Snow Tire Recommendations???

Well believe me, I'd love to just hunker down with the scotch myself, so God bless. But so long as property tax is a thing, I still gotta go out and participate.

 

I'm more than ok with a A/T tire that has the 3 peak snow designation since I don't do any Highway driving, but if I did, I would get a dedicated winter tire.

My Wildpeaks are great in the snow, but in the slick stuff, they slide bad. My Duratracs were much better tire in the slick stuff. I'd go back to Duratracs if they made them in my size.

 

I'll take my licks for not reading the entire thread before responding, but I'm another vote for taking him to a snowy/icy parking lot or field or other safe spot to intentionally get the truck sideways and practice recovering. He'll pick up the "feel" quickly as a youngster, and it's fun as hell.

 

too lazy to read the thread and not relevant or helpful

 

a new 3 peak tire with the most tread available might do good.......please dont snap at me

 

i think knowing how to drive in these conditions is very important

 

I read the whole thread, and agree that it is necessary to learn how to sense when you are going to lose traction, how to recover, how to drift corners under control, how to pick lines in the snow/ice, all with the stability control off. It's how everyone used to learn how to drive in snow. If you do that, there is generally no need for dedicated winter tires, if you have 4WD. That is unless there is snow on the ground for more than 2 to 3 months, and then maybe the luxury of owning two sets of tires makes sense.

 

Sure, I had already owned up to my laziness, but good on you, friend, for taking the time to double tap it AND to provide constructive criticism on my post. That's what community is all about! Happy holidays to you!

 

Merry Christmas Junior

 

tires that are best in snow have.....
3 peak.....of course
deep tread in the tire
a soft flexible compound

the knobbys have to be flexible so any new tire will do good, if the tire is half worn the knobbys get colder faster and wont flex

true snow tires wear out faster because they have a soft compound

 

Blizzak tires are widely used in the interior of Alaska. These are "stud-less winter tires" that incorporate abrasive compounds in the tread, instead of metallic studs protruding from the tread. As others have mentioned, winter tires have a softer rubber compound to aid with traction, and most designed for winter driving only.

For example, stud-less tires such as the Blizzak and a few others that incorporate an abrasive compound in the tread can be dangerous in dry pavement because of the added "grab" of the pavement by the front tires during a rapid change of direction such as a "swerve" to avoid hitting something on the road. But you won't believe that amount of traction these tires add to winter driving on ice and snow. Cold pavement should not be a problem.

There also are other winter tires (without abrasive compounds out metallic studs) that should work well during the winter months where you live at. My wife's RAV4 V6 wears Blizzak tires from November to mid. April or so (we have long winters), but her 2023 Tacoma doe not. My 2013 Tundra has a set of Nokian all season on/off road set of tires. Both trucks have fiberglass toppers; the Tundra's weights nearly 200 pounds, and I assume that the one on the Tacoma weights somewhere around 125-130 pounds.

 

I have the General Grabber Arctic winter tires on my Tacoma. No complaints. I've found then great in snow, slush and icy roads. I've run them for 6 winters and they've worn evenly. No dry rot or cracks. I'm thinking there's there's 55-60K km on them (about 6/32nds left on them) and will have no problem using them for one more winter.

 

Nokian Outpost AT...they're known for their snow tires and the Outpost might be a good option year round. I'm running the new Duratrac RTs but haven't experienced them in snow/slush yet to give my input there. They have good siping and same compound as the originals which many Canadians swear by for snow.

 

This is all good info, thanks guys. Admittedly I hadn't considered the added wear rate of the softer compound. I think I just need a dedicated studless snow tire that I don't run year-round.

I loved mine when I got them, they felt excellent in heavy rain as well, very confident traction. By end of life they did not wear evenly though, inside shoulders wore down in the fronts. Had 2 different shops verify alignment, but end of the day not sure if it was the tires or something else.

 

Second for blizzaks, I work in northern alberta and use my truck alot up here. Blizzaks go on from late october to april ish. Some of my pals here use general grabbers and really like them, so i'd say whatevers cheapest between those two. Also, I mounted my all seasons on seperate rims, and stuck one in the back. Added weight, plus makes changing a tire in -30c alot easier if i dont have to dick around with lowering the factory one.

 

Duratrac 265/75/16 studded & sipped. & yes today.. ha

 

Prob the best snow tire setup

 

^

Another vote for Goodyear Duratrac RT

 

Duratracs are amazing for snow. Not my favorite for icey highways even with studs. But better than most all terrains, especially with the studs.

I find the studs don't make great contact because of the LT tire, so you have to run like 25psi.