Summer tires for the Jeep

[rslifkin]

I've decided that the Jeep needs some summer tires for this year. It burns through all-terrains at an alarming rate on pavement (25 - 30k miles to hit the wear bars). Then again, I do drive it pretty hard, which doesn't help. I'm thinking this summer I'll pick up another set of wheels (17x8) and put some summers on them. They probably won't last any longer, but at least they'll be stickier in return, and then I can save the A/Ts for when I need them.

I'm torn between a few tire choices:

General Grabber UHP in either 255/60R17 or 275/55R17 ($139 each)
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric in 255/60R17 ($226 each, $80 rebate on the set)
Michelin Latitude Diamaris in 275/55R17 ($179 each, closeout so I won't be able to get another set in the future)

What do you guys think would be best between those tires? The 275s will be fairly pinched on the wheels, but not any worse than my current A/Ts (255/65 on stock 16x7).

I'm tending towards the Michelins as they're said to be very sticky and people report them having stiff sidewalls (and they're middle of the road price-wise), so a 275 on an 8" wheel would be less of an issue than with the Grabbers. The Goodyears look good as well, but they're the most expensive of the bunch by a good margin. The Grabbers have a significantly higher treadwear rating (360 A A, compared to 220 AA A for the Michelins and 240 AA A for the Goodyears), so I'm thinking they're probably not as sticky, although they are fairly cheap.

The 275s will also be a very tight fit under the Jeep, but from my measurements, it should work (it'll just be very tight to the fenders).

 

[IndyIan]

I would be a bit nervous putting good summer tires on your jeep as you may be able roll it just on a steady corner... Never mind an emergency slalom.
Maybe your next mod should be a set of good lowering springs?

I've thought about putting stickier lower profile all-season tires on the Tracker for the summer, but I also don't really need to take the corners faster and the odds of it ending up shiney side down must increase quite a bit.

 

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I would be a bit nervous putting good summer tires on your jeep as you may be able roll it just on a steady corner... Never mind an emergency slalom.
Maybe your next mod should be a set of good lowering springs?

I've thought about putting stickier lower profile all-season tires on the Tracker for the summer, but I also don't really need to take the corners faster and the odds of it ending up shiney side down must increase quite a bit.


I have thought about that, and I definitely wouldn't be pushing anything that sticky to their grip limits (except maybe the rears on straight line acceleration, where it spins the A/Ts pretty easily, especially on wet pavement). The new wheel setup for this would also be widening the Jeep's track width about an inch, which will improve stability.

Lowering springs aren't in the plans, as I do still use it as a Jeep at times (and the suspension setup isn't conducive to any significant lowering without being in the bumpstops all the time), although stiffer springs are in the plans for this summer (it currently has stock front springs and stiffer rears). I'm also working on keeping the COG down as low as possible by removing unnecessary weight up high and keeping as much stuff mounted low as possible. I might look into moving the battery down and back under the rear seats to move some weight down as well.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Where is the spare tire in the ZJ? Is it on the side like the Cherokees or is it under the floor?

I had my Cherokee completely sideways in a skid once (when it was stock) and I didn't tip it over. Really surprised by that one!

 

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Where is the spare tire in the ZJ? Is it on the side like the Cherokees or is it under the floor?

I had my Cherokee completely sideways in a skid once (when it was stock) and I didn't tip it over. Really surprised by that one!


Same location as the Cherokee, in the cargo area. I've slid all 4 tires on mine slightly with the A/Ts on pavement and it wasn't feeling any bit tippy yet. It takes a bit over 1g of static cornering force to actually flip a stock ZJ.

 

[gaijinnv]

Sounds to me like the General Grabber UHP's in 275/55-17 would be a great choice

 

[CapriRacer]

First, replacing All Terrain tires with Summer HP's in the hopes of gaining grip while not losing wear mileage - ah ...... I don't think it works that way. If anything is going to happen your 30K will turn into 20K.

Second, a 275/55R17 requires a 7 1/2" wheel. If you go smaller than that expect the centers of the tread to wear out. (Now you're down to 15K!)

