Help me out everyone, I can't make up my mind and it's driving me nuts ! I'm getting ready to buy a 2.5 to 3 inch lift and I want to put 35 inch tires on, but I can't decide between the Nokian Vatiiva MT and the Hankook Dynapro MT. I'm also not sure what the real difference between a 2.5 and 3 inch lift is other than the .5 inches. Any opinions that would lean me towards any of the above would be appreciated.

 

It depends on which lift you buy. If you buy a 2.5" lift, that doesn't exactly mean that it's going to lift the whole Jeep 2.5". Your JK has a rake to it and it will level out your Jeep. For example a 2.5" may lift the front 2.75" and the rear 2". With a 2.5, you should be able to clear 35's with no problem as long as you have proper backspacing(around 4.5"-4" should work), but you may get some minor rubbing at full flex, so you can go bigger or get a 1" body lift and you should be clearing 35's just fine. The Nokians I've heard are a good tire, but from what I've researched, the sidewall seems kinda weak compared to other tires. I myself am planning on going with the Hankooks and they're way cheaper than most tires too which as you know makes a difference when buying 5 of them! The Hankooks have some great reviews also and although still being a slightly new tire, have developed a following. I'm planning on running 33x12.5R16 and found the Hakooks for $150/tire at onlinetires.com. The Nokians look very nice, but if I had the extra $ to spend on tires, I'd get the BFG KM2's or the Toyo M/T's. Nokian does make the best snow tire I've ever seen though, and I see alot of them up here in the heart of ski country, the Hakkipaletta(<---spelling), so the brand name is a personal favorite! Here's a link for a site with good info on some off road tires......http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT...Hankook-MT.htm

 

The lift is going to be either the TF 2.5 inch full coil lift coming out sometime this month from what I've heard or the TF 3 inch coil lift. Offroaders.com is where I originally stumbled across the Nokians and the reviews on that site compared to the Hankooks seems to favor the Nokians. I think the Hankooks are a 10 ply and the Nokians are an 8 ply. Not sure what the pros and cons on ply rating are, maybe someone could shed some light. And what constitutes a "weak" sidewall ? If I mainly drive highway and only offroad on weekends and even then it's no rock climbing or extreme mudding, does that factor into the tire choice ? Thanks

 

You could go with either tire and be just fine. To me it's just the price difference. The nokians just seem to have a weaker sidewall and all of the shelf roads we wheel on up here are very rocky and it's very easy to pop a tire, so to me, sidewalls are of utmost importance. The Hankooks just seem like the most bang for your buck.