Best tires for our CRD?

914rrr · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 5:19 am

We are considering new tires for our CRD. We only drive it on-road and mostly commuter miles.
The Cooper tires that were on it when purchased have lots of tread but are absolutely horrible in the rain. Unless driven like a grandma, they break loose on take-off while turning when wet and seem to take forever to recover traction once spinning. If I stand on it in the rain going in a straight line, it also has tried to get sideways while shifting to second gear (AT).
Is this a 'typical problem' with CRD's due to massive torque or do Cooper tires just plain suck? I'd hate to drop big coinage for Michelin LTX's only to have the same wet traction problem.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 8:06 am

Here's a recent thread about tires :BANANA:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=55841

As far as "standing on it on wet roads" and your other example if you had gotten a 06 the ESP would take control of your lead foot :furious:

I have 16" Cooper Discoverer H/T on my 2000 XJ and they are fine for the wife's driving.

I have BGF Long Trail T/A tour on my CRD and they are fantastic :SOMBRERO:

Had I known about the BFG's the XJ might have had them too

runningbird · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 10:17 am

x2 on the bfg long trail. we have 235/75/16 and like them. helped with milage also. good for dirt roads and sand washes.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 12:09 pm

I run Cooper 215 85 R16 Load range E and they are great in wet weather. I think this is due to the deeper open tread. They are also great in snow and construction site mud.
Also they corrected the speedometer error but not the odometer error that makes me have to multiply my reading by 1.115 to correct. If you go to a tire store they will tell you the tires will rub, they are script reading/reciting and don't know what they are talking about.
If you plan to drive in fine sand, better listen to those who do the desert trails, they like wider tires.
Most of all of us agree the stock tires TOTALLY SUCK.

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 2:38 pm

Dunlop Radial Rover ATs are excellant hitting standing water at speed and in the rain, in general. Price is low and they have a great treadwear warranty. If you go larger than the standard 16" size you will take a big hit in MPG. Also, the wider you go, the worse they are in the rain.

DOC

geordi · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:29 pm

BFG Long Trails are (I believe) the same basic tire as the BFG Commercial T/A Highway tread or Traction Tread, but with a different pattern.

Mileage hit with larger tires? Not so much - FATTER (235, 245, 255, etc instead of 225 or 215) WILL increase your friction, and reduce the MPG some. But if you go with a TALLER tire (Such as the 215/85/16) size which also happens to be a little narrower (215 instead of 225) then you will balance out the MPG difference. Highway MPG will go up, depending on the weight of the tire, city mpg might take a little hit. 1-2 mpg, which is typically within the standard deviation of even tanks of fuel.

jinstall · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:42 pm

One thing to watch out for is how heavy the tire is, I know load rang E tires are VERY HEAVY and will increase yoou braking distance. My Kumho 798's have gotten me everywhere I needed to go, everytime. Unfortunately they are no longer made and stocks are going away quickly.

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:51 pm

BTW,

"SL" (standard load) Dunlops have plenty of capacity and ride much better then Ds or Es. 36 psi F&R should give you even tire temps and even wear.

Regarding larger tires killing mileage, I'm just reflecting the extensive number of posts on this site that CRDs seem to be very sensitive to this. This caused me to stick with the stock size. I have no personal experience with larger tires hurting MPG.

DOC

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 5:39 pm

There's some good info. in this thread, and some bad info. too.

First of all, the primary reason you lose MPGs with any tire other than the stock ones is weight. The stock tires are listed at 28 lbs. each (which speaks to why they are absolute garbage and Jeep should be sued for putting people in danger like that...but that's another story for another time). Almost all other tires you can get will be 35 to 45 lbs. The weight increase kills mileage...but it's worth it to have a quality tire on your Jeep finally.

The second reason tires rob MPGs is friction. For that reason, wider tires will eat more MPGs than narrower tires. More rubber meeting the road means more friction which means it takes more fuel to keep them turning. Some people, however, feel it's worth it because you get more traction, particularly offroad and in wet conditions on road.

The third reason you lose MPGs is if you go taller. Taller tires WILL hurt your MPGs because the laws of physics start to kick in. The taller the tire, the more leverage you are putting on the drivetrain. Therefore it takes more torque to turn those puppies over, and your MPGs will suffer. Not to mention, the same is true when braking. Taller tires will eat brake pads faster than shorter tires.

