eqalias

Sorry for the new post, I've been searching all over the interwebs for a week and haven't gotten a clear answer to my questions; but these are more opinion questions anyway.

Assuming a 1994 XJ, 4.0L, Auto, all stock. I have a Mustang I drive in the summer, but I want to build the Jeep as a winter driver (and pick up stuff from Lowes now and then, etc). I don't plan on doing any off-roading, I just want the Jeep to be amazing in the snow. The most we get during a bad storm is around 18 inches, but that's uncommon. Most snow storms are 6-8 inches. My questions are:

• is it worth putting any kind of lift on the vehicle for snow use?
• I read that I should use a tall, narrow tire. Any suggestions are far as size? (for both a no-lift or a 2-inch lift)
• I dont think I would need a lot of horsepower to go through the snow, but do you think I should tweak the horsepower a little?

Skreed

The only thing that will really help you in a nice snow storm is good tire selection and smart driving. Depends on where you live, but a dedicated snow tire is always gonna be superior over an A/T or M/T tire due to the compound and way the tires are cut. If you have a mix of snow and pavement driving I would just go out and get a pair or snow tires. If your on snow most of the time you can look into getting a pair of studded snow tires. I have heard it hard to beat studded snow tires on snow or ice. But they obviously would suck if your on pavement 80 or 90% of the time. Also I know some states are laws about them.

kidkodiak

no need for a lift for snow use unless you're planning on plowing through the snow like a bulldozer

I have 235/75R15 BF Goodrich AT tires on my 1990 Cherokee and they work great in the snow, and that's pretty close to stock size (which is 225 series).

And no need for horsepower tweaks, either. The XJ is a great snow truck, at least in my experiences here in Washington State. I almost never need 4-wheel drive, either. Throw a couple sand bags in the back of the truck and you can almost drive anywhere in 2wh drive in the snow.

Ice is a different story, but you asked about snow

prerunner1982

Two different theories..

You can run skinny tires to get to the bottom or run wide tires to float on top. For an XJ the skinny tires will fit better in the wheel wells and not rub. Though with the lighter weight of the XJ it may have an easier time floating on the snow. You will use more power/fuel to push through the show than to go over it. Traction also depends on the tire (as previously mentioned) the more siping (small "cut" in each tread block) you have the better your traction will be in wet/icy conditions. For 6-8" a small lift might be good. The less stuff you have dragging on the snow the less resistance you will have.


This is a pretty extreme example.. but you see they run rather wide tires. They also run big blocks and independant suspension (Gama Goat Axles).


I think this is the sickest JK I have ever seen...