Winter Tires

I run the Toyo Open Country WLT1 in a 235/80/17 which is 31.9 inches. With my truck in 4HI I have yet to break them loose and I live up a pretty good hill with a 180 degree corner going uphill. I have a 6MT transmission and have tried pretty hard with it in 2nd gear to get the tires to break loose on packed snow and haven’t been able to so far. They are heavy, 45 lbs a tire as they are E rated LT. They look a bit silly being that skinny but who cares for winter tires.

 

I thought 180 degree angle is a straight line? Is it like a road looping back? 270 degree angle?

 

this is the corner. 180 degree

 

Or for the layperson, it’s kinda like a u turn corner.

 

Here's a good video for those who are interested - this guy has a lot of good information on winter tires, and tires in general - but he does a direct comparison of REAL winter tires to the 3PMS AT's that so many here run - and you can see for yourself that it isnt even a comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVSHMnkf0gY

 

I have a hard time believing a guy with an English accent talking about snow tires.

 

I tend not to judge by how people look, but more on strict data - the guys on his game

 

I have no problem on his looks and I never judge a person on that. How much experience does he have in snow and ice if he's from England? His last data graph is about acceleration. I'm more worried about braking and cornering in snow and ice.

 

He performs braking and cornering tests too - and the lap times are standardized across all of the tests he performs too, so it gives a decent metric on how stable and drivable a tire is too. His methods seem well thought out, and he isnt sponsored by any one company - so that helps too.

 

Ill conduct my own Personal “testing”..

 

The duratrac is a great option! It works pretty well, it just cant ever work as well as something that was designed for winter - the rubber compounds, tread design, siping technology etc.. just dont allow for long treadlife and good winter traction. Everybody on here gets on their high horse about how good their AT tires are in the snow - in reality, real purpose built winter tires will beat ANY 3 peak all terrain any day of the week, in any winter/ice/deep snow condition that they could be compared in. Its not opinion, its just physically how they differ in build technology. Long treadlife big lug AT tires simply cant be as good as winter. It would be like expecting a subaru to be good at off roading - it will probably do the trick, but a real 4wd will be a better option 100% of the time.

 

Hey. Looks like where I live and I hear what you're saying.
We've had over 1 foot of that stuff so far.
When I was a younger skier I loved it and called it "powder".

 

I had a difficult time finding bigger sizes, ended up with a set of 285 Cooper SnowClaw. I didn't really find much of anything available in that size until I saw these pop up.

 

I run a dedicated winter tire made by General Tire. Grabber Arctic LT in 265/75r16 (265/70r17 equivalent). Its a 31.6" tire. Has the option for studs, but that isn't really needed in Oregon.

 

I use Bridgestone Blizzak DMV2. Had them on a number of trucks. Non studded. Perfect for Northern Ontario winters and available at Costco.

 

I don't drive much and when I do it's at a slow retired pace. I would love studded winters but my General Grabber ATX on all year, not studded, will have to do as I can't stand the twice a year changeover. My wife does it and I end up having to pick up and drop her off.

 

For someone who doesnt drive a bunch, its hard to justify having two sets. But it sounds like you've got the option to take a car with dedicated snows when the conditions call for it, so you're covered on all ends!

 

I just bought a set of Nokian Outpost NATs for my SR5. So far I couldn't be happier. Ride quality is good, they look excellent, and I haven't noticed a major MPG hit.

 

Falken wild peaks. I had them on a Mitsubishi montero in Idaho in the middle of winter. Those tires handled snow like a champ! I was burying it in snow up to my rockers and it still got out no problem