Am I absolutely insane for being tempted buy these in 275/65-18? Yes, that's an extra inch of diameter and 1.6" of width. Please, somebody talk me out of it.
Goodyear Wrangler AT/S
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Goodyear Wrangler AT/S
Big Meats
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MightyMo - "pros"- will look awesome....way better traction for your trips in the sand... - "cons" - little louder on dry pavement....ride will be a little stiffer....if using stock wheels, this size is really pushing the envelope for stock 7.5" wheel...tire dealer may refuse to install.
Well, the other option I'm thinking of is the Kumho Ecsta STX. The Goodyears will have better offroading abilities, but $240 worth? Not sure...I need to choose something soon, 26K miles and the stock tires are at the wear bars and it's time to change before the rains come to NorCal.
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MightyMO,
as yours mine tires are approaching end. With 25k miles I do not think they will last more than 3K miles more. My choice is Kumho Ecsta STX. You can get them from Discount Tires for $400 fitted! Very good price. Some people got them for their MO's and are quite happy. Anyway, for the price you cannot go wrong, especially given the great reviews Tire Track gave them.
as yours mine tires are approaching end. With 25k miles I do not think they will last more than 3K miles more. My choice is Kumho Ecsta STX. You can get them from Discount Tires for $400 fitted! Very good price. Some people got them for their MO's and are quite happy. Anyway, for the price you cannot go wrong, especially given the great reviews Tire Track gave them.
$400 fitted is awesome! However, when I change the "location" from Atlanta to SF South Bay that option disappears... 
I'll call my local America's Tire Co. (it's where I go to get tires mounted anyway, they do a really professional job) and find out what they can do and for how much.
I'll call my local America's Tire Co. (it's where I go to get tires mounted anyway, they do a really professional job) and find out what they can do and for how much.
Yeah, I've heard of places like Costco & Sears doing that stuff before, which is why I would never go there...
My local America's Tire Co. routinely mounts up absolutely bald race tires for my Z and such, they always use torque wrenches to tighten the nuts, etc. Very professional and very aftermarket friendly in my expiriance.
The Pro and Con for the two tires are pretty simple. One is a truck tire and will make the Mo handle more like a truck, with improved off-road abilities but lesser road handling abilities and probably more tire noise. One is a "Sport Truck" tire which will make the Mo handle even better on the street than those stock "M&S" tires, but still leave much to be desired in extreme or off-road conditions.
Still not sure which way I'm going to jump here...I do obviously off-road my Mo with a disturbing frequency, but I've also put 27K road miles on him since just January and it would be a shame to screw up the road-trip-ability of the Mo to get a little extra capability in the sand.
My local America's Tire Co. routinely mounts up absolutely bald race tires for my Z and such, they always use torque wrenches to tighten the nuts, etc. Very professional and very aftermarket friendly in my expiriance.
The Pro and Con for the two tires are pretty simple. One is a truck tire and will make the Mo handle more like a truck, with improved off-road abilities but lesser road handling abilities and probably more tire noise. One is a "Sport Truck" tire which will make the Mo handle even better on the street than those stock "M&S" tires, but still leave much to be desired in extreme or off-road conditions.
Still not sure which way I'm going to jump here...I do obviously off-road my Mo with a disturbing frequency, but I've also put 27K road miles on him since just January and it would be a shame to screw up the road-trip-ability of the Mo to get a little extra capability in the sand.
Eric -
A bigger tire also results in slower acceleration times and increased braking distance.
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I give you that a bigger tire(diameter) will slightly reduce maximum acceleration,although the "magic" of the CVT makes it hardly noticeable, I would dispute the comment re increased braking distance. The brakes on the MO are huge and as long as you can activate ABS activity, a wider tire with a larger footprint will decrease braking distance.
A bigger tire also results in slower acceleration times and increased braking distance.
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I give you that a bigger tire(diameter) will slightly reduce maximum acceleration,although the "magic" of the CVT makes it hardly noticeable, I would dispute the comment re increased braking distance. The brakes on the MO are huge and as long as you can activate ABS activity, a wider tire with a larger footprint will decrease braking distance.
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To quell the doubt about my claim about larger diamter tires:
Info about increasing tire diameter.
I will admit though, that diameter changes generally have a greater effect if the wheel size is also increased (thereby moving even more of the rotational mass outwards to the edges, increasing the torque necessary to get the wheel spinning (acceleration) and to stop the wheel (braking).
While the CVT can compensate somewhat, our final drive ratios are still fixed - this is what most people refer to as a loss of gearing advantage when increasing tire diameter too much.
Info about increasing tire diameter.
I will admit though, that diameter changes generally have a greater effect if the wheel size is also increased (thereby moving even more of the rotational mass outwards to the edges, increasing the torque necessary to get the wheel spinning (acceleration) and to stop the wheel (braking).
While the CVT can compensate somewhat, our final drive ratios are still fixed - this is what most people refer to as a loss of gearing advantage when increasing tire diameter too much.
I talked my self out of the Goodyears, primarily with the good snow traction numbers for the Kumho STX. America's Tire Co. however wasn't able to deliver on $400 installed, in fact they wanted more like $600, so I just ordered the STX's in 265/60-18 from Tirerack and they'll be here next week. Not in time for this weekend's rain in NorCal, but oh well, I'll just have to drive cautiously.
Eric - I read the article you linked re "oversized tires" and my comments are:
mechanical advantage - correct observations,with the emphasis on the degree of size upgrade....a 265 x 60 is 0.49" taller than the stock tire(+1.6%) barely noticeable
increased mechanical forces: generally innacurate...slightly more breaking force required because of the larger diameter, but the wear and tear on brakes /suspension / bearings is dictated by the weight of the vehicle,not the diameter of the tire. Faster wear of these components will not happen.
suspension geometry: bogus - wheel/tire diameter has no effect on suspension geometry
driveline geometry:again, bogus, no effect whatsoever.
I have run 265 x 60 's for 10 mths/21,000 kms and the only negative is a little extra dirt thrown on the side of the vehicle from the extra width.
mechanical advantage - correct observations,with the emphasis on the degree of size upgrade....a 265 x 60 is 0.49" taller than the stock tire(+1.6%) barely noticeable
increased mechanical forces: generally innacurate...slightly more breaking force required because of the larger diameter, but the wear and tear on brakes /suspension / bearings is dictated by the weight of the vehicle,not the diameter of the tire. Faster wear of these components will not happen.
suspension geometry: bogus - wheel/tire diameter has no effect on suspension geometry
driveline geometry:again, bogus, no effect whatsoever.
I have run 265 x 60 's for 10 mths/21,000 kms and the only negative is a little extra dirt thrown on the side of the vehicle from the extra width.
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