Need new tires for 2002 Grand Cherokee Laredo

Michael Rosen wrote:
> I believe the Michelins are pretty expensive?
> I think I'm now deciding between the BFGoodrich Radial Long Trail T/A
> and Firestone Destination LE. Tirerack.com has them for $87 and $81,
> respectively. I can get the BFGoodrich at the local shop for $106
> installed and the Firestone for $86. Depending on which tire I go
> with, factoring in shipping one of them would end up cheaper buying
> locally.
>
> The Firestone seems to have good reviews and slightly better ratings.
> What is the general consensus?

Ya get what ya pay for. I lothe cheap tires. I'll spend a couple
hundred extra for the best tires I can find every time, and I've never
been disappointed with that decision.

I did get a deal on the Michelins through Costco though. I always wait
until they're on sale and use the $100-off coupon. I dumped those awful
Goodyear things with only 113 miles on them when I bought the TJL. Best
decision I've ever made.

"Outatime" > wrote in message
. ..
> Michael Rosen wrote:
>> I believe the Michelins are pretty expensive? I think I'm now deciding
>> between the BFGoodrich Radial Long Trail T/A
>> and Firestone Destination LE. Tirerack.com has them for $87 and $81,
>> respectively. I can get the BFGoodrich at the local shop for $106
>> installed and the Firestone for $86. Depending on which tire I go
>> with, factoring in shipping one of them would end up cheaper buying
>> locally.
>>
>> The Firestone seems to have good reviews and slightly better ratings.
>> What is the general consensus?
>
> Ya get what ya pay for. I lothe cheap tires. I'll spend a couple hundred
> extra for the best tires I can find every time, and I've never been
> disappointed with that decision.
>
> I did get a deal on the Michelins through Costco though. I always wait
> until they're on sale and use the $100-off coupon. I dumped those awful
> Goodyear things with only 113 miles on them when I bought the TJL. Best
> decision I've ever made.

We bought two twin Jeep Grand Cherokees. They came with Goodyear tires
which lasted 20K miles. I asked the Jeep dealer and he whispered Michelin
LTX. I bought some for mine, spent the next few years commuting from Dallas
to Sacramento (desert heat, mountains, Tehachapi pass, Kingsford Grade, Echo
Summit, every different way you can map, went through the Rocky Mountains
National Park 13K feet, Saltan Sea -100 feet, whatever) They were rated for
80K miles and still had good tread at over 90K miles. We retired to the
Sierra Nevada, 4WD Low, getting out of the canyon - no prob. I got new ones
just to be on the safe side, though I 'm sure they would have been good for
100K miles. I know that the only thing holding the car to the road is the
tires, and I never skimp on the tires. Six years later and the wife's Jeep
is just now just getting to 80K miles. I check them monthly, keep the
pressure to 40PSI (that's just my thing) and they look as good as halfway
new. I have never seen such performance, and I'm 68 and have owned a few
cars. I checked four places and the cheapest (same tires) was at Wal-Mart.
They do not seem to issue a paper warranty however, hmmmm, but I already
know the tires will last.

Consumer Reports didn't think too much about the BFGs in their last test,
the Firestones were about halfway down the ratings page.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...tires11-04.jpg

I have a set of Kumho Venture AT-825s that have served me well through 2
Ohio summers and 1 winter with absolutely no problems.. They did okay in
Canadian mud on two camping trips.....


