Winter tires?

Are you planning on keeping the stock tires and wheels to use in the summer? If yes then I would get a true snow tire for the winter. A snow tire can't be beat on snowy roads. Another nice thing about snow tires it that they are usually cheaper than an all terrain tire. I have Firestone Winterforce 2 tires on my wife's 4runner and they are better in the snow than the Toyo Open Country II tires that I run on my Tacoma year round.

 

Ah that was the other thing. If I get the Falken Wildpeaks, I was thinking of just selling my stock tires. Shame, cause I just got the truck in May so they're pretty brand new.

If I go with the true winter tire for the winter, I definitely would be keeping my stock tires for the summer and probably get a set of steelies for the winters.

 

As a rule of thumb don't fuck with the Coq without good winter tires. Too many crashes happen because people think all seasons or all terrains are good enough. They are not. A lot of winter tires, such as Nokian LT3s or General Grabber Arctic LTs are 10 ply so you don't need to worry about punctures as much as you think.

 

Having two sets of tires is nice. Its nice to have an extra set of tires in case you have tire troubles and you wont have to buy anymore tires for a long long time.

 

Ah thank you, that's good advice. I'm back on the fence again, so I'll go do some more research on winter tires. Would non-10 ply winter tires be okay on FSRs that are muddy and have gravel and rocks poking through the snow?

 

Tires are a big choice. I have been looking for a year or more trying to figure out what is best for me. I have experienced 'winter rated ' AT's in the snow and ice we get here... so a true winter rated tire is a must for me. Then the rest of the year it has to be an excellent all arounder. I have run radial Super Swampers and cheap AT's on previous vehicles. Experience with different tires doesn't make the choice easier.

 

If you have a decent all terrain/all season tire then there's no reason for special winter tires

 

They aren’t really 10 ply. That’s an old term. Tires today when they say 10 ply it means it has the characteristics. Thicker sidewalls for more load capacity and bit better puncture resistance but it will give you a little stiffer ride. I’ve run several all terrains some better then others. I am running the duratracs now which are snow rated and I’m my experience there is no substitute for a true winter tire. If you are in any real snow my suggestion would be a second set of studded tires.

 

Here is a great article about tire rating. Found it on another thread so not my find...

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdo...ything-you-need-know-about-all-terrain-tires/

 

Lots of good information in there thanks for posting.

 

Anything LT rated is usually a pretty good bet. Winter tires can be SL rated (standard load) or XL rated (extra load, more durability) but you'll see terms like C, D, F, or E which are equivalent to 4 - 6 - 8 - 10 ply tires on LT tires. See the comment below, he corrected my outdated terminology. C rated for our trucks is plenty when you off road but if you are really worried about a freak puncture in the bush E rated is peace of mind. They'll ride softer in C than E by far but you do lose out on durability. That being said there's ways to get around punctures, such as airing down your tires when you get off road. The tires then flex vs pop over sharp objects. Let me know if I'm telling you shit you already know, I don't want to inundate you with info you may already have like a jackass unless I already have, then I apologize

Yeah I should've specified "E" rated more than anything, like you said characteristics but fewer plies... We just get stuck with old terminology sometimes. Never been big on studded tires myself, but to each their own. I can see studded having WAY more value somewhere down south where you'll likely switch out your tires before, or a day near the highway rules.

 

You will be fine with Winters, these are Blizzack 40+km up a FSR mid-December in the interior..



I've also run Rallies in our Subaru all winter with X-ice winter tires.. no problems ever..

 

Nice, that was a very good article. Thank you for sharing!

 

No, not at all! I know nothing about tires and am learning about all these terms recently. I really appreciate all this information and for everyone taking the time to comment!

 

I’ve been running BFG Commercial Traction tires in the Winter for the last 10 years and they really have been a life saver (at least once). Good luck out there!

 

True winter rated tires have the "3 peak mountain/snowflake" symbol aka 3PMSF stamped on the sidewall, however tires stamped with "M+S" are also legal in winter in B.C. and that is what comes stock on a TRD OR.
I spend my summers in Victoria and winters at Sun Peaks and for the past 2 winters have been fine with the stock Goodyears, year round. My winter/spring 250' driveway can be a challenge but any shortcomings with the stock tire is more than overcome by the Taco's 4x4 off road capability.

Last winter I bought new tires for my Dodge Cummins diesel with truck camper. My indy mechanic shop is a Falken dealer and they sold me a set of Falken Rubitrek tires that I really like and preform better than my Tacoma's tires in the tough going.

Rubitrek is a fairly new offering from Falken and while it is an on/off road tire it is not as off road aggressive as the Wildpeak. A tread comparison revealed that the grooves between the tread lugs are deep on both tires, the Wildpeak has greater spacing between the tread lugs.

My price for a set of 4 Falken Rubitrek 235/85/16, load range E, for my Dodge pickup, including mounting and balancing was $900CAD from Ideal Automotive in Kamloops.

I have a '93 MR2 as a summer car so I don't drive the Taco much in summer unless it is raining or I need to do some truck hauling stuff, so I run one set of tires year round. True winter tires (3PMSF) have rubber that stays soft and thus gives better traction when the temps get below freezing but they don't wear very well in warm summer temps. Still, I figure getting a little less life out of a tire is cheaper than investing in a second set of wheels and the hassle of change over and tire and wheel storage. In short, I don't seasonally change tires, I change vehicles.

 

I get my DuraTracs siped when I buy them

 

Just wanted to update saying I got my winter wheels on a couple days ago. Ended up going with the Nokian Hakka R3 SUVs and loving the rugged look of the steelies Also picked up some v-bar chains, all set now for some winter fun.

 

Nice choice looks great, definitely ready for winter to hit.

Come on winterno more rain

 

Thank you! And looks like we got a bit of waiting to do...in Vancouver anyways haha