19" Tire Option Discussion - Again!

[Finlayforprez]

Hey Everyone,

Happy Friday! I have been going back and forth if I am going to get the 18" wheels from Comptomotive in the UK. I am still up in the air if I am going to keep the truck long-term, so I am not in a hurry to make a decision. In the meantime, I am likely going to get some better 19" tires and wanted to bring up this topic again. I did a search and came up with a lot of talk, but some of it is a bit older and wanted to see if people have more current suggestions and/or experience.

For a bit over a $1,000 bucks I can justify getting new tires and selling my still very newish stock Conti 4x4Contacts. I know we are VERY limited in tire options with the 19" wheels, but what do people recommend?

Right now I am STRONGLY leaning toward the Pirelli Scorption ATRs, as they seem to provide a great blend of on and off-road comfort and capability. I do not need hard-core off-road tires at this time, but I wanted something a bit more able than the stock tires and have a more aggressive look.

Thoughts? Comments?

-David

 

[BushRover]

I heard that Nitto has a tire now called the Crosstek CUV heard good things but can't comment from personal experience just thought I would share

 

[CaptainSpalding]

Neither Cooper nor Pirelli do the prospective buyer any favors in terms of information. The descriptions for the tires at the company websites are very vague. If you look at some of the more well respected all terrain tires out there, namely the Good Year Wrangler MT/R and AT and the B.F.Goodrich All Terrain TA/KO and Mud Terrain, there are several traits they have in common.

One is a really tough 3-ply sidewall. This is important when an off-road tire is aired down, because the truck is riding on the sidewall. But even for an LR4 (because, face it, it's a useless gesture to air down a 255/55R19 tire, and maybe even counter productive in that it makes the rim more vulnerable) a tough sidewall is important because it resists cuts and punctures from rocks and branches.

The Wranglers and BFG's also have deep open tread designs and substantial lugs. The lugs of course provide more grip on uneven surfaces, and the open tread is to help the tire shed mud, snow, and dirt that would otherwise build up and stay in the tread, making the tread ineffective.

I have opined before about the benefit of a generous side wall in an off road tire, so I won't beat that horse again.

(By the way, I don't mean to malign other manufacturers by omitting them. But it must be said that Good Year and BFG are the giants upon whose shoulders all the others stand.)

I have no experience with either the Pirellis or the Coopers, and as I said, I couldn't find any information on their websites about how their tires are constructed. So, going just on the picture , I'd point out that the Cooper seems to have a bit more open tread and at least an attempt at a lug, and has a slightly more aggressive look than the Pirelli.

On the other hand, the Pirelli has been around for a while and has lots of fans, while the LTZ is relatively new and has had much less time to develop a track record.

Or - Unless your Conti's are ready to go, you could bide your time with the notion that someone will come out with a tire that's more aggressive than the Cooper.

 

[Finlayforprez]

Neither Cooper nor Pirelli do the prospective buyer any favors in terms of information. The descriptions for the tires at the company websites are very vague. If you look at some of the more well respected all terrain tires out there, namely the Good Year Wrangler MT/R and AT and the B.F.Goodrich All Terrain TA/KO and Mud Terrain, there are several traits they have in common.

One is a really tough 3-ply sidewall. This is important when an off-road tire is aired down, because the truck is riding on the sidewall. But even for an LR4 (because, face it, it's a useless gesture to air down a 255/55R19 tire, and maybe even counter productive in that it makes the rim more vulnerable) a tough sidewall is important because it resists cuts and punctures from rocks and branches.

The Wranglers and BFG's also have deep open tread designs and substantial lugs. The lugs of course provide more grip on uneven surfaces, and the open tread is to help the tire shed mud, snow, and dirt that would otherwise build up and stay in the tread, making the tread ineffective.

I have opined before about the benefit of a generous side wall in an off road tire, so I won't beat that horse again.

(By the way, I don't mean to malign other manufacturers by omitting them. But it must be said that Good Year and BFG are the giants upon whose shoulders all the others stand.)

I have no experience with either the Pirellis or the Coopers, and as I said, I couldn't find any information on their websites about how their tires are constructed. So, going just on the picture , I'd point out that the Cooper seems to have a bit more open tread and at least an attempt at a lug, and has a slightly more aggressive look than the Pirelli.

On the other hand, the Pirelli has been around for a while and has lots of fans, while the LTZ is relatively new and has had much less time to develop a track record.

