srino

I've seen tons of Rubicons that never leave pavement...

mr72

My guess is most people who buy a Rubicon do so because it's the most expensive Jeep they can get. Salesman talks them into getting one "loaded" and this is what comes out. Plus I am sure a lot of Rubi owners wouldn't dare take their Jeep off road because, hey, it's expensive, and you might dent or scratch it or break something. And that might affect the resale value. Or when they turn it back in when the lease runs out, it needs to look like it has not been abused.

That's because for 99% of Jeep Wrangler drivers, it's just another SUV.

rob_engineer

I have an AR-15. I'll probably never need it. Maybe I should have bought a single shot bolt action rifle instead. I carry an expensive pocket knife made out of the best steel available. A flea market knife would probably cut everything I need to cut just fine.

twcanuck

I agree! if you can afford it why not have the capability? Not to mention resale value will be higher if a rubi owner ever decides to trade it in or sell it.

Mark Doiron

I've used Dick Cepek FC IIs, GY Duratracs (three sets), and recently BFG KO IIs. The Duratracs are a great general purpose tire and perform quite well in snow and sand. They have an somewhat aggressive appearance. And I'd much rather be on them than any MT if one wet pavement (where I found the FC IIs also a bit scary, BTW, which is why I got rid of them). My big disappointment with the Duratracs is they are prone to flat tires., including damage to the sidewall. I am hopeful that the KO IIs will be better for that, but have only had then for a few months and no winter usage, yet.

Cupping is generally caused by one of two things, and I've had cupping on the FC IIs (so bad they sounded like bro pick-up MTs) and on the Duratracs (mild, near end of life): Failure to rotate tires, or a bad shock absorber (which was my issue twice). Stay on top of both and you should be fine with an AT. Don't, and you'll have cupping.

Rednroll

Absolutely. It's always better to have something and not use it, than don't have it and not be able to use it if you need it.

mr72

I agree with this wholeheartedly, but in this specific case it kind of cuts both ways.

If you have a Rubicon with M/T tires and you drive most of the time on the road, what you don't have that you need is sufficient traction, particularly in wet weather, to drive safely on pavement. It'd be kind of like "having" an AR15 when what you need is a pocket knife. As it turns out it's difficult to have both on your Jeep at the same time.

IMHO if you drive mostly on the road, especially if it's 90%+, which is virtually all Jeep drivers, then A/T tires are a far better choice. They maintain enough off-road capability to not render the Jeep useless off road while being far better on pavement.

But as most JK Forum members do, most Jeepers choose tires based primarily on appearance, then they tell themselves that it performs better or try and justify it by insisting they do a lot more off-roading and more serious off-roading than they actually do. I mean, around here I see grocery store parking lots packed with JKs with 3+" lift and 33-35" M/T tires that never, ever leave pavement, and even if they did, there is virtually no Central TX off-road conditions where M/T tires benefit outweigh the drawbacks vs. A/T.

Arson

ialPitbull Rocker

MikeOK

I had BFG AT on my old TJ, and I have MT on my JK. The MT are MUCH better on the trail. They are hands down better than the AT’s were and not bad on the road. The only negative is they make a little more noise on the road. I rotate my ties religiously every 3,000 miles and I rotate my spare in and have had no unusual wear.

kmrtnsn

I made the move to an All-Terrain last month and could not be happier.