Winter tire opinions??

I'm shopping for winter tires right now. So far narrowed it down to Bridgestone blizzak DM-V1, or the Toyo GSI 5. Any recommendations?

 

I saw that BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A-Ko Had the M+S and the little Mountain and Snow Flake on them... I was thinking of running them all year long if that is the case!

Hope that helps..

 

GoodYear DuraTrac tires. They are traction rated devises that bear the Mountain Snowflake symbol. Search for them on here and you will find tons of information regarding how well they work in the winter. That is how I decided on them.

 

I've driven the Blizzak before and it did very well for our Canadian winters. I can't speak towards the Toyos though.

However, can I propose a 3rd?



Dedicated truck winter tire. Not a crossover/SUV/Truck tire. Load range C and deep aggressive treads for snow. I have these on my rig and they work fantastically. It was damn near like summer driving with these on. One winter of 200km+/day traveling and they look like I haven't even mounted them on the truck.




Very impressed with them. Will buy again for sure.

Also I'm out of Calgary too so I know the exact conditions you're running in.

 

Thanks. I do need a good winter tire. Drive through the mtn passes a lot. What brand are your tires?

 

Sorry, I thought I added that to my previous post.

Yokohama Geolander I/T g072

 

For winter only use cooper m+s is a great choice. I've run Firestone winter force and the coopers are much better.
FWIW from northern vt.

 

X2!

 

Thanks. I talked to a tire shop that deals with different brands. Out of the ones I was looking at, he said that Geolanders would be his pick. I didn't realize that the winter rubber compound on blizzaks doesn't go through the complete tread depth of the tire. So after awhile, even though the tire has tread, you're just driving on an all-season compound. I've got a set of Geolanders standing by for winter now. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Studded Duratracs, BFG AT/KO, or General AT2s ftw.

 

Hankook I*Pike RW11 is also very popular where I live in Colorado.

 

The Blizzak has a micro-porous compound up to the depth of the first set of wear bars, and a "conventional" winter compound up to the depth of the second set of wear bars. The "conventional" compound is still equivalent to older winter tires like the Firestone Winterforce.

The Geolandar I/T has a similar micro-porous compound now, with relatively deep 14/32" starting tread depth.

 

I had those (265/75/R16) on my Tacoma for the past 2 winters and this will be the 3rd winter coming up and still have lots of tread and traction left. They do very well for not hydroplaning when driving through standing water on the roads. Awesome tires.

 

Here is my post regarding winter tires . Looking at the newer brands available , these are my pick and some reviews as well .Live way up North in Canada .A lot of snow and all kinds of ice
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/296194-need-winter-tires-can-you-beat-quote.html

 

I'm a Blizzak fan. Had them on a previous vehicle and loved them. Went with the Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice wrt in my last vehicle and found that I was wishing I had spent the extra $$. Putting Blizzaks on my Tacoma this year.

 

Seconded on the Duratracs. 3rd year with this model and I won't trade it's performance for anything.

 

For anyone recommending the BFGs please don't. They're a great AT tire but suck horribly if the temp drops remotely close to freezing. My Mickey Thompson MTZs did better in winter than the BFGs did.

 

Consider heading to can tire and checking out the goodyear wrangler territory. I have them in 235/85/16 studded. Not a big fan of studs but for the price of these I gave it a shot. Worked great for me last year. Look great on the truck and rode well.

They have other tires as well. And for $6 per tire you get a no questions asked replacement warranty. Drive over a sharp rock and tear the sidewall. Simply walk in give then $6 for warranty on the new tire and they'll put a new one on for you. Will I ever use it? Probably not. But for $24 why not have the insurance.

 

I am going with studded duratracs for the up coming winter. I know a few people with them and they said that they are awesome in the snow, but theirs weren't studded. So another vote for duratracs

 

I have a 2012 dbl cab 4x4 and I thought I would try a winter with the stock tires but let me tell ya something.... a couple of times I almost wet myself when the truck started getting squirrely at speed. I previously had a 07 Camry with Blizzaks and it was like driving with glue on the tires. Here in northern Michigan we get alot of lake effect snow so after some saving this summer I'm going to order the AWC black Daytona rims and the Blizzaks tomorrow. I've always had a dedicated snow tire on my cars in the past and its like night and day with the Blizzaks. Even with no snow on the roads my vehicles always rode better in the sub-freezing temps. Hope this helps.