"Michael Rosen" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I believe the Michelins are pretty expensive? I'm trying to find a
> good quality tire but at an affordable price. I was referred to a tire
> shop who will allow me to drop ship tires to him and he will only
> charge me $10 per tire to mount and balance them.
>
> I think I'm now deciding between the BFGoodrich Radial Long Trail T/A
> and Firestone Destination LE. Tirerack.com has them for $87 and $81,
> respectively. I can get the BFGoodrich at the local shop for $106
> installed and the Firestone for $86. Depending on which tire I go
> with, factoring in shipping one of them would end up cheaper buying
> locally.
>
> The Firestone seems to have good reviews and slightly better ratings.
> What is the general consensus?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
> Outatime wrote:
>> Michael Rosen wrote:
>>
>> > So, the consensus is that the Wrangler ST is a poor quality tire?
>> > Costco has BF Goodrich for $135.99. NTB has the Wrangler ST for about
>> > the same price.
>>
>> Anything 'Goodyear' is junk in my opinion. The guys who did my tires at
>> Costco affirm this. While you're over there, check out Michelin LTX
>> series instead - best tire I've ever put on a mostly-street-driven 4X4.
>

Outatime wrote:
>
> Ya get what ya pay for. I lothe cheap tires. I'll spend a couple
> hundred extra for the best tires I can find every time, and I've never
> been disappointed with that decision.
>
> I did get a deal on the Michelins through Costco though. I always wait
> until they're on sale and use the $100-off coupon. I dumped those awful
> Goodyear things with only 113 miles on them when I bought the TJL. Best
> decision I've ever made.

Does Costco have more than they show on their website? When I search
for tire for my car only the BFG Longtrail comes up. I'll have to stop
by in person and see what they've got.

The LTX also don't show up when I do a search on tirerack.com. Is it
because I am sticking to the original equipment size? I have been
figuring I should be sticking to the standard 225/75-16 size. The
optional size is 245/70-16.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike20878 wrote:

>
> Does Costco have more than they show on their website? When I search
> for tire for my car only the BFG Longtrail comes up. I'll have to stop
> by in person and see what they've got.
>
> The LTX also don't show up when I do a search on tirerack.com. Is it
> because I am sticking to the original equipment size? I have been
> figuring I should be sticking to the standard 225/75-16 size. The
> optional size is 245/70-16.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike

Answered my own question by changing the search parameters.

If I get a larger size tire does it mean I have to also buy a new
spare? Or is it safe to have a 225/75-16 size spare since it won't be
used very often?

Michael Rosen wrote:
>...I was referred to a tire
> shop who will allow me to drop ship tires to him and he will only
> charge me $10 per tire to mount and balance them.
>
> ...Depending on which tire I go
> with, factoring in shipping one of them would end up cheaper buying
> locally.

It is generally true that, regardless of how good the mail order prices
look, by the time you add in shipping and the $10 to $15 per tire
mounting and balancing, and then consider the value of lifetime
balancing and rotating from a shop when you buy the tires from them
(which you won't get from mail order), you're clearly money ahead to buy
locally. The one exception might be if you order the wheels with tires
pre-mounted and balanced shipped to your door. Other than that - forget it.

Also, try getting an adjustment from a mail order source if there are
problems with the tires - all you get is finger-pointing among the
seller, the manufacturer, and aligment shop - back and forth - back and
forth all three knowing that you can't prove nothin' (BTDT).

When you buy from a local shop that does the balancing *and* your
alignments, if something goes wrong, there is no one they can point
fingers at - you will be taken care of if problems develop, and the
manufacturer will stand behind the product (unless the tire is in the
so-called "hi-performance" category - then all bets are off no matter
what you do short of spontaneous explosion of the tire shortly after
installation).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

Mike20878 wrote:

> Mike20878 wrote:
>
>
>>Does Costco have more than they show on their website? When I search
>>for tire for my car only the BFG Longtrail comes up. I'll have to stop
>>by in person and see what they've got.
>>
>>The LTX also don't show up when I do a search on tirerack.com. Is it
>>because I am sticking to the original equipment size? I have been
>>figuring I should be sticking to the standard 225/75-16 size. The
>>optional size is 245/70-16.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Mike
>
>
> Answered my own question by changing the search parameters.
>
> If I get a larger size tire does it mean I have to also buy a new
> spare? Or is it safe to have a 225/75-16 size spare since it won't be
> used very often?
>

Assuming the outer tread diameter is within a couple of percent, which
it probably is, you should be OK for temporary and non-agressive driving
use.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

225-75x16 and 245-70x16 tires are the same height (within 0.7%) so there
should be no problem

If you use Tire Rack be advised they only list tire brands they carry.... in
the SIZES they carry.

