What are your opinions on the best tires for the snow? I'm not talking about all terrain tires but snow specific tires that will be swapped out once spring comes.

Ain't got any yet. I'll tell ya next winter. I'm doing fine up here in 35 degree afternoon temperatures, straight ice/sandy snow on the ground with my bfg at/ko's.

Most big names with the AT design and good siping.


Michelin, Cooper, Bridgestone, Toyo just to name a few. I have the Cooper Discoverers on mine. The ones I happen to have now are the ST, but I also had them put some extra sipes on them besides the ones they all ready have. They do me fine compared to the amount of power these trucks have. I did have a set of the Discoverer AT on my plow truck and they worked great.


Siping is the big key to a good snow/ice tire. I don't and never have had cleats (studs) put on my tires. I feel they are a false sence of security.

I run studded 265/75-16 Buckshot mudders in the winter and they work good.


When it comes to going to work at 3:30am, I don't like messing around w/ ice and unplowed roads.


I like the false sense of security they give me http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/hihi.gif

The forest rangers all run skinny tires not big fat ones. They say the bite is better because of the heavier load per sq inch.



I know I was slipping and sliding real bad and even got stuck with my h2's this first snow.......

I highly recommend the BFG's AT/KO's; have run a ton of miles in the winter pulling a trailer for years in Quebec/Ontario/Michigan/Wisconsin and they have done more than I could ever ask in snow/sleet/slush/ice. I am running a set of Michelin LTS M/S in the summer.

I have run Bridgestone Blizack's in size 235/85R16 E since 01 on my plow truck and love them, this will be the last season for winter but they will have 30k as snow tires, I'll finish them off over summer and put a new set on for next season. They have very good hook up on ice or hard pack snow.

I'm with blizzardplowman... I've never had blizzack's on the dmax, but did on my car... they were fantastic! I drove through stuff guys with 4wd and bad tires got stuck in. First fwd car I had that the rear end broke loose when powering through a snowy corner, quite fun.
Blizzacks all the way. Pretty neat tread pattern, split and all....

my 2c

Chris

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The forest rangers all run skinny tires not big fat ones. They say the bite is better because of the heavier load per sq inch.

skinny tires may be better, but it is NOT because of the heavier load/sq in. load per sq/in is determined by the the tire pressure, not much else. a low profile tire has a wide /narrow contact patch, a high profile has a long narrow contact patch, but for the same tire pressure the contact patch AREA is the same. area=(total tire load/tire pressure) comes from basic physics. for example, if you have 3000 lbs on a tire and pressure of 100 ps (lbs/sq in) the contact patch (area) = (3000lbs/100lbs/sq in)=30 square inches. it is INDEPENDENT of the tire profile. (This neglects the sidewall strength, which is minor and may change the contact patch area by a few %).

On my cummins I run mickey thompsons radial baja claws in the winter.They seemed to work very well, I'll try my BFG ATs this winter as I've also had good luck with them in the past.

I run Dunlop Rover RVXT. They are extreme snow rated with the snowflake on the mountain symbol on the tire. I use them year round. They are great in rain and snow, but I haven't driven on hard packed snow with them. If it's snowing much, even my wife takes the truck instead of the suburban with the Michelin LTX.
We live in Tennessee now, but had always lived in lots of snow before. The RVXT is a newer tire, different tread pattern, and I think that's why it works well. Discount tire direct had best prices before.

I run cooper M&S studded. They work great up here in the mountains.
Steve

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The forest rangers all run skinny tires not big fat ones. They say the bite is better because of the heavier load per sq inch.
Okay, when I was too young and out of money to afford a truck, I drove a Ford Escort (Hey it was all I could afford). There were MANY times when there was snow on the backroads where my folks lived that never even got plowed. Me and my little ole Escort made it around all day long on those skinny little tires, many, many, many times passing 4x4's off in the ditch with big ole snow tires. I just figured either they thought they were invincible with a 4x4 and took stupid chances, or those big tires didn't do a d*mn thing for them. I always got the feeling that my little skinny tires 'cut' through the snow better. I never ONCE got stuck, although one time I was haulin' arse down a road (it wasn't snowing, but very cold) and went down a hill coming up to a sharp corner, layed on the brakes and did the quickest 360 I could imagine when I hit a patch of ice. Needless to say, I nearly sh!t my pants. . . on the other side of the sharp turn was about a 50 foot drop into the Meramac river. . . shook me up pretty good, rest of the way home I decided to do the speed limit. . .

I say skinny does have something to do with it. A narrow contact patch will have less of a tendency to "float" at speed, than a wide patch.
Skinny with sipes/studs, Nuff said.;)

I've always said you shouldn't even be allowed to buy a 4WD vehicle until you prove you can drive a 2WD in the snow.
I run 235/85/16. Never a problem in the white. Been in trouble in gooey mud once or twice though...

dare i ask why people with mud rigs or just people that go mudding have big old wide fat tires?? i wonder if its for floatation??? i was always told that you want to go through the drift not over it. but the ways its been around here it has to snow first!!

I run 265's - Pro-Comp mud terrains..........

I like them..winter only tires.

T:cool: NY

bigsky1,
do you like the M&S, I was thinking about trying them. I like the sipeing on these tires. wonder how they wear.(without studs) Thanks
Mark

Traction King.

Good only for winter though and howl like 7 banshee's on dry tarmac.
But real good in the snow....

I'm running studded Cooper Discoverer M+S 245/75/16. They had a lot of sway when I first put them on, but they seem to be wearing in nicely. I live in Maine and they are REALLY cracking down on a law prohibiting you from changing tire sizes to anything but factory (I know, I know). The guys at my local tire shop run these on their gas job HD's and love them. They have extra sipes for the wet/icy/snowy/sh*t we so often get up here. I'm looking forward to putting to the test. I have been running Cooper Discoverer LTs for the past 7 years on my 1500. I loved them! They were quiet, and smooth. I ran Dayton Timberline ATs for one year and threw them away. They wouldn't clean themselves properly. Anyway, enough rambling.

I've never actually run them but from my research online I've found the Nokian snow tires get good reviews also.

[QUOTE=sprintmod1]I highly recommend the BFG's AT/KO's; have run a ton of miles in the winter pulling a trailer for years in Quebec/Ontario/Michigan/Wisconsin and they have done more than I could ever ask in snow/sleet/slush/ice.

I agree, I am running them on my truck now and they are by far the best tire i have run in the snow.

mpete05lly,
I do like the cooper M&S. I was looking for a studdable tire for all the hard pack and ice we have. These had a good agressive tread and good stud pattern. Second season on them and still look like new.
Steve

I've been interested in try'ing the studless snow/ice tires for a while. I like the idea of not having studs, but not sacrificing much traction on ice. Not sure if I believe the "temperature specific rubber compound" though. Do they make this type of tire in a 10 ply?

My dealer has a 265-75r16 in ten ply in the m&s cooper. I am going with a 275-75R 17 in a 6 ply because I don't haul more than 8000 lbs.

the cooper M+S are well talked about by the plow guys. I'm looking at trying the green dimond tires. http://www.high-tec-retreading.com The dunlop radial rover rt's I have are great in the snow for a AT type tire but they still arnt a snow tire. Throw a few hundered pounds in the back behind the rear wheels and you will be good to go. Either sand or if you use bags of water softner salt you can use it up come spring. Make sure your ballast is well secured though!!!

I've got Nokian snows on my wife's Saturn wagon. They've lasted me 4 years and still look brand new. They do a great job in snow/ice/slush. I would expect equally good results on a truck tire.