moosedog

Just installed a set of Bridgestone Blizzacks, kind of been pushing my luck with the factory Goodyear Wranglers. These are now 3 years old with @ 68,000 kilometres. In my neck of the woods we don't get huge amounts of snow or extended winter conditions, but I have a bit a of drive to work, so rather than tempt fate, I put on a set of actual winter rated snows. We had some snow here last week, and Blizzacks felt pretty solid. I even braked hard at a yellow light to test them and they grabbed really well. I guess I am also extending the life of my Goodyears by taking them off for @ 5 or 6 months so. Having piece of mind is also worth something when it comes to winter driving...

all-world1

I've run snow tires on my 2 wheel drive cars for years and swear by them. On my old Trailblazer I ran Rugged Trails and they were better than the car snow tires. I've got Wrangler SR-A tires on my new F-150 and I've had no problem so far in 4 wheel considering that we've had quite a bit of snow and skating rink type intersections in the last 3 weeks.

rbs

I don't have any experience, nor heard anything about the new Goodyears. My personal experiences with Goodyear and Goodrich have not been all that great. I currently have Toyo Open Country A/T's on my F150 FX4 Eco SCREW and I am very happy with them. But, my favorite is the Firestone Destination (Wilderness) A/T. Unfortunately Firestone just started build the size I needed, but they are made in Mexico, so I passed. That tire is the best all around tire I have ever used, and the Bridgestone is probably as good, but cost more and I was getting 60,000 plus good miles out of the Firestones. Hopefully they will start building the larger sizes here in the states.

ak_cowboy

I'm running the Hankook Dynapro M/T with studs and I had them sipped. Can't complain about them at all, great traction on the highway and off-road. Only had them in about 10" of snow, no trouble there either. 285/70R17 size

scott.t.wetter

I'm out here in Duluth, MN where we just recently got blessed with 23.3 inches of snow over 3 days. I've got an old 1984 F-150 I6 4.9L with a 4-speed NP tranny w/ granny gear and 4x4. This fall I threw Cooper Discover A/T3 265/70R/15s on. From my experience driving through that storm, those tires couldn't have done any better. Oh yeah- I threw 350lbs of sand in the bed over the rear axle too which makes a huge difference keeping the *** end tracking with the truck. I don't know if it was the tires, or the ol' girl. I saw guys with newer trucks having a helluva time getting around. I had to throw it in granny gear a couple times and 4Low but she never slipped or skipped a beat. I even pulled into a driveway with about 18" of fresh wet snow, drove all the way to the end of about a 30' driveway, and just backed right out in 4Low. On the way home I ended up blasting through about a 3' drift and went down one of our notoriously steep hills with no problem in 4Low and granny gear. My passenger proceeded to come home and change his shorts after the ride but I was in full control the whole time and having no problem (actually kinda had fun- I've never owned a truck before and I've never had any version of 4WD). So just my two cents- don't know if its worth much but its all I know about this at this point. Have a good night.

Dirty White Boy

I have Goodyear wranglers snows on my 92 4x4 flareside, and I have General tire Grabber A2's on my Lariat 2005 4x4. The General Tire Grabbers are BFG's look-a-likes, with u shaped treads, but better (5 star rating). (BFG's got 3 out of 5) review. I've driven my Lariat in snow over a foot deep "in 2 wheel drive and able to get out. The peace of mind of driving snow covered highways and back country roads, it's money well spent. It's cheaper than tow trucks and auto body shops. And no heart attacks! What does suck..... is being stuck behind Gramma or some bonehead with all season tires on the highway doing 60 km with no passing lane.

ThreeOhTwo

I would generally vote "no" on the snow tires. I live in the snow belt, my road isn't plowed, and I have zero trouble. The stock all-terrain tires on the 17" and 18" rims are more than sufficient if you just put some weight in the bed and drive halfway intelligently. The only case where snow tires might help is if you have the 20+ inch rims with summer tires as those really do get poor traction in the snow. I have a friend with an '08 Limited with the 22" Pirellis and that gets about zero traction in the snow even in 4wd. My truck with its weeny little 235/75R17 stock Hankooks does perfectly fine in the snow.

ak_cowboy

I'd like to see some pics of this "snow" that stock tires have no problem with. Real winters require snow tires.

ThreeOhTwo

Here's a picture from a storm earlier this year where we got about a foot of snow. Three hours west of here had two feet of snow that killed hundreds of thousands of head of cattle a couple of months ago. Yes, we get real winters here in South Dakota.



We get enough snow that trucks are pretty well rusted out by 15 years old, nearly all of the power lines are buried, and schools only close a handful of days each year because snow isn't that big of a deal; we get quite a bit of it every year. The big issue is really with blowing snow than anything else. There aren't that many people with snow tires and unless you are an idiot driving a Prius or a RWD car with summer rubber you will generally do OK.

eyeflyone2

Wisconsin here. Blizzaks!