So why not goo for a good wearing all season tire?

 

[rslifkin]

The summers will be on 8" wheels, not the stock 7" ones. The primary reasons for not going with an all-season are these: I don't need them to work in the winter, and being able to put down power better would be nice. On wet pavement, I can't floor it at 50 without the tail stepping out. Dry pavement isn't too bad, but it still requires a gentle takeoff on the stop sign ramps getting on the Merritt when I'm in CT. Most of the all-seasons targeted at SUVs won't grip any better than my A/Ts (and might be worse), as they're usually super-hard compound meant to last forever to keep soccer moms happy.

The only reason I'm thinking they'll last about as well is that they won't be getting scrubbed against the pavement as much. The A/Ts take a good bit of abuse if I push them in corners (I've chewed up the outside edge of the tread blocks slightly on them). The sipes on them also look a bit stretched any time I've gotten on the throttle hard recently. In the same kind of use, the summers won't be nearly as close to their traction limits, so I shouldn't be scraping as much rubber off them.

I'm not sure how well the Grabbers wear, but for the Diamaris, I've heard of people killing them in 10k by beating on a Cayenne Turbo and others getting 35 - 40k out of them on X5s with reasonable driving. Both of those vehicles are heavier than the Jeep, although the Jeep is inexplicably hard on tires compared to a lot of other SUVs. As long as I can match the 25k my current A/Ts are on track to get before they hit the wear bars, I'm ok with that.

My other thought is that I'll probably get a little better gas mileage on the highway with summers vs all-terrains (less rolling resistance). I'm not sure how much I might lose to the extra aero drag of a 275 vs a 255, but it's probably not significant (and the 275 should have slightly lower rolling resistance). Going from stock 225s to 245 A/Ts didn't have any measurable impact on my highway mpg, nor did the move to 255 A/Ts after that.

I also do take the Jeep to the drag strip occasionally, and the best 60' I've cut on the A/Ts is an abysmal 2.3. I'd like to be able to get it off the line a bit better. Keep in mind, my Jeep isn't fulltime 4wd.



Basically, I'm not asking whether I should put summer tires on it, I'm just not sure if it's worth spending the extra for the Diamaris over either size of the Grabber UHPs. I'm tempted to give the Diamaris a shot, as they seem to be well liked by BMW and Porsche owners. The only issues with them are the extra cost and lack of availability. I can get a set for this summer, but in 2 - 3 years when they're worn out, I won't be able to get them again without stepping up to 19" wheels (which is out of the question).

 

[Hokiefyd]

Regarding the Michelins, are they OEM on anything in the particular size you are considering?

Because the Diamaris line is generally an OEM line of tires, I would only solicit comments and experiences of those with your particular size. A Diamaris tire in a different size can and may behave very differently, and may even have a slightly different tread pattern.

 

[rslifkin]

I'm pretty sure they were OEM on some older Mercedes SUVs in that size. Tirerack lists it as a Mercedes size. Most of the stuff I've seen has been people running the 19 and 20" versions, which appear to have the same tread pattern, same UTQG (so probably the same compound), etc. Everyone seems to talk about them similarly, regardless of size, so I'm not too concerned about the 17s being notably different from the 19s and 20s.

The only common complaint a lot of people seem to have is significant camber wear on the rear tires (especially on X5s). That shouldn't be an issue on the Jeep though, as it runs 0 camber in the rear.

 

[krzyss]

Have you checked Nokian Z SUV?
http://simpletire.com/nokian-z-suv-tires

Krzys

 

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted By: krzyss
Have you checked Nokian Z SUV?
http://simpletire.com/nokian-z-suv-tires


Only available for 18" and larger wheels. Convincing myself to run 17s for summers (instead of the stock 16s) was tough enough. Especially with the small stock brakes, going bigger than 17s isn't going to happen, it looks terrible.

In addition, those tires are significantly more expensive than any of my other options. It would be over $1k before shipping and mounting, which is just too expensive, considering I need to buy wheels as well.