Back story: I currently have a land rover lr3 hse with all the features, and they are running on 255-55-18 on the general grabber at2, great tire.. Lasted about 50k thus far, still rides well, just kinda noisy now.. Recently my right rear fire started leaking air, and now I'm in the market of a new set of tire before winter.

So what in looking for, is a good all terrain tire. One which will give quiet on road performance, and good off road ( I rarely off road like 97% I'm on road, but its nice to have if I get in a sticky situation). And especially good in snow and ice.. I was also looking at going larger.. And best price ..

From what I have found out.. Going more then 31' outside diameter is going to give me slight rubbing.. Which I'm fine with.. As long as the modifications aren't going to be very severe, some thing simple like moving the sensor wire in the front driver side... But I have found that I might have to move the "rear ac hoses" if I go the one of the tires size that I like... And I don't know how much work that would be!!

Tires: thus far I'm looking at the Goodyear wrangler silent armor at 265-60-18
the pros of this tire:
No installation problems(mods), provide good on road performance (silent ride) and decent off road.. Note I don't go in deep mud much...

Cons: these tires are rated at about 2245lbs max load rating... And can be pumped up to only 44 psi... I feel like that is kinda of low (load rating wise), I think I would kind of find it dangerous if I have the car on 2 wheel... Like if I'm rotating tires or something.. And of course.. These are expensive!!!

Tire, cooper zeon ltz 285-60-18
Pros: cheaper!!!! Very good off road traction! Apparently pretty good on road as well (quiet ride wise), max load rating at well over 3000lbs and max psi at 50

Cons: rubbing!!!! I really don't want to have to move the ac hoses in the back... Is the rubbing really that bad..? Arg...

 

I wouldn't go bigger without Johnson Rods or moving things. But then you're sacrificing drivability, handling and MPGs...for what exactly? Better looks and an inch or so in height. It's your truck, so do what makes you happy and be aware of what you could be dealing with in the future.

You're currently at ~29 inches; the Silent Armors are ~30.5 in; the Zeons are ~31.5 in. I really like the Zeons, but I don't think going to that size is worth the sacrifices. Something in the 30" range seems like the best of both worlds.

The Perelli Scorpion ATRs are a good tire. 265/60R18 is right at 30.5". They're not cheap at ~$300/tire (at TireRack.com).

I've got the Kumho Road Venture APT 255/60R18 which will need replacing in a bit. Very nice highway tire, quiet and at $166/each, tough to beat on price. I think I'll be going to something like the Scorpions next. I too want a little more aggressive tread, but sacrificing as little on road manners as possible.

Lots of options. I think I'll post here with more options and reviews. It'd be good to get all the tire threads condensed into one.

 

The Scorpion ATR is only $246/tire in 255/60R18 (30in). That's a good middle of the road in my opinion.

 

You said Good All Terrain and this is not, but is what I put on for winter, and winter only. The rubber is so soft that I try to park out of direct sunlight as I fear the rubber will melt right off the 18" rim.

Note the tyre size is per the door sticker, has a 30" OD in the XL rating, but narrower than most as wide is generally bad on slippery surfaces and the narrower the better for cutting thru loose snow to a hopefully harder surface below.

They do not turn winter into summer, but seem to keep the 3 within the ditches.

 

How much of an issue is the rubbing with 31.5" tires? When will the rubbing occur? What will it affect? and what needs to be moved if these tires were to be used without rods?
Thanks,
Ben

 

You might also ask that even with rods, when the air suspension totally fails, does the 3 become like it does on 32" rubber - an immovable blob sitting on four rubber skids - not fun! I think I am correct that near 32" is the dividing line between blob and wheeled vehicle.

 

I have the Wrangler Silent Armor in 265/60-18 on my DII and I like them a lot. They are very quiet on the road and very capable off road. I have even had them through some pretty deep mud with good results. They are also rated for severe snow which is a big plus for living in the snow belt.

 

Anybody have experience with the Toyo Open Country AT?

 

Just throwing my experience out there - the BFG AT's in 265/65 just barely rub at stock height. In the driver's front wheel, at the front the tire touches the fender liner at full lock. The profile of the fender liner on the driver's side is different from the passenger side - so all you need to do is trim the liner a bit so it matches the passenger side profile.

If you're into offroading, at full articulation it just kisses the bumps at the front of the rear wheel openings. This is only offroad, if you're on-road you'll have no problems.

So anyways, up to a 265/65-18 will fit just fine at stock height and since the OD is ~31.5 you'll be able to drive if the suspension goes to bump stops

 

I had them on my 2011 Jeep GC that I recently sold to pickup my LR3. They are a nice tire. I thought they were pretty quiet for an AT but the LR3 has General Grabber AT2's on it which are quite a bit more aggressive and i'm realizing the Toyo's weren't quite as quiet as I thought given that they're a less aggressive AT. They weren't loud - just not as quite as I thought. They were like any other AT in the mud - ok. They wore very well, I put 8k miles on them rotating once and they were wearing perfectly even.