Arizonian needs help for the Ice/Snow

I am in the process of building my 2014 tacoma trd sport to handle the rough Cheyenne, Wyoming winters. I ended up getting stationed here last year and spent all last winter in a 04 Jeep wrangler with a soft top and neogen 31" tires. I was absolutely shocked when I entered the world of driving in the snow and ice. Coming from Arizona and desert driving, the worst I ever had to drive in was super loose sand or the occasional flash flood. What surprised me the most is that my buddy's Jeep jk with 35" MT tires on it handled like absolute shit on slush and my cheap little neogens gripped pretty damn well. So before I begin let me give you the run down of everything I have currently purchased for my truck....

Suspension: ADS RR coilers for the front, ADS Piggyback for the rear, Dakar light duty leafs in the rear, axle shims, and will be getting some camber 1.25" UCA and bump stops.

Wheels: I have my choices narrowed down the the Method Racing Mesh or the Race line Defenders.

Fab work: Will be doing a front cab chop for extra tire clearance. Bedrack in the rear (next year) and lo pro C4 front bumper (next year).



The tire size that I am interested in going is a 285/70/R17. With that being said I would like a tire that is all terrain, handles winter conditions with ease, and has good on road characteristics. I would also like the capability of driving with them during the other 3 seasons. The roads here are plowed frequently and we tend to have icy mornings. They do use salt on base as well. Any reccomendations?

 

I haven't done too much winter driving, but my bfg ko2's in the same size worked well for me last winter driving in the lower Sierras in California. I had no weight in the bed and I'm 2wd too!
They haven't let me down in snow, ice, dirt, rocks, etc yet.. and are pretty quiet and well wearing for an agressive tread.
ko2s have better winter performance than the older ko's I believe.

 

1st off, Jeeps and Tacomas' are nothing alike when it comes to driving in snow. You can't compare them. The longer wheel base makes the Tacoma the winner.

With that said, my 2nd gen Tundra with traction and skid control is terrible compared to my 1st gen Tacoma with no skid and traction control.

The best advice is to find a huge, empty parking lot with snow and feel how the truck reacts to skids and slips.

The topic is just too big to give absolutes.

 

Yea winter driving is all about driving SLOW most of the time, and knowing when to give it some gas to get up something. Good winter tires make a huge difference, going from stock tires to duratracs was life changing in winter driving. when i drove my old 94 corolla i would slap on some dedicated winter tires and that thing would go anywhere in a foot of fresh powder. Unless the snow drifts your dealing with are multiple feet deep you shouldn't ever have an issue that a lift will help you with.

 

There are lots of all terrain tires with the snowflake/mountain symbol making them dedicated snow rated while allowing year round use. My duratracs for instance. With a good set of chains for the rear you won't have any issues until the snow REALLY piles up, even in a stock truck.

You could keep a few traction boards in the back just in case.

That said, NOTHING compares to dedicated snowies like Nokian hakkepilitta or blizzaks, but they are soft and will be destroyed after one summer of hot weather driving.

 

I got my fair share of winter driving in and now know how to handle winter conditions. I am really just looking for opinions on which tires perform well in the conditions. Not trying to compare jeeps to a tacoma at all.... hence why I now have a tacoma and sold the jeep.

 

As a Canadian who has lived in a few provinces I can understand your challenge in finding a great all weather tire. The truth is they don't really exist. For ice traction you need soft rubber and lots of sipes. For snow traction you need and open tread. Try to get both of those things in a tire and you end up with a tire that will destroy itself in the summer when the hotter temperatures cause all that soft rubber to literally rub off on itself with all those sipes and really grabby rubber rubbing against itself.

So basically the best thing you can do is figure out what feature you want the most and buy a tire for that. I would personally recommend running a set of summers and a set of winters. Change over in April/October each year. If that is not an option you are willing to try I'd recommend the KO2 or Toyo CT as good all weather AT tires. However, the KO2 isn't a great tire on mud or snow because it really doesn't have that much open room to throw out whatever fills the voids and the Toyo CT will wear fast if you drive on gravel a lot. Another option is the Cooper XT4 which is probably the best out of the three on ice but will be the worst for wear in the summer from what I've heard. Again, all weather tires are really a sacrifice between durability in hot conditions and traction in cold conditions that isn't optimal. A true dedicated winter tire and summer tire rotation will cost the least in the long run but the most in the short run.

 

Oh and PS all the tires I mentioned there are true all weather tires because they carry the snowflake symbol. Don't let someone talk you into buying a tire for winter driving that is an all season tire without the snowflake symbol. All season tires and all weather tires are NOT the same thing. All season tires aren't really built for ice. They are built to do ok on slick surfaces but loose a lot of traction near and below freezing. All weather tires keep most of their good characteristics below freezing.

 

I spent 2 winters in Colorado at 9,000ft. Some super crazy amount of snow and ice up there for 8 months out of the year. I ran Goodyear Wrangle Silent Armors that were sipped(small lacerations across the whole tire to improve grip on snow and ice). You must get them sipped before you get them installed. All tire shops up that way know what that means and offer it. They were the best all terrain snow tire. I loved them. Great traction year around and especially on snow. Quiet ride while driving on dry pavement. I would drive I70 trough the Rockies through blizzards no problem. I do have 4x4 and that makes a world of difference. Driving on ice is well driving on ice. You just have to get used to it. Whatever you get, just make sure it has the little snow symbol on the side of the tire saying they are approved for driving in the snow.

I've also heard really good things about the Goodyear Duratracs being really good snow tires with a bit more of that aggressive tread pattern.
Good luck buddy!

 

Yeah the I70 through the rockies is one hell of a road! Thank you for your feed back! I really appreciate everyones advice.

 

70 miles one way for me was my commute from Denver to Silverthorne all year. Never had a "snow day" off. But then I got smart and moved up the mountain to be closer to work and cut my drive in half to just 45 miles one way. That was from Kremmling to Silverthorne. Fun times staring at the guard rail the whole way home because you couldn't see shit.

 

I went up milner pass and the winds up there got pretty bad in a soft top jeep. I felt like my jeep was a parachute fighting the wind. Your idea of fun and mine must be completely different cause I thought I was going to slide off the mountain haha

 

Those passes way above tree line sure do get windy. And at 11-12,000ft it takes your breath away.

 

I drove my last two winters on half worn BFG KOs and they were decent in the compact snow and ice and not the best in the deep snow. This spring I put on some ST Maxx so I'll find out how they do in snow/ice in about two months. Driving carefully and knowing when to gas and brake is just as important as tires. My truck pretty much stays in 4x4 for 6 months of the year and it makes a huge difference as well.

 

There is no substitute for a dedicated winter snow/ice tire. The snowflake All terrains suck ass compared to true snow tires in snow and ice.

 

You've got two options, buy a dedicated snow tire or one of the tires we'll all claim is best. I'm in upstate NY and have had a lot of success with Falken AT3 Wildpeaks in the snow. Like someone else said, your best bet is doing slides and skids in a snowed in parking lot. (and driving cautiously)