Willy's Tires Loud?

[ZeeJay]

‘23 Willys here with BFG MTs and yes it’s loud, and they are getting worse. Most, should say all but most tires in that class are noisy. My profile pick is a ‘96 Grand Cherokee with Cooper STTs, awesome tire but god awful road noise, hear it over the boat anchor 4.0 and the Gibson cat back.

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[Phil_R]

Hey folks. Newb here and had my first experience driving a JT this evening with the Willys package. I love the look of the Willys package and was looking forward to the experience. The ride was great. Overall the truck is far more comfortable than I expected it to be. The only distraction was how loud the Firestone tires were. It's loud enough that I'm reconsidering the Willys package. I have no intention of serious offroading with the JT and I'm more interested in the Gladiator as a daily driver and occasionally tow a small travel trailer on trips. Is it reasonable to expect tire noise to be dramatically less in a Sport S or Overlander than the Willy's? I don't need rock rails and could easily swap out the wheels on a different model for the Willys-style wheel if I wanted to.

Also, if this has been discussed already, please direct me to a thread. I couldn't find anything using the search tool.

I had the same issue with my 2024 Willys as well. Got rid of the Firestone Mud Terrain tires and wheels and bought different tires and wheels. Falken 265/70R17 is what I put on for tires and I get better gas mileage and the noise from the tires I don't even hear. Plus, the Falken Wildpeak AT4/W tires are priced reasonable at Discount Tire. The AT4/W Falkens are a little different from the AT3/W tires and I like them as much or better. I like what the Willys package has to offer, just not the noisy mud terrain tires it comes with.

 

[kltk1]

Thank you, everyone. As luck would have it i got my answer. We're currently visiting family in Las Vegas, NV and when we went to pick up our rental car they didn't have any more of the vehicles we reserved, so we were able to get an upgrade and they just happened to have Gladiator's available. I had a choice between a Sport and an Overland. Both soft tops, which is great because I wanted to try a soft top before deciding on hard/soft top. I chose the Overland and will now live with it for the next ten days. Immedialtey after leaving the parking lot I knew the problem was the tires. This is very close to what I remember the Wrangler driving like and I like it. A lot. I can definitely live with a Gladiator with a more street biased tire which is ok with me as I have no intention of intense offroad activities. Trails, yes. Rock crawling, no.

This vehicle has the base soft top (Non Premium/Twill soft top) and I'm really impressed with how easy it is to live with. Even my wife, who has no interest in car stuff is impressed with the soft top. I imagine the premium soft top would only be better.

Thanks, folks. I'm really looking forward to the next ten days and will post my thoughts after vacation.

 

[Gvsukids]

can definitely live with a Gladiator with a more street biased tire which is ok with me as I have no intention of intense offroad activities. Trails, yes. Rock crawling, no.

Most of us drive with tires more than what we need.

 

[Charles 236]

You are fortunate to be able to rent a Gladiator for a few days; it gives you a chance to really experience it in different places and on different surfaces. I often have recommended that people rent a vehicle for a few days if they are not sure about.

You are right about that tire noise, I considered a Willy's. Tire noise didn't break the deal for me, because tires are something that will wear out and be replaced relatively soon. I bought an Overland because I wanted the features it offered as standard, but the Overland is no longer offered. Just do a bit of shopping for your Gladiator, you can't go wrong with any of them. Get the packages that you want, and budget for the modifications and you will be set.

 

[kevman65]

Most of us drive with tires more than what we need.

Most of us drive trucks outfitted more than what we need.....

 

[kltk1]

You are fortunate to be able to rent a Gladiator for a few days; it gives you a chance to really experience it in different places and on different surfaces. I often have recommended that people rent a vehicle for a few days if they are not sure about.

You are right about that tire noise, I considered a Willy's. Tire noise didn't break the deal for me, because tires are something that will wear out and be replaced relatively soon. I bought an Overland because I wanted the features it offered as standard, but the Overland is no longer offered. Just do a bit of shopping for your Gladiator, you can't go wrong with any of them. Get the packages that you want, and budget for the modifications and you will be set.

Very much in agreement. A further benefit is that the vehicle I rented has 45,000 miles on it so it's not fresh. It's quite impressive how tight, smooth, and quiet the truck is at this mileage. To me, it speaks to the build quality of the vehicle. I'm very familiar with the Pentastar V6 as I had it in a 2015 RAM 1500, and currently have it in a 2021 RAM Promaster. In the Gladiator I find it to be a very good fit and isn't lacking power. the only reason I'll get a diesel, for my use case, is having the added fuel mileage when towing a small travel trailer makes it as economical as operating my Thor Scope Class B Van built on the Promaster chassis.

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