Winter Tires

If you take away the $120 (and we'll discuss that certificate in a second) - That's $759. Is that out the door, mounted and installed? I paid $775 last year for a set of Blizzak DM-V2s from Tire Rack and still needed to pay an additional $60 for mounting (I installed them myself). If that's mounted and installed, that's not a bad deal, IMHO.

Now that $120 - that's DT's extended warranty. That really becomes the question of how you feel about those. I'm not a fan, because



Nah, I do a lot of work myself and use Tire Rack and they throw in 2 years for free.

I will leave the cost-analysis if a tire extended warranty is worth it and an exercise for the reader.

 

Yeah that's what I was thinking. Keep in mind that Discount Tire and Tire Rack are now one entity so maybe you can buy from Tire Rack and have them shipped to and installed at DT if that saves you some money and leaves the warranty out.

If I needed winter tires $759 for security and peace of mind is a small price to pay. You can get them cheaper, but timing is everything. I've lucked out the last two sets I bought $350-400 shipped to me. I've also paid ~$200/tire+ for Blizzaks and Nokians when I needed them.

 

I ran nokian hak 10 studded tires on my 22 corolla last season and it was amazing. That was my first time running studded winters, I ran winter tires on my old cobalt. I got rid of that car and now I'm on Yoko g003 mts on my pro. Talk about one extreme to the next. Honestly they don't seem any worse then my old duratracs or k02s. But yea i vote studded winters

 

Yeah. The other thing with the Midwest is that it’s fucking cold. Out west we can have 7 inches of snow on the ground but it’s hovering at or above freezing. Very different to driving on a half inch that’s well below freezing.

Very difficult for any tire to help you out on ice.

 

My $0.02 on this extended warranty: First, what this certificate will get you is likely:

• free repairs
• free replacement for the life of the warranty on unrepairable damage (think nail in the sidewall).

Now others have noted that tires have their own warranty that will cover a lot, the question is where in that Venn diagram is a repair that your warranty won't cover full replacement, that will get you a new tire from DT?

So the real question in getting this deal: will the driver ever have to replace a tire in that out of warranty area OR will they have repairs that cost over $120? AND will they remember to use the warranty?

To me, the free tire rack 2 years + self paying for repairs past the first 2 years (my local tire shop repairs tires for $20) is enough for me not to get an extended warranty. But YMMV.

Some guy asked this question on reddit too with some breakdown:
https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/4x9iq5/discount_tire_companys_certificate_for/

 

Yes, but give me winters everyday of the week on the ice.

I think one major misconception that most people have is that they are WINTER tires not SNOW tires and what they are designed to do.

They aren't about performance in the elements, but performance in the cold.

In winter temperatures, sub 45 degrees, your regular tires will just turn rock solid and not perform at all. So on that same ice, a slight tap on the brakes and slippppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp.

The compounds in winter tires are made designed to function and maintain grip in that temperature range. You certainly can slip ice, but you will have a lot better chance than on rocks.

But take away the ice, you're still talking about performance in the cold and that is where your winter tires shine but "all" seasons start to have issues.

 

Absolutely. Much softer compound helps immensely with cold temps and ice. Which is exactly the same reason they don't last in warmer months

 

Nokian Tires were my go to winter tire when I lived in Alaska. Finns know winter tires.

 

Tacos are rear wheel drive, with light bed over driving wheels. You will not be switching in and out of 4Hi.
Camry has engine and transmission over the driving wheels. A completely different animal.
Plus different tire compounds for winter and summer.
Get dedicated studded winter tires, on steel rims, and put 150-200 kilos of weight in the truck bed. I used to carry my summer tires in the bed, under the tonneau cover in winter. Was enough weight to keep the rear planted.

 

Ok, looks like I just need to find some good steel wheels then.... off to more internet searches!

 

Its not even a comparison. Stock to Dedicated winter will absolutely blow your mind. Even the guys are here who run 3PMS all-terrains have no idea the benefit of a dedicated winter tire. I've run about every Wildpeak ATw, Toyo ATII and III and geolanders. They are all trash compared with a dedicated snow. I've run the toyo observe - great tire, awesome wear, still on my 00 4runner after 6 years (runaround truck, low mileage), blizzak on my crossovers, and yokohama iceguard on my taco now. Blizzaks, Hakka's, or michelein x-ice are the best money can buy, observe's, iceguards, and conti snowcontact are all quite good, and ANY of these compared with an "all terrain" are night and day. 3PMS is a bogus rating that is self reported, and only based off of acceleration, not braking. Most winter accidents happen due to not being able to stop, and 4wd doesnt help you stop any faster.

If you run in winter conditions, invest the $1k in a good dedicated set of winter tires. Thats less than your deductible I'd bet, and it will make your truck handle so much better in the snow. Snow tires are my biggest soap box - they make such a massive difference its hard to put into words - you need to go drive in snow on them, and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

 

Aftermarket $120 on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Road-Ready-2005-2019-Toyota-Tacoma

OEM $105.37 steel
https://parts.toyotaoffortworth.com/p/Toyota_2023_Tacoma/Wheel/48928108/42601AD030.html

 

My 2020 SR came with the Firestone Destinations from the factory. Just got new tires, so don't know what subset of Destinations they were... But...
Dry or wet pavement, they were just fine. Pretty good actually... Snow? MMMMmmmmmmm..... Yeah, not so much. If I remember correctly, they were supposed to be 'All Season' but the tread on them didn't look like any kind of 'All Season' I've ever seen before.
Be that as it may, I did get get three winters & 48K miles out of them. I think you'd be OK if you're very careful with them in winter. Might be a good idea to get them siped (About $20 per tire where I live).... They just are not tires that in winter instill a whole lot of confidence.

 

If I may ask more questions... are there some decent wheels on Discount Tire that might work ok? Everything I am finding that even mentions what it is made of says aluminum. They don't even let you select steel versus aluminum as a category to search for. And why steel for winter tires?

 

1 Salt will corrode aluminum and steel wheel is cheaper than aluminum one.
2 Steel can take an impact better than aluminum, and you are more likely to bend/brake wheels in winter.

 

Dont need to worry about salt as they don't salt the roads here. They use crushed pumice or sand or something. Unless they are mixing salt into it and I am not aware. But I have never heard of anyone around here having any issues with salt corrosion.

 

Tire guy here. I run the Toyo G3-ices myself. They're a good balance of budget and performance. If you want the ultimate winter performance, budget be dammed, Blizzaks it is. If you want that, but have a vendetta against Bridgestone, go with Michelin X-ice. If you're extremely budget conscious, both Hercules and Nokian offer a budget snow tire that balances out well, wears well, and seem to perform good for the price you're paying.

 

This.

That said, I picked up some used 2nd gen rims for my snow tires and am plenty happy with them, they were cheaper than getting steelies, and I couldn't find those anyway.

 

Ok just ordered the Blizzaks from Discount Tire. Will just have them use my existing wheels and look at maybe buying a new set of wheels for my current tires later. Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

Do any of you guys run oversized winters such as 33”?