Off-road Wheels & Tyres for 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[randolff]

Thought I would add another tyre to the mix. After much research (here and on many US sites) it appears that the only 20" options are Nitto Terra Grapplers 265/50R20's or as mentioned the Cooper Zeon LTZ 285/50R20s. I am in Country WA and could not get my hands on either in a hurry but was presented with a third option which are the Falken Wildpeak A/T. They are a Japanese Tyre maker and these tyres have had some really great reviews on US sites. They also make a 285/50R20 with a 116T load/speed rating. After seeing rob_chez's post about the 285's having no clearance issues I took the plunge and fitted the Falken tyres. Have only had them on a day but already had a couple of comments on them and no clearance issues at all. No real reports other than I can hear them more than the old Kumho's - yet to try them out offroad. Note that I managed to almost destroy the Kumho's during a trip to Karijini last weekend. Have posted some pics of the Falkens below.

[timbotrog]

Mickey Thompson make their STZ in a 275/55/20 as well

[jtb007]

Originally Posted by rob_chez

Already posted this information on another thread, but will repeat it here as I think that it may help. Recently changed out my Kumho Solus KL21 265/50R20s with Cooper Zeon LTZ 285/50R20s. Attached some pics to show them on my GC Limited 5.7Hemi with QuadraLift. Tyres clear on all height level settings. The Coopers are suprisingly quiet on the road with plenty of grip in the recent heavy rains. Good also on gravel and light 4wd work. Yet to test them out on anything serious, but the lack of side wall with the 20s will determine where I can go - not the tyres.

Rob, what did you do for a spare tyre? Did you get a fifth Zeon? I am looking at the same tyre but am concerned about the spare.

[Trailhawk]

Something people need to keep in mind with upgrading there tyres on the standard rims is rim damage. If your engaging in any sort of real 4wd'ing, you will scratch the shizen out of your wheels. Also, in my opinion alloys are not ideal for touring as if a serious pot hole is encountered the rim can be smashed to bits where a steel wheel can be hammered back to where it needs to be. My car is fitted with factory 18" alloys with a reasonable all terrain, i would like to buy a set of steel wheels and fit muddy's to them, i can keep the standard wheels for Sand trips and road use and fit the steel wheels for rocky muddy trips.

[Nicholas]

Just an FYI guys a 255/70r18 will fit in spare tyre area which is 32 inch, same size as a 275/65/r18. This is what I keep in there plus a spare full size on an alloy rim for the roof when I do serious offroading

[jtb007]

Originally Posted by Nicholas

Just an FYI guys a 255/70r18 will fit in spare tyre area which is 32 inch, same size as a 275/65/r18. This is what I keep in there plus a spare full size on an alloy rim for the roof when I do serious offroading

More importantly you should ensure that your spare has the same or very close to, rolling diameter as the 4 on the car. Too much variance will possibly cause damage to the transfer case and diffs. Not so bad if you just need it to limp home a few k's. I've discovered this last week that there can be a lot of variation in rolling diameter even in tyres of the same stated size. I've now decided to go down the path of having two sets, one set of 18's for off and the 20's for on road. The spares for the off's will go on the rack of the camper. More expensive but a better solution for me.

I seriously considered trading the car in on a new JKU.. it would have cost me less!

[coopers]

I'm sure there would be plenty of city slicker Larado owners who would be interested in swapping their 18"ers for some 20" limited wheels.