For example you can find my Kumho Venture AT-825 via manufacturer search or
by tire type (On-Off Road All Terrain) but if you enter 2002 Jeep Grand
Cherokee Laredo they will have no Kumho matches because earlier this year
they stopped carrying the standard size. They do carry the 245 in the KL-78
model but not the -825.

If you go to the Kumho website you see that both sizes are made in the -825
model

Interesting enough... this tire used to be on the 'Best Sellers' list



"Mike20878" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Mike20878 wrote:
>
>>
>> Does Costco have more than they show on their website? When I search
>> for tire for my car only the BFG Longtrail comes up. I'll have to stop
>> by in person and see what they've got.
>>
>> The LTX also don't show up when I do a search on tirerack.com. Is it
>> because I am sticking to the original equipment size? I have been
>> figuring I should be sticking to the standard 225/75-16 size. The
>> optional size is 245/70-16.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mike
>
> Answered my own question by changing the search parameters.
>
> If I get a larger size tire does it mean I have to also buy a new
> spare? Or is it safe to have a 225/75-16 size spare since it won't be
> used very often?
>

Mike20878 wrote:
> Mike20878 wrote:
>
>> Does Costco have more than they show on their website? When I search
>> for tire for my car only the BFG Longtrail comes up. I'll have to stop
>> by in person and see what they've got.
>>
>> The LTX also don't show up when I do a search on tirerack.com. Is it
>> because I am sticking to the original equipment size? I have been
>> figuring I should be sticking to the standard 225/75-16 size. The
>> optional size is 245/70-16.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mike
>
> Answered my own question by changing the search parameters.
>
> If I get a larger size tire does it mean I have to also buy a new
> spare? Or is it safe to have a 225/75-16 size spare since it won't be
> used very often?

For some reason, I didn't find the LTX on tirerack.com either. They do
appear on Costco's site, but you have to dig deep to find it. I bought
the M/S's, as I spend a lot of time on pavement, and they work extremely
well.

It's your call on the size difference. I also replaced the spare, even
though both were the same size. I figure that the spare should be of at
least the same quality as the rest in case I need to drive a long way on
it. I justified the extra cost by doing 5-wheel rotations, which makes
everything last longer. When I replace next time, I'll leave one worn
(yet servicible) tire on as the spare.

It's your call on the odd-sized spare dilemma. I wouldn't do it. You
can't use PT 4WD with odd-sized tires or you will destroy the transfer
case. It will cause the axle clutch packs on limited-slip axles to
overheat and wear quickly. The vehicle will handle badly. There are no
positives to keeping an odd-sized spare other than money, and that's not
good enough in my book. Justify the extra cost by doing 5-wheel tire
rotations.

Outatime wrote:
>
> For some reason, I didn't find the LTX on tirerack.com either. They do
> appear on Costco's site, but you have to dig deep to find it. I bought
> the M/S's, as I spend a lot of time on pavement, and they work extremely
> well.
>
> It's your call on the size difference. I also replaced the spare, even
> though both were the same size. I figure that the spare should be of at
> least the same quality as the rest in case I need to drive a long way on
> it. I justified the extra cost by doing 5-wheel rotations, which makes
> everything last longer. When I replace next time, I'll leave one worn
> (yet servicible) tire on as the spare.
>
> It's your call on the odd-sized spare dilemma. I wouldn't do it. You
> can't use PT 4WD with odd-sized tires or you will destroy the transfer
> case. It will cause the axle clutch packs on limited-slip axles to
> overheat and wear quickly. The vehicle will handle badly. There are no
> positives to keeping an odd-sized spare other than money, and that's not
> good enough in my book. Justify the extra cost by doing 5-wheel tire
> rotations.

5-wheel tire rotations, as in rotating the spare in every rotation?
Interesting...