My car is a piece of shart

[The Rube]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Yeah, pretty much.

No lift planned at the moment, mostly a daily driver, maybe the occasional light trail jaunt for funsies, and ability to get me to work and back in a 12-inch blizzard.

I'm on my second set of tires (79K miles right now) and even with my factory tires I never had a prob in MN blizzards, save for one time when it was glare ice (and I was only doing 15mph or so, so no fixing that one).

You just have to remember that you're driving a fairly lightweight square vehicle, so wind makes a major difference sometimes, and due to the short wheelbase you will be shifted around a bit, due to weather influences. Adjust for that, you're fine. I highly recommend you testing the limits on non-busy side roads during the worst weather, just to see how you and/or the vehicle handles it.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

I'm on my second set of tires (79K miles right now) and even with my factory tires I never had a prob in MN blizzards, save for one time when it was glare ice (and I was only doing 15mph or so, so no fixing that one).

You just have to remember that you're driving a fairly lightweight square vehicle, so wind makes a major difference sometimes, and due to the short wheelbase you will be shifted around a bit, due to weather influences. Adjust for that, you're fine. I highly recommend you testing the limits on non-busy side roads during the worst weather, just to see how you and/or the vehicle handles it.

Have some experience here thanks to Il Duce (my '90 Ford Bronco II I had at Tech.) Basically, it's what inspired me to get the Jeep - tall, boxy, short wheelbase, and it was absolutely unstoppable in winter. Buried under 2 feet of snow? Lock the front hubs, get in, start, drop it into 4x4, pull out without a second thought

 

[The Rube]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Have some experience here thanks to Il Duce (my '90 Ford Bronco II I had at Tech.) Basically, it's what inspired me to get the Jeep - tall, boxy, short wheelbase, and it was absolutely unstoppable in winter. Buried under 2 feet of snow? Lock the front hubs, get in, start, drop it into 4x4, pull out without a second thought

And after riding in a 95 Mustang, I swore I would always own some form of a convertable. After a year or two, I started to really test my Jeep, and boy, is that fun. I think the last blizzard, I was <strike>talented</strike> stupid enough to do 360s in side road intersections with the parking brake. I'm more cautious now.

 

[Beer Pong Horn]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

I have Michelin LTX M/S tires on my Cherokee, but those are probably more tame than what you want. They wear great though (I think 75k?) and have decent traction.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Rather have the all-terrains for the winter (don't want to deal with studs/chains, never used them because they were illegal in MI.) Cheaper, too.

Yeah, those JK Wranglers will fit 32s no problem. Dealer told me I can even add a 1-inch lift and still be under warranty

For winter purposes, your stock tire size would likely be the best thing to drive. The wider your tire, the more likely your are to sit and spin. Wider tires are better for dry pavement.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

For winter purposes, your stock tire size would likely be the best thing to drive. The wider your tire, the more likely your are to sit and spin. Wider tires are better for dry pavement.

They're all weathers and don't have particularly pronounced treads. Would that hurt me?

Lots of reviews I'm reading for my current tires say they're pretty much useless in snow.

 

[brookyone]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Owned several models and am a big fan of the Jeep product line. I wouldn't recommend a pure mud tread design if on road is the bulk of your use.

I've always had great luck with BFG All Terrain tires for a mix of on / off road...with a long life span on Wranglers I've owned. Gotta keep 'em inflated near max for best wear, long life. Goodyears always seemed to wear very quickly for me. Another brand not mentioned, but a great tire is Mickey Thompson...but not cheap.

http://www.desertrat.com/products/?id=5547

This model is excellent for both on/off road use. They last.

 

[The Rube]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Owned several models and am a big fan of the Jeep product line. I wouldn't recommend a pure mud tread design if on road is the bulk of your use.

I've always had great luck with BFG All Terrain tires for a mix of on / off road...with a long life span on Wranglers I've owned. Gotta keep 'em inflated near max for best wear, long life. Goodyears always seemed to wear very quickly for me. Another brand not mentioned, but a great tire is Mickey Thompson...but not cheap.

http://www.desertrat.com/products/?id=5547

This model is excellent for both on/off road use. They last.

