Hi guys, so I’ve been doing research into some new 265/ 70s or maybe 265/75 tires (if they can fit) that I want to put on my Commander (once I’ve done my OME lift). I had done all this research so thought I might as well share it to help others in the future..
Before I get into it though, a couple of things I’ve noticed along the way and looking at other trucks and SUVs are how short sighted Jeep were when they built the Commander when it comes to the wheel well shape and the calliper size. Especially the front wheel well the shape doesn’t follow the line of the wheel or give enough space around meaning that it squeezes the amount of tire you can fit in (unlike the Land Rover wheel arch for example). Instead you have to spend a ****e load of money to lift it over 2”s to get on some halfway decent size tires! Which I can't afford.
The issue with the calliper is that you can’t fit 16s on it so you can get that classic Jeep look with the larger sidewall tires on the cheap instead of having to lift further…if you want it!
Why Jeep did you not think of these two simple things??!!
Anyway, moan over, onto the good stuff. I’m currently running Falken Wild Peak ATs which although I thought at the time had a cool side wall and aggressive tread, I hadn’t even touched the surface! So basically as with most people I am after as aggressive a tread as possible but still being quiet on road, with good handling in the wet (it rains a fair bit over here) and also good handling when changing lanes and cornering…..not much to ask!! Even though id say 90% of my use is on road an All Terrain at this stage wasn’t really going to satisfy me unfortunately. Longevity also isn’t a massive thing for me either and with rotation most of these tires will do at least 40/ 50km.
With that in mind these are all the tires I’ve been considering and researching. What is written next to each tire is taken from loads of different sources including commercial and private reviews and from the tire company websites themselves. Just to note, these are not my personal views or opinions. I also know that this isn't super scientific or anything but it's helped me get a good basic understanding of what options are out there.
So, I started off obsessed with the classic BFG Mud Terrains KM2s as a friend of mine has them on his Land Rover and they looked badass! However aside from wanting something different from him and wanting a tire not seen so much of on the roads over here (as BFGs are super popular), I read that they may not deal with the wet and road noise quite as well as I hoped. This spurred me on to hundreds of websites and youtube review channels to get the list below; obviously there were many contradicting statements about all these tires but the below, in my opinion, is a fairly basic but accurate description.
Personally, I’m thinking of getting one of the top 3 on the list…. Toyo Open Country Mts, Cooper STT Pros or the Nitro Trail Grapplers. I think they all have the aggressive look I want, plus from all the reviews I’ve seen they all seem to come out at the top of the list for noise and on road and wet condition driving.
There are a few others in contention but none seem to tick the boxes like the first 3. The one tire that always seemed to come out on top which surprised a lot of people are the Falken Wild Peak AT3s which seemed to nail every are but unfortunately for me, they just aren’t quite mean looking enough.
I would like to hear if anyone has any experience with any these tires and feel free to tell me I’m wrong, it’s just my findings….
MTS:
- Toyo Open Country MT - Load C - They’re as quiet as a set of aggressive all-terrain tires and they roll smooth, round, and true. Tread is computer optimised to minimise road noise and is one of the quietest ones out there. After a few thousand miles the noise level increased slightly. Wet weather performance was very good, as predictable and grippy as the Toyo Open Country A/T, but with better standing-water performance. The treads have a lot of siping that opens up the blocks and really helps the tires pull without breaking loose and spinning. Balance really well
- Cooper STT Pro - Looks incredible. has all the traction you need on and off the road, but still provides a quiet and comfortable ride on the street. smooth it rides on the highway. Balance well. inner tread ribs are in an alternating 3-2 pattern of scalloped blocks, which provides reduced road noise, and increased stability and handling on wet and dry roads.
