Extra set of wheels + winter tires (best hwy tire) Blizzak, (best bang for $) winter force, (best all around tire) Bfg All terrain
I personally don't spend the extra $ for winter tires, my wife runs 30x9.5 bfg all terrains and i run 31x10.4 bfg mud terrains all year round with no problems. and as far as snowfall we measure in feet not inches lol!
Good luck!

 

I also back BFG AT's. Ride is smooth during good weather and amazing handling in all the bad weather.

 

blizzaks are good pretty much everywhere. and bfgs would get eatin alive by general grabbers abd firestones all terrain

 

So I know this is an old thread but it pertains to what Im looking for. Im moving to a small town in the middle of the rockies. Right now my 2000 sport is stock with some 255's. There is virtually no rubbing and like the look of a larger tire. I am looking into getting some new all around good tire and have narrowed it down to the bfg at or the general grabber at2. No lift. Is it a good idea to go back to stock size or can I get away with some 255 or 265. PS There is a good chance of a 3.5''lift in the near future. Thanks for the input

 

Just do the lift, get 33's, trim, bump stop and be grinnin. Do it once, do it right!.. Dunno what your asking, but if your not rubbing now, why get a smaller set of tires to just end up getting bigger ones in the near future. If you've got that kinda cash, what's the wait on lifting it now?

 

Ha. I agree fully. Cash is the issue! Trust me if I could the rubicon w the sye would already be there w some 33 bfs. Iv heard that smaller tires are better in the snow. Since i will be driving in nothing but snow(living in the highest town in the US) I was trying to feel out what other ppl thought. So this may be a dumb q but what exactly is the purpose of bump stop? and whats the right way compared to hockey pucks

 

Skinner tires do well in snow due to the fact that they don't float on snow as much as a wide tire. The skinnier tire has higher friction on its contact point. This friction allows grip in the snow. Also a tire with a lot of sipes. Siping is the tiny cuts in the lugs that pack with snow and actually cause the friction. This is why I run Duratrac's year round. It's an AT tire with lots of lugs and lots of siping.
Bump stops are what prevent your vehicle from over stuffing its suspension. People go back and forth on the necessity of bump stops, but I've always seen a usefulness for them. As a general rule, add an inch of bump stop for every inch of lift. Hockey pucks are generally used for actually "lifting" a framed vehicle. Our jeeps have a unibody design, meaning that there is no actual frame, but a one piece composite of the body with "frame rails" tied into it. (Hopefully that describes it well enough..) All of this mans that you can't use hockey pucks to lift your XJ. Our equivalent is a budget boost that consists of spacers for the front springs and either drop brackets or add-a-leafs for the rear.

 

for 8 yrs, ran bfg at/ta yr round

last winter got Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT studded tires

light years better than bfg at/ta

(live 15 miles up a logging road, used to commute 7hrs to vancouver the back way thru whistler, 15% grades, etc...now commute 7hrs to alberta thru the rockies only have 10% grades now)

have duratracs on the van at work, theyre horrible....the coopers they replaced were much better.

 

Well, yeah, studded Hakk's aren't even comparable to bfg at's.. I'd expect this response, but sayin the Duratrac's are horrible? I don't buy it.. Can you elaborate?

 

Between these three tires, I'd expect the Hakks to do best in snow/ice. But the overall capability of the DuraTrac's is awesome. They are an AT tire that kicks *** in mud and snow. Hard to compare a dedicated winter tire to all terrains..

 

10-4, just adding that a winter tire IS worth the $....wife was pissed that i spent $3k for 10 of em, then 1st day with them she gets it.

i drive the van with the crew in it from town to the mine on the highway, then on the mine roads itself, drive truck, then back to town end of shift in the van

with tcs turned off, its spin city...mud, snow, ice

the coopers (dunno which one) i left tcs off all the time, have to leave it on with the duratracs

 

fwiw, wrong pic for the hakkas

ya, more comparing the bfg at/ta to the duratracs

i need new non winter tires next yr, still nothing has knocked bfg at/tas off the top of the list, it snows in the summer here too, so need a good tire

 

Interesting.. It's times like this I wish I could do test runs with different tires on my jeep just to see the difference.. I agree the importance of a quality winter tire. (Glad the wife is happy ). Do you know if the coopers were highway radials or AT's? If they were cooper M/S then I'd guess they would do better in snow..

 

i have a set of duratracs on my silverado... I LOVE THEM.... they do great in the snow

 

never paid any never mind, just saw the cooper white outline, they were old too, hence the new duratracs

yeah, the duratracs get lotsa internet love all over the boards and no one tire is best for everything, define your need, then fill it...ive got hakka r's on my miata, 3yrs ago, they were the best choice, today i would get studded