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Radial Tires

You guys Rock, thanks for the quick and intelligent replays.
I'll skip the 35" Krawlers and go for the 37" PBR radials. I think I'll be happier with the taller 37" tire anyways (the LJ's break-over angles need as much help as they can get :D) and it will be great to have some brand new tires.

Can't thank you all enough for the words of wisdom and great info. you all have offered up, it has made the process of choosing new tires drastically easier.:awesomework:

I'm gonna make an effort this year to get down your way and meet up with a few of you rowdy wheelers:D. Any of you plan on going to the PNW Jamboree and do you guys have any events staged for some snow wheeling in amongst the beautiful snow capped mountains your great state offers in the coming months.

Cheers Sniper
 
Okay I called Discount tire in Wenatchee today to order the 37"x12.50"x15" PBR Radials and they quoted me $395 a tire, I said I was told $335 and he said that was for the 35" tires, I had never ever mentioned 35" tires.:mad:

Now they have also for the first time in three conversations told me there will be a $195 shipping fee as they do not stock them.:mad::mad::mad:

Oh yeah and the tires that were available were the 35" tires they mis-qouted me on and now the 37" tires I want are on back order until late Febuary.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Okay so I can buy 37" Toyo's for $285 today only at Les Schwabb's Midnight Madness sale and groove and sipe them or I could just get the used 35" Krawlers and groove and sipe the heck out of them.

I leaning towards the Krawlers versus the Toyo's for snow performance, any thoughts...
 
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Okay I called Discount tire in Wenatchee today to order the 37"x12.50"x15" PBR Radials and they quoted me $395 a tire, I said I was told $335 and he said that was for the 35" tires, I had never ever mentioned 35" tires.:mad:

Now they have also for the first time in three conversations told me there will be a $195 shipping fee as they do not stock them.:mad::mad::mad:

Oh yeah and the tires that were available were the 35" tires they mis-qouted me on and now the 37" tires I want are on back order until late Febuary.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Okay so I can buy 37" Toyo's for $285 today only at Les Schwabb's Midnight Madness sale and groove and sipe them or I could just get the used 35" Krawlers and groove and sipe the heck out of them.

I leaning towards the Krawlers versus the Toyo's for snow performance, any thoughts...

In your situation I would look at online companies or patently wait for the tires.

trailworthyfab and filthymotorsports normally have them in stock. Yeah, you will pay more, but you might get them 3 weeks before the Discount Tire ones. Those Krawlers would be my absolute last choice for snow wheeling. Toyos aren't the worst in snow but I 'd much rather have PBRs.

In short: I'd rather have PBRs in a month and a half than Toyos right now. Save your money.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the online companies, but I needed tires like two weeks ago. I sold my Swampers and am running around on some BFG KO's with two plugs in a sidewall and I want to go wheeling now.
Plus I need to head down to Washington State to pick up some other parts and really don't want to make the whole drive on these crappy BFG KO's.

The Krawlers are a $1,000 Cdn. for four at 75% or I can head down to the Les Schwab just over the border tonight and buy four 37"x14.50"x15" Toyo's on sale tonight only for only $1,220 USD (about $1,500CDN by the time I get them home and still a week wait) which is really cheap compared to four 37"x12.50"x15" Radial PBR's at about $1,800 to $2,000USD for four. Decisions decisions, I wouldn't use the Krawlers for long, but would run them until next fall then buy the PBR's.

I've got a wheeling buddy who runs the Toyo's on his XJ and they work alright at about 3Psi in the snow, but they are no Irok. My Jeep is a daily driver and I believe the Toyo's wear well on the street so that is appealing. I'm sure with some grooving and siping the Toyo's could be made to work better in the snow, but they do have a fairly hard feel to them.

I really feel like modifying my body so I can run a 38" or 39.5" tire (w/o anymore lift), but thats going to take more time and effort then I can spare right now. Just fitting the 37" tires will require a little TLC, but that I'm prepared for.

Damn I had my sights on the PBR Radials when I thought they were $335ea. w/o shipping costs, now I don't think I can justify/afford spending close to $2,000USD for them not to mention at least a month wait.
 
Toyos. Suck I have had a couple she's and would never waste the money,also discount will me et or beat anyone's quoted price
Even online. Prices,les Schwab is a scam..I would hold out for what you really want.
 
Bide your time....get the pbrs...call Larry at the bellingham discount tire. Tell him kevin from RRR sent you (he's a member). Number is (360) 647-0583
 
Thanks guys and I'll give Larry a call Zukkev, but at this point I'm leaning towards going with the Krawlers (and sipe and grooving the heck out of them) and see how they do. These Krawlers are the ones designed for the street not for competition so they shouldn't be that sticky.
I appreciate all the input and will let you all know what plays out. Thanks again...
 
Yup, blue labels are not sticky compound at all... I have seen some of the 37" blue labels do ok, but I still don't like the thin sidewalls...
 
Yup, blue labels are not sticky compound at all... I have seen some of the 37" blue labels do ok, but I still don't like the thin sidewalls...

Really, I thought Krawlers were known for having quite durable sidewalls. They should be much stronger then KM2's at 20Lbs. heavier and I've had good success beating on KM2's before. Speaking of KM2's a set of 315/75/16's or 35"s worked very well in the snow for me on several deep snow wheeling trips a couple years ago, so I'm thinking some well siped and grooved even wider KX's should do well especially on the Hutchinson's at 1Psi.

