Tires cupping on front, 1 rear has leak, time for tires?

[Adam Smith]

2004 with 45K miles: I have developed a leak on a rear stock Goodyear Wrangler RT/S that requires refilling every couple days. No obvious source. The fronts are both cupped. Time for new tires? Southern California driving, mostly freeway and around town with occassional Baja on-road, and winter trips to the mountains when chains are not required. Reasonably priced tire suggestions, and where to get them? Thanks.

 

[Tom Schindler]

I am partial to BF Goodrich Radial Long Trail T/A tires. Good dry traction, good wet traction. Good snow traction and good mud traction. Very reasonable to buy too.



You can buy them anywhere they sell BF Goodrich tires.





Tom

 

[Gavin Allan]

BF Goodrich Radial Long Trail T/A



or



Michelin Cross-Terrain SUV

 

[DiveDeep 07]

How about a set of 18" wheels with Falken Ziex S/TZ-04 All-Season tires? Check out my library. Good luck! Shoot me an email at: [email protected] I haven't been checking the posts here lately. Thanks, Gary

 

[Adam Smith]

those look nice. i know next to nothing about aftermarket wheels, the benefits of going to 18" wheels (aren't they 16" stock?), etc. Can anyone elaborate? milage, performance, pros/cons, etc.? Thank you.

 

[DiveDeep 07]

When I had these wheels/tires on my ST, it handled and performed beautifully. I did have mine lowered 2" as well, but lowered or not, lower profile tires will deliver better performance than beefy tires such as those on the 16" wheels. Yes, the ST comes with 16x7" stock. These wheels I have are 18x8" with 255/55/R18 (the CLOSEST size to stock) tires. The wheels are 1" wider than stock, giving you 2" total of more ground contact with tires and wheels both. I used 1.25" spacers on my ST also, giving me a total 2.5" more front and back contact. All together, I was able to widen the front and rear of my Trac by 4.5". Going back to stock narrows the front down by 4.5".

So it is nice having a wider front end and rear end because the handling and stability increases. So with me doing this AND lowering the Trac 2", my chance of rolling was decreased greatly. Lowered or not lowered, wider wheels/tires will improve performance. Mileage...with any tires, nothing should change. The only bad thing if anything, having nicer wheels, you will want to keep them clean . The tires have about 7,000 miles on them. I didn't have everything on for to long before I sold the Trac. I figured to jump in to see if you might be interested instead of buying all new tires when you could upgrade wheels and tires. Going to aftermarket wheels usually means light more breatheable wheels. This gives more airflow with less restriction around the wheels and such. These wheels are a bit lighter than stock. Performance with aftermarket wheels/tires will definitely improve handling and ride. Though, it's not all about the wheels and tires. It has A LOT to do with your shocks. Where are you located?

 

[Tom Schindler]

Going with 18" wheels



Loss of power because of more weight

Less braking ability because of more weights

worse ride because of lower sidewall height and more unsprung weight

Tires are more expensive



Being able to look like a pimp while driving on them...priceless.



IMO, stick with the stock size. Larger wheels are dangerous since they make braking less, harsher ride, and cost more to get moving.



If you are driving a sports car on the track, larger wheels are great. You are driving an SUV.





Tom

 

[DiveDeep 07]

It depends on what the wheels are made of that gives the weight differentiation. These are aluminum like stock and have less surface making them close to the same or lighter than stock. Depends what tires you get as well. These tires, I bought for $450 shipped brand new. If you shop good, you will get a great price. "Stock" tires or tires that fit a 16" wheel, will cost more than this. It all depends on what you get and how you shop.