I recently bought this Cherokee and it is in great condition. I had an incident yesterday however that makes me wonder about the brakes on these vehicles. They work just fine when it is dry but it was raining yesterday and when I went to stop for a train, the brakes locked up and the Jeep slid quite far, going sideways in the process and completely catching me by surprise. The tires on it are in good condition with plenty of tread left. Do these Jeeps have anti-lock brake systems on them or not? If that would have happened at highway speed I likely would have either hit someone or flipped over when it went sideways because it was nearly fully broadside. As I say, in dry conditions the brakes work just fine so I had no reason to believe there was any issues with the brakes until pushing firmly on them on a wet surface. As an aside, I have also noticed that it does not move out from a stop well when wet either. It spins the tires relentlessly no matter how gentle you are pressing the gas pedal.

 

Can you be more specific about the type and size of tires you have on the vehicle? The Cherokee is very light compared to the vehicles that some popular tires were meant to be on. So if the tire is designed for more off road use, and is a heavy duty tire, with very hard rubber compound, it can lead to very slippery handling on wet roads. I'm not certain about 2000 XJs, but if they came with ABS optional, then only you could tell us whether you have ABS or not. It sounds like you do not, or that it is not operating correctly.

I had BFG AT KOs when I first bought my Jeep, and they are a very popular tire. But I had to be might careful on wet roads. With my cheap Goodyear wranglers (a far less "awesome" tire, I hardly think about wet roads at all).

 

I have a 2000 with the BFG A/T KOs (32s) and I am very careful in the rain. I don't spin my tires from a dead stop though. I've pushed it pretty hard from a dead stop to test the limits and I don't spin too much. I have about 40% of the treat remaining.

 

The tires are Dextero DHT2 235/75R15 which don't have an aggressive tread pattern on them. And it does not appear to have anti-lock brakes on it.

 

I can't tell how much tread you have on there, but just doing a quick google search of this tire it seems like it's a cheap walmart brand. You may want to consider putting newer and quality tires all the way around. Your life might depend on it

 

I agree. The problem you described is between the tire and road. So its time to find a better tire. For example Good Wrangler, which most Cherokees came stock with, will only run about $80 a tire in the 235/75/r15 size. (cheap in the world of tires), and I do not experience anything like what you describe.

You can also put on new shocks all the way around. They will help a little by increasing the constant contact of the tire against the ground. But they are likely not the main cause of what you described.

 

The tread depth is good on the tires but I still suspected the same thing. I had never even heard of this tire brand so I figured they were of low quality. Thanks for the replies guys. After the braking incident no doubt my life depends on it.

 

I run the cheapo wranglers on my rig. They are noisy, wear fast and sometimes uneven. But at only 3k miles a year I don't really care. They seem to grip just fine in rain, snow and moderate mud. If I drove it more I would get better tires.

 

I just got done calling around and the Wranglers were recommended but also something called Nexen Roadians which I have never heard of. I doubt I will be doing any serous off-roading in mine but would like something that will at least be good in rain or snow.

 

How snow do you see in the winter?Normal snow like 3 inches at a time anything snow rated is good,Deeper then that you might want to think about snow tires for the winter.

 

I run Cooper Discoverer AT3s on my WJ and find they are great in all conditions. Good wet traction, great in snow, and wear very well. They are 245/70R16s which are a bit pricey because of being 16", but even then they were $149 each with an $80 rebate for buying 4. For some reason 15s seem to be a lot cheaper. They are classed as an all-terrain tire, but are quiet on the road. I bought them because they were recommended by the guys on this forum. The BFGs I bought before that were $179 each. Wet traction with those was questionable at best.

JMHO however. We get enough snow at times that they close the roads!

 

I'm in Cincinnati so probably about the same average snowfall you guys get in Louisville.

 

If its a normal use jeep anything snow rated is fine.If you do some kinda delivery job in your jeep then i would run snow tires just in case.

 

How is the ride feel with the Coopers? Those tires seem to generally receive very good reviews from Jeep owners so I am considering them. I don't want anything however that is too stiff or jouncy when driving on dry pavement. Don't want to get bounced around on the highway for instance with every rock or imperfection I hit in the road.

 

Actually they ride smooth as silk with just a slight hum at 65 mph. Nothing you'd really notice unless you're listening for it. They handle potholes and broken pavement well with only a slight feedback in the steering wheel, no more than you'd expect from any tire. I have Monroe Sensatrac shocks which help as well. I'm buying another set when needed. I beat tires to death quickly delivering newspapers with a lot of low speed maneuvering that scrubs rubber off quickly, but this set has taken me thru last winter, all this summer, and will still be good for this coming winter.