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| Tyre types and sizes explained |
| Since fitting All Terrain tyres on my Cherokee recently, I have been asked quite a few questions regarding exactly what size and type of tyre can be safely fitted to certain types of Jeep. On this page is some information which will hopefully be of assistance should you be considering new tyres. |
| There are quite a few things to consider when buying new tryes, and the choice will purely depend on circumstances such as the amount of off-road and on-road mileage, noise factor, handling, ground clearance, the type of terrain you most encounter when off-roading, whether your Jeep has stock clearance (ie, has it had a suspension lift fitted) and of course, cost. |
| The following scenario describes my considerations, and the reasons for choosing my tyres. My main mileage is spent travelling to and from work, so I wanted a tyre which was quite hard-wearing and provided good road handling. I also wanted a tyre which was up to the job of off-roading. After reading several reviews of various tyres I decided the BF Goodrich All Terrain KOs were my best option. They provide excellent grip and handling with little noise increase. (This was according to the reviews, but I haven't experienced any !) Next came the question of size, the factory fitted Good Year Wranglers were 225x15, but I wanted to fit a size of tyre which provided increased ground clearance, aswell as maximum footprint. After looking at the different sizes available I decided that 30" x 15" was the maximum size I could stretch to. Any size bigger than this would have caused the tyres to rub on the wheelarches when the suspension was flexed off-road. Another factor to consider is the gearing of the vehicle. Any size above 30" causes lower acceleration, infact it can be that different that you would never be able use 5th gear on a manual gearbox, as it would have no effect. Also the speedo would be inaccurate, this is also the case for 30" tyres but it is very minimal. The speedo gearing can be changed easily enough. |
| The table below shows the sizes of tyres which can be fitted, and describes any modifications which would be needed to the vehicle. ** PLEASE NOTE - this information is a guideline only based on information I have received ** |
| Jeep Type Tyre Size Modifications Needed Cherokee (All models)* <30x9.5x15 None(although a minor speedo gear change is advisable) >31" Suspension lift, gearing ratios, speedo Wrangler (All models) <31" None (Speedo gear change advisable) >32" suspension lift, gearing ratios, speedo Grand Cherokee <31" None(speedo gear change advisable) >32" Suspension lift, gearing ratios, speedo |
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| Tyre Types The vast choice of tyre types can be quite confusing at first, but it can be simplified by reading the information below. |
| All Terrain Generally the best option if your Jeep is used both on-road and off-road. these tend to be quiet, hard wearing and provide exellent on-road handling aswell as off-road performance. Mud Terrain Definitely the best choice for the serious off-road driver. Mud Terrains provide the best off-road performance by far, but tend to be noisier on the road, and don't provide the same level of handling in the wet as All-terrain tyres. Factory fitted Change them as soon as possible ! Even if you don't intend to drive your Jeep off-road, you will notice a huge improvement with the above types of tyre in handling and appearance |
| * On Pre-97 models, some rubbing may occur during articulation with tyres larger than 235 |