Observations with first snowfall

[basicxj]

Thanks for posting this. I need to spend some time reading it to figure out which tires to move to

So many decisions- I can’t say I escaped analysis paralysis during the process, but Markarian421’s efforts did help in eventually coming to a decision

 

[RUN-8]

I agree that the stock tires suck in the snow.

Mine are the 20” Dunlops. Not impressive at all, a mediocre tire in all aspects. I’ll run them till they’re worn out in another year or so.

I bought some take off wheels from another member and put a full set of Michelin X-Ice Snow 265/70/R18 on them. Changed out wheels a week or two ago and got the TPMS to pick up after 40 miles of driving. They did great last year, and first snow this year they continue to impress. Snow tires are the bomb in the winter.

 

[FifthToyota]

I've been running 265/70 R18 BF Goodrich All-Terrain KO3 tires on all five OEM wheels since January 2025. Only a handful of days on snow last winter, but they performed as expected with no issues. It's a great year round tire for most conditions, and last a long time on a 5-way tire rotation schedule.

 

[GBee]

Today was the first time I’ve driven my LC in the snow, and the stock Yokohama Geolander’s are absolute garbage in snow. I’ve spent over 50 years driving in Colorado and Chicago snows, so I’m very accustomed to snow and ice, but today was ridiculous. We have only a couple of inches on the ground, but the LC was sliding everywhere, even while barely crawling.

Can anyone recommend a better year round tire that is 1) a simple swap for the OEM tires, no modification needed, and 2) a significant upgrade for driving in snow and ice?

If I have to incur a bit less MPGs and some additional noise, I can live with it. There’s no way I can drive this LC all winter on the Yokohama tires.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I do not know if you have a Discount tire Store in your neighborhood, but I immediately have them replace my tires with: LT255/70 R18 BF Goodrich All terrain. No need to modify your LC. They work great for me in dry, rain and snow.

 

[hikerdrg]

Going back to the sensor issues, what sensors should be turned off for winter driving? This will be my first winter driving the LC in the snow.
Thanks

 

[dgmilc]

These tires work great. In fact, I might even run them year-round.

I drove with these for about five months last winter. They’ve worn about a third of their tread. I just remounted them and the car drives so much better.

I know that I’ll go through them quick but the car drives so much better even in warm weather.

Yes, they are a little bit bigger, but there are no issues.

275/60R-20 NOKIAN HAKKAPELIITTA R5 SUV XL

 

[ultane]

If I have to incur a bit less MPGs and some additional noise, I can live with it. There’s no way I can drive this LC all winter on the Yokohama tires.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Out west, there is a tire/sevice company called Les Schwab. They offer a service to ‘sipe’ peoples tires. Basically, cutting razor thin cuts in the tires every 1/4”, almost the full thickness of the tread, for $20 per tire. It basically turns them into ‘snow tires’, albeit not as good as Michelin Ice or Blizzaks, but still an incredible improvement in snow/ice griping ability. Siping also makes the tires quieter and run cooler. I had them sipe my ‘06 Avalanche Goodyear Wranglers (IIRC) back in ‘07, and it made an incredible difference in snow and ice traction driving up to the ski slopes in Boise, McCall, and Sun Valley.

I looked everywhere in a 200 mile radius of where I now live, and virtually no one had even heard of tire siping. When my GF and I travelled out west to see the redwoods, I stopped in to one of the Les Schwab garages and had them sipe Miss Daisy’s OEM Michelins, which are significantly quieter now. I haven’t tried them on snow and ice yet, as it is not a very frequent occurrence where we live. So my plan is now to wear these tires down before buying Bridgestone Dueler Ascent AT’s which have 3PMSF rating, and are very close to the weight of the OEM Michelins, so they might not adversely affect MPG’s as much as other AT’s.

 

[ultane]

The tires, I'm just going to replace when I run the tread off of these, I think and hope for the best.

Find a Les Schwab tire store (if they are in your area) and have your tires siped. Game changer, for $20/tire..

 

[Ike582]

I do not know if you have a Discount tire Store in your neighborhood, but I immediately have them replace my tires with: LT255/70 R18 BF Goodrich All terrain. No need to modify your LC. They work great for me in dry, rain and snow.

I'm booked at Discount Tire on Wednesday for new shoes!

 

[PDPete]

But what really gets me is how Toyota specified such a crappy tire for the LC. Maybe they assume the typical LC buyer wants to choose their own tire, or just selected a tire purely for maximum MPG, but damn, those Yokohama tires are downright dangerous in the snow.

I agree...but the only thing I can figure is:

- The stock tires are chosen, in part, to get the advertised fuel economy

- They want a comfortable ride for test drivers

- They know a large portion of folks that buy SUVs like this and give a shit are just gonna swap out tires immediately anyway, and there's no single type or size of tire that will appeal to everyone anyway, so may as well focus on the first two bullet points.

 

[Ike582]

I agree...but the only thing I can figure is:

- The stock tires are chosen, in part, to get the advertised fuel economy

- They want a comfortable ride for test drivers

- They know a large portion of folks that buy SUVs like this and give a shit are just gonna swap out tires immediately anyway, and there's no single type or size of tire that will appeal to everyone anyway, so may as well focus on the first two bullet points.

