New Tires on the WJ

After 3 years and 60,000+ miles, it was time for a new set of tires. The stock tires I had were P225/75R16, which I felt a little bit thinner than I really wanted. Stepping up in the width would improve the traction, at least IMHO. Googled more than half hour but couldn't find any concrete real example, I decided to do a little bit research myself. It turned out, base on this website, a 245/70R16 was a close match to the 225 stock (see below). Further information provided by wjjeeps.com told me that all 16" wheels were 7.0" in rim width, which fits perfectly for the 245. Aha, looks like we've got a champion.

(table source: http://www.1010tires.com)
Armed with all that information, I drove the car to a local Costco yesterday who was running a $60 off promotion. I explained to the guy at the desk about the tires I wanted (Michelin Cross Terrain P245/70R16 106S ORWL) and left him the key. 45 minutes later I came back only found they had not put the tires on yet, because I had 225 and they didn't want to deviate a bit, unless the computer OK-ed such (which for some reason didn't list 245 as an option). When I insisted, the guy dived into all his reference books and finally, in a little Michelin booklet he found the reference about putting 245 on a 16" wheel Jeep. Half hour later I was a happy customer with my spanking new Michelin 245 tires. The truck now rides smoother, thanks to the slightly wider tires.

BTW, the green valve cap is an indicator for nitrogen inflated.