Bridgestone Winter Dueler DM-Z2 265/75R16

[blome]

Hola, :bandit:

I need a better winter tire than the stock Grabber ATs for my 2001 SE.

The Bridgestone Winter Dueler DM-Z2 is highly rated on tireracks site[1] and I can get 'em for $478 shipped.

Any thoughts on the tire or size? I've cranked and trimmed my X already.

Will they fit at 31.6 x 10.4 (converted[2])?

Is there a better snow/light off road tire? What is the biggest tire that will fit a cranked and trimmed '01 X?

Thanks!

Bill

[1]
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....r+Dueler+DM-Z2

[2]
http://www.jeeptech.com/javaAps/conv.html

[ChuckH]

They would be tight but probably OK. Might rub when the suspension is compressed and you are turning at the same time. Also, if you were to need to put chains on (not likely, but...) then there may not be much room left over. Keep in mind too that you are more likely to have a problem with packing in snow inside the fender wells. Remember that smaller sizes work better for snow so if there's a narrower tread width available I would get it. I can't remember your stock tire size but if I were running snows I'd drop down to a 30" or 31" equivalent size (true 30.5" or smaller).

My opinion is that the Winter Dueler is the absolute best snow and ice tire available, but it is not an offroad tire. To get traction on ice, the rubber compound is super soft and pliable and the siping is close and deep. Any offroad action would likely remove a considerable amount of rubber from them and they would be more prone to being punctured than an offroad tire. Sure, logging roads and the like are obviously OK, but I wouldn't do any 4x4 trails with them.

Anyway, I would definately suggest the Winter Duelers if you aren't going to be offroading them. Otherwise, you might want to consider getting a set of Pirelli Scorpion AT's, BFG AT's, or such and having them siped extra from the tire store. Either one of these tires are actually quite good in snow, although they are not good ice tires. The siping would help with the ice. Since the Pirelli is a softer compound than the BFG I would expect it to be a better ice performer when siped, though certainly nowhere near what a Winter Dueler can acheive.