- Nitto Trail Grappler - On the road these tires are much quieter than we expected and thanks to the two separate sidewall designs. The real beauty of this tread is its mild on-road manners and well-rounded performance across the board. Advanced sound analysis equipment was used to systematically reduce the noises normally heard when driving on off-road tires
- Goodyear Wrangler MT R - on-road manners are pleasant and relatively quiet, with none of the vibration or harshness we expect from tires with high void ratios. Not the best at balancing. uses an advanced Silica Rubber compound that gives the tough mud terrain tire a sure-footed feel on any terrain, wet or dry
- Kumho Road Venture MT - has surprisingly good on-road manners. The massive tread voids help channel standing water away. they offered a surprisingly low level of noise on the street and rolled smoothly without major lug slap
- Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ - great handling on-road and off-road, the siping helps in the wet. The advanced radial construction means the tire should last for many miles and give a smooth ride. a little noisy on road
- Maxxis Bighorn 764 - a little noisy. High-grip edges, deep grooves and an improved pattern offers improved traction and braking on all surfaces, both wet and dry. could be better in the wet. wear quicker than some
- BFG Mud KM2- this is a much more streetable version that is significantly lighter.. This addition makes the BFG KM2 even more of a jack-of-all-trades that is perfectly happy in mud, sand, heavy rock, snow and street (wet and dry
- Yokohama Geolander MT - good in rain, quiet ride on road
- Hankook Dynapro MT - lack of noise on highway, but no sipes reducing control in the wet
- Federal Courage M/T - equipped with fairly bigger shoulder lugs that make sure the tires perform perfectly on the road. lots of people who call them the best all terrain tire for highway due to its unique features. Some complaints about its noise on the highway
- Firestone Destination MT - advanced braking while wet, in addition to improved handling. Tough and durable, the re-engineered compound of the tire helps improve wear and handling. Cant see any siping on these though. Few complaints of on road noise
ATS:
- BFG ATs - It’s works well almost everywhere, people love this tire. delivering a quiet, smooth ride on the street. The tiny sipes on the tread blocks help grip on wet pavement, ice, snow
- Goodyear Wrangler duratec - aggressive all-terrain, stood up to heavy rains and ice-covered asphalt and returned a quite road noise when the tread was new, but as the tires wear they quickly get fairly loud. A lot of good reports on this tire
- General Grabber - On the street, the Grabber is heavy and robs power, but inspires confidence on rain-slick pavement thanks to the long, angled grooves that channel water to the outside of the pattern. a bit more noisy than most
- General Grabber AT2 -With virtually no road noise and great all-around performance, the AT2 is a good choice for daily drivers that need added traction for weekend adventures, no matter sand, rock, rain, snow, or ice.
- Falken Wildpeak AT3 - right light truck tire aesthetic but with very good on-road manners. *For all-terrain tires, these work exceptionally well in bad weather on paved surfaces. The traction in snow, ice and other winter conditions is due to the 3D Canyon Sipe technology and the longer tread edges of the center blocks. These features do not hurt the performance of the tire in off-road conditions, but make a huge difference on rain soaked or winter roads. Cannot fault these tires in performance.
- Nitto Ridge Grappler - good balance of looks and on-road performance. densely packed and heavily siped tread features in the middle of the tread. Block density and siping in this area of the tread means more edges for grip on wet roads, or snow and ice covered roads
- Pro Comp Extreme A/T - expected of an all-terrain tire with generously siped treads, noise levels and performance on the street, whether wet or dry were outstanding. The tires ride smoothly and quietly with no drawbacks. abysmal performance in the mud.
Before I get into it though, a couple of things I’ve noticed along the way and looking at other trucks and SUVs are how short sighted Jeep were when they built the Commander when it comes to the wheel well shape and the calliper size. Especially the front wheel well the shape doesn’t follow the line of the wheel or give enough space around meaning that it squeezes the amount of tire you can fit in (unlike the Land Rover wheel arch for example). Instead you have to spend a ****e load of money to lift it over 2”s to get on some halfway decent size tires! Which I can't afford.
The issue with the calliper is that you can’t fit 16s on it so you can get that classic Jeep look with the larger sidewall tires on the cheap instead of having to lift further…if you want it!
Why Jeep did you not think of these two simple things??!!
Anyway, moan over, onto the good stuff. I’m currently running Falken Wild Peak ATs which although I thought at the time had a cool side wall and aggressive tread, I hadn’t even touched the surface! So basically as with most people I am after as aggressive a tread as possible but still being quiet on road, with good handling in the wet (it rains a fair bit over here) and also good handling when changing lanes and cornering…..not much to ask!! Even though id say 90% of my use is on road an All Terrain at this stage wasn’t really going to satisfy me unfortunately. Longevity also isn’t a massive thing for me either and with rotation most of these tires will do at least 40/ 50km.
With that in mind these are all the tires I’ve been considering and researching. What is written next to each tire is taken from loads of different sources including commercial and private reviews and from the tire company websites themselves. Just to note, these are not my personal views or opinions. I also know that this isn't super scientific or anything but it's helped me get a good basic understanding of what options are out there.
So, I started off obsessed with the classic BFG Mud Terrains KM2s as a friend of mine has them on his Land Rover and they looked badass! However aside from wanting something different from him and wanting a tire not seen so much of on the roads over here (as BFGs are super popular), I read that they may not deal with the wet and road noise quite as well as I hoped. This spurred me on to hundreds of websites and youtube review channels to get the list below; obviously there were many contradicting statements about all these tires but the below, in my opinion, is a fairly basic but accurate description.
Personally, I’m thinking of getting one of the top 3 on the list…. Toyo Open Country Mts, Cooper STT Pros or the Nitro Trail Grapplers. I think they all have the aggressive look I want, plus from all the reviews I’ve seen they all seem to come out at the top of the list for noise and on road and wet condition driving.
