Tires For Winter Road Trip

They are not a light tire no doubt about it, your mileage will suffer a bit(but not terribly). I haven't sipped these but I have done Toyo MT's in the past and it definitely helps, but still no replacement for a proper winter tire. I think adding extra sipping will wear the tire down a bit faster, but have no actual comparison to confirm.

No personal experience studding them, but all tires are the same in that regard. You stud them once and don't remove the studs once they are installed.

 

OK good to know. One time deal. I'm starting to consider Stt Pro for the dry months and Firestone winterforce for winter. Anyone have experience with the pro's? I can't imagine they perform in the snow nearly as well as the Maxx do but are they superior in all dry scenarios?

 

Stud some general grabber AT2's and you'll be golden. Much longer life, but a bit stiffer than duraT. I had 36k on mine and they just started to show signs of wear when measuring them . Probably good for 50k aggressively. And I'm dry river beds during the summer and across lakes In the winter here in NH.

 

I'm not sure I would want to stud a set just for this trip. I don't live in the ice for the whole winter.

 

That's be for if you ran 2 sets of tires. I live in a zone where 1/4" of ice on roads isn't uncommon. Most of the suggested tires will handle snow well, and even the k bros handle deep snow ok. But when it comes to real bad road conditions the line is a true winter tire, studs, and chains.

 

Do you know if we can clear chains with 255 85 16s on stock suspension?

 

Do what you like but my BFG Commercial T/A Traction tires have been superb in most every weather condition from ice to deep snow and quiet on dry pavement

 

I'll ask around at work. Not too many people run those up here because they're no good on ice tire size wise. From November to March the highways have ice on them more days of the week than not. They also don't treat the roads til at 7am and I work 3rd shift. So going in at 11 and out at 6 means raw ice roads.

 

I didn't think the ST Maxx's had the snowflake "winter rating" on them.

I drive work trucks (Tacoma and FJ) with Duratracs plenty during the winter. I haven't had any issues with them. I run General Grabber AT2's year round on my Taco. I Have taken them through a variety of winter conditions and they have been great so far.

 

I'm a bit shocked the Maxx don't have the snowflake. Didn't realize that. Obviously they perform on the same level as duratracs but if they don't have the snowflakes they may deny you passage during rough storms and things. Bit of a game changer.

Anyone ran Firestone winter force? They look to be a snow tire that is acceptable in off road conditions.

 

Hankook ipikes perform really well even when not studded and they were super cheap. I studded mine for the hell of it but I know many that have them non-studded and perform very well while not breaking the bank.

Firestones and Blizzaks are prone to abnormal wear when it's not cold. Michelins are king of wear, and I will always swear by their durability. But I went Hankook and saved the money for other mods!

I used to run duratracs summer and ipike winter, the dura's were ok but didnt give me the confidence like the hankooks on ice.

http://www.hankooktire.com/ca-en/passenger-cars/hankook-winter-i-pike-rw11.html

 

True; however, in places that require that type of tire designation isn't it "winter tires and/or chains" ie. if you have chains would you be ok to pass?

 

Right but if I can't clear chains that'd be an issue.

 

You're asking quite a lot from a single tire. On a long trip from California to Montana, loaded down across varying weather and road conditions, you will need two sets of tires. I'd almost even say 3 because of your off-road demands, but you can probably get by with a summer set and a winter set.

I don't have the experience to speak to off-road tires, but Blizzaks are fantastic in the snow and ice. I'm running DSM-V2 tires for winter and they have done everything that I've asked of them, including winter road trips during snow storms, on icy roads, on dry roads, and in the rain with standing water on the roadway. I'm very careful about driving according to actual conditions and that helps even more than a good set of tires, though.

 

Yes, in a perfect world I would need 2 sets of tires and a second vehicle with off road tires. But I'm looking for the best compromise here to get me from A to B in 90% of conditions. I don't find it practical to bring a second set for when I get there. More load, less space.

I can't find any tires that suit this better than the st maxx. The closest "offroad worthy" dedicated winter tire I've come across is the Firestone winterforce. The wear will still be high, but that's fine if it can do the job.

 

OP, have you looked at these? All-Terrain, all seasons, but leaning towards winter traction. Has the snowflake symbol.

I have Cooper ATP's and I've been happy with them so far, but don't have much time in the snow with them yet. The sidewalks on the coopers aren't very aggressive looking at all unfortunately.

 

They definetly seem more capable than I initially thought. Still puzzles me why Cooper didn't get the st maxx snowflaked..

 

I've had the ST Maxx for a year now in 255/85/16. Love these things! Winter of 2016/2017 here in Montana actually gave us -20F and snow/ice for a change. The ST Maxx had me cruising Interstate 90 at 65-75mph during the winter. City streets were the worst for ice but a flip to 4H prevented any fuss. These tires have done ice, snow, mud, Moab, and interstates.

I did the 7 hour drive from Bozeman to Codie d'Alene on a day that was -27F and icy and I did it at 75-80mph most of the way. Picked up a puppy from a breeder and made the 7 hour drive home on the same day.

After a year and 17,525 miles I've got 11/32nds to 12/32nds of tread left (new is 18/32nds). But, where sliding off rocks in Moab literally took chunks out of my Method wheels the tires only have scrapes on them. The carcass on these seems to be rock solid even with battle scars. I've had them down to 12 or 15 PSI in deep snow and rocky roads without issue.

They are also really, really quiet tires. You'd almost think you didn't have AT/MT tires. They ride very firm though being load E! And they are heavy!

 

That's the first hand info I was looking for! Glad MT is getting the winters it's known for again.

My only question is your mpg difference from stock to these. And if you were ever asked by an official to put on chains to get through a pass or something, did they rub?

These tires sound like winter monsters, why didn't Cooper persue the snowflake??