Another Tire Thread: Mostly Highway/Some Snow

[IE]

I've read all the threads about the snow tires for trucks/SUVs, but couldn't find what I need. I have a Grand Cherokee that I drive quite a bit for work. From San Luis Obispo to the Bay, LA, SD, Reno and Vegas. I'm six and a half hours from Tahoe and make it up to Kirkwood at least a couple of times a month in the winter.

So, I need a long-lasting highway tire that will do okay in the snow once in awhile, since not all my trips up are in rough weather. The Jeep is 4wd Full-Time and has lower 4wd settings as well, I have some Goodyear Wrangler SR-A now that were on the car when I got it about 30k miles ago, I didn't like 'em back then (they were pretty new) and I definitely don't like 'em now.

Looking at TireRack.com I found a few that might fit the bill, so I thought I'd see if other mags have used them in similar driving situations and have any feedback. The main criteria are how long they last city/highway driving and are they at least adequate in the snow. The size is 235/65/17, which is kind of fucked up as it turns out, since my local shops (including Costco) didn't have anything under $150+/per.

Firestone Destination LE (Highway All-Season) - Cheapest of the bunch ($100/per which is perfect for my budget) and looks good from the reviews.

Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S G052 (Street/Sport Truck All-Season) - A bit more than the Firestone, and the Street/Sport Truck All-Season rating worries me a bit, not sure if that'd be okay in the snow. But, supposedly they look pretty cool and that's what counts... I had some Yokos on my old Cherokee back in the day, and those sucked monkey balls, not sure if those were the same ones, but they were definitely cheaper.

Then there are the Light Truck/SUV Studless Ice & Snow rated:
- Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3
- Michelin Latitude X-Ice
Supposedly they are pretty good in the snow, but I'm not sure what the treadwear be like on the freeways.

Any feedback would be appreciated, I'm kind of leaning towards the Firestone, but if someone recommended a better tire for my purposes in the $100-$120/per range that'd be great.

[El Chupacabra]

WJ Grand Cherokee? (what I have) Guessing, based on the 235/65/17 size.

I have the Michelin X-Radial LT (Costco-rebranded variation on the Michelin LTX M/S); used it for 3 winters, does fine in snow. Since they were about 1/2 worn at 30K miles on them, I picked up a 2nd set of stock wheels, and put Michelin Latitude X-Ice on the 2nd set for a snow tire set. I've only driven in a decent amount of snow 3X with the snow tires, but they are noticably better than the X-Radial LTs.

I wouldn't go with the dedicated snow tire at 6.5 hr driving time from Tahoe; they'll probably wear out pretty quickly. Get the LTX M/S (or X-Radial LT if you have a Costco membership -- same tire, save a few $), or a similar tread pattern: lots of sipes, lots of grabbing edges for snow use. Very long-wearing tire.

Also -- you can get a set of 16" wheels for the WJ; they came stock with 225/75/16 or 245/70/16. Buy a tire in whichever size you find cheaper; they're very nearly the same dimensions. I passed on buying a set of 17" OEM wheels because the snow tire prices were significantly higher vs. the 16" sizes for this vehicle.

[IE]

WJ Grand Cherokee? (what I have) Guessing, based on the 235/65/17 size.

I have the Michelin X-Radial LT (Costco-rebranded variation on the Michelin LTX M/S); used it for 3 winters, does fine in snow. Since they were about 1/2 worn at 30K miles on them, I picked up a 2nd set of stock wheels, and put Michelin Latitude X-Ice on the 2nd set for a snow tire set. I've only driven in a decent amount of snow 3X with the snow tires, but they are noticably better than the X-Radial LTs.

I wouldn't go with the dedicated snow tire at 6.5 hr driving time from Tahoe; they'll probably wear out pretty quickly. Get the LTX M/S (or X-Radial LT if you have a Costco membership -- same tire, save a few $), or a similar tread pattern: lots of sipes, lots of grabbing edges for snow use. Very long-wearing tire.

Also -- you can get a set of 16" wheels for the WJ; they came stock with 225/75/16 or 245/70/16. Buy a tire in whichever size you find cheaper; they're very nearly the same dimensions. I passed on buying a set of 17" OEM wheels because the snow tire prices were significantly higher vs. the 16" sizes for this vehicle.

Hey, El Chupa, thanks. I figured you'd be one of the first to respond based on the other thread. I have an '02 Overland (so, yea WJ). I actually went to Costco today in San Jose looking for those Michelins you recommended in the other threads, but they didn't have 'em anymore I also couldn't find any Dueler Revos, that a bunch of people like, in that size in any of the 4 shops I checked out today.

I really like the rims I have, so probably going to stick with the 17" tires for now.

[El Chupacabra]

Last time I was in Costco (Reno), they had both the X-Radial LT and the LTX M/S -- the price difference between the two, for the same size tire, used to be $10-12 per tire ($40-48 for 4, so it adds up). IIRC it seems like the difference has shrunk to $2-3 per tire, so not much difference anymore.

Maybe ask the Costco tire shop to order you a set? Costco also does a "$60 off 4 tires" coupon sale 2-3 times per year, so if you can wait until the next sale...

[IE]

Last time I was in Costco (Reno), they had both the X-Radial LT and the LTX M/S -- the price difference between the two, for the same size tire, used to be $10-12 per tire ($40-48 for 4, so it adds up). IIRC it seems like the difference has shrunk to $2-3 per tire, so not much difference anymore.

Maybe ask the Costco tire shop to order you a set? Costco also does a "$60 off 4 tires" coupon sale 2-3 times per year, so if you can wait until the next sale...

I might try my Costco in San Luis, since the guy in San Jose seemed kind of retarded and pretty much told me there wasn't a tire in the shop that would work for me.