If I do buy the Krawlers they will be only temporary allowing me time to clearance my wheel wells add wider flares and re-gear the diff.'s so then I can skip 37" tires and go to a much taller and wider 38"+ for a serious gain in the LJ's break-over angle along with even greater flotation.

Thanks for all the great advice Zukkev, I look forward to wheeling with you and many other NWWHeelers. I'll post up a weekend I'm coming down your way and try and hook-up with you all on a snow wheeling trip this year, maybe even show you Krawlers aren't all bad.:D
The boys from Flexible Fenders or Modern Classic Enterprises offered to show me around if they have the time so if you know them maybe we could all get together on a snow run.

I'm also planning on attending this years PNW Jamboree, so that would be another opportunity to meet up, that's if any of you yahoos are permitted to go to those sort of events.:fawkdancesmiley:

Cheers Dean
 
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And like most other threads with the question asked "What is the best ___?", the REAL question here is/was "What tire will work.....for the region, the reasons, the availability and my wallet?"

Now you know.:corn:
 
Cool, you will have a great time at Jamboree. Hopefully were able to get the shoestring fixed and reopened prior to the event.
 
I realized if I buy tires now it will be a couple years before I get a chance to buy more, so after I found a deal on a new set of 'In Stock' 36"x13.50"x15" Bias Iroks today I made my decision and passed on the used Krawlers.

Looking back on the past week after all whats happened with my attempts to locate/purchase tires the choice for a new set of tires has very much been influenced by whats been available and ultimately the cost justification. When I speak of justifying the cost I mean is it worth another $400USD to switch over from four 36" Bias Irok tires to four 37" Radial Iroks (what with their two ply sidewalls). It would be real tough to justify paying almost $600USD more for four 37" PBR Radials instead of four 36" bias Iroks. You all know where I sided and even if the PBR Radials were in stock now it would have been to big an expense for this poor Canadian Boy to justify.

Thanks to all you NW-Wheelers who offered up information and opinions on tires, all your input really helped.:awesomework:

The process wasn't a quick one, but I (we've) chosen tires that should work really well at assisting my Jeep up the trail (especially in snow) and if there are any unpleasant trade-offs on the street, well I'll just chock that up at being the price to pay to play.
 
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Yeah it's a sign of the times Yotadude how things have changed, the last time I bought new Swampers in the good old US of A it was 2005 and showrooms were full of huge off road rubber. In stock availability ranged from multiple brands/models, **** Cepek, Mickey Thompson and all the popular TSL models were represented in 36" to 42" sizes to be drooled over and ogled even 44"s were normally stocked (if even for show). Now your lucky if they have a set of 36"s in stock as most generally only stock 35" tires at best. I crossed the border again in 2009 looking to find a set of 38.5" TSL's only to realize everything was a four day wait out of California if it was available at all, that's when I returned with the Hutchinson's instead as no large tires were available w/o a long wait.

I always have compromised on road drivability for off road prowess when choosing the Swamper brand and have done so again this time. It was good to learn that the PBR Radial may allow the best of both worlds in that it has close to Irok traction in the snow and still can offer decent wear along with a good characteristics on the street. I originally had my eye on the Arctic Truck AT405 38"x15.50"x15" as the ultimate tire for our northwest region, but due to it's prohibitive price and no real feedback from anyone local as to it's durability it was not to be. As for waiting it out for the PBR radials to be in stock, this might in fact be the smarter move for the long term. Albeit 36" Iroks will be easily re-sold when used offering me another opportunity to buy new tires, cause we all know how much fun that is.:awesomework:
 
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I just saw a set of 41inch pbr radials doing work in the snow Saturday. He didn't say what PSI he was at, just that he could go down more, they were squated down more than any of the other tires up there that day. It really made me want a set. I know Ridgeline motorsports in Yakima is a dealer for them.
 
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How many Hwy./street miles did you get out of the first set? Anyway sidewall damage?

Thanks for the input...

the Iroks on my CJ were on for 3 years and when I sold the jeep they still had 30% or more tread. that jeep was my DD the whole time I had it. wheeled all over WA, Moab, NM, TX
 
the Iroks on my CJ were on for 3 years and when I sold the jeep they still had 30% or more tread. that jeep was my DD the whole time I had it. wheeled all over WA, Moab, NM, TX

Were your Iroks Bias or Radials and thanks for the input, I read back and got that they were radials thanks again...
 
I know Ridgeline motorsports in Yakima is a dealer for them.

So thanks to Nickb for the tip (on Ridgeline Motorsports) as it allowed me to secure a good deal on some PBR Radials in the 37" variety from Ridgeline. I'm waiting the three to four weeks for delivery because I just decided to go to Moab for EJS and the radial PBR's will fair much better on the drive there and back then the 36" Bias Iroks I had planned on buying. Also the extra time will allow me the opportunity to clearance the body so I can fit the new Bad Boys (I only run a 2" lift in my LJ).

So thanks to all for the awesome input, it was a tough road making such an important decision, but I think this will be the very best choice for my DD/Snow Wheeler in that size.:awesomework:
 
From everything I have read they do great on the road. After seeing them last weekend in the snow, it really made me want a set... That says a lot, I have never liked those tires, but seeing them in person and working so well (also that they come in a 37x12.5 15) they will be my next set of tires.
 
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