What kind of winter tires are you using?

[Charlotte987]

May pave in Canada has a composition than the US?

Highways are slightly different in Canada than in the US. Made with the same materials the real difference is that when the highways were built in many parts of Canada, the govt used the lowest bidders, many of whom were corrupt and used less gravel and sand, that's why they heave and crack more than usual in the colder climates.
In the US highways were designed by military engineers and have to support military vehicles in case of war. US highways are well maintained for that reason. Roads in Canada are federally maintained in every province, but somehow each province seems to use those dollars for other things.

 

[dougstove]

When I lived in northern Sweden they intentionally left an ice cushion on the road, and everyone drove on studs, including the bicycles.
The old ladies skooted around on kicksleds.
That saved the pavement, but you need a steady cold winter for it to work.

 

[firefighterjake]

Studs or studless.

This make or that make of winter tire.

Truth . . . the worse snow tire usually beats out the best all season tire when it comes to snow and ice.

 

[KB007]

I run Hankook Ipikes on my winter beater (RWD 03 MB C320) and they run pretty good. This is the third winter on them and they still have good traction. I have Hankook icept Evos on the other car (10 MB C63 AMG) which really only gets driven when the roads are dry. The iCept are supposed to be a performance winter tire, but when it does snow, they just don't grip very well, even with a very light right foot.

I've had Blizzaks, Pirellis and Firestones in the past. The Pirellis and Firestones were OK, but didn't have quite as much grip for some reason. Blizzaks are great for 1-2 winters, but as soon as the top tread layer wears off they don't work nearly as well.

For my money, the Hankook iPikes work pretty good for our winters.

 

[ewdudley]

These days there are many very good snow tires to choose from, just look for an 'open' tread pattern and plenty of sipes. We're seeing a wide variety of brands performing well in 'rubber-to-ice' street-tire ice-racing.

I still prefer Nokia(n)s, but they are much more expensive than they used to be. Now I'm quite happy with the Hankook copies of Nokian treads, although the rubber compound isn't quite as nice as a real Nokian.

My wife has an irrational preference for studded tires so she gets the new Nokian studded tires.

 

[sportbikerider78]

I have hankooks on my Acura. I like them. First season with snow tires, but it is my first real winter in the snow belt.

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I drive a 4x4 truck and run all seasons on it all the time. Honestly I hardly ever use 4x4 unless there's a lot of snow on the road or I'm in town and it's slushy. 2x4 and drive a little slower usually works for me.

 

[Bret Chase]

Studs or studless.

This make or that make of winter tire.

Truth . . . the worse snow tire usually beats out the best all season tire when it comes to snow and ice.

I haven't ran a "winter tire" since I put Snow-Kings on my '78 F100... when I was a teenager... a couple decades+ ago. My little 2wd ranger does surprisingly well on whatever tires it has on it..... (I literally paid $100 for the truck). The wifes 4wd 'burb has BFG long trails on it... maybe its the weight... but that thing just doesnt slide around... I only use 4wd when I have to leave before I can snow-blow the end of the driveway.

 

[Swedishchef]

A friend of mine had BFG all terrains and hated them in the snow. I guess different models work better than others.

The fact is, as Jake mentioned, some of the cheapest winter tires (EXCEPT those cheap knock off ones made in Asia) are better than a regular all season. Especially around here where the cold starts in November and lasts until April.

Some people use the excuse "it's too expensive to buy winter tires". Well guess what: you'll roughly double the life of your "summer" tires and winter ones will last 3-6 winters (depending on mileage). So in the end it may cost you an extra $500 over the lifespan of your vehicle. To me it's a worthwhile investment!

Andrew

 

[Bret Chase]

A friend of mine had BFG all terrains and hated them in the snow. I guess different models work better than others.

The fact is, as Jake mentioned, some of the cheapest winter tires (EXCEPT those cheap knock off ones made in Asia) are better than a regular all season. Especially around here where the cold starts in November and lasts until April.

Some people use the excuse "it's too expensive to buy winter tires". Well guess what: you'll roughly double the life of your "summer" tires and winter ones will last 3-6 winters (depending on mileage). So in the end it may cost you an extra $500 over the lifespan of your vehicle. To me it's a worthwhile investment!

Andrew

I had a set of BFG All-Terrain k/o's on my old pickup... they were AMAZING in the snow... and lasted for 65,000 miles of complete abuse... if I had the $$ I'd have a set on the 'burb now. BFG all terrain and BFG Long trails are not the same tire at all....long trails are far more mild... much more of an all season than an all terrain.

 

[BrotherBart]

I had the BFG A/T on my old S-10 Blazer and loved'em in the snow. Now I have the Commercial A/T Traction on the Suburban and those things turned it into a mountain goat on my snow and ice covered 1,300 foot uphill driveway. A soft compound and damned expensive tires. But I average six miles a week since I retired so they ain't gonna wear out too fast.

 

[Swedishchef]

I think my definition of snow is different. I don't mean 8 inches of the fresh stuff..I mean " the plow has gone by and there is now a 1 inch snow pack remaining and it is -20 out".
Lol

 

[velvetfoot]

The greasy stuff can be tough going.

 

[Swedishchef]

The greasy stuff can be tough going.

That is the worse type of snow, it just clogs the treads, reduces the ability to contact the road. No matter what tires you have, it is slick indeed!

Andrew

 

[riverat]

Coopers all the way around on the Tacoma

Jeff

 

[mopar440_6]

I had a set of BFG All-Terrain k/o's on my old pickup... they were AMAZING in the snow... and lasted for 65,000 miles of complete abuse... if I had the $$ I'd have a set on the 'burb now. BFG all terrain and BFG Long trails are not the same tire at all....long trails are far more mild... much more of an all season than an all terrain.