Mine has been a Blacktop Baby, which probably draws ire from the purists, but * 'em. MN winters give me enough adventures, if they are bad enough.

 

[brookyone]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Mine has been a Blacktop Baby, which probably draws ire from the purists, but * 'em. MN winters give me enough adventures, if they are bad enough.

Nah...I was never a hard core off roader either, just some off road trails thru the countryside. My last new jeep was a 2006 Liberty Limited. Driving thru blizzard conditions in Minnesota with the select trac full time AWD and traction control was just like being on dry pavement. I'm wanting to get back into a Wrangler these days.

Another good MT tire with a more aggressive look:

http://www.desertrat.com/products/?id=4215

 

[The Rube]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Nah...I was never a hard core off roader either, just some off road trails thru the countryside. My last new jeep was a 2006 Liberty Limited. Driving thru blizzard conditions in Minnesota with the select trac full time AWD and traction control was just like being on dry pavement. I'm wanting to get back into a Wrangler these days.

Another good MT tire with a more aggressive look:

http://www.desertrat.com/products/?id=4215

Personally, I like it when the plows don't hit the non-main roads (which is about all I drive on an average day) so I can run circles around the normal folk. They sit and spin, and I just chug along.

It's more the fact that you CAN get out of hairy situations, compared to other vehicles.

 

[The Rube]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Girl we off in this Jeep
Foggin' windows up
Blastin' the radio
In the back of my truck
Bouncin' up and down
Strokin' round and round
To the remix
We jus' thuggin' it out

 

[walrus]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

was just like being on dry pavement.

I love being passed by a jeep in a snowstorm only to see them off the road a few miles up the road.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

They're all weathers and don't have particularly pronounced treads. Would that hurt me?

Lots of reviews I'm reading for my current tires say they're pretty much useless in snow.

I don't know what model you have, so I can't comment on that.

What I can tell you is that the tire you see while sitting at rest does not "look" the same going down the road. As the tires rotate, they're creating friction internally, with the pressurized air use to inflate them, and this causes the tread to expand a bit, making rather innocuous looking tread better than people expect. The two things I would take into consideration about those tire reviews are these:

1 - By what standards are these things considered "useless?" If you're looking to get a beefier tire for the sakes of appearance, then just realize that they won't handle as well as your stock tires come winter. If you're looking for something out of concern for safety, then I'd just switch over to something like a BFG Radial Long Trail T/A, Rugged Trail T/A or something from Michelin's LTX series - M/S or A/T 2.

2 - What kind of traction are you used to during the winter months from your old car? It was an Alero, right? Instead of jumping the gun in July on new tires, perhaps wait to find out how your Jeep performs for you in some inhospitable weather.

Like you, I owned a Bronco II. I had what amounted to the cheapest set of street tires you could put on a vehicle at that time. I never once had an issue during the winter. Unlike you, I did not have 4x4 on my truck, it was a Sport Edition, RWD only. Coming from an 81 Chevette and then an 84 Datsun Sentra, my 89 Bronco II handled like a dream with that cheap rubber on the road.

 

[The Rube]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

I love being passed by a 4WD SUV doing 60 in a snowstorm only to see them off the road a few miles up the road.

Just sayin'

 

[walrus]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Just sayin'

The Jeep lovefest on here makes it better when its a jeep
Its a jeep thing

 

[Lady wore Black]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

With all of you talking about your Jeeps I shall tell you the story about my car: The S H I Tbox Part Duex.

The original was a 1993 Ford Escort LX with a cracked bumper.

Part Duex is a 2000 Ford Focus SE with a duct tape window. You have to hit the steering column to get the car to start when it decides it wants to lock up on you. It dings at you for no reason and nothing lights up on the dashboard. If it is cold enough and dashboard will light up randomly and click at you until you close the car door. I swear the car is possessed kinda like Christine, but doesn't kill your enemies. Just you. You talk bad about it, and it will mess with you. On top of that, it knows that I am in the market for a new car.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

I don't know what model you have, so I can't comment on that.

