Winter Tires

The winter force tires I’ve had were outstanding. If they had a Vice compared to more exoensive, it was noise and dry road handling. So just slow down and save money.

 

Hadn't noticed any noise. I have no complaints with them.

 

In 37 years of driving in inclement weather....many of those years in various 2WD trucks.....I've never had much trouble. Appropriate tires, experience, common sense and avoiding overly confident knuckleheads in 4WDs has been much more beneficial than throwing sand bags in the bed.

 

My personal experience with Duratracs is that they're pretty good in deep snow. But hard pack, slush, ice, etc....and a dedicated winter tire is vastly superior. And as the temperature drops the difference becomes even greater

 

They were good for me too. I never noticed a lot of noise because my truck noise drowned it out. On my wife’s car, it was obvious and much noisier. But then, we had studded winter force tires.

 

For sure. I have Yokohama AT for the summer and early winter till our 2 mile dirt road freezes up with frost. Then the studded winter tires go on. Like you say, huge difference. Our hills are very steep and most days I don’t even need 4 wd. But with the ATs, it’s frightening. If it were just snow, I think ATs would be fine....till we hit black ice on the main roads....winter tires are life savers. 4 wd does little for braking and turning....only in limited situations and never on highways at speed. The center lock without snow tires at higher speeds can easily throw you into a spin with sudden maneuvers. that’s when adding a little weight comes in.

 

Me neither when I lived in town. Just 2 wd, winter tires and weight in the back and we were fine.

But, for the last 20 plus years we’ve lived 2 miles in on a dirt road on the side of a mountain in deep snow country in Maine. It’s now, everything goes. Winter tires, 4wd/awd, weight, White knuckles and lots of experience and prayer. Once we get off our road, everything else is smooth sailing regardless of the weather.

So really, we’re much safer on regular roads with the preparedness of our luge run for a road.

 

Yeah, I agree.

Even though I’m 2WD I still run 4 snow tires. Keeps the grip a little better balanced between the front and rear and helps to increasing braking and turning traction.

 

My thought is simply this. These more expensive winter tires have much better ratings for quietness, rain and dry road traction then the less expensive winter tires. Their winter traction may be letter, but not that much more. The better handling and quietness leads people to think they can corner, brake and accelerate on dry roads just as aggressively during milder winter days. You can’t. They have really soft rubber and like all winter tires, the 50 degree days will really do a number where the rubber meets the road.

It’s the sacrifice everyone makes to have the great traction on ice. If they are studded, all tires tend to be noisier too. If they are unstudded on more expensive, normally good handling cars, they tend to get eaten up. A truck can be even worse as that sloppy suspension and high profile tires will do a number on the tread to an even greater extent. Just baby them when driving on bare roads and warmer weather.

 

You probably have a better sound system. I added a subwoofer to mine so the tire noise would be less obvious.

 

Agree…..but having ice raced in the past taught me that a well balanced vehicle always helps. It doesn’t take much to balance a truck….maybe 2-300 lbs depending on motor. This is where the 4 cyl excels in winter driving. . My FG cap does that. So any more sand I add, just helps on hills, both up and down.

 

In all the winter tires I've used, I can't say I've had any issues driving like normal. At least until the temps warm up.

 

If you're in a snow belt, any of the good quality dedicated winter tires (think Michelin, Blizzak, etc.) will do the trick for the winter months. Lots of sales out there. Save the A/T's for the better weather and trails. While some might be good in deep snow, the harder tread compounds and lack of sipes just don't cut it in the ice/slush/general crap that winter doles out. I survived the winters with the old bias ply crap tires back in the old days but good winter tires make all the difference in the world.

Cheers, and drive safe.

 

Makes sense. If you’re a sane driver to begin with….which taco / winter tire people tend to be.

Woke up this morning to 16 degrees and plenty of ice. The winter tires on rims are in the bed, waiting to be mounted. It won’t be fun driving out to get them rotated on. Got lazy and too late.

 

We could survive anything when we were much younger.

 

Yep. Learned to drive in the winter stuff in a rear wheel drive car with bias-ply tires. Didn't have snow tires. Those were on the parents car.

Made many donuts, power slides and panic stops in snow/ice covered parking lots. Once had a light pole cave in the rear passenger door. I think I scratched the paint on the concrete pedestal...... Dad wasn't too happy, but it was my car and my problem.