What to do, what to do? Rim size and Tire/Brand availability

[T^2]

I ordered my CRD Limited (4x4) over a week ago. I hadn't really given any thought to the 17" stock wheel size. I've been reading every thread I can about this vehicle. So much so that I think my eyeballs are going to wear out.

Anyway, I've read about folks being unhappy with the Goodyear OE tires that come on the Liberty, especially the SRA's. They've been credited with causing steering pulls, mostly to the right, but a few mentioned to the left. The Goodyear's have taken hits in just about every performance category.

I hate these kind of tire issues, so that prompted me to start looking into possible replacement tires. To my surprise, there aren't many makers (that I would be interested in) making tires in the stock 235/65R17 size. I would have been interested in the REVO's, BFG AT KO's, and maybe Michelin, but nope - they don't carry them in that size.

I don't plan of doing any lifts. Not while the Liberty is still young and is my primary vehicle. If I decide to keep it for a long while and it gets Gray enough in the tooth that I wouldn't mind turning it into a toy/beater/secondary vehicle, then I might consider playing with lifts - still unlikely - but I might play with the idea. So, that also puts limitations on tire choices.

What do I want in a tire? Well I won't be doing any rock crawling, so that's not an issue. Good capability in snow and mud will be of definite interest. I also like good road performance, especially wet weather.

So what options do I have? So far I found one A/T tire of interest - the Pirelli Scorpion A/T - that comes in the right/stock size. I have never had a set of Pirelli's on a truck. I wonder how they would work out.

There are a few Highway All Seasons (HAS) available in 235/65R17, but I'm not sure if I want an HAS tire or not.

Another possibility - get a set of 16" rims with set 235/70R16 tires. Dimensionally, the wheel/tire combination is about the same. I kind of like the 16" rims that come on the Renegade's. I think they would look nice on my Light Khaki Limited. I'm thinking that if I want to maximize the mpg of the diesel, then it wouldn't be a bad idea to stay with the overall wheel/tire dimensions that the Liberty was originally designed to use. So, the 16" rims and 235/70R16's would meet that criteria. However, having to buy new rims just so that I can get the tire brand I would like is a definite negative. That factor makes me wonder about those Pirelli tires again.

I wonder want advantages the 17" rims would have over the 16", other than aesthetics? Anybody find it odd that Jeep would select a tire size for one of it's vehicles with so few A/T choices available?

Anybody think that more tire options will come available for the 17" rims in the future?

I will likely put a few miles on the OE tires, but if I start to experience issues that I mentioned above, then I will be looking for some replacement rubber.

What to do, what to do? Anybody have any thoughts on this matter?

 

[n3qik]

16" is stock

The CRD comes with 16" rims. Some people have had the dealer swap the 16" for 17". I would rather have the 16", better tire selection, just like TBBT is finding out. Also with 16" rims you can go with LT tire instead of P tires.

 

[gsbrockman]

No 17's on CRD Models....

Sorry to bust your bubble, but the 17's won't come OE on your Liberty w/CRD option. I, too, had the same question....all CRD's I'd seen on the lots ALL had 16's with the P225/75R16 Goodyear Wrangler ST's in OWL. A call to the Jeep Helpline one night (after my original order) educated me that due to the torque of the engine and wheel spoke sizing/spacing, the 17's were not an option for the CRD's.
I personally had great luck with the P235/70R16 Goodyear Wrangler SRA's on my '02 Liberty 4x4...replaced them around 48k miles and the still had 5/32nds of tread depth....I replaced them with P235/70R16 Bridgestone Dueler A/T REVO's in December in anticipation of a bad winter that never made it.
I have 5 new P235/70R16 Dueler A/T REVO's that will be coming in next week for my '05...I work at a large Bridgestone/Firestone retail store, and I get tires 25% below cost as a perk thru BSFS, in addition to a $75 rebate thru May 7th...a really sweet deal. I only had 3k miles or so on the REVO's and my wife said "ditch those Goodyears...I want my REVO's again!" She also said she had never had such high confidence in a tire in wet conditions.
Good luck on your order....last I heard, the plant was built-out for May; I chose to have my CRD dealer traded, and after having the Sirius radio dealer installed, I only gave up the TPMS.
Greg

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[T^2]

Re: No 17's on CRD Models....

Sorry to bust your bubble, but the 17's won't come OE on your Liberty w/CRD option. I, too, had the same question....all CRD's I'd seen on the lots ALL had 16's with the P225/75R16 Goodyear Wrangler ST's in OWL. A call to the Jeep Helpline one night (after my original order) educated me that due to the torque of the engine and wheel spoke sizing/spacing, the 17's were not an option for the CRD's.
...

No bubble busted here. If that is in fact the case, then I would consider it good news. I would rather have the 16" because of tire selection.

I had assumed that the Limited CRD that I ordered was coming with 17" rims because that is what it shows on the Jeep website when you build the vehicle.

I can understand the advantage of larger rims and lower profiles on performance tires, but I didn't see any advantage to having the 17" rims on the Liberty. I only saw the disadvantage of less choices when it's time to buy new rubber.

 

[T^2]

Well, since I'm getting the 16" rims anyway... I wonder if the Renegade rims would look better on the light khaki Limited? What do you all think? I wonder if I could call DC and get them to do the swap?...

 

[gsbrockman]

I really kind of doubt DC doing any swap.....with a materials list created by a vehicle order and its associated sales codes, and "just-in-time" delivery of the parts nowadays, it would be tough to get them to do the swap. Seems like it would cause mass confusion on the assembly line...
Greg

 

[T^2]

I really kind of doubt DC doing any swap.....with a materials list created by a vehicle order and its associated sales codes, and "just-in-time" delivery of the parts nowadays, it would be tough to get them to do the swap. Seems like it would cause mass confusion on the assembly line...
Greg

I suspect that you are probably right. I may ask anyway just for S&G's. It can't hurt...

So I suppose that the 16" rims that come on the CRD are the "optional" Mechanica rims for the sports?

I don't know for sure, sometimes I think the Renegade rims would look good on the light khaki Limited and sometimes I don't. Perhaps they wouldn't work because of the chrome grill etc. Maybe the Mechanica rims are more appropriate...

 

[gsbrockman]

So I suppose that the 16" rims that come on the CRD are the "optional" Mechanica rims for the sports?

Yep...those are the ones.
Greg