Best Mountain Snowflake Tire - POLL

Just for fun...here are my Grabber AT2 (265/70r16) after 3 years and nearly 60,000 miles:

 

ive got about 1,000 miles on mine so far. I dont drive very much. my father has two vehicles. One with a brand new set of ko2, and after seeing mine, he went with duratracs for his tundra.

 

Those look awesome. That design within the tread for deep snow driving looks great and is one of my favorite features. Did you end up going with E or C rated?

Edit: just answered my own question. E rated has white outline letters C rated does not. New question: what kind of mpgs are you getting?

 

Duratracs all day long

 

mine are C! I think you mixed up. E is all black i believe. I know also size 265 70 16 is all black. I have no idea why goodyear does this. All sizes should have white and black options. Most on here will agree that E is overkill for our trucks. I don't know my exact mpg, i only figured it once when i first got the truck. I honestly dont care what my mpg is. Truck is paid for, and isnt going anywhere. I have not noticed any difference though, since getting the tires.

 

Learning to drive in Colorado and spending the majority of my life in the mountains, I prefer the BFG AT. I run Pro Comp MT's in the summer and BFG AT's in the winter. I've tried a lot of tires over the years both AT's and MT's, imho BFG's are the best bet unless you get a studded tire.

 

You can't replace the performance of a dedicated winter tire so you've got to choose the best of the worst. I'm surprised no ones mentioned the Nokian Rotiiva AT or Michelin LTX2. Those will perform as good or better than a full tread duratrac but ride WAY better on highway than any of the above.

 

are the bfgs studdable? Mine are pinned for studs but im not going to stud them.

 

I've had many sets of Duratracs, and they are a great tire.. Excellent in fact... But they have their downsides..

-2/3's into the tread life and they start to get loud..

-Choppy loud turning on pavement...

-LT versions are hard to balance..

-As of late the quality varies of the tires..Runout/Stud holes incomplete/tread variations/air pockets/


All in all, I think the OP would be happiest with the BFG KO2.... Don't let people tell you its just like the old because its not.. It has a lot of research gone into it and they balance well..

Heavy... But it will be smoother than the duratrac, and you will get a more even tread life with less chop.


It is a toss up... What to do...lol

I'm in the same boat...

I'm thinking dedicated because I have a mint set of 245/70/17 Blizzak W965's from my sierra.... I just need to get the 17" steelies..

Or sell them and get one set on my TRD rims and be done with it..

 

Someone also mentioned the Cooper M+S...


That tires is amazing... There is no other like it for the snow..

 

Unfortunately no they're not, they'd be the ultimate winner tire if they were. The soft compound makes them sticky, and the tread pattern works well. They do wear out faster than others, but I'd rather replace tires than a truck because I couldn't keep it out of the cabbage.

 

Also much better on ice than ANY of the tires mentiond on the poll list. There is no comparison. It is an excellent dedicated ice and snow tire.

 

So, in the end, I pulled the trigger on some Wildpeak AT3Ws (265/75R16) for $141 each including a and delivery.
It was my cheapest option, but also the option with the best road manners. Other than beach driving in the summer, I am typically driving on asphalt or light-heavy snow most of the time. I'm looking forward to a smoother & quieter highway driving experience with these tires.

I was only able to find one bad review about them, and that guy was probably sold bad tires.
Some of these tires that were thrown away (holes drilled in them etc.) have made their way into circulation.
Falken has an active recall on any tires without serial numbers or circular marks (where the holes were filled).

Treadlife will be my only concern because nobody has had these tires for much more than a year at this point.

 

Excellent.


I'm interested to see how you like them in the snow..

Tires is a complicated procedure...lol

To many choices..

 

limited selection......on the KO2's w/C rating......

shopping now.........

 

@Greg617 Any feedback on the Falkens? I've gone back and forth on most of the ATs...researched them til my eyeballs are about to fall out...KO2s, Cooper AT3s, Yokohama Geolandar GO15s, Kumhos, Hankooks...

Like you, I can't seem to find bad reviews on the Falken AT3Ws...except the bad batch that was recalled some time ago...it seems that tire wins by default. Interested to know how they are working out for you.

 

So i've had mine for just over 5k and they have been great so far. I have driven through some 20 inch snowstorms and they performed just as well as my General Grabber AT2s. The falkens are quiter than the grabbers though. To me, the BFG KO2s are the best looking and potentially best performing AT tire out there. I've heard that they can wear fast though for some people / driving styles & conditions. However, a set of those will be around $1000 installed. The Falkens set me back just $500 installed. Overall, I have no regrets. I have no gotten stuck et and I have driven down some unplowed roads with 2+ feet of snow and through some 4+ ft snowbanks (to access the side roads). The "canyon sipeing" really holds the snow.

 

Thanks for the feedback on the Falkens. They do seem to be the best "all around" tire, at least from what people say about them. I agree with you that the KO2s are the best looking tire and appear to be tough as nails...My concerns about them (other than price) are the reports that they are slick in wet and snow and get progressively louder over time...Decisions, decisions.