What I can tell you is that the tire you see while sitting at rest does not "look" the same going down the road. As the tires rotate, they're creating friction internally, with the pressurized air use to inflate them, and this causes the tread to expand a bit, making rather innocuous looking tread better than people expect. The two things I would take into consideration about those tire reviews are these:

1 - By what standards are these things considered "useless?" If you're looking to get a beefier tire for the sakes of appearance, then just realize that they won't handle as well as your stock tires come winter. If you're looking for something out of concern for safety, then I'd just switch over to something like a BFG Radial Long Trail T/A, Rugged Trail T/A or something from Michelin's LTX series - M/S or A/T 2.

2 - What kind of traction are you used to during the winter months from your old car? It was an Alero, right? Instead of jumping the gun in July on new tires, perhaps wait to find out how your Jeep performs for you in some inhospitable weather.

Like you, I owned a Bronco II. I had what amounted to the cheapest set of street tires you could put on a vehicle at that time. I never once had an issue during the winter. Unlike you, I did not have 4x4 on my truck, it was a Sport Edition, RWD only. Coming from an 81 Chevette and then an 84 Datsun Sentra, my 89 Bronco II handled like a dream with that cheap rubber on the road.

Yeah, I see your point in regards to the "pizza cutters." The Bronco did have a lot of that going.

Fortunately, I seem to have found the best of both worlds. I love the tread design. I bet I can get those in 245s or even 225s and they'll still look cool.

 

[legal_hit]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

Ok, as I have stated before my car is not a piece of crap, but she is irritating the living daylights out of me right now.

I have to pass an emissions test before I can register the car in CT. My NC plates expire on Thursday. (actually the plates expired at the end of June, the registration expires on Thursday -- yeah, I don't know either). Given that the car is still a newer car, I figure no big deal. Saturday night I start the car and freakin check engine light is on.

 

[icebadger]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

We have an '02 Dodge Stratus. Recently, the AC stopped working on all but the highest of fan speeds. So essentially, it's either roasting or a hurricane inside our car. Apparently, it's a "blower resistor" which is something like a $25 part but a $370 repair because it's essentially buried deep inside the car somewhere. We took the car in to find out what the problem was and ended up not being able to afford fixing the AC issue since our tie rod was loose and we needed new brakes which already put us close to $1000. I don't know much of anything about cars but I just can't get over the fact that I could replace headlights on my old Honda Accord hatchback in less than a minute as they are essentially plug and play while doing the same on this Stratus took me an hour. I imagine the blower resistor may have been similar. Guess we're going foreign on our next purchase.

 

[Beer Pong Horn]

Re: My car is a piece of shart

We have an '02 Dodge Stratus. Recently, the AC stopped working on all but the highest of fan speeds. So essentially, it's either roasting or a hurricane inside our car. Apparently, it's a "blower resistor" which is something like a $25 part but a $370 repair because it's essentially buried deep inside the car somewhere. We took the car in to find out what the problem was and ended up not being able to afford fixing the AC issue since our tie rod was loose and we needed new brakes which already put us close to $1000. I don't know much of anything about cars but I just can't get over the fact that I could replace headlights on my old Honda Accord hatchback in less than a minute as they are essentially plug and play while doing the same on this Stratus took me an hour. I imagine the blower resistor may have been similar. Guess we're going foreign on our next purchase.

If you want to try replacing the resistor yourself, check to see if your local library has access to ALLDATA (usually just at the library computers themselves). It has a much more accurate set of instructions for doing simple repairs than the average Haines or Chilton manual, and you may find that it's much simpler than it looks.

Also: Dodge kinda shat the bed with the Cloud Car series - they look nice, but they were never as reliable as the others in their class. My folks had a '95 Cirrus, and it had far more problems than it should have.