Driving in wet snow - What tires works best?

[glademaster]

Your trusted mechanic doesn't know fuck all about winter driving if he's recommending an AT tire to you. Buy some actual winter tires, drive like you're running RWD with bald tires and you'll be fine.

I have Blizzaks on my Outback and when the roads are slick, I drive as if I have neither AWD or snow tires. I can think of 1 or 2 times when I've lost traction in about 20,000 miles. Get the best winter tires money can buy and slow the fuck down.

[PNWbrit]

Get the red ones

[whyturn]

Nokian hakkapalieta r2
My forester is a tank now

[glademaster]

Nokian hakkapalieta r2
My forester is a tank now

I prefer the Hakkapelitta 8's, they'll be the snow tires I purchase for next winter for sure. Why go with a compromise?

[ncskier]

Terrible advice all around. I take it you are driving a 4x4 truck/SUV of some kind if you ran BFG AT/Ko's. It will look ridiculous running snow tires on truck not to mention the hassle of switiching them out. Purchase the Goodyear Duratrac, they are agressive AT/MT hybrid, come in real truck sizes, they have the snowflake rating symbol on the tire so they are rated for snow, which most AT's are not and they are a beast in mud and dry terrain. I run them on my super crew f150, they are 34" tall and about 11.5" wide and have no problem in snow and mud. They are great all around AT/MT hybrid tire for trucks. I am presuming you have a full size truck and not an outback, in that case the duratracs will look ridiculous
Edit-you can also pin them for studs. Plus they are quiet as a year round tire

[El Chupacabra]

Terrible advice all around. I take it you are driving a 4x4 truck/SUV of some kind if you ran BFG AT/Ko's. It will look ridiculous running snow tires on truck not to mention the hassle of switiching them out. Purchase the Goodyear Duratrac, they are agressive AT/MT hybrid, come in real truck sizes, they have the snowflake rating symbol on the tire so they are rated for snow, which most AT's are not and they are a beast in mud and dry terrain. I run them on my super crew f150, they are 34" tall and about 11.5" wide and have no problem in snow and mud. They are great all around AT/MT hybrid tire for trucks. I am presuming you have a full size truck and not an outback, in that case the duratracs will look ridiculous
Edit-you can also pin them for studs. Plus they are quiet as a year round tire

AT tires work pretty well in snow for 4WD vehicles - including the BFG - but they still don't have the rubber compound that snow tires do. They're a good choice if you don't want to deal with two sets and swapping tires.

The snowflake symbol on some AT tires doesn't mean they're as good as true winter tires in snow. But they will generally work pretty well. For example, the Goodyear Silent Armor AT tires I have on my 4Runner are decent in snow, but nowhere as grippy as the Blizzak DMV1 snow set I have currently for winter.

OTOH, just buy a CRV, as those are unstoppable. Just ask rog.

[Danno]

Terrible advice all around. I take it you are driving a 4x4 truck/SUV of some kind if you ran BFG AT/Ko's. It will look ridiculous running snow tires on truck not to mention the hassle of switiching them out. Purchase the Goodyear Duratrac, they are agressive AT/MT hybrid, come in real truck sizes, they have the snowflake rating symbol on the tire so they are rated for snow, which most AT's are not and they are a beast in mud and dry terrain. I run them on my super crew f150, they are 34" tall and about 11.5" wide and have no problem in snow and mud. They are great all around AT/MT hybrid tire for trucks. I am presuming you have a full size truck and not an outback, in that case the duratracs will look ridiculous
Edit-you can also pin them for studs. Plus they are quiet as a year round tire

Did you just say that getting dedicated snows is "terrible advice"? I mean, there are reasons not to get them -- cost, hassle, etc -- but it's most certainly not terrible advice to say "get dedicated snow tires" when the OP is asking for what does best in, you know, snow.

[glademaster]

Did you just say that getting dedicated snows is "terrible advice"? I mean, there are reasons not to get them -- cost, hassle, etc -- but it's most certainly not terrible advice to say "get dedicated snow tires" when the OP is asking for what does best in, you know, snow.

And when the OP, despite being annoying as shit, lives somewhere that has snow and ice covered roads from November-March. You look ridiculous if you don't have snow tires in the Tetons regardless of what you drive, because it's hard to look cool in a ditch during a whiteout.

[snapt]

Did you just say that getting dedicated snows is "terrible advice"? I mean, there are reasons not to get them -- cost, hassle, etc -- but it's most certainly not terrible advice to say "get dedicated snow tires" when the OP is asking for what does best in, you know, snow.

Seriously. I went the snowflake rated AT my first winter here. Did ok, but the dedicated winters are lightyears better.

[HankScorpio]

Nokian hakkapalieta r2
My forester is a tank now

Just put Nokian WRG3s on my wife's Touareg. I'm hoping they live up to the hype.

[creaky fossil]

No tire is designed for 'snow' that is fully saturated. There isn't a tire made that won't hydroplane on an inch or two of water given enough speed relative to vehicle weight.

the salesman assured me that Mrs Internet Skier would be far safer in an AWD SUV when winter struck, and I'm ready to sue the dealership because Mrs just totaled the SUV. she did nothing wrong, she's driven the same road 100s of times in the summer.

[glademaster]

Just put Nokian WRG3s on my wife's Touareg. I'm hoping they live up to the hype.

You bought a compromise tire from Nokian, so don't expect the world. Buy R2's or Hakk 8's if you want an actual snow tire. I had WRG2's before my Blizzaks, and they were good in snow, but fell well short of a dedicated snow tire, and wore very fast, I only got about 33,000 miles out of them.

