Jeep Rubicon Tire Wear

[mclee47]

Does anyone tow a Jeep Rubicon 07 or later? I am having unusual tire wear problems on the stock BFG MTs. This is my second set, and I have had the same problem with both sets. Some lugs are wearing down more than others, even adjacent ones, causing a popping noise as they rotate. I do not know whether the problem is related solely to the Jeep, the stock tires, or the towing. I am considering going to another brand like Goodyear MT/R with Kevlar to see if they wear better.

[JnJnKatiebug]

mclee47 wrote:

JnJnKatiebug wrote:
I had the same problem. Number one, have you changed/upgraded your shocks and checked your alignment? The stock shocks are not very good. I upgraded my shocks and went with Cooper tires for two reasons. A less agressive tire and 40% cheaper. Those big lugs on the side will not take the drag when turning while towing. My thought was if I had to replace them more often I might as well ruin a cheaper tire. I also changed from the stock 255/75R/17 to a 265/70R/17. They are the same height but there are a lot more choices in this size. I got mine for an out the door cost of $625. The OEM tires were well over $1,000 out the door.

So far they are not wearing (knocking on wood now) and they ride and drive better than the OEM tires. We just had a major snow and ice event and they performed just as well or better than the OEM tires.

If you want to see how they look I can go take a picture and post it later.

Hope this helps, good luck.

My current tires are takeoffs from another Jeep that added a lift kit. The first set did the same. I did not rotate as often as I should have on the first set, but I have roared this set every 6K miles. Didn;t help. I also bought the shocks from the same Jeep as the tires and put them on as well. That may be my problem. What shocks did you buy?

I don't remember for sure but they were Monroe shocks that my tire guy recommended. He said the stock shocks were junk.

[tropical36]

mclee47 wrote:
The steering wheel is always unlocked, and I always look back early in a tow to make sure the front wheels are following in turns. I forgot to unlock the steering on my 1997 TJ once, and it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. I assume the 07 JK would react the same way.

I think the problem is either that the stock BFG MTs are just a substandard implementation of an otherwise great tire or the stock shocks don't measure up. I ran a set of 33" BFG MTs on my 97 TJ and towed it many miles behind my MH without similar wear problems.

I am thinking my next set of tires will be Goodyear Wrangler MTRs and a set of upgrade shocks.

At this point, I'm going with tire tread design, so more of a street compatible tire and max psi of air, the better.

[mclee47]

Thunder Mountain wrote:
You might try posting this on jeepforum.com

I did post on the JK Forum, but most offroaders do not tow behind a MH. That's why I posted here to try to eliminate towing as the problem.

[mclee47]

The steering wheel is always unlocked, and I always look back early in a tow to make sure the front wheels are following in turns. I forgot to unlock the steering on my 1997 TJ once, and it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. I assume the 07 JK would react the same way.

I think the problem is either that the stock BFG MTs are just a substandard implementation of an otherwise great tire or the stock shocks don't measure up. I ran a set of 33" BFG MTs on my 97 TJ and towed it many miles behind my MH without similar wear problems.

I am thinking my next set of tires will be Goodyear Wrangler MTRs and a set of upgrade shocks.

[tropical36]

mclee47 wrote:
Does anyone tow a Jeep Rubicon 07 or later? I am having unusual tire wear problems on the stock BFG MTs. This is my second set, and I have had the same problem with both sets. Some lugs are wearing down more than others, even adjacent ones, causing a popping noise as they rotate. I do not know whether the problem is related solely to the Jeep, the stock tires, or the towing. I am considering going to another brand like Goodyear MT/R with Kevlar to see if they wear better.

Our Wrangler Islander came with Rubicon wheels and tires, which we opted to change out for Sahara OEM and knowing that the originals wouldn't be required for any of the terrain we'd be transversing. In addition we always run max air and so far with about 10K miles towing, there's no sign of any undue wear.
Now for an obvious question and you do have the steering wheel unlocked for towing, do you not? That was the subject matter of a thread on one of the forums a while back and the OP said he was told to leave it locked by a so called expert.
I did meet one person, who was experiencing this problem and he chalked it off as to the nature of the beast, but I don't buy that.

[Thunder_Mountai]

You might try posting this on jeepforum.com

[mclee47]

JnJnKatiebug wrote:
I had the same problem. Number one, have you changed/upgraded your shocks and checked your alignment? The stock shocks are not very good. I upgraded my shocks and went with Cooper tires for two reasons. A less agressive tire and 40% cheaper. Those big lugs on the side will not take the drag when turning while towing. My thought was if I had to replace them more often I might as well ruin a cheaper tire. I also changed from the stock 255/75R/17 to a 265/70R/17. They are the same height but there are a lot more choices in this size. I got mine for an out the door cost of $625. The OEM tires were well over $1,000 out the door.

So far they are not wearing (knocking on wood now) and they ride and drive better than the OEM tires. We just had a major snow and ice event and they performed just as well or better than the OEM tires.

If you want to see how they look I can go take a picture and post it later.

Hope this helps, good luck.

My current tires are takeoffs from another Jeep that added a lift kit. The first set did the same. I did not rotate as often as I should have on the first set, but I have roared this set every 6K miles. Didn;t help. I also bought the shocks from the same Jeep as the tires and put them on as well. That may be my problem. What shocks did you buy?

[GrandpaDick]

Son runs a taller tire then stock and also went from a D rated to E rated tire and runs over 60 psi before he gets a flat surface on the road. He checked by putting water on the tire and moving forward on a dry road surface then checking the tire print until he felt it was running flat on the road surface. He now has no more unusual wear.

[JnJnKatiebug]

mclee47 wrote:
Sorry I meant to say MTs, which are stock. I run 36# in them as per the door placard.

I was told to run 40# in the front while towing. I tried it but it did not help.

[mclee47]

Sorry I meant to say MTs, which are stock. I run 36# in them as per the door placard.

[GrandpaDick]

My son say's that your not putting enough air in the tires and a soft tire wears on the outside. He owns a Rubicon and say's that the AT (all terrain) tire is not the stock tire for that vehicle. The Rubicon is considered an off road vehicle and MT (mud tire) is the stock tire. If the tire is not stock, the sticker on the door is not the correct pressures for those tires. You may need to do some research on what the proper pressure should be. Hope this helps.

[JnJnKatiebug]

I had the same problem. Number one, have you changed/upgraded your shocks and checked your alignment? The stock shocks are not very good. I upgraded my shocks and went with Cooper tires for two reasons. A less agressive tire and 40% cheaper. Those big lugs on the side will not take the drag when turning while towing. My thought was if I had to replace them more often I might as well ruin a cheaper tire. I also changed from the stock 255/75R/17 to a 265/70R/17. They are the same height but there are a lot more choices in this size. I got mine for an out the door cost of $625. The OEM tires were well over $1,000 out the door.

So far they are not wearing (knocking on wood now) and they ride and drive better than the OEM tires. We just had a major snow and ice event and they performed just as well or better than the OEM tires.

If you want to see how they look I can go take a picture and post it later.

Hope this helps, good luck.