PG-JKU

3 winters and summers on my Duratracs. I don't drive like an idiot. Siping is finally gone and I will be replacing before next winter. Much better in snow and ice than my BFG AT KOs. Can't believe someone actually thinks that any tire is fine in ice and snow. Sometimes it's not just the driver any more, regardless of 4wd.

101gargoyles

Like I said before..go nuts and buy what you want. Just don't make it a law that commands I have them. Been through maybe a million miles of 6 months of winter conditions a year. (you'll get there someday maybe) Never over driven my vehicles even 2wd to need SPECIAL tires. Just drive smart and get there late.

peter emil

Interested in putting Duratracs on my 2013 Sport. Will 255/75/17 or 265/65/17 bolt on without any modifications. What effect would the 17"s have on the odometer?Current tire on the Spot is 225/75/16 GY ST. If these will work, which is the best choice? Any recommendatios on non expensive rim to put them on.

CO Jeeper

You shouldn't have any problems running either 255/75/17 or 265/65/17 without modifications (My Jeep Wrangler JK: Largest Tires Can Fit On Stock JK Wranglers Without A Lift). The 255s are 32" tall and 10" wide. The 265s are 30" tall and 10.5" wide. (This is a good calculator: Tire Size Comparison).

Without knowing much about what you want out of tire size, I'd say go with the 32" tall tires (e.g., 255/75/17) because it seems sooner or later people want to go taller.

I was running 295/65/18s which are 33" tall and 11.5" wide. At the time, I had a 1" body lift and 1" wheel spacers. Since you'd be 1" shorter and 1" narrower with the 255s, it seems you wouldn't need any modifications to run them. With 'that' being said, when I wheeled my Jeep (and I don't wheel hard) with stock fenders and flex'd, my tires would rub the fenders (one time, it ripped my right rear fender off...no damage...snapped back on...but still). I eventually added a 2.5 Budget Boost. Though I suppose YMWV depending on what you do with your Jeep after you bolt on those tires.

(Jeep with 33" Duratracs and only 1" Body Lift)


(Jeep with 33" Duratracs, 1" Body Lift and 2.5" Budget Boost)


As far as odometer, there will be a slight difference in speed if you go with 255s but I don't think it's worth recalibrating unless/until you run 35 or 37 inch tires.


Maybe you can find 17" Jeep rims on the Forum or Craigslist; they seem to almost be giving them away.

Good luck with your decision. Post pics!

peter emil

CO Jeeper. Thank you very much for the great answers. I think I will go with the 255/75/17 Duratracks and start hunting for rims. One more dumb question. Can I buy 4 17's and keep my 16" spare if I use the spare for a short distance for an emergency (flat tire) situtation?

peter emil

Do I need to get TPMS for these new tires? If so where would I get them?

terpsmandan

As far as TPM sensors, it depends on whether or not you mind the tire light being on or not. I assume that most of us are competent enough to check out tire pressure regularly. As far as winter here in western NY, I already have a set of firestone winter tires from the Suburban that we traded in last fall. 265/70/17. I would not like to try icy roads with the BFG MTR that are on the Rubi now.

akpostal

I run siped 33" Cooper Discoverer STTs year round. They did very well on my ZJ, was able to run in 2x4 most of the winter. This was my first winter with them on a JK and this winter sucked, very little snow.

chemlight_ninja

If you are going to change tires do all of them. It bugs a lot of people for aesthetic reasons but another reason is your Jeep is a sophisticated piece of equipment. Sensors and gizmos and doodads all over the place. If you throw on a smaller wheel tire combo the jeep is going to think that one tire is acting wonky and attempt to adjust the others, or vice versa. I had an xj that I had to put a larger tire on as a spare and in the auto 4x4 mode (in winter) that thing would run for crap, it would try and try to run power somewhere else (easy fix, throw it back in 2wd). For that reason alone I will always have a full size spare on the jeep. Its just cheep insurance, and what happens if you tear through your sidewall, then have to throw your smaller spare on? When you get it to the tire shop or home you are just going to have to buy another one anyway. Just my 2 pennies.

espi

255/75r17 is actually the stock size for JK Sport. You can pick up either sport or rubicon 17s for a decent price and run them without issue. Now if you want to go with a larger size tire on stock 17s you will either need 1.25"-1.5" wheel spacers, or a new set of wheels.