The SKINNY on skinny tires

My Wildpeaks (245/75R16) have been doing pretty good so far with kind of icy in-town conditions and have done really well in some light moderately deep snow so far but they've only got a couple hundred miles on them. Before those I had a set of wore-out duratrac's (265/70R16) and they did surprisingly well in the little bit of icy snow we got before I replaced them. Both pretty small passenger ratings compared to what most everyone else is running or trying to run hear but hopefully the input helps somewhat.

 

Check out the Ridge Grapplers and Duratracs. Both are hybrids. I've run both but never off road which I understand they do very well at. On the road, especially in the snow both are great. Wet, great. Dry great. Low noise and smooth up until 30 - 40 k.

 

I’m not sure why you are suggesting these. Neither come in 255/85r16 nor are they dedicated snow tires.

 

Sheer traction in deeper snow, the St Maxxs hands down but also skinner so...

Iced parking lot with slight uphill grade, St. Maxx again.
They both did fine on slushy roads in town, no 4x4 necessary.
Without doing a “road and track”or “tire rack” type test, it’s hard to say.

 

I have them, you can find deals if you're patient

 

I've been running them for 6 months, if you have any questions I would be happy to share my experience.

 

Did they fit without any trimming? They are listed to be a bit taller than the other 255/85/r16 tall skinnies I have looked at.

 

That's good to hear. Perhaps not all M/T tires are terrible in snow or what I have heard (several times) is not true or not true in modern times. I've never actually run a M/T tire. I have the stock Wrangler A/T's currently and they are the best snow tire I've ever experienced.

 

They fit amazingly. I have 16x8 0 offset wheels and a 2” lift and I’ve only had one mild rub one time while flexing back and forth through a hilly, twisting trail. It rubbed the plastic on the fender at full stuff and full lock left. I attribute this to having my 260lb buddy in the passenger seat throwing the balance off.

These are heavy duty tires intended for 1 ton dually diesels hauling and towing at max load in severe industrial conditions like mining and forestry. No joke, the sidewalls are 2.5” thick! So they are obviously next-level overkill for our little 1/4 trucks. I say overkill is under rated.

As such, they are heavy and stiff. I run them at 35 psi and they are definitely firm. You feel every bump in the road, however I don’t mind the “sporty” feel and it’s a truck after all. My suspension is the 2nd gen Pro stuff; I expect on stock suspension the ride would be intolerable. Aired down to 18psi off road the ride is firm but supple.

My fuel economy didn’t change but I attribute this to the fact that the new wheels I bought at the same time are 9 lbs less than the wheels on the previous package I had. (Also not stock)

The power loss from gearing is obvious. It’s not terrible and I only noticed for the week or so right after the change. The truck still has plenty of zip when I put my foot into it and I generally drive it gently anyways.

Towing is also affected by the gearing change, I pull a 3000 lb travel trailer and when I’m going up long grades I find the truck can’t hold converter lock in 4th like it used to and the tranny heats up.

They are noisy. They don’t have the “wum wum wum” of usual mud tires, rather they “sing” like a semi tire with a high pitched whine. I just turn the radio up.

They have had good grip in snow, mud, sand and river rock. They grip well in the rain and on dry tarmac. I like the fact they measure big and are more like a 265/85r16 size wise and fit without any trimming.

All in all, it’s a tough tire that will take tremendous abuse and wear like iron. They aren’t comfortable or quiet but I really like the peace of mind of not worrying about getting flats in tough places so the trade off is worth it to me.

 

A buddy of mine had M55’s on his Tacoma a few years back. An e-load in a 235 if I remember correctly. They were skinny that is for sure. Personally, I found the ride of them particularly harsh. A feeling comparable to what Fred Flintstone felt under his ass I would imagine.

 

Thank you! Great info.

 

Do cooper stt pro’s come in skinny sizes or only the cooper stt max?

 

There are so many camps on what works and what doesn't. Without telling you what I think does I'll offer a recent observation experience.

So my new 19' Pro came with those upgraded Goodyear with Kevlar tires. Our driveways are steep compared to most. The asphalt is old and smooth.

We got 3" of snow the other day.



It's a little hard to see unless you zoom in but the driveway is directly behind the car straight down to a common drive that is perpendicular to ours.

I backed out of the garage and down the driveway. I was good until the end and tried to stop and slid about 6'. No biggie. Gravity was working against me. So I adjusted my line so I would be in fresh snow. Tried and failed to move more than 5'. Drifted backwards, put it in 4Hi and tried again and failed.

At this point I decided that my previous Taco, the 17' Sport would be at the limit of it's capabilities so I stopped trying. The test was about the tires, not the vehicle.

The reason I did the test was twofold. One, will these tires be safe for us commuting in snowy weather, and two, are tires with more sipes automatically better snow tires. Because that's what is beaten into our brains by everyone.

My assessment and decision with these tires is no, it doesn't matter. So then what does?

Personally, I think the combination of sipes, but more important, the rubber compound makes more of a difference. I kinda proved that.



Here's the same driveway. Same amount of snow. The tracks are from my 17' Sport with 265/70r17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers, in 4Hi. The tires had about 15k miles at the time. They had all but 2mm of the original tread. I didn't experience any wheel spin whatsoever.

Before the Taco, I had a 4Runner Trail. I ran Duratracs on that. Until then, they were the best tires I've ever run on a 4wd vehicle. I think I got a bad set. At 30k miles they got loud and slippery. Could be because they were C range. I run nothing but E now, and have since then.

I would be very eager to try them again. People who wheel with them love them. Some complain about sidewall integrity on the trails though. No one complains about the S/T Maxx in that regard.

So like you, I'm soliciting reviews from people I know and/or don't know but trust based on what I learn about them on here. @Rexfordian13 is a stand up guy with a lot of friends here. Because he lives in an area that has snow (types) similar to mine, his opinion is valuable to me.

Right now, the S/T Maxx is at the top of my list of tires. #2 are the Duratracs. #3 is a lesser known tire in our community, the Pro Comp A/T Sport. I ran the Pro Comp Extreme A/T on a 3/4t Dodge diesel and they were great.

I wish I could try them all.

 

Because there's no such thing as a dedicated snow & mud terrain tire.

The 285/75r16 Duratrac is only an inch wider, and practically the same diameter. It also earned the mountain snowflake symbol.

The Ridge Grappler also comes in this size. I know it's a good snow tire. A lot of people use it off road in the mud and love it.

 

You get snow where you're at?

 

Great review and assessment. Thanks. I prefer my trucks to ride like a truck. It's proof I'm using it correctly.

 

Haha yeah it’s Canada, but I actually live in one of the most moderate climates in the country. It’s like Seattle but since we are protected by a couple mountain ranges we get 10x less rain.

Once I leave the Island and log some miles heading north or east the snow and cold hits hard!

 

Do you know @FastEddy59 or @MQQSE ? They live up there. Down here people lose their minds when it snows. The other day was our first storm of the season. Barely a trace in some places. We only got 3" up here in Northern Harford County. 15 minutes after it started down in Baltimore where I work there was already 2 accidents. It can get icy up here though. Quick. A drive that normally takes 10 minutes can turn into an hour if the conditions are right.

I'd be happy if it never snowed here again. I'd love to come up that way once to see what real snow is like.

 

Why not just go with the Open Country MT, they will likely perform better in all situations for a Tacoma.

 

I look forward to a good dump of snow every year. Everything looks so pretty and quiet and still. A friend of mine lives in an area in the Interior of BC that gets 30+ feet on an average year and temperatures of -25 Fahrenheit. That’s too much haha.