Best non snow tires for snow/ice

What size Blizzaks are you running?

 

IMO yes. A more road biased AT tire meant for snow will give better results. Duratracs would be better for cross country driving in deeper snow. Huge lugs on a tire for snow are actually counter productive and will reduce stopping distance and stability. Good snow tires actually work by trapping snow into the tread to form a larger gripping surface. So while AT3W will never be as good as a snow tire due to it being a harder rubber, it will beat a duratrac any day of the week.

 

265 70 16

 

This year I'll be running studded 245 75 16 on my tacoma in same snow belt. Bought the set from a guy that totalled his tacoma after one season. Narrower tires are typically more desirable for snow and ice, but I doubt one inch makes a huge difference (with regards to the tire width).

 

The stock tires do well enough in snow. The driver matters more than the tire,but anything from Nokian gets my vote for best traction in cold months.

 

I'm in Southern Ontario. Running Blizzak DMV2's in 245/75R16 on steel rims.

 

Did you buy the wheels and tires together? What’s typically the best/cheapest option when buying snow tires/wheels. A package deal? Or better of buying them separate and then have them installed?

 

In Ontario package deals are pretty common. But I bought my rims from a tire shop and the tires from Costco. My rims look like Tacoma SR rims which I preferred over the usual black rims that most people get with their snow tires.

 

Which size Blizzaks DMV2’s would preform/look better? 245/75R16 or 265/70R16?

Also, what size wheel would work best for these sizes. Just a basic black steel wheel. Link?

 

I can't really justify a dedicated set of snow tires and wheels where I live so I've just been buying 3 peak mountain snowflake tires for the last decade on my vehicles. Falken AT3W 265 70 17 Standard Load pictured here. Falken also makes a 265 75 16 in both standard load and E load. I would not get an E load tire if you aren't doing any crazy wheeling, and I would not try fitting a larger tire on stock suspension. I finally saw snow for the first time after the tires were about 12k old and they were solid. It was a little easier to get the truck fish tailing on ramps with the stock Firestone LE2. Maybe your local sub-forum has some info about what others are running in your region.

 

The only way to really know is a closed course. Our experience has too many variables and is mostly circumstantial. Saying one tire is worse than another because they slid is meaningless since the other tire wasn't tested in the EXACT same conditions.

I ran BFG KOs, Michelin LTX AT2s, and these stock wranglers and all performed better than expected. If I had to choose between the 3 again it would be the Michelins because of it's treadwear and road manners.

 

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/buying-maintenance/a25238363/winter-tire-guide/

 

But tire width does for steering right? Kinda like walking on ice and having no control in a tennis shoe, but have an ice skate or the rail of a sled and you can steer well

 

1-yr old Falken AT3’s.







I’m buying new rubber soon to do a little testing and to satisfy my physics side. The AT3’s are a great tire for beating up or taking your lady/man out. They’re good for about anything but mud and they aren’t exactly “smooth driving” once they get older. I run them at 35 psi and they feel a bit hard since I ride with minimal weight in the back typically.

I’m switching to the HANKOOK Dynapro ATM for mixed highway and trail riding for the winter...we will see

255/75/17

 

Most the time, people will upgrade the rims to something nicer for summers. I use my stocks rims for the winter but you can always get some cheap rims for winter

 

How many miles in that year?

 

12k-ish. Trails and highway

 

Pulled trigger on Falken AT3W 265 70 17 this last weekend at black Friday sale. Seemed available and the most affordable choice here in PNW for our needs (e-rated tire for wedge camper topper). Also looked at cooper at maxx but no snowflake and more $$$ for e-rated tires.

 

I run the falken AT3 and so far they perform better in the snow and wet than the duratrac and the st maxx. The duratrac are a good tire if not a little floaty in the wet stuff. They tend to hydroplane in wider than 10.5 in my experience. The st maxx are junk, get the stt Pro if going that route. The st maxx clog and chunk up in mud and snow. Plus wear like shit. Worst tires I've ever run. I took a chance on the falken, but they are a really well sorted tire.

 

30+ years of winter driving under my belt and I've never run a dedicated winter tire or used studs. I've always run a good quality AT tire year round (Cooper, General, Toyo, etc) and never had any issues navigating the various winter conditions here in Maine. There's no noticeable difference to me. The most important thing is driving the appropriate speed per the conditions (as in just slow down). I replace my tires every three years regardless of mileage (I average about 15K per year so that usually works out to around every 45K miles) so I always have a tire with decent tread depth going into a winter.

As far as ice - nothing short of studs will rescue you from that. It's just best to stay off the roads until they've been properly treated.

Just my 2 cents worth of experience.