Sounds like you've had better luck with BFG than me. My '94 Ram had a brand new set of A-T K/Os on it when I bought it and that truck hated them. I rotated those tires every 1500 miles, checked the air weekly, and checked every single suspension component on the truck. Constantly cupped the tires and never drove right. Those things flaked apart in less than 12K miles. Never have figured out why, only guess is that the extra weight from the Cummins up front was messing with them. And yes, they were the proper load range and inflation for the truck. Had BFGs on my '04 GTO and my wife's '04 Acura when we bought them and neither of those sets lasted for more than 20K either. Not bashing BFG, just haven't had the same experience most everyone else seems to have had with them.

I've had Pro-Comp M/Ts and Fierce M/Ts on the truck since and the Pro-Comps were probably the best LT tires I've run in the snow and just about every other surface.

 

[firefighterjake]

I had a set of BFG All Terrains on my old 4Runner . . . expensive, but for the most part I liked them. Wore well and were great in pretty much anything.

 

[firefighterjake]

I haven't ran a "winter tire" since I put Snow-Kings on my '78 F100... when I was a teenager... a couple decades+ ago. My little 2wd ranger does surprisingly well on whatever tires it has on it..... (I literally paid $100 for the truck). The wifes 4wd 'burb has BFG long trails on it... maybe its the weight... but that thing just doesnt slide around... I only use 4wd when I have to leave before I can snow-blow the end of the driveway.

I was thinking winter tires on cars . . . I like my trucks to have All Terrain tires . . . although I am still on my original tires with my Nissan . . . which I am not particularly fond of . . .

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I had a set of BFG All Terrains on my old 4Runner . . . expensive, but for the most part I liked them. Wore well and were great in pretty much anything.

The new BFG AT's don't look that great to me. I haven't used them but I definitely prefer the look of the old style better than the new ones.

 

[Quentin2]

I commute 100 miles total a day for 12 years, I have run a lot of different studs on different vehicles. Currently got hankook I pikes on the wife's Acura MDX and my 300. Bfg all terrain on the dodge 3/4. The worst studs ive ran are winter forces, the I pikes are almost as good as nokians but are way cheaper. Michelin xice are good but not as good as blizzaks. You have to take the stud less off just like a studded tire of they will burn up quickly in the summer. I believe the bfg at are living off their old reputation as their are better tech in newer all terrains, decent all around, not particularly good on ice but not many all terrains are.

 

[mustash29]

01 S-10 ZR2 - 32 x 11.50 BFG AT KO's, but I don't drive it in the snow anymore.

03 S-10 Blazer ZR2 - Stock 31 x 10.50 BFG Long Trails, believe it or not those damn things have 85 K on them, never had an allignment & still have the stock ball joints & wheel bearings. When they finally die I have a set of BFG AT KO's to put on.

06 Jeep Unlimited - lifted 4.5" with 33 x 12.50 BFG MT KM2's. Absolutely scary to drive in wet snow or slush, expecially in 2 hi with the rear limited slip that kicks in very easily.

06 Duramax - Crap Hankook fronts / crap Firestone Transforce rears, all 4 are all seasons. Don't drive it in the winter either, unless towing the sleds to Maine. Need to find something good for it because everyone says the BFG's will not wear well or very long on a 2500 with a heavy ass motor.

 

[OhioBurner©]

I put Goodyear Duratracs on both my trucks and they seem to do pretty well in the snow. Slightly oversized tires on the F150, and factory skinny pizza cutters on the F350. Was debating studding them but we don't have that bad of winters. Though we do tend to get ice a few times a winter since the temp seems to often cross the freezing point where it melts during the day then refreezes at night. My entire driveway has been solid ice most of the week since it got up in the 40's a week ago and turned to wet slush then froze solid. My truck struggled in 4wd trying to start on the ice even... as soon as the tires would spin it would start sliding backwards towards the road. Once I backed all the way onto the road and bare pavement and got a running start I made it up though. Not steep really just a very slight incline. But I had no weight in the truck since I've been hauling stuff a lot lately in both trucks I've had to keep the beds empty. Weight over the rear axle seems to make a huge difference in a truck, especially my long wheel base F350 (8 foot bed and full 4 door crew cab).

 

[Blackjack Dan]

06 Jeep Unlimited - lifted 4.5" with 33 x 12.50 BFG MT KM2's. Absolutely scary to drive in wet snow or slush, expecially in 2 hi with the rear limited slip that kicks in very easily.

Nice rides: I like the jeep the best!

We don't have a lot of snow in Oklahoma but we do get a lot of ice. One of my employees parked on the hill in front of our office and his truck start sliding down the hill while he was in the office. I thought this would be a perfect time to try out my Blizzaks I just put on my F150 FX4 these things are unbelievable all ice! Someone else said on this forum they burn up in the summer, and this is true, winter driving only.

Jury is still out on my Winterforce studded tires on my 1 ton van, so far they seem okay on ice, really sucks with snow.

I got 35,000 out of my BFG AT/TA KO on my 06 Jeep Unlimited. Had close to 50% left on them when I change them out from 32-11:50 to 33.10:50s same tread pattern, for year-round performance snow off road they are hard to beat.
They were kind of chewed up here's a pic of the type of trails I run in Colorado were its garaged.

Here's one with it with my 33's they did great in about 10 inches of snow.

 

[festerw]

I really wish I would have looked harder for an LJ when I bought mine the extra wheelbase would have been nice.

I've been very surprised by my Treadwright Guard Dogs they get way more traction on hard pack than I'd have ever thought.

 

[Swedishchef]

I know as much about offroad tires as I do unicorns. I am wondering: are they a soft rubber compound? That is the key with winter tires. When the temperatures drop, they stay soft.

Andrew