And lastly, tread pattern will add resistance and decrease fuel economy.

So the moral of the story is... why you stray away from the stock Goodyear ST junk, there is no way around it...you're going to lose some power and some MPGs. How much.. well that depends on the specific tire you go with.

The General Grabber HTS is probably the very best road tire on the market. It's got rim protectors... it's a low rolling resistance rated tire so it will help keep your MPGs up.. it's inexpensive... and it's a rugged tire with good performance in rain and light snow. I would definitely look at the Grabber HTS. Most tire shops can't keep them in stock now because Consumer Reports rated them #1.

kevinl · **Joined:** Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:25 pm **Posts:** 35

BFG Long Trail T/A Touring have been very good in on road condions. Not too expensive either, I picked them up at Sam's Club for $112 each.

CRD Joe · **Posted:** Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:59 pm

Ive had very good experiences with Firestone Destination tires Ive used. Im about to move up to the Firestone Destination M/T 215/85/16.

bardwell02 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 19, 2010 7:39 pm

914rrr wrote:

We are considering new tires for our CRD. We only drive it on-road and mostly commuter miles.
The Cooper tires that were on it when purchased have lots of tread but are absolutely horrible in the rain. Unless driven like a grandma, they break loose on take-off while turning when wet and seem to take forever to recover traction once spinning. If I stand on it in the rain going in a straight line, it also has tried to get sideways while shifting to second gear (AT).

Had similar issues - all hwy use, no trac-lock rear, I replaced the original goodyears with Yoko Geolandar 225/75/16 XL. Not much improvement and they did not wear very well. This time I went with the BFG Long Trail Tour T/A, in 235/75/16 XL. After about 3000 miles, I'd say I have much better wet traction, seems to corner better too although I don't test that much. It also got me more load capacity without going to a heavier truck tire. Bonus 1 - looks better with slightly larger tire; Bonus 2 - I clocked some mile markers and I think it's actually accurate NOW after the swap!

Drewd · **Joined:** Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:24 pm **Posts:** 902

Drop the coinage on the Michelin LTX tires. They are worth every penny. I've got 20k on mine and wear is virtually undetectable. Vehicle ride is incredible compared to the Goodyear tires and traction in winter and wet weather is great.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 19, 2010 9:59 pm

Just a tip with the BFG Long Trail tires,if there the "P" rated versions better look at the sidewall for the max psi,most are only rated for 35psi and I know most of you guys like to up the psi for mpg's.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Oct 19, 2010 9:59 pm

Drewd wrote:

Drop the coinage on the Michelin LTX tires. They are worth every penny. I've got 20k on mine and wear is virtually undetectable. Vehicle ride is incredible compared to the Goodyear tires and traction in winter and wet weather is great.

IF I had $800 laying around, I'd be all over the LTX AT2s like Lindsey Lohan on a beer.

But alas, we mere mortals are relegated to the tires that don't require a home equity loan to purchase.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 19, 2010 10:04 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

Drewd wrote:

Drop the coinage on the Michelin LTX tires. They are worth every penny. I've got 20k on mine and wear is virtually undetectable. Vehicle ride is incredible compared to the Goodyear tires and traction in winter and wet weather is great.

IF I had $800 laying around, I'd be all over the LTX AT2s like Lindsey Lohan on a beer.

But alas, we mere mortals are relegated to the tires that don't require a home equity loan to purchase.

Quality cost $$$$.Though Michelin tires rate below BFG's in my book,very thin rubber in those tires.

I get start to get jealous when I see poeple getting tires for $800 mounted and balanced,but I get over it fast as my $1500 set of tires that are far stronger and hold up much better.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:17 am

My long trails say "106T" and "Extra Load" and have a max psi of 50# :jester:

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:23 am

Joe Romas wrote:

My long trails say "106T" and "Extra Load" and have a max psi of 50# :jester:

Yeah but just watch out most are not.

dritchie · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:41 am

Joe Romas wrote:

My long trails say "106T" and "Extra Load" and have a max psi of 50# :jester:

Those are the ones I got. I have about 50,000 miles on them now, and it looks like I'll get another 10K. I plan on replacing with the same tires. I like them a lot!

Dave

Joe Dirt · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:48 am

I have LTX AT2 tires on mine and only got 40,000 miles out of them. I got that much out of my stock Goodyears. They are great in snow and ice. I really like them but just wish they would last longer.

Best tires for our CRD?

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