Who changes wheels/tires seasonally?

My point is there are much better studless snow tires than the ones you are running.

 

I switch out my tires not for seasons but for on or off road.
255/85/16 BFG KM2s for off road.



245/75/16 Dungflops (until they wear out then 265/75/16 Dynapros) for on road. Pic taken before I got the KM2s

 

How much are you lifted in this picture?

 

What kind of winter tires are currently on your vehicle?

 

3" front & 3" rear lift in all 3 pics. OME 885s & Dakars!

 

I currently run Firestone Winterforce UVs on Toyota black steelies in the winter months. Bought them two years ago and didn't know better at the time. They have an older compound and don't perform as well. Just waiting for them to wear out so I can switch to something better like the Michelin Xi2 or Blizzak DM-V1.

 

They seem like fine tires, I looked at the websights. I also looked at the general websight and found they are selling the same stuff, dual compound silica, yada yada. I never said my tires were the best, that is clear, I said I highly recommend them, from my first hand experience. they are awesome, and when I studded the second set, they were better.

If you compare all the marketing involved, on the company websights things get a little blurry.

 

The silica compound, tread pattern design and siping have been around for many years. Most winter tires have them. What separates the current Blizzaks and Xi2/3 is the porous tread compound (advertised as microcell, micro-pump, etc.). Above -4F, there's always a thin film of water on top of ice. Below -4F, when a tire runs over ice, kinetic friction still causes the film of water to form between the rubber and the ice. This film of water makes ice slippery. The porous tread compound cuts through the film of water to provide traction. The porous compound does weaken the tread structure, so it is not yet possible to produce a studdable tire with it.

 

Thanks DD, I was aware of that, and like having a vehicle w/o studs. I believe tire hardware is only for worst case scenerio's, I usually don't know when they're coming, so around here I err on the side of caution usually.

We had a terrible snow drought last year, I was sorry I got dressed for the dance by january, could have left on the summer tires, not this year though it's winter again!

 

So, according to blizzak marketing, tonight, (or definetly this week), when the temp drops below -4F I will not slip on the ice in my running shoes?

I'll let you know how this experiment turns out, but something tells me it's gonna hurt!

 

Everything is relative. The ice will be less slippery with your running shoes than with skates. Skates concentrate your weight over a smaller area to increase the frictional heat and encourage the water film to work. The behavior of ice isn't marketing. Well-kept indoor rinks maintain the ice at 23-25F because ice is most slippery at that temp.

 

I'll just leave this here.

 

Well, after much deliberation I have decided to buy another set of wheels to run dedicated seasonal tires.

I started out with:

16" TRD OR Alloys with 245/75/R16 Dunlop Grandtrek A20's (under 200 miles on both)

and purchased:

17" FJ Alloys with 265/70/R16 Dunlop Grandtrek A21's. I couldn't pass up the deal. Great price on all five wheels and tires, have TPMS in them, and had barely 1000 miles on them:





The plan is to run the FJ wheels spring/summer/fall, and put a set of Firestone Winterforce UV tires in 245/75/R16 on the 16" wheels.

 

A question:

I don't understand this, but the A20's vs A21's have completely different reviews on tirerack. The owners claim that they are great tires both on and offroad, and don't experience the same traction issues that the truck owners claim with the A20's.

It MUST be that our weight distribution is so much different.

 

I switch sets from summer to winter so that my alloy wheels dont get destroyed. My winter AT's are mounted on stock steel wheels and have a narrow footprint which helps plow through deeper snow and keeps the salt & sand in the wheel well.

RJM

 

You can filter the reviews on Tire Rack by make. There are 83 reviews from Toyota owners for AT21s, averaging 5.89. There are 521 reviews from Toyota owners for AT20s, averaging 5.39. I would say both tires are equally dismal.

By contrast, a real AT tire like the Goodyear SilentArmor averages 8.52 among 88 Toyota owners.

 

Years of living in the "snowbelt" of Ontario Canada has taught me to change tires every fall and spring...

I'm a real believer in the Michelin X-Ice tires.... I run the 17" rims and bought a steel painted rim that looks real nice, so I don't gotta get my aluminum alloys in the salt and crap....

I really don't care for the "all season tires" for the winter... ( I guess that's OK for Arizona...hehe).. Dunflops that came on the truck.... but I'm wearing them out and will likely put Michelin's on to replace them...

I've had the originals on for 7 summer seasons and they are starting to look a little weary...... I think a new set of "M's" is in the future this spring....

The X-Ice winter tires are awesome..... Mine have done 6 years and are getting a little low on tread.... next winter...maybe a new set...

THE big saving you get by purchasing a dedicated set of winter tires and rims is that they do not have to be removed and re-installed each year....(they keep their seal and the dumb ass at the tire machine does not ruin your tires's seal)...that's a good way to destroy a tire..... I've had only 1 tire issue in 7 years and it was cuz I ran over a friggin roofin nail....

I change my own tires also... only takes a 1/2 hour or so...

Over...

 

+1 there Door Ding....!!!!