BDS Springs ordered, now for some new tires

I ordered the BDS 2 1/2" springs for the A1 through a local dealer yesterday, they should arrive in about a week. It's time to look for some new tires. I have a set of Renegade 1 KH79005 wheels that have been on the shelf for a few years. It's time to use them. After reading a number of posts here it sounds like 31x10.50 is the preferred size. So far I'm considering BFG AT,Cooper SST and Firestone Destination AT tires. What's your preference? Anyone have other favorites? Thanks!

 

If you're looking for an A/T tire, I wholeheartedly recommend the Toyo Open Country AT2. I had two sets on my F150, and they were by far the best, most round and long lasting (60k and still half tread!!!) tire that I've ever had. My wife has BFG A/T's on her FJ cruiser and even with a road force balance we can't get them to balance right. I think BFG has really slacked in quality in the past few years. I've heard good things about the coopers, but never used them.

 

I've had very good results with BFG AT's on my GMC. On the second set, first went 40 something k miles. Very good on ice and snow and not too bad off-road-as long as you stay out of real mud. I ran the SST's on my 3B a few years. Traction ok but not as good on snow ice as the AT's and while better in mud, still well short of KM1 or KM2's. The SST's are the only tires I ever ran on a Jeep that had a catastrophic failure-damn near completely split the carcass at 70 mph. Thrills for sure.

No experience with the Firestone's.

 

I wheel the hell out of my jeep and push it pretty hard .My BDS springs were super nice, quiet and were very flexible but........they only lasted about a 1 1/2 year before going really flat ....
because you bought them new FROM A DEALER they have a fantastic warranty. They will replace any failed product for free .I bought a brand new in the box set of 3.5" lift off craigslist ,but the company wouldn't honor the warranty since I didn't buy them from a dealer ....... SAVE THAT PAPER!!!!!!

 

I have 2.5" BDS springs, and 31" Cooper STT tires.
I love both and would buy them again without hesitation.

 

Thanks to all for the good replies. We don't drive our Jeeps hard or fast, so it sounds like any of the tires mentioned will work. I'm going to take one of the wheels and do some shopping. The A1 currently has a nice set of 225x75x16 tires on original style steel wheels. I'll probably move them to one of our farm Jeeps to replace the tired old bias plys.

 

I am finishing a complete re-build on my Jeep in the month or two. I had Interco SS on it but will go with 235-85-16 Irok ND radials on 16X6 Jeep wheels from a Gladiator. These are about 31" tall and the price per tire is below $140. Don't know how well they will work out, but I liked the SS tires pretty well.

 

I have 33 10.5 15 BFG MT's on 15x8 Eaton rims. I really like the appearance, ride, and traction provided by them and would most certainly go that way again. I have a Black Diamond 3" lift on my A1. I first had 35 12.5 and they were just too big. The F head couldn't pull them, they rubbed on the front of the rear wheel wells and the front springs when turning.

 

Very sharp! In fact, your A1 is to "blame" for the spring and tire work I'm doing on mine . I saw some pictures of yours a few months ago and decided it was time for a change. I did some local shopping today and I've decided to go with the BFG AT, but now that you mention it, those MT's sure do look nice . . .

 

JMO - most tire assessments are fairly worthless. They are based on such a small sample that they don't have much meaning. This is known as "anecdotal" data - suggestive but not conclusive. Very few consumers are in the position to test more than one or two examples of these tires, and they just don't have any opportunity to compare.

If I were in the market for such tires, I would look at the tread design and size and narrow it down to a few possibilities. IMO any tire from a major manufacturer in your size and tread style will be close to optimal for your application. I bought Firestone ATs for my J20, and they seem perfectly adequate. I doubt that I would notice much difference between them and BFGs or Goodyears or Kuhmos or whatever.

 

Worthless? Really? You've just told the members of this forum that the opinions they express here have no value. If tire assessments are worthless, then so must all the other assessments expressed here be, since few are based upon empirical evidence.

I think anecdotal evidence is an essential element of a forum such as ECJ5. Take it away and the forum will quickly lose it's relevance and die. We come together here to share information on a topic we enjoy. The exchange of anecdotal evidence is a part of the process. I'm grateful to those who share their opinions and hope they will continue to do so.

As for my selection process, I did just what you described. I gathered data from a number of sources, including the opinions expressed by members of this forum. I made my decision based on the data gathered and my own observations.

 

Don't get upset. Look at some of the tire reviews on TireRack, for example. They vary from "this is the greatest tire ever" to "this tire is so bad, it's a crime against humanity" for the same tire in similar applications.

