Before reading this post, I just responded to another post commenting that my PI buddy has the G/Y Wrangler on his Grand Cherokee and loves'em but, it's sounds like it's too late anyway.
Goodyear Wrangler "OWL"?
- Thread starter Jimmy9190
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Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
........And there has to be some reason Goodyear doesn't even list them on their website.......
If you don't mind, I'd like to pursue this line of thinking a little further.
First, what tire shop quoted you those Wranglers?
Did they tell you the tire's name included the word "OWL"? Or was that just a misunderstanding on your part?
Why do I want to know? Because I am under the impression that tire manufacturers will recycle old names (as do car manufactuirers), but if they have an existing line where there is a suffix after the name, then I think they tend to stay away from using the name by itself.
It's always a confusion for the consumer when there are lots of suffix's - and they are totally different tires. The Wrangler line is a good example. They have used ST, AT/R, MT/R, RT/S, SR-A ,etc. Personally, I dislike the suffixes, but Marketing departments seem to love them.
It was a Florida chain tire store called Action Gator Tires. I don't believe they have any stores outside of Florida. I never went to the store in person but I had no problems with them over the phone, and the fact they were willing to honor their mis-quoted price tells me they are probably a good place to do business. The store manager was the one who called the tire an "O-W-L". I guess it might just be their name or nickname for it. After I called them back for info on the tire so I could research it online, that's when he told me Goodyear calls the tire a "Goodyear Wrangler Radial". I know Good year puts a lot of different monikers on their tires and it's hard to keep up with them all. When I went on Goodyear.com I did not see that tire anywhere in the light truck section of the site. I had to Google it and found a picture and a tiny writeup of it on the JC Whitney website. But even then, there is just not that much info online about that tire. It just says it's an all season radial for light trucks and some SUV's. The store manager at Action Gator said Goodyear made the tire back in the 1990's athen brought it back out again a year ago. Some say it was made as a replacement tire for the Ford-Firestone problem tire owners. Others say it's just a low-quality OEM type tire like the Goodyear Wrangler ST.
Whatever the tire specifics are, I just could not convince myself it was a good quality and safe tire. Not at that price. Walmart sells the exact same tire for $65.00. The tire is cheap for a reason. And I could not find any ratings or reviews for its performance in the rain. We get a lot of heavy rain here in Florida in the summer.
I spent less than $100.00 more and bought a great set of BFG Long Trail Tours. They have a much better reputation and performance rating and get a ton of high reviews on Tirerack.com. I know I really do like these new BFG's. I will do everything I can to make them wear evenly and last a long time. I don't want to buy new tires again for a few more years. I had a feeling I would have been right back in this same boat again in 2 years or less if I had bought those Goodyears.
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
........And there has to be some reason Goodyear doesn't even list them on their website.......
If you don't mind, I'd like to pursue this line of thinking a little further.
First, what tire shop quoted you those Wranglers?
Did they tell you the tire's name included the word "OWL"? Or was that just a misunderstanding on your part?
Why do I want to know? Because I am under the impression that tire manufacturers will recycle old names (as do car manufactuirers), but if they have an existing line where there is a suffix after the name, then I think they tend to stay away from using the name by itself.
It's always a confusion for the consumer when there are lots of suffix's - and they are totally different tires. The Wrangler line is a good example. They have used ST, AT/R, MT/R, RT/S, SR-A ,etc. Personally, I dislike the suffixes, but Marketing departments seem to love them.
It was a Florida chain tire store called Action Gator Tires. I don't believe they have any stores outside of Florida. I never went to the store in person but I had no problems with them over the phone, and the fact they were willing to honor their mis-quoted price tells me they are probably a good place to do business. The store manager was the one who called the tire an "O-W-L". I guess it might just be their name or nickname for it. After I called them back for info on the tire so I could research it online, that's when he told me Goodyear calls the tire a "Goodyear Wrangler Radial". I know Good year puts a lot of different monikers on their tires and it's hard to keep up with them all. When I went on Goodyear.com I did not see that tire anywhere in the light truck section of the site. I had to Google it and found a picture and a tiny writeup of it on the JC Whitney website. But even then, there is just not that much info online about that tire. It just says it's an all season radial for light trucks and some SUV's. The store manager at Action Gator said Goodyear made the tire back in the 1990's athen brought it back out again a year ago. Some say it was made as a replacement tire for the Ford-Firestone problem tire owners. Others say it's just a low-quality OEM type tire like the Goodyear Wrangler ST.
Whatever the tire specifics are, I just could not convince myself it was a good quality and safe tire. Not at that price. Walmart sells the exact same tire for $65.00. The tire is cheap for a reason. And I could not find any ratings or reviews for its performance in the rain. We get a lot of heavy rain here in Florida in the summer.
I spent less than $100.00 more and bought a great set of BFG Long Trail Tours. They have a much better reputation and performance rating and get a ton of high reviews on Tirerack.com. I know I really do like these new BFG's. I will do everything I can to make them wear evenly and last a long time. I don't want to buy new tires again for a few more years. I had a feeling I would have been right back in this same boat again in 2 years or less if I had bought those Goodyears.
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
.......It was a Florida chain tire store called Action Gator Tires........
I went to their web site and found the tire in question. Technically its name is Goodyear Wrangler Radial. It only comes in one size - and in only comes in Outline White Letters. This makes me suspect that the tire is an OE.
I find it curious that the store would even bother to mention it is an OWL. It's not like that is the only OWL tire in the Goodyear line.
.......It was a Florida chain tire store called Action Gator Tires........
I went to their web site and found the tire in question. Technically its name is Goodyear Wrangler Radial. It only comes in one size - and in only comes in Outline White Letters. This makes me suspect that the tire is an OE.
I find it curious that the store would even bother to mention it is an OWL. It's not like that is the only OWL tire in the Goodyear line.
Yes,your store manager is correct, this is the old style good year wrangler a/t that they had in the late 90s/eairly 2000s. I know, I have a f150 that sits on them. They say (in white letters) goodyear a/t radial(or wrangler a/t) There a OE style tire. Its called the OWL because thats the only style it comes in, theres not black wall on them. There off road traction is not compairable too other style a/t's nor there snow traction but there wet weather is ok, there not toyos in snow or water but there better then some coopers(atr's)
They come in 235/75-15 only, because there are many older mile trucks and suv's still on the road, and many big chain tire out fits will only mount the tire size that is stated in there books for that year car. I had a lot of problem with this when trying to get replacement 245-70-16s for a truck that had 235-75-15s factory (wal-mart). They would only mount a 235/75-15 tire on my truck(I have 16 inch wheels, that'll work good,yeah)
They come in 235/75-15 only, because there are many older mile trucks and suv's still on the road, and many big chain tire out fits will only mount the tire size that is stated in there books for that year car. I had a lot of problem with this when trying to get replacement 245-70-16s for a truck that had 235-75-15s factory (wal-mart). They would only mount a 235/75-15 tire on my truck(I have 16 inch wheels, that'll work good,yeah)
If I understand the history of that tire correctly, it was mass produced around the time of the Firestone Wilderness AT tire recalls. Guess what the stock size was on a ton of Explorers with the Wilderness AT tires? Yep, P235/75/R15. A cheap replacement to assist with the massive turnover in tires that size at the time. Surprised they are still around...
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