Any Comments - Goodyear Wrangler AP

[JohnE]

I bought my 97 with under 60k miles and Wrangler RT/S on all 4 corners. The tread was still good, but the ride was awful. New shocks helped, some. I tried flipping & rebalancing, NO good. I went the bargain route for a new set. I took my spare (free) a buddy's spare (also free) and bought a couple of spares from a couple of Rammers. I had the treads siped while mounting to help in the traction department.

Around 10k miles later and the fronts are doing great. These are the pair I bought. The rears will need replacing this summer. Les Schwab really screwed up on these tires. The LR tire is only siped on the inner side including the shoulder and is wearing uneven. The RR tire is over siped and loosing small chunks of the tread. I just noticed that this morning as I was dropping the tire pressure due to climate change.

I'm planning to post a new topic on tire siping and my recent experience with a chain tire dealer. I will contact Les Schwab and see about them providing some down payment money to cover a new set of Michelins at Sam's. Luckily, I don't live in their territory anymore.....

Bottom line, I learned my final lesson on Goodyear and will stay away from them. BTW, I already learned my lesson on Firestone due the 500 series failures 20 years ago.

My 2 reale (bits)

John E

PS
I forgot to add my Ford driving friend's experience with Goodyears. (A Ford with the twin I-beam suspension is probably the ultimate tire tester/eater. ) He put on a set of new Wrangler RT/S and after nursing them for 50K miles went with the Les Schwab Wild Country APT. He says they are a much better tire than the previous brand.

[This message has been edited by JohnE (edited 05-26-2001). ]

 

[Blakers]

I just bought my Dodge and it has "Widetrack Radial Baja LT265/75R16" - whomever makes them, but they seem fine. I do like the Kelly Springfield Safari MSR in 285/75-16 that my dad runs on his F-250. They ride nice, have lots of bite and seem to wear well. See http://www.kelly-springfield.com/products/light/smsrb.html

Blake


------------------
"Blue Bomber" ... Blue & Silver 1995 2500 Laramie SLT, Regular cab, 4x4, a/t, K & N air cleaner, 16 cm turbo housing, 290 hp/700, 3. 54 LSD, 265-75/16 (for now). Steam Engineer and NRA Endowment member.

 

[Lurch]

Mine came with the GoodYears on it. At first I wasn't too happy about it but I can't really complain. I've got 24,000 miles and still look new. After all the nasty posts about tire wear I expected them to be done in by now. Never been rotated, 60lbs in front, 55 in the duals. The only disclaimer is most of these miles are interstate, towing 6-10k. Around town they would surely be wearing out on the front.

Just my experience. Allways thought GY was overpriced.

Eric

 

[JohnE]

Blakers;
<blockquote>... "Widetrack Radial Baja LT265/75R16" - whomever makes them ... </blockquote>

I think they are Duralon Tires. Don't know anyone that has them so it stops there. I do know they are a popular brand with some of the area farm supply stores.

Cheers;
JohnE

 

[Hammer]

#ad
Well after all the pro's and con's on the Goodyear line I'll stick my 2 cents in,,I've run just about every make like everyone else,Bridgestone,Continental,Michelin,BFG,and Goodyear at one time or another on my trucks,,The best so far I've had were the original Michelin's,got over 85,000 in their road life,,Now with that said the Continentals and Bridgestones were the best at the time for towing,great sidewalls and litterally no side sway,but,they both loved to follow the grooves in the roads,,BFG's to me did not have enough sidewall and seemed to sway to much for me,,I'm not into the drive into the corner, steer and wait for the truck to follow(kinda felt like my old dirt late model days,heavy track lots of stagger and low air pressure,made the car slow to turn at lower speeds,front goes,the rear follows slowly,kinda wishy washy),,i have now on my 98 gone to the Goodyear Wrangler H/T series for my truck,,They are designed for chassis cabs and ambulances that are near overload capacity,,They handle superbly in all conditions,whether rain or snow,and are very comfortable to ride on,,They are not a bargain by no means(paid $220/tire)but after now some 47,000 miles they still look like new,,My stock tires and wheels were replaced by them,,I have them mounted on Enkei wheels,which were the lightest at the time(course the new Weld's are the deal now),,I'd stand up for the Goodyears any day,,We all got to remember this,there is good and bad in all brands and everybody is partial to their own type,but,one thing we all can agree to is,Factory stuff is designed for ride and not for wear,,Soft compounds help sell trucks by enhancing the ride thus giving up longevity of the tire which frustrates us to no end,,Pay $35,000 or better for the truck,one would think we could get more than 18,000-20,000 miles out of factory tires,,Just my ramblings here,,feel a little windy today... ... ... ...

------------------
98, Flame Red, Quad Cab, 2500, 4x4, 5spd, Autometer and Cyberdyne gauges,Edelbrock Performer IAS shocks,TST#10 plate,16cm housing, B-D Exhaust Brake,Timing Advanced,K&N,Totally Amsoiled,Cat Muffler and Silencer ring ALL M. I. A. ,A BOMBING IN THE PROCESS!!