keep the MT's for Spring/Summer/Fall and run Firestone Winterforce during the snow season. I was able to find a set of 17" wheels on Marketplace for my Winterforce tires and just swap out the wheels/tires when the season changes.
The Winterforce grip so much better in the cold and plowed snow than the MT's.

The only thing I don't like - and I know it's only cosmetic - is how much worse my Jeep looks with the winter tires. The MT's are knobby and aggressive and the winter tires look like a highway tire.

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[AMKRubicon610]

I got a pretty bare bones JLUR, manual trans, hard top, cold weather group and engine block heater. I paid about $43k for it, got wheels and 35’s on the stock suspension and couldn’t be happier. I figured the rubi would be the way to go for me since I wanted to add 35’s without needing to lift or regear

i did get this in March 2021 before prices went up. My same build msrp is a few grand higher now.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I've been checking into the tires that come with the Willys . This jeep will be driven on road 98 percent of the time and my wife will more than likely be driving it . The mt tires aren't going to be the best for that . Living in south dakota winter conditions will be important to be prepared for . The mt tires that are stock may look 'cool' , but the only time she will drive in mud , would be a rain soaked gravel road .
Anyway I have visited with my local tire sales guy . He said if I bring in the jeep upon taking delivery he will credit the mt tires at 155.00 each . Looking at a set of 5 falken wild peak at3w 235/75 r17 for 350.00 difference mounted and balanced . A narrow tire is better for snow . It will be a little shorter but a1/2" in ride height will still be ok . With less rubber on the road it should be better for gas mileage . It should be a lot smoother ride as well . 55,000 mile warranty on them as well . I have never had a set of tires go that far but that is what falken warrants this tire for . Only extra cost will be for dealer to recalibrate for the different size .
You can see by this rambling post it is winter here and am looking forward to april when the new Willys is supposed to deliver .
I'm curious to see what others think about swapping the mt tires for the all terrain tires .
The falkens also weigh about 10 lbs less per tire .

I would urge you to go with at least the factory size for replacement. You will loose over 1” in diameter (30.8 vs 32.1) and those small tires will look like it has four spares. The first gear in the 8 speed auto is very low and will almost always spin those small tires on any slippery surface. It's your choice though, 255s are not much wider than 235s. You could go with 235/80/17s, but they would be load range E and the ride would be harsh.

 

[kenp1985]

I've been checking into the tires that come with the Willys . This jeep will be driven on road 98 percent of the time and my wife will more than likely be driving it . The mt tires aren't going to be the best for that . Living in south dakota winter conditions will be important to be prepared for . The mt tires that are stock may look 'cool' , but the only time she will drive in mud , would be a rain soaked gravel road .
Anyway I have visited with my local tire sales guy . He said if I bring in the jeep upon taking delivery he will credit the mt tires at 155.00 each . Looking at a set of 5 falken wild peak at3w 235/75 r17 for 350.00 difference mounted and balanced . A narrow tire is better for snow . It will be a little shorter but a1/2" in ride height will still be ok . With less rubber on the road it should be better for gas mileage . It should be a lot smoother ride as well . 55,000 mile warranty on them as well . I have never had a set of tires go that far but that is what falken warrants this tire for . Only extra cost will be for dealer to recalibrate for the different size .
You can see by this rambling post it is winter here and am looking forward to april when the new Willys is supposed to deliver .
I'm curious to see what others think about swapping the mt tires for the all terrain tires .
The falkens also weigh about 10 lbs less per tire .

We put on factory size BFG AT’s when we picked it up last April and sold the MT’s for $900 on CL.

Love them, pretty quiet and we average 22MPG

 

[BlackGenesis]

I didn't know that the rubicon doesn't have a LSD in the rear end . That is a deal breaker for winter driving , I live in south dakota ....
Now wondering if I should be comparing a sahara to a Willys.

I really dont see why one would buy Willys over Sahara for mostly street driving and no hardcore offroading.
Stock AT tire option on SH is better then MT tire on Willys for what you are planning to do.

If there is a need for rubicon suspension, it can be had for cheep ($150) on market place or for sale section of this forum

 

[BlackGenesis]

I've been checking into the tires that come with the Willys . This jeep will be driven on road 98 percent of the time and my wife will more than likely be driving it . The mt tires aren't going to be the best for that . Living in south dakota winter conditions will be important to be prepared for . The mt tires that are stock may look 'cool' , but the only time she will drive in mud , would be a rain soaked gravel road .
Anyway I have visited with my local tire sales guy . He said if I bring in the jeep upon taking delivery he will credit the mt tires at 155.00 each . Looking at a set of 5 falken wild peak at3w 235/75 r17 for 350.00 difference mounted and balanced . A narrow tire is better for snow . It will be a little shorter but a1/2" in ride height will still be ok . With less rubber on the road it should be better for gas mileage . It should be a lot smoother ride as well . 55,000 mile warranty on them as well . I have never had a set of tires go that far but that is what falken warrants this tire for . Only extra cost will be for dealer to recalibrate for the different size .
You can see by this rambling post it is winter here and am looking forward to april when the new Willys is supposed to deliver .
I'm curious to see what others think about swapping the mt tires for the all terrain tires .
The falkens also weigh about 10 lbs less per tire .

