Winter/Summer Tires (traction/fuel economy)

[HPNQ420]

Ahhh... Tires, I love the smell of new rubber in the morning.

If you want the best winter tires known to man then it is Nokian Hakkapeliitta. I have a set on the subaru and our explorer. You can literally stomp the gas on a sheet of ice and between the electronics of the AWD and the tires you just go straight like a bat out of hades.

This is truth, and they make them 265/70 - 17.

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[Merc4x4]

Ahhh... Tires, I love the smell of new rubber in the morning.

I could go on forever on this subject but I will not, this time. I've got winter tires/rims for two of my vehicles but have the best all-season all-terrain tire known to man at this time on my trucks. The reason is simple, my wife needs all the assistance she can get in the winter and I feel better giving her that.

If you want the best tire for ALL conditions use the Copper ST maxx. The only draw back is the less mileage you get but you do get excellent winter, dirt, gravel, mud performance and do not have to mess with tire swapping.

If you want the best winter tires known to man then it is Nokian Hakkapeliitta. I have a set on the subaru and our explorer. You can literally stomp the gas on a sheet of ice and between the electronics of the AWD and the tires you just go straight like a bat out of hades.

With this information you may go forth and prosper, go with god. (pls read with sarcasm)

I love my Cooper ST Maxx tires. Great traction everywhere.

 

[KrazeeEyezKilla]

Anyone know what winter options there are for the 35” Sas tires? I don’t know if the ones they are shipping with the vehicle are 3 peak. But even if they are, I might need true winter tires where I live. I just haven’t seen any 35” snow tires on sites like tirerack. The KO2s could be a compromise.

 

[AKBronc49]

Anyone know what winter options there are for the 35” Sas tires? I don’t know if the ones they are shipping with the vehicle are 3 peak. But even if they are, I might need true winter tires where I live. I just haven’t seen any 35” snow tires on sites like tirerack. The KO2s could be a compromise.

I’ll be going with Nokian Hakkapelitta 315/70R17 LT3 studded on my Bronco for half the year.

 

[dcmdon]

The regular tires will be "fine".

Unless you want to get your ass kicked by an AWD Volvo or Audi that actually goes better through the snow than your Bronco.

I'm not kidding. Snow traction is all about tires. And the best tires in the snow are . . . snow tires. Until recently you couldn't get REAL snow tires in truck sizes.

Now you can. Google Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3

This tire is sold in 285/70-17 for non Sas and 315/70-17 sizes for Sasquatch trucks.

Real snows are TRANSFORMATIVE in how a vehicle handles in the snow. No joke.

 

[AKBronc49]

Real snows are TRANSFORMATIVE in how a vehicle handles in the snow. No joke.

No question! I just swapped my Blizzaks off last night for my summer Toyo AT3's on my F-150. Friday was the first time I've put it in 2wd since late October 2020 (in auto 4x4 the whole winter) if you deal with real winter conditions, nothing will hold a candle to real dedicated snow tires.

 

[HPNQ420]

The regular tires will be "fine".

Unless you want to get your ass kicked by an AWD Volvo or Audi that actually goes better through the snow than your Bronco.

I'm not kidding. Snow traction is all about tires. And the best tires in the snow are . . . snow tires. Until recently you couldn't get REAL snow tires in truck sizes.

Now you can. Google Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3

This tire is sold in 285/70-17 for non Sas and 315/70-17 sizes for Sasquatch trucks.

Real snows are TRANSFORMATIVE in how a vehicle handles in the snow. No joke.

And Nokia’s 265’s will be better than either on snow covered roads

 

[KrazeeEyezKilla]

No question! I just swapped my Blizzaks off last night for my summer Toyo AT3's on my F-150. Friday was the first time I've put it in 2wd since late October 2020 (in auto 4x4 the whole winter) if you deal with real winter conditions, nothing will hold a candle to real dedicated snow tires.

I just took off my Blizzaks for the summer as well on both my car and the wife’s. I hadn’t come across the LT3s in my initial search for Sasquatch sized snow tires, so thank you all for the recommendation.

 

[jjack50]

I run 3 peak KO2s on my F350 all year round including New Hampshire winters with plenty of snow. The tires are great. Got 30,000 miles on my current set and there is still plenty of good meat on them.

 

[Rusty Sheckleford]

I use winter tires on factory wheels as a good excuse to get some sweet aftermarket wheels for the summer.

It's an easy sell since the wife is from the south...
Safety first, ya know!
Lol.

Ima have to remember that sell in case I ever find a woman crazy enough to get with me.

 

[Lakelife36]

Gotta agree with most of these posts. If you have actual winter conditions for more than a short stretch each year you should have actual winter tires. And like @HoosierDaddy points out, all that means is that you're buying twice as many tires half the time and you can also treat yourself to a nice set of rims.

A good set of all-terrains with the mountain snowflake may perform well in many types of snow but will not do well on ice. You need soft rubber, siped and/or studded tires for ice. We run Toyo Open Country A/T IIs in the summer and still have Nokkian Hakkapolitas for the winter.

 

[dcmdon]

And Nokia’s 265’s will be better than either on snow covered roads

Yes, they will. Skinny is better with snow tires. I don't have time to research now, but it would be interesting if Nokia made 75 series tires so you could have the correct sidewall height with 265s or so.

Back in the late 80s / early 90s, I had a low budget Saab 900 turbo that I put together while working as a used car tech at a Saab dealer.

My summer tires were 205/50s. My winter tires were Vredestein 165/70s. That thing was a beast in the snow for that era.

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