Tacoma snow performance

I know it's been said many times already but tires, tires, tires. GOOD tires make a HUGE difference. I replaced the stock Rugged Fails with BFG A/Ts and my TRD OR is 100% different in the snow. Rarely any slip sliding away now like before.

I am getting more and more annoyed and angry at car manufacturers and the shitty fckin tires they are putting on as OEM. My wife's Highlander came with some shitty Toyo tires that were right down dangerous in snow. I'm not exaggerating for dramatic purpose either. They should not be allowed to put certain tires on new vehicles in areas that get snow. After I replaced her tires all was good. It's wrong of them to put dangerous tires on a 35k vehicle.

I know this isn't deep snow but with the BFG ATs this is nothing for the Taco.

 

I hear ya. Is a Rugged Fail tire really that much less money than the A/T's? I mean what is Toyota saving here- $200? Fucking kidding me... Or are they worried the average consumer is going to not like how quiet a real all terrain tire is on the road? Whatever, it sucks. Can't wait to put those LTX's on and then throw these Rugged Fails in the fire.

 

Wish I could just plant a legal sign in front of every Toyota dealer warning buyers to make them change out the stock tires before making the deal . Wish there was statistical info on how many new vehicles are wrecked the first time they are driven in adverse conditions . I'm sure it's purely driven by the dumbass masses wanting quieter tires - it's a fukn truck , get over it .
Almost threw my wife out the door the first time she rode in the Taco with the new tires , just had to make a dumb comment about increased noise...
Sarge

 

It's not just Toyota, most if not all vehicle manufacturers do it.

 

I bought the truck with Bridgestone Dueler H/T.... they were horrendous in snow. The first snow we had I pretty much had to throw it in 4wd to get anywhere. The next day I ordered Hankook Dynapro ATm (265/70/17). We are talking night and day difference. Haven't even thought about needing 4wd since putting them on. I have 2 of the Duelers sitting in my bed for a little extra weight (until I sell them anyways).

In fact, last night we got some fresh snow and I spent an hour or two driving around; getting used to how it feels (my last vehicle was a FWD Honda Accord.... so its a little bit different). Practicing throttle control and forcing my back end to slip out so I could "save" it. So far, I have found that my Taco gets around just fine in the snow (and thats only in 2WD!!!).

I would highly highly recommend getting new tires. A little weight in the bed doesn't hurt either. And if you have the opportunity, get out and drive. Experience behind the wheel can be just as important as equipment.

On a side note... I have a buddy that was arguing with his wife over whether women or men were better drivers. Obviously this is just generally speaking. They came to the conclusion that women are "safer" drivers because they tend do not drive as hard. But when it comes to poor weather/conditions... they decided men were better. Their reasoning? Guys will go out and experiment with driving; purposely sliding etc etc... Again, just a vague generalization My point is... get out and mess around a little bit. Don't be stupid about it, drive under control, but get some practice wheelin it in crappy conditions.

 

I have the original Bridgestone Dueler H/T 684 II tires on the truck and haven't had any trouble in the snow (working in the Omaha area right now). I just try to drive sensibly for the conditions and the truck does fine.

 

Dang, I wonder why mine were so bad. I was driving very sensible and slow and had very little traction. Then again I only had about 4/32" of tread left...

 

When talking about driving in the snow personal experience plays a huge part. If I took two people and put them in a Tacoma to test drive in the snow if person A had never driven a FWD car or ever had 4WD/AWD they might think the Tacoma is the most amazing thing in the world. If person B steps out of their Subaru Outback with snow tires they're going to think the Tacoma is a step down for Icy commuting.

That's why you can take the same truck with the same tires and two different people will have vastly different "reviews" of the truck in the snow/ice.

When I talk about driving in the snow, I always mean around town Icy/Slushy commuting. In my opinion, some or most AWD cars/suv's handle better in those conditions than a truck. Any truck, not just a Tacoma. If I step into actual snow driving ie: over 4" of snow on a gravel road then the Tacoma will of course outperform the cars or SUV's.

 

I forgot to mention I have 280 lbs of sand in the back ... but we had one snow prior to adding the sand and it still did fine.

 

My truck drives great in the snow with aftermarket goodyear wrangler athorities ATs and 200 pounds of sand bags in the bed.

 

COMPLETELY agree ... I grew up driving in the mountains of Central Oregon (Bend/Sisters area) and learning to drive having to deal with slippery conditions is something that has never disappeared.

 

So the truth comes out!!!

haha I guess in defense of the Duelers.... it was kinda icy and I had no weight in the bed. The Dynapros still made a huge difference.

Omaha.... could you remind me what it is like to be above 0 degrees? Haha I see you guys are at a balmy 7 right now. I assume you wore shorts to work today?

 

First thing I did was swap tires between my '14 Taco and my '08 Pathfinder that had near new Goodyear Wrangler Authorities. Put the Dunlop's on the Pathfinder since it has more weight in the rear end. It does fine with the Dunlop's and the wife says it drives easier for her with the less aggressive tires. The Authorities make a big difference on snow in the Taco. The Dunlop's were okay on the Taco but the bigger, wider Authorities react better and obviously look much better on the truck. They do have a bit of road noise but I was used to it from driving the Pathfinder.

 

I have the Authorities too. Its a great tire. I've had ithem on snow, mud, sand, and rocks. No problems.

 

It's funny you should mention shorts ... I can't wear shorts to work (Safety Code at an Industrial Facility) but in my apartment I literally live in shorts and a golf shirt even in the cold. In the winter when I go home to Texas for a long weekend I wear shorts and golf shirts at home and my wife is bundled up like she's in Alaska or something.

About the Duelers ... my truck came with the H/T 684 II series tires and Toyota put "several" different Dueler tires on the Tacoma. I read reviews of some of the other series Duelers and several (including the review of the HT 684 I series) were downright terrible for traction, so you may have had just a different series tire.

 

impossible not to support this statement! when i 1st got my tacoma it snowed 2 days later and i thought wtf is this pos i bought, then a week later i got better tires and that made all the difference in the world. if you find the tacoma that bad i would consider studded tires for winter if they are legal in your area

 

Yeah I know how strict industrial places get with the need for jeans....and steel toed boots. Thats the best part about winter. You start out with shorts... if you are ok, then you just keep on truckin'. If you get cold, throw on another layer.

I can't remember which series I had, but that could very well explain it! I agree with the other post too, experience is huge!

 

The Rugged Trails are absolutely terrible. I drove around my work's campus yesterday in 2" snow, and slid/waggled the backend twice (in 2WD, slightly on purpose since this was a low traffic controlled area for me to see how bad these tires really are) with minimal effort. The Rugged Trails REQUIRE you to be in 4WD HI when there is snow on the ground, which only helps you by adding engine braking to the front wheels as soon as you let off the throttle.

Going from about 10 mph to 5 mph by letting off the throttle, then braking normally (not gingerly or feather-foot lightly) from 5mph at a level grounded stop sign still results in 3-5 ft of skidding forward. If you feather foot the brake pedal to a stop (which requires you to drive slowly and leaving lots of room), you can avoid skidding forward.

 

Stock Bridgestone Dueller II tires were scary. Putting on Blizzaks made all the difference.

 

I'm very pleased with my Tacoma's performance in the snow. Even with the Rugged Terrains still on it! After all the horror stories I've heard about these tires I expected the worst but have been pleasantly surprised so far.