Squirrely Willys

[Lo Tek]

@Lo Tek if you're running the 37psi the door sticker says when cold...try lowering to 34psi when cold. I did this and it helped immensely with the bump steer issue and made the ride slightly smoother.

I’ve fiddled with pressures a bit; these tires seem to be highly temp-eramental. I can equalize pressure on all four during the evening when the temp’s around 80, but the next day the “sunny” side will be 2-3 PSI higher before I move the Jeep.
Even tried the “chalk test” and got a solid line from 37 down to 30. Ran that way a bit and it was softer but felt even more squirrely … sidewall flex maybe?
I don’t know, but I’m saving my pennies for a replacementset. Thinking maybe Coopers.

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[WambliSka]

I’d be concerned about 285’s rubbing on the Willys without the wider axles of the Rubicon and Mojave. OTOH I wouldn’t be adverse to 245’s from a Sport or Sport S; I’d even be willing to swap if it was possible to find some close enough to make it happen.

I put 285 width 34” Wildpeaks on my ‘22 stock Overland with just a leveling kit up front and never had them rub at all even while doing some pretty serious wheeling. Getting someone to swap ATs for MTs is a low percentage proposition it hey you never know.

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

I’ve fiddled with pressures a bit; these tires seem to be highly temp-eramental. I can equalize pressure on all four during the evening when the temp’s around 80, but the next day the “sunny” side will be 2-3 PSI higher before I move the Jeep.
Even tried the “chalk test” and got a solid line from 37 down to 30. Ran that way a bit and it was softer but felt even more squirrely … sidewall flex maybe?
I don’t know, but I’m saving my pennies for a replacementset. Thinking maybe Coopers.

The stock MTs are sheit, I've never liked FS brand. I too noticed the sunny side gets warmer faster, but never hotter than the shady side once driven. I tested through that range, and also found below 34psi cold was bouncier, and I agree on the sidewall compliance thought. I found 34psi cold to be the best of both worlds if you live in an area that sees both 95* and snow year round. During hotter temps I notice the psi varies a bit more sometimes, but that's just a large volume tire thing tbh. In the cold (below 50*) I usually add psi and more the colder it gets (closer to 20*). Summer is less of a pain, but sometimes it will still read 42-43psi when up to temp and hot out (90*+).

FYI Goodyear owns Cooper, and Mickey Thompson, Mastercraft, and more. I'm generally not the biggest fan of modern GY tires either, but I'm still getting Mickey Thompson "35" Baja Boss's before winter if I can.

If you don't off-road or go mudding, the Michelin Defender LTX is a great street tire, they are great in the rain, cooler temps (not as good on ice, but better than most), and can handle a fair amount of heat before letting loose. I pushed them on a Subaru years ago, and took it up a jeep trail out west, on stock 35psi. People were amazed what those LTX could do. Sure they're a bit pricey but the mileage warranty is great, whatever miles you don't get out of them, they credit towards the next set. 55k miles IIRC is what they're rated for.

 

[BSW520!]

I have 25 Willys with the Firestone M/T’s that I have put just over 10k miles on in the year I have owned it. Almost 7k of those miles with a mopar lift. I have did a couple out of state trips and most of my daily commute is interstate 24 miles to work one way in NE Ohio.
Coming from a 21 Willys with bfg Km2 mud terrain I find the Firestones a bit quieter.
But I can one light hand hold the wheel at 70mph over bridge transitions even in bends on the road at the same time with no indication of a shimmy or wobble feeling.
I would say have it looked at by the dealer based on your description.

 

[Lo Tek]

If you don't off-road or go mudding, the Michelin Defender LTX is a great street tire

I ran 31” Mich XCH4s for years on my pickups and was very happy with them. May have to take a look at the current offerings.

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

I have 25 Willys with the Firestone M/T’s that I have put just over 10k miles on in the year I have owned it. Almost 7k of those miles with a mopar lift. I have did a couple out of state trips and most of my daily commute is interstate 24 miles to work one way in NE Ohio.
Coming from a 21 Willys with bfg Km2 mud terrain I find the Firestones a bit quieter.
But I can one light hand hold the wheel at 70mph over bridge transitions even in bends on the road at the same time with no indication of a shimmy or wobble feeling.
I would say have it looked at by the dealer based on your description.

Just wait till you have 20k+ miles on them, they start to show their true colors. I too thought they were good at 10k, but 25k+ later and holy crap are they getting much louder. Sometimes I question why I took the doors off, as they impede the stock radio output below level 27 above 45mph and below level 35 above 55mph (doors off).

 

[BSW520!]

Just wait till you have 20k+ miles on them, they start to show their true colors. I too thought they were good at 10k, but 25k+ later and holy crap are they getting much louder. Sometimes I question why I took the doors off, as they impede the stock radio output below level 27 above 45mph and below level 35 above 55mph (doors off).

lol, they are getting changed! Got new wheels already and trying to decide on tires I want to go with most likely a At or rt hybrid

 

[dfurgeson]

@Lo Tek if you're running the 37psi the door sticker says when cold...try lowering to 34psi when cold. I did this and it helped immensely with the bump steer issue and made the ride slightly smoother.

FYI make sure it's between 65*-80* for the "cold temp" as lower will make them run below 34psi when cold and above 40psi when hot. If that doesn't make sense, try this:
- If you set the "cold" psi to 34psi when ambient temps are around 65* and the temps drop below 60* the "cold" psi will fall below 34psi. And when the ambient temps go above 80* the "hot" psi will read above 40psi, I've seen 43-45psi when ambient temps are above 90* and 29-31psi when ambient temps dropped below 60* when "cold" reading.
-- This was my rule-of-thumb after doing the chalk test last year.