I agree, and anyway most of the country just doesn't receive enough snow for people to be concerned.

 

[basicxj]

I agree...but the only thing I can figure is:

- The stock tires are chosen, in part, to get the advertised fuel economy

- They want a comfortable ride for test drivers

- They know a large portion of folks that buy SUVs like this and give a shit are just gonna swap out tires immediately anyway, and there's no single type or size of tire that will appeal to everyone anyway, so may as well focus on the first two bullet points.

That is the truth in a nutshell- the chosen stock tires produce reasonable mileage and a portion of the buying public will consider them "good enough." Enthusiasts who want optimal traction for snow, off-road will probably understand a tire swap is in their immediate future after eyeballing what their Land Cruiser comes with.

It isn't just true for Land Cruisers, but for many 4WD/AWD vehicles sold to the masses- a number of these vehicles come with tires barely adequate for three season driving.

 

[JoT.]

I agree that the stock tires suck in the snow.

Mine are the 20” Dunlops. Not impressive at all, a mediocre tire in all aspects. I’ll run them till they’re worn out in another year or so.

I bought some take off wheels from another member and put a full set of Michelin X-Ice Snow 265/70/R18 on them. Changed out wheels a week or two ago and got the TPMS to pick up after 40 miles of driving. They did great last year, and first snow this year they continue to impress. Snow tires are the bomb in the winter.

Put X-Ice into n new 4 runner they are great, but… won’t last long on regular season driving

 

[JoT.]

So many decisions- I can’t say I escaped analysis paralysis during the process, but Markarian421’s efforts did help in eventually coming to a decision

I’ve been looking for new tires since July 2024 for my LC .. analysis paralysis continues. If I want two sets of tires, I would definitely go with the Michelin X ice.

 

[JoT.]

Out west, there is a tire/sevice company called Les Schwab. They offer a service to ‘sipe’ peoples tires. Basically, cutting razor thin cuts in the tires every 1/4”, almost the full thickness of the tread, for $20 per tire. It basically turns them into ‘snow tires’, albeit not as good as Michelin Ice or Blizzaks, but still an incredible improvement in snow/ice griping ability. Siping also makes the tires quieter and run cooler. I had them sipe my ‘06 Avalanche Goodyear Wranglers (IIRC) back in ‘07, and it made an incredible difference in snow and ice traction driving up to the ski slopes in Boise, McCall, and Sun Valley.

I looked everywhere in a 200 mile radius of where I now live, and virtually no one had even heard of tire siping. When my GF and I travelled out west to see the redwoods, I stopped in to one of the Les Schwab garages and had them sipe Miss Daisy’s OEM Michelins, which are significantly quieter now. I haven’t tried them on snow and ice yet, as it is not a very frequent occurrence where we live. So my plan is now to wear these tires down before buying Bridgestone Dueler Ascent AT’s which have 3PMSF rating, and are very close to the weight of the OEM Michelins, so they might not adversely affect MPG’s as much as other AT’s.

My daughter in CO had that same company sipe her tires and it was day/night difference in snow and ice

 

[basicxj]

I’ve been looking for new tires since July 2024 for my LC .. analysis paralysis continues. If I want two sets of tires, I would definitely go with the Michelin X ice.

My knee jerk reaction was to go with another set of BFG all terrains, but decided on Toyo Open Country AT3 EVs and have been pretty pleased with them so far.

 

[JoT.]

My knee jerk reaction was to go with another set of BFG all terrains, but decided on Toyo Open Country AT3 EVs and have been pretty pleased with them so far.

Nice I’ve been looking at those for a while now - keep watching Tyre reviews so I keep going back and forth on what to do

 

[juevi]

Agreed on the sensors distracting and making things dangerous. Toyota needs to know this and pay attention. It's outrageously distracting.

 

[basicxj]

Nice I’ve been looking at those for a while now - keep watching Tyre reviews so I keep going back and forth on what to do

Years ago (before internet forums and online reviews), life was simpler in terms of choosing pretty much everything. You paid your money and took your chances.

While everyone with a keyboard has an opinion, there is no guarantee an online review is going to be the same as yours. The Land Cruiser itself is case in point. While I love ours, there have been a few unhappy customers on this very forum who moved theirs on. The same contradictory views can be found all over YouTube. When I bought some (then new) K02s for my Jeep there were a bunch of people pooping on them all over the interwebz, but in the years I had mine they certainly fit my use case and then some. No matter which tires you choose, driving for the conditions present is half the battle. If I took every online opinion as gospel there is a chance I would have missed out on some good vehicles and products along the way.

 

[dkhorse74]

I will have to agree with everyone about the YokoJUNK!! They are absolute garbage tires for snow. I really would have thought Toyota would do their customers better with installing REAL tires on a Landcruiser knowing majority of us will use this rig in any weather.. I guess I gave Toyota to much faith. I was on my to get the OTT tune barley going 30mph and hit slushy snow I lost against a pine tree. Shame really.. I had Fifteen 52's on order during their sale and had to cancel the order since I don't know what the outcome of my claim will be. Bright side, I was still able to drive her home till I can get a tow truck to pick her up this week and take it to the body shop..