Winter Snow Tires

[Corbet]

I have the Nokian Outposts as my summer tires. Not even close to the performance of a true snow tire in the winter. IMO anyone who argues an AT is great in the winter simply has never owned modern dedicated snow tires.

But if you only need snow performance a couple times per year then yah its tough to justify snow tires. In my case without them I may not get home.

 

[BDK]

If you're only planning on 3-4 trips a year to Tahoe on I-80, I would not buy winter tires. Yes, they're the best choice for driving in the snow. However, from a strictly safety perspective, winter tires suck on warm pavement. They slow down slower, they take longer to brake, and generally, are just too darn soft in warm environments. I'd buy a solid AT and chains if I were in your situation. I live in Colorado and I always run winter tires in the winter. The problem, it gets very warm here in the winter with bright sunny days and those winter tires aren't great during those days. So I no longer put winter tires on both of my vehicles and drive the vehicle without winter tires when the temps are getting close to 55+.

Thanks, and I agree this probably makes the most sense. I've comfortably run Toyo Open Country's on a unibody before, I'm just not familiar with body on frame vehicles in icy conditions. So I'll just carry chains for those few times it get really dodgy

 

[BDK]

Look in the manual regarding chains.

thanks... I'll carry cables and make sure they're tight. If I ever even need them- most"ski" trips lately have been on dry pavement with a mountain bike on the rack! Hoping for a much colder and wetter winter ahead

 

[Altitude]

I have the Nokian Outposts as my summer tires. Not even close to the performance of a true snow tire in the winter. IMO anyone who argues an AT is great in the winter simply has never owned modern dedicated snow tires.

But if you only need snow performance a couple times per year then yah its tough to justify snow tires. In my case without them I may not get home.

I think people conflate the idea of traction on loose and irregular surfaces with snow performance, since in certain conditions snow can be a loose and irregular surface. That’s where AT tires give an advantage.

But what we think of as winter driving is almost always packed snow and ice on paved roads - where tread compound makes much more difference. For proof, look at the tread design on Blizzak DM-V2 and Hakke R5. Neither looks like an AT tire tread, both obviously emphasize surface patch contact.

 

[jpto]

Howdy - I’m a Colorado guy as well. I have homes in Castle Rock and Avon, so I take tires pretty seriously given that I go up and down the hill a lot in pretty much every kind of weather.

I’ve got Blizzak DM-V2 for the winter. They are on the OEM 20” wheels that are like yours. These tires and the Hakke R5 are probably the top performing snow tires, but I’ll argue it doesn’t matter which snow tire you have - they’re all very effective compared to all-season tires for winter use.

Last winter I was terrified that I was driving the tread off of mine, since it was so warm all winter. I suppose I probably did burn off more than a season’s worth of rubber but I still think I’ll get 4 winters out of them.

The Grandtreks are fine highway tires. They work but they aren’t sexy. I think the compound on them is pretty soft - mine have about 15,000 miles and look like they have 6 or 8K left at the current burn rate. Compared with a similar top quality highway tire like the Michelin Defender M/S - I’ve gotten 60 or 70,000 miles out of a set of those on a Tahoe in the past. I plan to replace my Grandtreks with a set of on-road all-terrain tires like the Goodrich TrailTerrain or the Conti TerrainContact AT. These have enough tread to get me up and down a fire road to a trailhead but are still effective highway tires. They also give the vehicle more of the off-road look it seems to need without making it look like a tractor.

If for some reason I decided to stop running winter tires I would probably get Nokian Outpost nAT, which seem to be the best all-season all-terrain tires for winter use.

Another tire worth a look is the Bridgestone Dueler AT Ascent, it's supposed to be quiet and have great winter traction. I've heard the Nokian NAT's are great for winter traction for the first couple of seasons but lose their edge after some wear

 

[RUN-8]

https://www.michelinman.com/auto/browse-tires/by-season/winter

All top rate.
The X ice snow are very very good.
Pick the best, forget the rest.
View attachment 74700

My set in 265/70/R18 have been excellent so far. Hoping for more snow this winter, we need the moisture and I need to have fun in the snow.

 

[MSINAL]

Manual says we're not supposed to use snow chains due to limited clearances. Manual says a lot of things we're not supposed to do..

 

[rjw250]

My only argument against a dedicated ice tire instead of a better AT tire is that if you drive in a lot of deep snow that can be slushy, then the AT might perform better. In the Sierra Nevada mountains on the west coast, AT tires perform better than ice/snow tires. There’s not much in the way of ice out here (only 1 year in the last 20 years was icy). Snow can be wet on the roads and AT tires have the needed tread depth and gaps on the edges to get rid of the slush. My MIL had tried both on her outback and regretted getting the snow tires for that reason. AT tires around Tahoe were much better suited to the road conditions we get out here. Driving through a foot or more of slush can be tough without an AT tire. That’s why I only get an AT tire that will work well in deep/slushy snow. Consider what your driving conditions are like there in the winter.

Which ATs do you like? Most my winter driving will be in Sierra Nevadas. I’m thinking Dueler Ascent on stock 20s. I also need the LC for getting to work at seal level so hoping to not take a big mpg hit.

 

[05Moose]

Which ATs do you like? Most my winter driving will be in Sierra Nevadas. I’m thinking Dueler Ascent on stock 20s. I also need the LC for getting to work at seal level so hoping to not take a big mpg hit.

It depends on your off road use. If you only venture off road on regular forest roads, I’d stick with the SL load rating tires. If I was picking one for that with normal snow driving (I go snow wheeling and have to air down so SL load isn’t for me), I’d go with the Falken Wildpeaks. I tend to stick to brands with good reviews and past experience. For me, I’ll go with snow performance (kids live on the west side of the Sierras while I’m on the east side, so a trip over the mountains in winter is a given) and take into account highway noise and find something that meets both my wants.