Tires for wet traction.... especially with no ABS

[ddbell]

I need to get new tires and live in South Florida where the rain can come down hard. I have no ABS for the forseeable future because I need a new ABS unit which are on hold until at least March of 2024 for the part # mine needs. I don't even count on that either because it got pushed back already.

I was originally thinking of getting BF Goodrich KO2 AT. However, after reading review about hydroplaning and given I am in South Florida without ABS, I'm not so sure that is a good idea. So I was thinking maybe Firestone Destination XT? Any feedback on that in the heavy rain? Or any other tire suggestions?

 

[ddbell]

OK, ended up ordering Falken AT3W. Those seemed to have decent reviews for wet traction.

I really wish Chrysler would get it together with their ABS module shortage though. Having to wait over a year for a part is absurd, especially something kind of important such as ABS. Not to mention the price gouging that is going on now. The price of the ABS unit has went up to $950. By the time one is available, I'm sure the price will be over $1,000 for the part alone.

 

[MacGuyver]

Falken makes really good tires.

What year is your jeep and what part are you needing specifically? A quick search of the internet shows a number of ABS modules available, but it's possible they were for the wrong year.

 

[ddbell]

Falken makes really good tires.

What year is your jeep and what part are you needing specifically? A quick search of the internet shows a number of ABS modules available, but it's possible they were for the wrong year.

It's a 2013 Rubican Unlimited. The company that makes the module went out of business. Some ABS part numbers you get now, some you can't. I think the part numbers might vary within model year too. I've talked to 2 dealers and also a Jeep specialty shop. They all told me March-June 2024 at the earliest based on my VIN #. Upfix.com can rebuild a lot of ABS modules too. However, I called and gave them the part number for mine they told me they couldn't rebuild that one... lack of parts for it probably.

I did find a youtube video where a mechanic showed that a very common failure for ABS units is the solder joint for the power pin breaks off on the circuit board. He said that was the most common failure for many of the ABS controllers and simply resoldering the joint fixes it. This seems to make sense for mine too because it would run fine for weeks at a time and then just kick of for weeks at a time. It did this intermittently for a few months before it just kicked off permanently. So a bad solder joint makes sense to where it may have intermittently contacted but now it isn't contacting anymore. It's not like I can break it more so I will probably try to pry open the unit to see.