So it seems to be the consensus that 285-70R17 will rub on stock wheels with no spacers. My question is, is this due mainly to the height of the tire or the width. For example, I was looking at some Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors which come in 275-70R17, so would be 10mm thinner but only a tiny bit shorter. Basically i'm trying to see what my options are for not having to modify anything but putting an all-terrain tire of at least equal size to the stocks for the winters instead of the muds that come with the Rubicon. Thanks.

 

What is wrong with the BFG muds for the winter???? They work great for me in the snow and ice when I go skiing.

 

Do they? If they do that's great, I'll just keep them on. But that's my big dilemma. I've always used all-season or all-terrain in the winter with a lot of sipes. Because the mud tires don't have sipes (and I don't really want to sipe them for fear of increasing wear and tear) I've heard they are very dangerous when driving on black ice or very hard compacted snow. i have no doubt they'd be great in deep snow or slush, but I'm not worried about that, i'm worried about when I'm driving down the highway at 65 and hit a patch of black ice and my jeep goes careening off the highway. I'd like to know if that's going to happen before I find out first hand.

 

Not trying to be a wise-ass or anything, but if there are black ice conditions bad enough that you're worried about careening off into a ditch, you really shouldn't be doing 65 on the highway! I have the all-condition Goodyear Wranglers that came standard on my Sahara's 17" wheels, and I've found THOSE to be good in the snow and ice of New England. Did fine in 2WD at low speeds, and did fine in 4HI at higher speeds - just keep it sane and take it slow, throw it in 4HI (which means keep it under 55), and you're good to go. Just my .02.

 

I'm told that siping will increase tire life. The siping, or so I am told, reduces heat and wear and tear by providing more surfaces and greater surface area for the distribution of heat and frictional erosion.

I have the same concerns you do, re: rubbing. I want to take the stock Bridgestones off my Sahara (18" wheels) and replace them with BFG All Terrain T/A KOs in a 285/65 18, but I want to keep the stock wheels and NOT use spacers (I intend to level out the front end). I suspect I won't be able to put those tires on the 18" Sahara wheels without spacers, however.

 

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Pardon my ignorance, but is siping usually DIY? I just wikipedia'd it cause I had no idea what it was, but it was unclear if the slits are usually done yourself or if they come that way from the factory. If so, how is it done usually? Just curious. If someone knows, I'd be happy to hear over PM...rather than in this thread.
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Some tires are siped at the factory (winter tires, tires with severe weather ratings, all seasons... winter tires have more siping than others)... most tires shops can sipe them for a modest fee...

 

lets face it, BFG muds are not meant for ice. no matter what people say, they are not. They are ok in loose snow, but once there is a thick pack on it, or its turned to ice, they are very dangerous. A proper AT or winter tire will significantly cut down on stopping times as well as slippage on turning. Mud tires have no siping which is the main defence against this slippage, without it, its just going t oslide, no bite at all. Self-siping will help somewhat, but a real winter/ice tire will have FAR more siping as well as compounds that are meant to bite into ice (rubber/silica studs). AT's are definatly better in true winter conditions, but not as good as winter tires. Mud tires are the absolute worst in these conditions, no matter what mud tire you have. as no true mud tire has any siping, and all are soft compunds which will not bite into ice. The closest your going to find in a mud tire that is OK on ice/pack snow is the truxus MT, which has minimal siping, ive tried them, and they are acceptable as long as you dont push it.

 

Well see, I was exageratting when I was saying I'd be going 65 in black ice conditions, but not by much. i live in calgary, Alberta, Canada and in the winters sometimes there are long stretches of cold where the roads may look fine but they really aren't. However traffic still flows pretty good because people are used to it, and I don't want to be slipping and sliding all over the place.

Anyways, back to the original subject, has anyone found an all-terrain tire that's not smaller than the stocks but won't rub?

 

Why not buy some cheap wheels to run the GY's on during the winter, and run the factory ones in the summer. It'll prolong the life of your BFG's and save the finish on your Rubi wheels. The road salt is hard on them, I'm sure.