re-fresh

Hey all, I need some opinions on what tires to run through an interior BC Canada winter. We recently got our first truck, a 2014 xlt 4x4, and I don't think the stock Goodyear SRAs will be a safe option during the winter, especially when I'm carting my kids around. In addition, I need something that will work for occasional trips to the ski hill or trips to the coast over mountain passes. It looks like I have three options:

1. Get dedicated snow tires on a separate set of rims and run them when it gets cold and ugly. (I do have an extra set of oem 17 inch rims if needed)
2. Get something like the BFG KO2s and run them year round.
3. Get dedicated snows for winter and run the KO2s for the other 3 seasons.

I do want to (eventually) get something like the KO2s to replace the stock tires, but I could probably get two more years out of the stock tires if I ran winters.
I also wonder about all-terrains after a few years: when they wear and become questionable for winter use, I'd need to replace them when they'd still be useable for 8 months of the year....not the case with dedicated snow tires.

I also don't put very many kms on my vehicles each year (~12k kms) so dedicated snows would probably get me 4+ quality seasons.

Thanks for helping a seriously indecisive individual

thebreba

Personally I'd just get AT's... I mave a set of 33 Master Craft AT's and love them in the winter. It's more personal preference I suppose.

Trailbreak74

This is always a loaded question and gets asked multiple times a year on every forum.

Some will argue vehemently that everyone should always use snow tires even if they drive only one mile a year in the snow.

Others will swear up and down they drive in blizzard conditions every day with bald summer tires and 2wd with no problems.

The stock tires might do ok in the snow. They are all season tires after all. It seems kind of wasteful to just chuck them without even trying to drive on them in the snow.

akincan

I have the same truck as you with the goodyear sra's on 18 inch rims. For winter I run LT265 70 17 on ford oem steel rims. The winter tires I use are Arctic Claw Winter Xsi with studs. Got them from Kal Tire. I am very pleased with how the perform. And will continue to run the Sra's in the other seasons.

There is no replacement for a dedicated studded winter tire. These are probably my 4th set of studded winter tires. Get winter tires for winter and what ever you want for the rest of the year. I don't offroad so I like the sra's for the other months.

now this is just my opinion and you probably hear that AT or MT will be fine. (not)
And Always look for the symbol with the mountain with snowflakes in it.
M & S without it is not a true winter tire. You don't necessarily have to have studs, but why not !!
Some places in B.C. have mandatory winter tire requirement on certain hiways.

I figured I have a pretty expensive piece of equipment, why not put the right equipment underneath it to make it safe as possible.

ThePopesBoner

i got my 2010 f150 because i was sick of how ****ty my 2005 Chrysler 300 rear wheel drive got around in the winter, and i was all giddy first snowfall and ready to go for a drive in my new 4x4. first turn i ended up sliding in to the curb (i was going slow and testing it out). this is with the stock upgraded goodforyear tires you see on all the trucks. i went out and got some yokohama ice tires and they preformed in all conditions almost like it was summer. unfortunately they only lasted me 4 winters (30,000km/year) and my new Cooper M+S tires arent nearly as grabby but i still dread not having them on first snowfall.

im an avid believer now that everyone should be driving as safe of a vehicle as they can within reason... i dont care if you've driven 20 years without an accident on your all season tires because you "take it slow and drive carefully" in the winter, you still dont have the stopping distance you would with winter tires, and that stopping distance could make the difference of a life one day. maybe its a wild animal jumping out in front of you or an unaware pedestrian, or another driver runs a red and you would have been able to stop in time if not for your ****ty tires.

Logan24

Just go with a set of KO2s or Duratracs.
You aren't going to need anything more. I live in Alberta and have a set of Duratracs I run year round. Just rotate them every 10k Kms and you'll be just fine.
To be honest the SRA's would still get you by as long as you drive for the conditions.
I will always run Duratracs on my truck now. They are unreal in winter conditions and I drive through Jasper all the time.

AK49FordTruck

Really depends on your climate and how your roads are treated (if at all).

For me it's a must for dedicated snow tires 6 months out of the year. I run Blizzaks on my F-150, Chrysler and F-250 with Studded Cooper M+S on my Excursion.

Our 2013 F-150 at work has the Goodyear SRA's on it year round and I refuse to drive it when the roads are slick i'll take my personal truck with good tires.



This is the crap I deal with, this was from this morning.

F150XTR

I tend to agree with this - when I went from a car to the truck, the added weight of the truck and the 4WD made winter driving less slip and slide even with the SRA's. I went 2 winters in Calgary with the SRA's and it was better than my car with Blizzaks. This winter I bought Michelin X-ice from Costco just because the SRA's are worn and I need ice (but not deep snow) traction on our city roads. Costco has a good price and $70 off a set of four until the end of November.

If you are going to run dedicated winter tires, a second set of rims is really needed, rather than changing tires every year, which will beat up the tires and rims and isn't cost effective at all. Kijiji lists all sorts of OE aluminum take-offs at prices competitive with cop car steelies.

F150XTR

Is that a road, or a skating rink?

AK49FordTruck

Last week and this week this is what the roads have looked like. Damn near like they plowed it with a Zamboni eh? With the F-150 i have 360lb of gravel in the back and Blizzaks and keep it in 4x4/Auto 4x4 all winter long it handles great. My Excursion does well with just the studded Coopers/4x4 and the Chrysler is a tank with the Blizzaks and AWD.

last Monday it was nearly 200 wrecks, Today it was less then 100.