I have a 2021 Willys ftr. And will be swapping Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T 255/85R17 once these Firestone MTs wear down/before winter.

I agree with this. I have found the recommended pressures are quite a bit high to get better mileage ratings. Lower the pressure, even do a chalk test. Too high pressure will make it jump all over the road, following any flaws or the road crown making you fell like you are fighting it.

 

[jackalope]

I have a Willys with Wildpeak AT/4s, 255/80/17. Love them. 33” tire so fits wheel well better than stock. Way better than the MT (32”) tires that came with it. I won’t ever own an MT tire again. Have done lots of wheeling in rough places (Dollhouse Trail in Canyonlands) with both tires. Got stuck with the MTs.

 

[Stan H]

The stock MTs are sheit, I've never liked FS brand. I too noticed the sunny side gets warmer faster, but never hotter than the shady side once driven. I tested through that range, and also found below 34psi cold was bouncier, and I agree on the sidewall compliance thought. I found 34psi cold to be the best of both worlds if you live in an area that sees both 95* and snow year round. During hotter temps I notice the psi varies a bit more sometimes, but that's just a large volume tire thing tbh. In the cold (below 50*) I usually add psi and more the colder it gets (closer to 20*). Summer is less of a pain, but sometimes it will still read 42-43psi when up to temp and hot out (90*+).

FYI Goodyear owns Cooper, and Mickey Thompson, Mastercraft, and more. I'm generally not the biggest fan of modern GY tires either, but I'm still getting Mickey Thompson "35" Baja Boss's before winter if I can.

If you don't off-road or go mudding, the Michelin Defender LTX is a great street tire, they are great in the rain, cooler temps (not as good on ice, but better than most), and can handle a fair amount of heat before letting loose. I pushed them on a Subaru years ago, and took it up a jeep trail out west, on stock 35psi. People were amazed what those LTX could do. Sure they're a bit pricey but the mileage warranty is great, whatever miles you don't get out of them, they credit towards the next set. 55k miles IIRC is what they're rated for.

I work in rough terrain and a few years ago noticed all the welding trucks were using Kenda Klever tires.
Well I got a set to my dismay they was Load Range E which I didnt see in the description at time of purchase.
However after 1 year and the tire still has 50% life I am sold sold sold.
I immediately realized 40 psi and even 35 psi was way to much air pressure
I got to doing some research and for the load rating versus the air poundage and I have been running 26psi cold for a long time now and they wear even and true . I live these tire. Kenda Klever Hybrid RT's
I previously had Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MT's and although they climbed fantastic in mud they were without a doubt the loudest tire on the road of any tire I ever had by the time the was close to wore out and they cupped also even with a lot of rotation and I only got 25 thousand miles out of them . I will never own another MT tire. Just my opinion. I have got 26k already on the Kendas and they are just now slightly above 50% life.

 

[avere3]

My '24 Gladiator Willys came with the FIrestone M/T2s, and I was fine with them until 15,000 miles. I had been running them around 35psi. After the tire rotation at 15,000 miles, I had a bad vibration until about 45 mph. At 20,000 miles, I had the tires balanced and rotated. That helped, but it was still awful. I replaced them with Nitto Terra Grappler G3s around 25,000 miles. So far, it has been much better. I will likely hit 32,000 miles in the next week or so.

 

[WambliSka]

The main problem with airing down is that it’s a balancing act. The lower the PSIs the softer the sidewall gets and while you get a better ride and you lose tight cornering and the good straight line goes to hell. Add to that the fact that MTs are already big freaking marshmallows and when you air them down for highway use and you take a sharp jug handle off a highway it feels like the tires are gummy bears….

 

[Bananaman]

‘26 Willys ‘41, 5k miles, 3.73 gears, Firestone Destination M/T2 LT 255/75R17C tires, just completed road trip from SW Oklahoma to NE Ohio and back.

Not at all thrilled with how this vehicle drives on the highway. Noisy, rough, and jerks sideways on bumps that it requires near constant steering input to stay in lane, enough so that it feels like it’s right on the edge of going into death wobble.

I noticed before the trip that on mornings or after parking for a while it would feel rough on initial slow speed acceleration but I’ve been chalking that up to the chunky tread on the tires. I’m becoming concerned now that perhaps that’s not, or at least not the whole, story here.

My question for the group is whether you think the tires might be the only culprit here or if something else might be going on?

Note that I’ve had Dueler H/T’s and Wildpeak AT/4s on my previous JT and never experienced this kind of poor drivability. If you folks think tires might actually be the source of the problem, I’d welcome recommendations for replacement - factory size only, please, so that if it turns out later to be a mechanical issue they can’t point to the tires as an excuse to deny a warranty claim. I’d probably be happiest with some version of A/T since I’m certainly not a “serious” off-roader, and as my daily driver on road manners and driveability are more important to me.

I used to run both the Firestone's and the stock Bridgestone H/T's, (the Firestone's for local driving, and the Bridgestones for long highway trips), and ironically, the Firestone's hid my death wobble that only showed up when I switched back to the Bridgstone's! Ended up installing all Steer Smarts parts, and she is smooth as silk now. Jeep stuff...

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

The main problem with airing down is that it’s a balancing act. The lower the PSIs the softer the sidewall gets and while you get a better ride and you lose tight cornering and the good straight line goes to hell. Add to that the fact that MTs are already big freaking marshmallows and when you air them down for highway use and you take a sharp jug handle off a highway it feels like the tires are gummy bears….

I dunno. I like MTs on or off hiway. Yeah you get more slop and some more noise on cornering sometimes along with some dirty looks every now and again. I just smile and wave. As long as the lifted truck is driven like a lifted truck it shouldn’t be too horrible.

 

[azmojave]

It’s the tires. Those Firestones have really deep tread blocks that make it squirm.

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