Another tire question...

[nwoods]

Cooper Zeon LTZ's. Good wear, quite, comfortable, stick like glue, quiet, excellent wet road performance, excellent off road traction. Deep mud: unknown, Snow: unknown.

 

[thorgal]

Cooper Zeon LTZ's. Deep mud: unknown, Snow: unknown.

Like I said, no perfect all around tires out yet and never will be.I am not looking for tire that cheats speedometer , odometer and rubs occasionally,that is why I am leaning towards Nokian tires,those Finns are not stupid,they now their winters and they are severe and cold as balls,these are the most awarded tires in Europe and many our friends from Disco3.UK use them .I can deal with excessive noise from MT Rs off road but I spend most of my time on the highways if NJ and New England ,therefore my decision regarding tires with silica oils.I have read some posts on European forums riding 3 and 4 feet of snow on them with no problem and yet you don't have to take them out for the summer months.After all it does not matter how big the lugs are to sprint through snow,ice or even mud ,it is how well they designed to quickly and effectively clean them self out of elements such as snow water, ice and mud.

 

[Bluebird]

Pirelli Ice and Snow.

 

[san6279]

I also just installed a set of the 19" Michelin Latitude HP's about a month ago. They are a bit of a compromise IMHO. Definately very quiet and roll nicely on the highway as you have stated. Also, non-directional tread allows for additional rotation options.

However, the sidewalls are noticeably more stiffer (probably out of necessity) so you get a bit of harshness from the bumps in the road which wasn't present with the OEM Wrangler HP's. And I share your concerns about winter performance, even though they are rated all-season. Would not consider these Michelin tires appropriate for off-road use. Will see how they perform in the coming months with the cold/snow and will then decide if a 2nd set is needed for winter/trail use.

I agree regarding being a compromise. I bought them site unseen as I set up the appt, but my wife took the vehicle in. Of course, I had seen the tread online, just not in person. Was also considering the Scorpion ATR's, but just decided to go this route. No harsh winters here in Seattle for the most part. The worn OE GY's got me thru 12-15" of snow this past winter in Port Angeles, however (that was fun).

I noticed the stiffer sidewalls also. Will be interesting to see how they perform if we get any snow in Seattle this winter.

 

[Houm_WA]

I was wearing the Cooper Zeons during that same Seattle snow storm. Let's just say that I enjoyed the hell out of that 10 days!

 

[thorgal]

Seattle has snow storms??

 

[Houm_WA]

...Not like the east coast, but it does happen once in a while. Last year was quite remarkable. It snowed up to 14" in some areas and no less than 10" anywhere else and stuck around for about 10 days. Our street maintenance crews don't seem to know what to do in those cases so the streets remain snowy! I love it. I'm a little peeved though that they've decided to start using salt. Typically they've used sand, which I think is better because it doesn't cause premature rusting in vehicles.

Now, I'm not going to want to drive in the snow! Not for lack of traction, but just to avoid the stinkin' SALT!

 

[thorgal]

I have always wanted to go to Seattle by car , but recently, every time I travel more than 100 miles I am getting reduced engine performance massage with check engine light(steady amber) for couple of hours.Probably related to MAF,cats or thermostat,hence my other post.Guess what,no more noise from My GW Silent armors.Sliders vibration end other related sounds surpassed Hum coming from tires.YyyUUUUUPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

 

[duckdive]

...And if you want to get rid of the noise coming from the sliders just buy a roof rack.
Problem solved !

 

[trackstar]

Thanks for all the replies guys. It's tough wading through so much info...I really would prefer smooth on-road ride and winter traction, at the expense of off-road traction.

I'm leaning towards the Nokian WRG2, but I see on the website that the 255-60-18 have a total diameter of 26.8; I think nextstepdesigns lists the OEM TD as 30.6 or something...thats a big difference and it seems like the Nokians would look odd. Is anybody actually running them?