Winter tires for the mountains

[1st 75th ranger]

I live in Colorado and I normally get winter tires for my other vehicles. Is the stock tire on the badlands good enough to go down 70 or do I need dedicated winter tires?

kos not the best anymore
versatyers inteco tires mickey thompsons kendra maxxis list is way long shop around

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[604Bronco]

Sorry, you'll require these for Winter driving:

 

[Durangatan]

Interesting comments my other daily winter driver is a subaru outback which has always done fine once I get the witner tires on. I never had to have studs on the wheels before. Can you drive around the city with that or do you swap them out only when your about to go to the moutains.

I probably don't HAVE to have studs, but the extra purchase on ice is worth it for me.

We don't live in the city. We live at 7,500' in SW CO. My commute is about 30 miles. In the AM's I can count on hardpack snow and ice for half of it. In the afternoons it is softer. I also commute to the I70 corridor for PSIA clinics, ski race camp and races. That means going over Million Dollar HWY, Red Mtn Pass. Coal Bank, Wolf Creek and / or other passes several times per month.

In the PNW I commuted to Mt Baker Ski Area, from Glacier, WA. So named because it is the most highly glaciated region in the Lower 48. Mt Baker holds the record for the most snow every recorded in one winter - 1,192". 1,000" winters were not out of the question. The Coastal Snowpack is very different - higher moisture content and more moderate temps (without huge temp swings throughout the day) made studs kind of a non-starter. HIgher moisture content and more moderate temps also made for much more stable snowpack, if AT is your thing.

While studded tires are a bit of a compromise as far as performance on dry pavement, I'll take the extra security that they provide on ice as the trade-off any day in the Intercontinental Mtns. I'll never be pushing the Bronco on dry pavement. However going off the road on a pass could make for a very miserable day.

If you have a Subaru... Stick to that for winter driving. While a lot of people claim that 4WD is perfect for winter... it may be in a parking lot. However get on I70 doing 75mph on hardpack, and the GAPER with Texas plates and shitty AT tires starts to slide out and into your lane... you want AWD with torque vectoring and studded tires on your side.

 

[userdude]

I probably don't HAVE to have studs, but the extra purchase on ice is worth it for me.

We don't live in the city. We live at 7,500' in SW CO. My commute is about 30 miles. In the AM's I can count on hardpack snow and ice for half of it. In the afternoons it is softer. I also commute to the I70 corridor for PSIA clinics, ski race camp and races. That means going over Million Dollar HWY, Red Mtn Pass. Coal Bank, Wolf Creek and / or other passes several times per month.

In the PNW I commuted to Mt Baker Ski Area, from Glacier, WA. So named because it is the most highly glaciated region in the Lower 48. Mt Baker holds the record for the most snow every recorded in one winter - 1,192". 1,000" winters were not out of the question. The Coastal Snowpack is very different - higher moisture content and more moderate temps (without huge temp swings throughout the day) made studs kind of a non-starter. HIgher moisture content and more moderate temps also made for much more stable snowpack, if AT is your thing.

While studded tires are a bit of a compromise as far as performance on dry pavement, I'll take the extra security that they provide on ice as the trade-off any day in the Intercontinental Mtns. I'll never be pushing the Bronco on dry pavement. However going off the road on a pass could make for a very miserable day.

If you have a Subaru... Stick to that for winter driving. While a lot of people claim that 4WD is perfect for winter... it may be in a parking lot. However get on I70 doing 75mph on hardpack, and the GAPER with Texas plates and shitty AT tires starts to slide out and into your lane... you want AWD with torque vectoring and studded tires on your side.

My understanding is the 4A in the Bronco (if you have it) is synonymous with AWD? Positraction enabled on both axles and computer-controlled limited slip? That's actually what I stay in 24/7, except off roading.

 

[Durangatan]

My understanding is the 4A in the Bronco (if you have it) is synonymous with AWD? Positraction enabled on both axles and computer-controlled limited slip? That's actually what I stay in 24/7, except off roading.

Good to know! I'll have to look into that further.

 

[userdude]

Good to know! I'll have to look into that further.

You may not have it in the base. On my GOAT dial, it's the 4 with a funny looking A button on the bottom of the +.

 

[harpo]

My first winter on the KO2's in little cottonwood canyon was fine. I did some side by side parking lot tests compared to my subaru imprezza with true snow tires and thought the bronco was better although the difference was minimal. I definitely took the bronco when I knew there would be 10" + in the parking lot during the day. My imprezza is really low and just doesn't have the clearance for that much snow. I don't have a ski rack and in my 2 dr Bronco the skis have to go between the front seats so if I had passengers I drove the imprezza.

I still may get dedicated snow tires for the Bronco.

 

[Niebs22]

Thanks for your thoughts here - I'm watching this one closely. I have a set of Black Diamond steelies (17's) that I want to put dedicated winter tires on. I'm hoping for a "pizza cutter" look - skinny and between 31-34 inch diameter. If anyone has found that size in a winter tires - would love to hear from you!

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