Or - Unless your Conti's are ready to go, you could bide your time with the notion that someone will come out with a tire that's more aggressive than the Cooper.

Hey CaptainSpalding,

Thanks for the thorough response. The B.F. Goodrich and Good Year Wranglers look like awesome tires, but sadly not available for the 19" wheels on the LR4 (255/55/R19). The Pirelli Scorption ATRs and Cooper Zeon LTZs are my only two viable choices. In doing my own research, I think the Coopers are a bit more off-road capable and beefy looking, but I can't find as much information as i can for the Pirelli ATRs.

I can definitely hold off as my stock Contis are in excellent condition and fine for the off-roading I do, but I hate the look. Like I said before, I am not going to do the 18" wheel upgrade until I know I am keeping the truck longer term.

I hope this post keeps going, as it's still a little while before I pull the trigger on tires - so maybe there will be a couple more options!

Personally, I love the B.F. Goodrich tires - but I don't know if there are plans to have them in 255/55/R19s.

Thanks!

-David

 

[suvowner]

i am loving my scorpion atr, immediately better in all conditions over stock con tis........it will likely perform way better on road than cooper, and comparable off road.....atr was rated pretty highly i think on consumer reports...i off road some, will prob do a local rover event , i don't mud very much, mud tread is great on only one thing mud, they do much worse on wet roads, so atr is prob better than the others on wet roads which i encounter much more than mud, atr is decent in mud, but obviously not great.....contis are downright awful in mud.......

 

[CaptainSpalding]

. . . mud tread is great on only one thing mud, they do much worse on wet roads . . .

Perhaps your assertion is a bit broad. I've got BFG Mud Terrains on my Defender and they're great on anything but ice.

But this is practically off-topic, as there is no tire with a mud tread available for the LR4 as far as I know.

 

[Finlayforprez]

Am I going crazy as I thought the Cooper Zeon LTZs were available for 255/55R19s and now I can't find them anywhere!

 

[CaptainSpalding]

Am I going crazy as I thought the Cooper Zeon LTZs were available for 255/55R19s and now I can't find them anywhere!

The best way to go might be to go to the Cooper Tire website, use their dealer locator, and then start calling tire shops in your area to see if they will order them for you. (You probably have already tried this . . .)

 

[Finlayforprez]

The best way to go might be to go to the Cooper Tire website, use their dealer locator, and then start calling tire shops in your area to see if they will order them for you. (You probably have already tried this . . .)

Hey CaptainSpalding,

Yep... I looked at the Cooper website and the 255/55R19s are not listed under the available sizes. Maybe I was going crazy thinking they now carried them in that size? I swore I saw it somewhere and read about it - though I think it could have been an Australian website as I know they are newly realeased in Australia. Woops!

Ah well, it means down I will likely go with the Pirellis.

-David

 

[CaptainSpalding]

. . . I looked at the Cooper website and the 255/55R19s are not listed under the available sizes. Maybe I was going crazy thinking they now carried them in that size? I swore I saw it somewhere and read about it . . .

I saw it and read about it too — in one of your posts in the off-road photos thread! I've never read about them anywhere else.

So you are back to the Scorpion ATRs or 18 inch wheels. For 18" wheels, the analogous tire size is 255/60-18. In that size you could opt for Nitto Terra Grapplers or the General Grabber AT2, which is a close copy of the BFG T/A KO I mentioned above.

Left: General Grabber AT2
Right: BF Goodrich T/A KO

Edit: Further reading indicates that the resemblance between the two is only skin deep. The Grappler AT2 doesn't have the toughened carcass of the BFG. On the other hand, they're much cheaper, and lots of folks happily run on the Grapplers.

When you get those 18" rims (cough cough) I think you should have them painted silver. To me, black rims have a "backyard mechanic" look to them. YMMV.

You know, your pals at GN Vehicle Protection have some adjustable suspension rods that let you go from street height to off-road height in just a few minutes with no tools.

You could get the 18" rims and use them as a second set. Keep your stock wheels for your daily commute, and swap the wheels on the weekend. If/when you decide to sell/turn in your truck, you will no doubt find eager buyers for those 18" rims. If you do that, you can go up to a 265/65-18 (1.5" more in diameter and 0.4" wider than stock) and get some BFG TA K/Os.

P.S.: I had some smilies in this post, but when I submitted it, I was told I had five images in the post. Evidently emoticons are considered as images.

ETA: I think you might have seen the Cooper LTZs in the 18" wheel thread.