There are a few others in contention but none seem to tick the boxes like the first 3. The one tire that always seemed to come out on top which surprised a lot of people are the Falken Wild Peak AT3s which seemed to nail every are but unfortunately for me, they just aren’t quite mean looking enough.
I would like to hear if anyone has any experience with any these tires and feel free to tell me I’m wrong, it’s just my findings….
MTS:
- Toyo Open Country MT - Load C - They’re as quiet as a set of aggressive all-terrain tires and they roll smooth, round, and true. Tread is computer optimised to minimise road noise and is one of the quietest ones out there. After a few thousand miles the noise level increased slightly. Wet weather performance was very good, as predictable and grippy as the Toyo Open Country A/T, but with better standing-water performance. The treads have a lot of siping that opens up the blocks and really helps the tires pull without breaking loose and spinning. Balance really well
- Cooper STT Pro - Looks incredible. has all the traction you need on and off the road, but still provides a quiet and comfortable ride on the street. smooth it rides on the highway. Balance well. inner tread ribs are in an alternating 3-2 pattern of scalloped blocks, which provides reduced road noise, and increased stability and handling on wet and dry roads.
- Nitto Trail Grappler - On the road these tires are much quieter than we expected and thanks to the two separate sidewall designs. The real beauty of this tread is its mild on-road manners and well-rounded performance across the board. Advanced sound analysis equipment was used to systematically reduce the noises normally heard when driving on off-road tires
- Goodyear Wrangler MT R - on-road manners are pleasant and relatively quiet, with none of the vibration or harshness we expect from tires with high void ratios. Not the best at balancing. uses an advanced Silica Rubber compound that gives the tough mud terrain tire a sure-footed feel on any terrain, wet or dry
- Kumho Road Venture MT - has surprisingly good on-road manners. The massive tread voids help channel standing water away. they offered a surprisingly low level of noise on the street and rolled smoothly without major lug slap
- Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ - great handling on-road and off-road, the siping helps in the wet. The advanced radial construction means the tire should last for many miles and give a smooth ride. a little noisy on road
- Maxxis Bighorn 764 - a little noisy. High-grip edges, deep grooves and an improved pattern offers improved traction and braking on all surfaces, both wet and dry. could be better in the wet. wear quicker than some
- BFG Mud KM2- this is a much more streetable version that is significantly lighter.. This addition makes the BFG KM2 even more of a jack-of-all-trades that is perfectly happy in mud, sand, heavy rock, snow and street (wet and dry
- Yokohama Geolander MT - good in rain, quiet ride on road
- Hankook Dynapro MT - lack of noise on highway, but no sipes reducing control in the wet
- Federal Courage M/T - equipped with fairly bigger shoulder lugs that make sure the tires perform perfectly on the road. lots of people who call them the best all terrain tire for highway due to its unique features. Some complaints about its noise on the highway
- Firestone Destination MT - advanced braking while wet, in addition to improved handling. Tough and durable, the re-engineered compound of the tire helps improve wear and handling. Cant see any siping on these though. Few complaints of on road noise
ATS:
- BFG ATs - It’s works well almost everywhere, people love this tire. delivering a quiet, smooth ride on the street. The tiny sipes on the tread blocks help grip on wet pavement, ice, snow
- Goodyear Wrangler duratec - aggressive all-terrain, stood up to heavy rains and ice-covered asphalt and returned a quite road noise when the tread was new, but as the tires wear they quickly get fairly loud. A lot of good reports on this tire
- General Grabber - On the street, the Grabber is heavy and robs power, but inspires confidence on rain-slick pavement thanks to the long, angled grooves that channel water to the outside of the pattern. a bit more noisy than most
- General Grabber AT2 -With virtually no road noise and great all-around performance, the AT2 is a good choice for daily drivers that need added traction for weekend adventures, no matter sand, rock, rain, snow, or ice.
- Falken Wildpeak AT3 - right light truck tire aesthetic but with very good on-road manners. *For all-terrain tires, these work exceptionally well in bad weather on paved surfaces. The traction in snow, ice and other winter conditions is due to the 3D Canyon Sipe technology and the longer tread edges of the center blocks. These features do not hurt the performance of the tire in off-road conditions, but make a huge difference on rain soaked or winter roads. Cannot fault these tires in performance.
- Nitto Ridge Grappler - good balance of looks and on-road performance. densely packed and heavily siped tread features in the middle of the tread. Block density and siping in this area of the tread means more edges for grip on wet roads, or snow and ice covered roads
- Pro Comp Extreme A/T - expected of an all-terrain tire with generously siped treads, noise levels and performance on the street, whether wet or dry were outstanding. The tires ride smoothly and quietly with no drawbacks. abysmal performance in the mud.