I've got a 2002 Limited 4x4. I got 70K miles out of my factory 245/70R16 Goodyear Wranglers. I decided that after the factory tires wore out I would like to upgrade my rims to 20" rims and 275/45R20 tires primarily for looks. Before commiting to a rim size I went going back-n-forth after asking numerous "experts". I decided to stick with the factory 16" rims after agonizing over the 16" versus 20" debate. The "experts" told me that I would be unhappy with the loud roar of the wider tires and I would have problems with alignment.
After doing a lot of research I settled on the
Goodyear Fortera SilentArmour tires. Right up there were the
Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas but as I recall the Alenzas were not available in the new size I wanted for my 16" rims; that being 255/70R16 instead of the original 245/70R16. My girlfriend has the Bridgestones on her Chevy SUV and they were quiet and ran well. But since that wasn't an option for me I went over to Sam's Club and ordered the Forteras. They had the best price by far. When the tires arrived and were mounted I noted the stylish rugged look of these tires. They looked a lot better than the wimpy looking factory tires. As soon as I jumped into the X and drove away I realized I had made a mistake. After all the research and recommendations I quickly realized that the SilentArmours were anything but SILENT. They were loud. It sounded like I had 4x4 truck tires on the X. In fact, you could actually feel every stone in the pavement. I checked the tire pressure when I got home but they were neither overinflated nor underinflated. I drove around town for about two weeks thinking that maybe when they "broke-in" they would get quieter. They never did and I really didn't want to live with these awful tires for 40K or 70K miles.
I decided that if I had to live to loud tires I might as well have my 20" rims and my 275/45/R20 tires. I called up Sam's Club and told them I was very unhappy with the SilentArmours. They said no problem, bring them back and they would refund my money. I told them that it would probably be another two weeks before I could bring them back because I had to order new rims and tires first and swap them out otherwise I'd only have 16" rims to drive on. They said "no problem just don't put any appreciable wear on the SilentArmours".
I ended up getting 20" rims from Discount Tire and guess what?...I put Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas on my 20" rims. I got the best price from Discount Tire on the rim/tire combo package. I was surprised at how quiet the Alenzas were. They were a lot quieter than the SilentArmours despite tha fact that these Alenzas were a much larger tire mounted on a much larger rim. I guess you could say the "experts" were wrong.
I trailered the Forteras plus rims over to Sam's Club to get the tires removed and to get a refund. Sam's Club not only refunded the cost of the tires but they refunded the entire cost including mounting and balancing. I was really surprised to see that it had not cost me a cent to try out the Forteras for a month.
Anyhow, that is my story. I do beleive the Forteras are probably excellent tires but I think it depends on what vehicle they go on and what size rim they are mounted on. As far as a 16" rim on a 2002 X I would say the Forteras were a joke. Maybe on 17" rims they would be great. The Alenzas appear to be great tires on my 20" rims and on my girlfriend's 15" rims. Take it all with a grain of salt because you really do not know until they are mounted on your car and it is too late. The best bet is to do your research as best you can. I think many places have a tire satisfaction guarantee. I think this is the case with Discount Tire
www.discounttire.com. Sam's Club went above and beyond the call of duty by refunding every last cent AND not forcing me to buy another set of tires from them.
Oh, and by the way...I have NOT had an alignment issue either. In a way I'm glad of the problems I had because it gave me an opportunity to compare side-by-side the Forteras on my factor rims against the Alenzas on 20" rims.
