I am getting ready to purchase snow & ice tires for my 2500 HD. I run a 265x75x16 10 ply. It seems that my choices are: Bridgestone Blizzak W965 or Cooper Discoverer M+S.
I am familiar with the Blizzaks as we have run a similar tire on my wife's Pontiac, but I know nothing about the Cooper Discoverer M+S. The Coopers are about $175 cheaper. Does anyone have any experience with Cooper Discoverer M+S, or have any suggestions for an alternate snow & ice tire.

Thanks,

Bluediesel :ro)

Pro-Comps have the severe weather rating.........

The All Terrains are awesome.........

T;) NY

I haven't seen anything touch the Blizzak's. I have the 235's for my 2002. The 965's aren't as soft as the car series, but the bite is still second to none...

Alot of professional snowplowers runs Cooper Discoverer M+S on their rigs and swear by them.

I run the Blizzack in a 235/85 on my 01 work very well for plowing snow and great on the ice when salting.

I have personally run several sets of the Cooper M+S and have been very pleased with them. I am in charge of a fleet and we run these on many of our vehicles. Many people stud them out here for peice of mind. But they really have excellent grip on pack and ice without studs. They will wear out faster than most, as all winter tires do. However, if you run a summer tire in the off season, you should see about three seasons out of them, depending on mileage. I have not run the Blizzaks, so I can't compare. I am currently running the 265's-10 ply on my HD on a spare set of OEM aluminum rims. Look good, ride great. No complaints. Good luck

My buddy is running the coopers. He doesn't like them and he even had them studded. I have never ran coopers, so I wouldn't know, but I talked to a tire place and they said that was the first negative comment they heard about them. I guess it comes down to personal preferance. I was looking at getting some winter tires since I live in alaska, but I decided against it since they wanted 700 for 4 tires studded. (BTW I got a quote on the blizzaks and they wanted 850 for 4) I decided on BFG T/A KOs in 285. For 5 tires it was around 950. Also this way I don't have the a$$pain of getting the tires swapped over in the spring and fall.

Tack one on for the Cooper Discoverer ST's or AT's. No studs but I did have my ST's siped even more.
Good wear, snow traction, ice traction, not that loud, a true 50,000 mile tire, and good prices.

Thank you all for your helpful information.

Why do some guys run 235X85's versus the stock 245X75 for winter tires? I would think a narrower profile tire width wise would provide more lbs/sq ft to the ground than a wider one? I'm going to have Bridgestone Blizzak W965's put on shortly (245X75) and wanted to make sure I'm getting the maximum benifit from this tire profile. My thinking is to keep the stock size for warranty purposes only and I'll be upsizing to new summer rims and tires next year. Is the tire profile a personal preference or are there other factors to consider?

QUOTE=TC Dmax]Why do some guys run 235X85's versus the stock 245X75 for winter tires? I would think a narrower profile tire width wise would provide more lbs/sq ft to the ground than a wider one? I'm going to have Bridgestone Blizzak W965's put on shortly (245X75) and wanted to make sure I'm getting the maximum benifit from this tire profile. My thinking is to keep the stock size for warranty purposes only and I'll be upsizing to new summer rims and tires next year. Is the tire profile a personal preference or are there other factors to consider?[/QUOTE]
The narrower the tire the more tendency for it to dig down to find the pavement where there is better traction. whereas a wider tire like a snow shoe would tend more stay on top.

That's why a wide tire is better for mud. you will tend to stay on top instead of burying yourself. the mud tires then have wide cleat that act like paddle to push you forward.

GM and other vehicle manufactures chose the tire size for many reasons.
The best size for the mpg, the best size for gearing on the axles and the trannies, the most commen size for these size of trucks (this may be because of the vehicle manufactures), the best size for every day driving, and the best size for all types of bad road conditions. I am sure there are more reasons but these are some of the main ones I can think of.
The 285's that alot of people are putting on are very commen sizes also but they are not the best for all of the reasons mentioned above.

Johnny, the narrow tire also helps when driving in slush, the wide tire will jerk u around and the narrow tire slices through it.

U want to really play try running 18.5X 44" ground hogs for winter tires, u WILL run on top off the snow.

Hi,

I will put these up against Blizzaks anyday. Have used them in the past, and will use them again shortly. Unbeatable traction!!

They are Nokian Hakkapeliita 10, and here is the link.

( www.nokiantires (http://www.nokiantires) and chose your connection )

or http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tiresub.cfm?cid=2&sid=1

Expensive, but worth it!!

Take care

Will

I took the Bridgestone Blizzak winter drive in Steamboat Springs CO, great ride!! Awesome tires, made a believer out of me. I also have cooper m+s though on my 01 Tahoe Police Cruiser and my 05 GMC Crew..love them for the money. The blizzaks may give some added traction, however the coopers wear well and have great traction too...plus they cost less...more money for the toys!!

Had my first experience with the my new Blizzak's on yesterday and I'll I can say is these tires are fantastic. We had a semi large dumping of snow yesterday, followed by about an inch of freezing rain, then everything froze in the afternoon. Had to go rescue the wife at work last night and of course this gave me the perfect excuse to test out the new tires. Could not beleive the traction and stability of the truck even on long stretches of sheer ice. Of course using 4-hi and driving sensibly also helped lessen the stress of driving on this s**t.They are worth every penny.

I have tried both the Nokian's and Blizzaks. They are excellent ice tires. The tires I run now are Uniroyal Laredo H/D tires. They have the severe weather rating and are studdable. Not as good on ice as the Nokians and Blizzaks but are superior in the slush and deep snow because of the more open tread design. Once you try the 235/85 size tire in snow and slush you will be pleased the way they handle.