With all of the winter storms I was wondering how people are faring with their tires. From what I've seen so far:

snow isn't a big deal as long as it's not too deep, my crummy stock Michelins did fine in prior winters,

packed snow and ice on level ground can be a problem with sock tires,

packed snow and ice on hills is a problem with the stock Michelins,

cold, hard, smooth ice on level ground can be a problem,

'soft ice' close to freezing, especially water covered, is a big problem.

A friend has done fine so far with BFG A/Ts on his truck but I don't think he's been on soft ice yet. I've seen 4wd Jeeps with BFG A/Ts stall on the steep street our house is on and start sliding backwards. Coworkers in larger Fords also had problems with their BFG A/Ts on soft ice.

I've been running studded Cooper M+S for three season now, and they've done well on everything except water covered ice, but I have done ok on the interstate on smooth ice close to freezing. It helps to have two to three sand tubes in the bed. I still carry chains, square link Lacledes, as I've needed them going up the hill that we live on when driving on water covered ice. I plan on studded Nokian Hakka LTs for the next set of winter tires.

 

I believe that my tires are the stock tires from 2002. They are doing ok but after this summer I will likely be investing in some new tires come fall. I run AT tires year round

 

I run Nokian Vatiivas on my truck. Lots of siping in them, but they are still an all-season tire. They are great in all weather conditions. I find it a lot more sure footed than a truck running BFG A/Ts. When these tires wear out, I'll be buying another set. Might go to some 265s though, just for looks.

 

Pro Comp AT's are WAAAYYYYYY better than the Stock Michelins that I have ran on the last 3 Dodges 3/4 tons!! Aired down ='s great traction!

 

I made a trip to MI from Va last weekend, and the bridgestone dualler at revo's did much better than I expected.

I was pulling an empty 24 ft gn out, and loaded on the way back (18,500 total), and only had tire spin 1 time, and that was starting to move uphill in a mcd's parking lot that had ice under the snow. I had also had to park in a tight turn, so it was harder to get moving. They spun for about 2 ft in 1st gear then hooked up. This was in 2wd. I drove thru up to a foot of snow with no problems.

 

Toyo Open Country A/T's or me. It was winter when the truck was picked up and the diffrence between the stock Michellins and Toyos was night and day.

 

Well I'm only in snow maybe 2% of my trucks life and my Remington Wide Brute RV tires left me spinning on a snow filled drive way. Friends 1/2 ton ford had to pull me out.

 

if going to the 265s are there any changes that I would need to make

 

Siping makes any tire into a good snow/ice tire. I'm running siped Toyo H/T, highway tire with very non aggressive straight treads. No problem at all on hills with the worst condition- water on compact snow and ice.
Siping is as good as studs plus will make your tires run cooler and last longer.
Can be done on a used tire.
More info> http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tireSiping.dos

 

mine run the same as always----they go round and round

actually ,i have the ameri trac generals that came on the truck. as long as i am towing and have weight on the rear end they do ok---take the weight off and they go nowhere on a little ice and snow

 

How much does that cost, Bill?

If you say it works, I might have to look into it...

 

I have the Toyo MT's and they have been real impressive in snow and mud . My driveway is solid ice and up hill and this is the first truck I have ever owned to make it out in 2 wheel drive when in that condition . They have about 15,000 on them now and they show very little wear and I hope they will wear good but I have my doubts with such an aggressive tread .

 

You can get a siping/grooving tool for tires. 4x4 shops would have these. Just a heated blade. Takes a while. Depends how much your time is worth.

 

These have worked real well in snow, ice...nothing but studs really work on smooth ice. They are now down to about 1/8" of tread and still work pretty good. Cooper STT

 

I really like my mastercraft courser c/t's. Cant beat em for the $. A little more agressive than an A/T tire, but not an MT. I dont really have much to compare to on ice, but I have been down to the shop a few times in the snow this year, and I havent needed 4wd yet. they seem to be wearing pretty good too.



Eric