2 questions about MTs and studs

First - Anyone running an MT in winter with studs? How well would that work exactly? I hear about people studding the regular winter tires and that's all well and nice, but how about something like a FireStone Destination MT?

Second - When studded, how long do the studs last? The entire life of the tire? Or do they need to be replaced every so often?

Reason for my questions?

I'm curious.

I'm debating whether to get a dedicated winter tire like the Yokohama Geolander I/T or get the Firestone MT studded. Big ass lugs to clear deep snow, studs for the packed shit and ice.

 

Not sure about the whole studding mud tires (my guess is probably not due to the tread depth) but studs stay in for the life of the tire and you can't replace certain ones as you go. Once they fall out, that stud is gone. A dedicated studded snow is about the best you can do all around. Not sure about where you live, but here you can only keep studded tires on from November to April legally.

Edit: Studs have limited usefulness on packed stuff, they really shine only on ice. I did hear about a tire that is not studded but has git in the compound so you get the effect of a studded snow. I'll see if I can find the tire, I think it was a Toyo.

 

The Green Diamond Icelanders and the Retread tires have the grit compound in them. The Icelanders have silica crystals and the retreads have crushed walnut shells. If Toyo has some that'd be pretty interesting. Might actually be able to get them here in Canada.

The Destination MTs come with holes for studding which is why I was asking about them. Apparently they do really really well in snow which is why I'm looking at them. Landrover expedition and they nicknamed them black tires cause they cleared the snow so well that they were constantly black.

 

The tire shop was telling me about those tires, the ones with the crushed walnut shells. He thought they were Toyo but I couldn't find them on their website for trucks. http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/observe-g-02-plus Looks like passenger cars only but a good looking tire!

I looked up the Firestone tire, I didn't realize they pinned a M/T tire! The only issue I see would be the longevity of the studs. The tread depth of an M/T is going to be much deeper than the studs so you'll end up with a 1/2 worn set of M/T's without studs. If you run a lot of pavement they'll wear down quickly vs a snow tire with studs. Otherwise, the studded M/T's seem like they'd be an excellent all-around snow tire if you're going to go through a lot of snow conditions like deep snow, slush, pavement, etc.

 

That's the thing, I've never run studs before. Hell I've never run winter tires before. But with the kid now I'm going to upgrade the wife's and mine tires on both vehicles. How far down do the studs run?

Otherwise my other option is going Retread/Greendiamond.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=151
That should help, it depends on the specific tire as to how long the studs are. I think studs are the way to go, I just bought a set for my girlfriend's car this winter. A lot of my family members have done the same thing, put studs on their wife's car or the vehicle that transports the kids most frequently if they have kids.

I'm in the same boat as you, I've always run agressive all-seasons or all-terrains year round and never worried about studs or dedicated winter tires. I had to get educated by the tire shop when shopping for my girlfriend's car. Once I have kids I'd imagine I'll have them on the truck also...

 

Ah that makes sense. The whole thread depth then if they take 16/32" studs. Seems like I might just have to go that route. Best part is Alberta has no studded tire restrictions.

 

That's awesome! Free snow tire changeover was actually the selling point for me for the shop I chose. Otherwise I'd have to pay $15/wheel twice a year to get the tires swapped out. If you get the studded M/T's make sure to update the post, I'm curious to see how they work out.

 

I've got Konigs that I'm going to throw these on when I get them, then switch the BFGs over to the stock OR rims. So I can just bounce between them as I see fit. Then once the BFGs wear out, put another set of Firestones on those and rock them year round.

 

The General ATs are stud-able too.

we just dont get enough snow here to use them

Justin

 

Right on. I don't mind the General ATs, but I'm after something with big ass lugs to churn snow with and the Generals with the same tread pattern as my BFGs will just get clogged super fast, but I appreciate the effort!

 

Have you thought about the Goodyear Duratracs? Seems like lots of guys on here are running them, and...

"Wrangler DuraTrac light truck tires are branded with the mountain/snowflake symbol to identify they meet industry severe snow service standards. Wrangler DuraTrac tires are designed to accept optional #16 metal studs to enhance ice traction." -TireRack.com

They are definately going to be my next tire.