[HankScorpio]

You bought a compromise tire from Nokian, so don't expect the world. Buy R2's or Hakk 8's if you want an actual snow tire. I had WRG2's before my Blizzaks, and they were good in snow, but fell well short of a dedicated snow tire, and wore very fast, I only got about 33,000 miles out of them.

Yeah I was looking for a compromise, I like their "all weather" tire idea. These tires will be on year round so I didn't want a full blown snow tire. I heard mixed things about the WRG2s but the WRG3s come with a 55k warranty with plenty of glowing reviews. We shall see.

[XXX-er]

wet snow is the worst traction, the most slippery, wet snow falls more often in low places where it doesn't snow much so people try to sakte thru without good snow tires which all means means you will have a shit show on the road ... work from home

[sb]

the ignore function is an underused gem imo.

+1000000000000

I also want to say that although red is usually faster the black tires tend to work better.

[media310]

Appreciate everyone's feedback, just went to a local tire guy in town and was recommended the following:

Firestone Winter Force Tires (for extra bang stud em)
General Grabber AT Tires

Thinking I am going to go with an actual snow tire the Firestone route and stud them for an extra $20. My tires have plenty of life and do well in the mud, dirt and on the highway.

Also gonna throw some sand bags in the back of the old rig and see if that helps.

[Tye 1on]

sounds like Big O. Should work fine with or w/o studs.

[media310]

actually Able Auto near the Bird!

Hmm - Blizzaks or Firestone Winter Force w/ studs? Seems like everyone I have talked to that runs this Blizzaks loves them. I do a bit of highway driving as well in the winter so thinking studs would wear fast. Only down side is I would have to get a smaller tire, I guess it doesn't matter how cool your truck looks if it's in a snowbank eh

[Tye 1on]

Able's good peeps. IMHO the difference between the Winter Force and Blizzaks will be much less than the difference between either and your all-seasons. I'm on my second sets of Blizzaks in 9 winters, do love em, but have no other winter tire experience to compare it with...Don't know shit about studs/no-studs either.

[irul&ublo]

AT tires work pretty well in snow for 4WD vehicles - including the BFG - but they still don't have the rubber compound that snow tires do. They're a good choice if you don't want to deal with two sets and swapping tires.

The snowflake symbol on some AT tires doesn't mean they're as good as true winter tires in snow. But they will generally work pretty well. For example, the Goodyear Silent Armor AT tires I have on my 4Runner are decent in snow, but nowhere as grippy as the Blizzak DMV1 snow set I have currently for winter.

OTOH, just buy a CRV, as those are unstoppable. Just ask rog.

In fact, no one should ever ask anyone other than Rog for advice. Just ask him.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[NoPostholio]

In fact, no one should ever ask anyone other than Rog for advice. Just ask him.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Too late - you will have to wait a few hours for the latest manifestation of la won't

[ncskier]

Did you just say that getting dedicated snows is "terrible advice"? I mean, there are reasons not to get them -- cost, hassle, etc -- but it's most certainly not terrible advice to say "get dedicated snow tires" when the OP is asking for what does best in, you know, snow.

What I meant was, if you drive a full size truck, which I was presuming the OP was, it nearly impossible to find large truck tires made in dedicated snow tires. Therefore a good AT tire with the snow symbol and studdable would work best. I pointed out that if he had something like an outback, then a dedicated snow tire would be best. Have you ever purchased a 33-35" tire in 18-20" rim size that came from blizzak or some other dedicated snow tire. I haven't. The duratrac is real 1/2 ton truck tire in big sizes that is not attrocious like the goodrich AT/KO which I think is one of the worst tires ever in rain and snow. Now if you want to drive a big truck with rubber bands on the wheels have at it

[glademaster]

What I meant was, if you drive a full size truck, which I was presuming the OP was, it nearly impossible to find large truck tires made in dedicated snow tires. Therefore a good AT tire with the snow symbol and studdable would work best. I pointed out that if he had something like an outback, then a dedicated snow tire would be best. Have you ever purchased a 33-35" tire in 18-20" rim size that came from blizzak or some other dedicated snow tire. I haven't. The duratrac is real 1/2 ton truck tire in big sizes that is not attrocious like the goodrich AT/KO which I think is one of the worst tires ever in rain and snow. Now if you want to drive a big truck with rubber bands on the wheels have at it

Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT2. Comes as big as you would want a snow tire to be.

[jamal]

Blizzaks and the nokians come in a ton of truck sizes. Sorry, no giant bro-truck 35s, but OEM size for about any pickup out there:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....=Blizzak+DM-V1
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...yp=Truck%2FSUV

275/65-18 big enough? How about 285/50-20?

If you have to drive in snow and up mountain passes and to ski hills on a regular basis it is stupid to not have a dedicated set of snow tires.

[BCMtnHound]

The LT2 is what is on the fleet of dodge/GM/fords, 1/2 to 1tons, most with 17" rims. Approx 31" diam and studded. Even at 10ply, Load Range E, they are a bit soft for the backroads. Weight is needed in all the trucks regardless, ~400lbs in the 1/2 and about 600lbs in the 3/4 and 1tons seems to be ideal. Expensive tires, but they work. Still chain up now and then, even on a main artery between the oil sands and Vancouver. Fuck the asphalt if the road contractor can't keep up with the weather. Plenty of bitumen available for resurfacing, for the moment anyway.