silent armor dissapointment

[thorgal]

Hi,guys.

I am on the fence with these tires, GW silent armors that is.At first there where great, big improvement over OEM wranglers I must say,but now after 30.000 miles driven they seem to act very strangely.There is a constant shake, especially at high speeds and with cold flat spots in the morning, they are simply not fun to drive at all .Even with 1/4 inch thread left during a recant freezing rain/wet snow at low speeds,believe me,Lr3 behaved like there was a thin layer of ball bearings spread on the road,very scary experience. I though that it was related to bad weather conditions, but even when it rains lightly car behavior remains the same.I balanced and rotated them every 5000 miles ,so bad maintenance is no case here.
Could this sliding be related to bad sway bar or rear control arm bushings ?
Anyway , I am in the market for good all weather ,all season tires now cos I drive mostly highway,long trips.I have two sets of wheels:18 and 19 inch.I could go either way,but one will be a designated off road set , probably MTRs.Other , strictly mild winter (NJ) ,summer conditions that sum up the need for good all season,all weather tire.I don't want to go oversize,I see no urge for it,especially on the highway.If I go off road With my little computer I can trick the suspension higher in the matter of two minutes.Any suggestions?

 

[Houm_WA]

A few questions/suggestions:

1. What computer? How do you do that? Please elaborate. Thanks. How does it work and how much did it cost ya?

2. I run my wheel/tire set-up the same way. I have 19s with "normal" tires for everyday stuff and I have MT/Rs on 18s for wheelin'....when my Michelin Synchrones finally wear out, I will have to replace. I sort of liked the look of those Nokian WRG2s....have you looked into those?

 

[thorgal]

Yes I did,but the only place that sells them in Nj is STS tire.I was under the impression that I ordered a set yesterday and when I went to paid for it , realized, that guy who took my order made a mistake and booked hakappeliitta R which is strictly a winter oriented tire.Thanks God that I looked on the receipt before paying for it.Sales person apologized and called center again only to realize that they don't stack these at all.There is no real benefit for me to buy of the internet with no lifetime rotation and balance included with any of tiresbyweb associated installers.I need a new tires now, not later,can't wait for a long search on a good deal.If I can't get them locally , so be it.
I was thinking about Bridgestone Dualer H/L or Yokohama AT/S , something that is quiet on asphalt and does not wear quickly , well,considering LR3 's weight.

 

[thorgal]

As I mentioned not so long a go, i just got a Foultmate msv2 from BBS that allows me to raise the suspension at any setting available on my car with the increments of 50 mm only(2 inches).It is fairy easy to do it, writing a new calibration takes only a few minutes and i don't have to freeze my **** off changing those shortened, modified rods.

 

[Trynian]

Interesting, you are the first I have heard that has had issue with the SA on regular road use. Somthing else must be off.

How Many miles on the car? My bushing were pretty worn by 30k with mostly on road use. But even then my SA's did not show any shaking or wobbling.

Wish I could be of more help.

 

[thorgal]

My car has 73000 miles .I had front lower control arms replaced along with tie rods at 61000 and I don't hear any knocking coming from the rear at all.I may also suspect a sway arms bushings , but again ,there is no knocking either. When I slide my hand over tire, it skips and I feel unevenness.i don't think that bushings play a major role in sliding on the highway in wet weather.

 

[Houm_WA]

How much did that computer cost you? Can it read fault codes?

 

[dantheman1]

I've actually repeatedly said that the SA's are a terrible tire. I've had the same symptoms as thorgal ever since I bought them. They were never able to balance properly, tried with different tire pressures and different tire shops, even with road force balancing. They did begin to get smoother recently however, but that's with only 5/32 tread left on the tire with noise now becoming an issue. I attribute it to their low load rating (109 as compared to 112 standard and LR recommendation of at least 110) which, combined with slight under inflation, causes them to be cupped easily. Trouble is, I can't decide on a good A/T replacement for them. There's the Zeons in 285/60, Scorpion ATR in 265/60, BFG AT in 265/65, and dueler REVO 2 in 265/65. Not to highjack the thread, but which do y'all recommend for 90% highway driving, 10% rock crawling? Thorgal, could you go into even more detail about that msv2 you have, where you got it from, how it works, etc?

 

[Trynian]

Several of us in socal have switched to the BFG's. No issues on the freeway since I changed from the SA other then just very slight more noise. We were just out in the mud this last weekend and the BFG did much better then the Coopers. One cooper LR3 owner said he is going to switch to BFG. We have noticed no difference on regular rock crawling terrain over the cooper other then we spin less in loose stuff but that could just be driver style.

The cooper is much cheaper but the BFG has thicker side walls.

Being wider the cooper will probably grant lower gas mileage.

 

[thorgal]

I not sure if I am entitled to elaborate about Faultmate MSV2 on this site ,but will try without sounding as advert.I just got this unit last month , but I already see tons of benefits from this little wonder.i will strongly , however , encourage you all to visit known British site for more info or just the manufacturer website Blackbox solutions.In short, whatever file that is changeable on vehicle's numerous ECUs,I can rewrite,suit to my needs,adjust the suspension,read and clear codes ,faults,test them,withhold any info regarding their time of accurance,possible cause,miles driven and etc.,I can switch to daylights,provide navigation on the move,which is widely popular and allowed in Europe by the way,enrich navigation with more function,you can update software modules ,you can re flash ,recalibrate existing software on tranny and engine without going to Stealers.When you plug that in the OBD II outlet it opens up a whole new world of possibilities.It is simply amazing piece of equipment.!Believe me , I am no IT technician, but this thing is the best investment I did ,since i purchased LR3.Now i can look into nay ECU on my car without being buulshited with bogus diagnostics from my dealer.I can write much more about it, but I am a bit tired now ,it is after all almost midnight on east coast , so if anybody needs more info , visit the other site .As far as the price , it is not cheap,about 1200$ with S/H from GB , but i actually started bagging for discount in october and was able to get 20% off for a group buy.that offer ,however , sadly ended december 1st,so if anything prices likely to go up not down.There is a new product for guys who want to only read and clear faults called Faultmate FCR I think,not sure though, check British forum and scrool down to sponsors.
it is a lot cheaper (199 pounds plus SH) but nothing beats MSV 2 unit , it is simply amazing.But back to actual topic, I would not opt.for oversized tire such as BFG , although it is great,I just see no need for it in NJ.I read some great reviews on Disco3 regarding Scorpions ATR,but will probably try nokian wgr2s.Not sure yet though.What i am sure is that i will never fall for badyear again.After today's driving thru rain i felt simply helpless in controlling my car ,actually no control whatsoever.It was like driving over a ball bearings spread on the roadway.No fun , simply dangerous and very strange feeling too for the first time of my life in LR3 and it was not even cold outside , around 45 -50 F.Creepy I am telling you.