Your claim that I am dismissing the judgement and opinions of forum participants is just wrong. You have made a leap, and are conflating a specific observation to apply to all judgements by all forum participants.

My point stands that end users of tires have very little basis for comparison. How many sets of tires for your Jeep do you buy in a lifetime? Two, maybe three... such reviews are against an arbitrary standard that the reviewer sets for tires, and very little actual comparison is made. It's just common sense... only a really bad experience matters here, since you might want to rule out that specific tire based on an anecdote.

And I also stand by my claim that tires of similar design and purpose will have similar performance, regardless of brand. Tires are a commodity. There is likely a quality spread that is reflected in the price - the more expensive tires will be the better tires, typically. And you pay for brand recognition - Goodyear may be more expensive than Firestone simply because Firestone has a smaller market share, and under prices its tires to try and gain market share.

For most people, tires are a big purchase, and I understand the need for some social validation of that choice. However, making an absolute comparison based on a few positive but subjective and anecdotal assessments of comparable tires seems ... unwise.

 

A couple of anecdotal observations about the Coopers...
They work really well off-road, as you'd expect from a MT type tire. But they also have good road manners, and I was pleasantly surprised with how quiet they are on the highway. That's not to say there's no howl at road speed, but not nearly as loud as other aggressive tread tires I've had.
I have a :v6: and an overdrive, so I can and do drive it at highway speeds....it's also been flat towed for literally 1000's of miles at 65-70 MPH with no problems.
This is what mine looks like with the 31" STT's and 2.5" BDS springs-

 

I think the MT is a great fit for a vintage jeep more so than the AT. Unless you put a lot of asphalt miles on the jeep, it would be my choice. I have the AT's on my Jimmy as well as my Duramax truck so I don't dislike the tire. I just think the MT looks "right" on an A1, similar to an NDTCC with the sidewall.

 

Thanks for your reply and explanation of your point of view. It's always helpful to have a clarification.

But I think you're failing to recognize one very basic principle of effective communication: the message received is the message.

I started a thread on this forum to ask for people's reviews on the tires I was interested in buying. The folks on this forum aren't the nameless, faceless folks on some internet review site you refer to. They're credible people with specific experience on the topic and they're opinions have a high degree of reliability. You started your post by telling us that tire reviews are worthless. How do you expect people to take a comment like that?

My point still stands: comments that tend to discourage people from being active participants in this forum are not good for the forum.

 

Like just about everything else Jeep wise, it all comes back to desired use and everything is a compromise of some sort. MT's are the cat's meow for the trails I like but they do suck on ice and hard packed snow, not to mention more road noise and probably a little marginal if pushed in any standing water on-road. AT's definitely are a better winter tire in everything except deep loose snow and do work pretty well for general trail use. I had a set of Michelin P235R15 AT's on the B for a couple of decades and they were a good compromise for something that was more a daily driver than it is now. Those tires were a lot more stable at 75 mph than the MT's that are on it now but they didn't do well in mud and were not near as good as aired down MT's in steep rock. I never had a single problem with the Michelin AT's and they lasted a long time.

Perhaps just me, but how a tire looks isn't on my selection criteria list-possibly excepting something with pink sidewalls.

 

Colojeepguy, thanks for the pictures and additional information on the SST's. I looked at them at one of the local tire stores yesterday and they looked like a great tire.

Mike C., I agree that the MT's look good and in some ways they match my intended use. You've given me some reason to reconsider. Thanks. I think.($$$$)

Now, this may sound strange to some, but there was one other variable I considered in my purchase decision. In my advancing age I've come to recognize the importance of small locally owned businesses in our communities. Most of the tires I looked at were at large multi-store franchise locations. Nothing wrong with them, I've bought products at most of them over the years and will continue to do so. But in this case I decided to go with the small local station where I buy my gasoline. He carries the BFG AT & MT. Since most of the reviews I've seen on them are generally favorable, I decided to go with them.

Thanks again to all for your comments.

 

I had the Cooper SSts 31" 10.50.
They weren't that great in the snow or sand ( that was expected)
And....I do agree with Tim somewhat.
There aren't very many folks who will spend $700-$1000 on tires and then tell you they made a mistake.....
that's just human nature

 

I also want to add that I am looking forward to the new springs. The spring shackles on the A1 have been almost touching the frame for years. I'm anxious to feel real spring action again.

 

It's still the internet, and we all know it must be true if it's on the net.
The value of the opinion expressed is only relevant if you know the person expressing it.