The last run through the woods involved some fairly deep mud holes. One deep enough that everyone had to be dragged through it.
In my cleanup, I found evidence of muddy water splashed into the air filter box. Not enough to be a threat to the engine but enough that I would worry about it for the rest of my ownership. Time to do something about that. At less than $100 it is cheap insurance and one less thing to worry about.
I have hated the General Grabbers that were on this thing since I bought it. Terrible ride, noisy, and poor wet traction. They got replaced this weekend.
I went with what I know works. Falken Wildpeak AT3W. I considered the new AT4W. It is a 60k-mile tire compared to the AT3W's 50k-mile rating. That 10k miles come at a cost though. The AT4W tires are 10 pounds heavier per tire due to a stiffer sidewall and have worse wet, snow, and ice traction.
I also went from a 275/75R16 to a 315/75R16. Or from a 33" tire to a 35" tire. They fit perfectly with no rubbing.
It's slower. It rides significantly better and it's almost quiet. I went for a national forest ride yesterday. What an outstanding tire. This was shot at a high bluff on the Santee River. It's usually about 25' above the water. Yesterday it was about 8' above the water.
Good looking tires. It's nice to see sidewall!
In reply to eastpark :
This goes off-road fairly often. Sidewalls are a requirement for ride quality and traction. They also help with potholes.
I have those tires on my Mercedes, they're fantastic.
I really like fenders full of tire. I'm surprised they don't rub.
I think I still need to put the leveling kit in the front.
I have those tires (but probably a smaller size) on my truck, they're so noisy I thought the truck had bad wheel bearings at first. I'm told they wear like iron though.
In reply to dannyp84 :
Get your truck checked. I have had or have 8 sets of these on vehicles ranging from a Samurai to a Suburban. They are all quiet until the last 10-15 thousand miles of life.
In reply to Toyman! :
that looks awesome! I love a big tire with no/minimal lift
In reply to budget_bandit :
That's my preferred setup and look. This is where my XJ ended up. It works very well off-road and will go 98% of the places I want to. I carry a winch for the other 2%.
I've always loved the fact the h3 could stuff 35s with no lift. Before I picked up another XJ I shopped a bit for another h3 but just couldn't commit with the shagged out ones available at time of purchase. Oddly enough my XJ is the same color as yours I believe. Both are great rigs but I miss the AWD system of the h3 and the modern feel of it on the road. I don't miss the terrible visibility.
The XJ is on 32s with RE 3.5 lift and the h3 was on 34s stock.
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