Stay away from MT tire as they are garbage is snow (on the road) or cold wet roads no matter what tire you get. AT handle snow way better.
Otherwise get separate used wheels with snow tires (any vehicle I drive, always have dedicated snow wheels and tires).

 

[Killed by Death]

Sounds silly, well, it is silly...But I went Rubicon for the KO2s and painted front grill. The Willys is all I need but that black grill drives me crazy.

 

[aldo98229]

To me Willys and Sahara are very comparable. Willys looks sportier and comes standard with the LSD; Saharas can be loaded to the gills.

A part of me would like a Rubicon for the swaybar disconnect and the 4:1 transfer case. But the reality is that I get a lot more use out of the LSD: it’s ridiculous how easy my Sahara is to drive in the snow!

 

[Oneman]

I really dont see why one would buy Willys over Sahara for mostly street driving and no hardcore offroading.
Stock AT tire option on SH is better then MT tire on Willys for what you are planning to do.

If there is a need for rubicon suspension, it can be had for cheep ($150) on market place or for sale section of this forum

Price was a factor in my buying a Willys Sport over the Sahara, the Willys, and, of course, the Rubicon. Also, I like the more basic features. I realized that I would likely be going with an AT style tire upon delivery. I agree that the MT looks good, but is not suited for mostly paved driving and the winter weather that I encounter here in NY’s Adirondacks. Wish I had had an option for AT tires when ordering.

 

[sk00pie]

I debated Willys vs Rubi for a bit too. When you factor the Willys come standard with LEDs and would have to add that package to Rubi its about a $4500 savings for the Willys. I don't off road at all but I'm sure Willys would be more than capable. Resale is the same. I think the MTs look way better than the ATs and in snow are totally fine. Just drove in about 5 inches 0 issues and up hills in plowed condition also 0 issues.

 

[aldo98229]

Tommy (TFL) makes a powerful case for the Willys.

His latest video has him flying through 10 inches of fresh snow in a $31,000 Willys Sport 2-door with manual transmission, soft top, no Navi and no heated anything.

Looks so much fun it’s got me itching for a 2-door 6-speed.

 

[Slaw32]

I would urge you to go with at least the factory size for replacement. You will loose over 1” in diameter (30.8 vs 32.1) and those small tires will look like it has four spares. The first gear in the 8 speed auto is very low and will almost always spin those small tires on any slippery surface. It's your choice though, 255s are not much wider than 235s. You could go with 235/80/17s, but they would be load range E and the ride would be harsh.

According to the falken link on their site the tire I'm considering is 31.1" .
I really appreciate the response , but do you think that a 1" difference is going to be that noticable visually ?
The three reasons I'm thinking about changing tires are
1. All weather traction
2. A narrow tire cuts through snow better than a wider one .
3. Better ride , softer ride .

 

[The Last Cowboy]

A bigger tire will ride better than a smaller tire is they are the same load range. And yes, a shorter, narrower tire will make a big visual difference. The tire you are considering is even smaller than the base Sport tire.

If you want to save some money, buy 4 matching size brand AT tires and leave the MT spare on it for now. The Firestone Destination AT2 is an excellent all season/all terrain tire.

That's just my advice. Another thing to consider is that with the tiny tires, you will be out of warranty about 600-800 miles sooner, as the odometer/speedometer will be reading faster than it should by about 2-3% (rough guesstimate)

 

[ajkitebrder40]

I was in the same boat, really came down to two things.

1. Only about a $3k price difference given the Gupton pricing (because I wanted to add different wheels and a few other things to the Willy's package). I bought a stock JLR, manual, hard top, safety group - $42k.

2. I hate the black grill with Hydro Blue, if they had an option to remove that from the Willy's and the price difference was $6k then yeah, I probably would have went Willy's.

 

[Slaw32]

A bigger tire will ride better than a smaller tire is they are the same load range. And yes, a shorter, narrower tire will make a big visual difference. The tire you are considering is even smaller than the base Sport tire.

If you want to save some money, buy 4 matching size brand AT tires and leave the MT spare on it for now. The Firestone Destination AT2 is an excellent all season/all terrain tire.

That's just my advice. Another ting to consider is that with the tiny tires, you will be out of warranty about 600-800 miles sooner, as the odometer/speedometer will be reading faster than it should by about 2-3% (rough guesstimate)

I spoke with the service manager . Since the dealer wasn't interested in giving me anything for the stock tires he said he would reflash confuser to change tire size . I was considering buying a tazer mini for that and being able to run fog and brite lights at same time , but when I learned I would have to uninstall and reinstall every time I go in for service Im thinking the dealer route would be simplest and the led lights are hopefully going to be brite enough .

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