Does anyone use A/T tires year round including winter?

I would probably get OCD about bringing wheels and tires inside without degreasing and pressure washing em, lol.

 

It all come down to 3 things
Tread compound
Tread Design
Siping

The tread compound in A/T tires is generally quite tough to withstand chiping and chunking over rough terrain/rocks. And can get very hard once temps drop.
A winter compound on the other hand would be too soft and probably shed like an eraser on rough summer terrain. But its designed to stay soft and flexible when it get cold. In this case < 7C which is the defined temperature below which summer rubber is to hard and you should be using winter. I try to swap on my winter before the daily high temp average is < 7C.

Tread design of an A/T tire is quite open and chunky. This does lend itself to a reasonable amount of traction since it can dig through snow. But in terms of total tread surface area a winter tire will have more since tread sticks to ice, not the open spaces/voids

Sipes open up as tires roll across the road driving surface to take in snow or water and remove it from the tire’s contact area. This enhances a tire’s grip, especially during rough weather like heavy rain or snow.

Compare the tread surface area and siping on a quite popular A/T mentioned in this forum tire and a dedicated winter tire and these design features are quite evident.

Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac
Yokohama iceGUARD G075

 

I tried one year, immediately bought dedicated the next year.

No one needs winters, but man you can relax your glutes when you drive with them.

 

For true snow/ice tires. https://www.tires-easy.com/235-85-1...tta-lt3-studded/tirecode/TS32392?gad_source=1

 

Why LT? They are more stiff and not as soft.

 

Not sure if nokian offers non LT, but the pizza cutter width is also preferred for snow/ice. I assume it's just due to the need for increased sidewall strength with the thinner profile? Most pizza cutters I see are E rated.

 

I used to. But since running MT's, I have not gone back to AT's. MT's year round for me in AZ.

 

Make a chair of the unused tires ...

 

The first year with my 2022 Tacoma I bought Blizzaks for the factory wheels and used them through the winter. The following spring I bought a set of wheels and Yokohama Geolandar AT G015, which ended up remaining on the truck to this point (18 months). I'm in the north GTA, and the ATs have done just fine through the winter (combined with using 4WD appropriately). They are 3 peak mountain snow flake rated and that seemed to be enough even in the worst weather I experienced. I do regret getting the snows due to the cost and, like you, didn't know if the ATs would handle the winter, but I have also ALWAYS bought snows for every vehicle.

https://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/geolandar-a-t-g015

Having said that, I will probably swap them back on this winter since I already have them.

 

I ran studded nokian hakkas on my 22 corolla for a winter and it was amazing, until there was a snowstorm then I was quickly reminded I'm in a fwd car.

I've ran two sets of duratracs, k02s on 2 different trucks Yoko g003 mts in 255, now I have at4ws on my taco all e rated 10 ply. K02s are just trash in wet/ winter and the roughest riding of all. I really liked my duratracs. My skinny Yoko mts were better then expected last winter but still not great, and it was a mild winter here. I have high hopes for my new falkens. The price was surprising I paid $1567 for 285/75r16. Then my buddy mounts and balances them for next to nothing.

My old man runs 255/85r16 studded cooper st maxx on his plow truck and it's great, my brother has been running the same size at3ws on his taco for 5 years and loves them.

I think the falkens are the best riding tire I've tried so far which is saying alot. Studded winters will always be better but I spend alot of time in deep snow and don't want winters for that. I'm in Manitoba fwi.

 

Why don't you like winters in deep snow ? That's what they're made for.

 

Hard pack snow great, ice great, general normal people on road winter driving great. 3 ft of snow on the lake not so great. I've pulled alot of people out on the lake over the years that couldn't understand why they were stuck since they had winter tires. Well in my opinion they don't work so hot in deep snow like that. Just what I've seen and experienced.

Liked due to the fact that there aren't alot of options for a big winter tire and most of these people are running stock size winter what Evers on their half tonnes. I imagine if someone had a 35 inch winter it would work, but you don't see it. So me on 285 or 35 in duratracs would drive circles around them. I'm also referring the same type of people that think 4x4 means your invisible.

I grew up in a lake town where every idiot trys to go icefishing and doesn't understand how to wheel in deep snow. When I get myself stuck I pull out my shovel and my traction boards and get myself out, they run to Facebook and make a help me post in the icefishing group. So I may well be wrong, but thats just my opinion sir.

 

No.

I use dedicated Toyo Observe GSi6 winter tires November-Apr and Toyo Open Country AT the rest of the year living in the high elevation mountains in Colorado.