So I guess I will ask the question, what tire do I want to put on there, Im thinking 31x10.5 R15 I dont know this is my first grand, do they do better with a 31x9.5(or 9 not real sure) R15?
Sorry there is probably a entire thread just for this question so I will also search for it.
I just dont understand the sense behind tires being the culprit. Maybe a diagram? I just love me some diagrams.
Quality tires usually don't suffer from belt separation under "use" and are more "round". If a tire has a cord or belt separation (or any other defect) you'll feel it in your suspension.
Go take a spin in ANY car with Bridgestones or Michelin tires. Then take that same car and put on some "house brand" or abused tires and tell me what you think. The link suspension in Jeeps just accentuates the negatives of crappy tires.
I've personally had good luck with Goodyear MT/Rs and Toyo MTs. I'd assume a BFG Mud or all terrain, Firestone, Bridgestone or Michelin would stand up to some abuse before breaking down and riding crappy. An Interco just starts kinda crappy, but they are what they are
. There's probably a few other brands that'd work pretty well (Nitto?) before you get to a General, Cooper or whatever (which I think Big O and Les Schwab rebrand for their private lines). Basicly, you get what you pay for in a tire, IMHO. A lot of times you can cost justify the premium tires by the dealer taking care of you with free/balance rotation standard with the tire vs. paying for it on the other lines.
The above is just my opinion/experience. I've owned over 50-60 cars and been driving since I was about 12. My dad bought cheap tires. I started buying BFG Radial T/As (cuz they were the chit on bitchin' Camaros/Chevelles/etc.) and moved up from there to Goodyear Eagle STs (that'll date me) and kinda noticed the above. As I moved into trucks/off road, I think the gap widens between the "premium" lines vs. the secondary (esp. at any kind of speed).
YMMV, but I'm gonna keep buying premium tires because I think they are round and balance better and I get more miles out of them.
Oh: Just for the record. We've got a ZJ we've had for about 11 years now. We had "Pathfinder" (31 x 10.50) tires on it when we got it. They wore out fast and were kinda not "round" (maybe 25K miles?). I couldn't believe the difference in the drive quality after putting on Goodyear AT/S all terrains (roughly 45K miles), again, 31 x 10.50. Now we're running Goodyear GSAs for the third time in a row (30 x 9.50). They're not as nice as the AT/S, but VERY cheap (TJ take offs) and wear about 30-35K.
