"All weather" tires in place of winter tires

[tuco]

Not sure if my f150 does or not, it was passed to me by a friend. .

Axles codes are on the sticker in driver's side door jamb. Type that shit into the googelz and it'll tell you what you have

[Djongo Unchained]

I think that a big consideration here is to also ditch the wide, low profile sizes that they put on a lot of "sport" designation models, which would help a bit.

I'm pissed that I can't find the "aggressive" all weathers I put on my Forester about seven years ago that worked so well, I bought a second pair when the first pair wore out (for effective snow usage, still good for summer) after about 30,000 miles. Continentals, but I forgot which ones, and Tire Rack doesn't have a record of it anymore.

Out of curiosity I googled 2013 conti winter tires and found that the ContWinterContact TS 800, 850 and 850P were their main lineup.

Found your video too:

[jrredho]

Has the Michelin Cross Climate SUV been mentioned yet? Pricey, but, come recommended.

I've been bi-wheelsets for several years. And for the past few of those, I've been running General Altimax Arctic XL in size 215/65R-17 on my Forester. These have been the best snow tire I've ever run.

I've never tried a Michelin snow tire that didn't suck, but it could be just me.

Also, I carry chains in case of emergency, and a tow strap, but I've never had to pull them out.

cheers,
john

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I do, once a year.

I carry two straps, shackles, chains, shovel, gloves.

Just put Blizzak LM001's on the new milf mobile. Never have run Blizzaks but they were the best deal for run flats at $200 per. I hear they burn up fast so we'll see.

[3PinGrin]

Still all about the tires or chains. Two spinning wheels are worse for traction than 1 for snow/ice.

gawd bless my locking rear differential

[snowaddict91]

gawd bless my locking rear differential

+1. When you need it, you need it.

And really, IME, a rear LSD is not bad on ice, particularly if you have a long wheelbase.

[Muggydude]

Probably said this before in this thread, but Blizzaks + 3 rubber horse stall mats (300lbs) in the bed of our f150 is one of the best car purchases I’ve ever made. There was one day last year where they for sure saved my ass from an expensive crash. Driving home on i70 in CO and witnessed about 20 wranglers/trucks/4runners slide off the road even with good all terrain/all seasons and 4wd. Even the truck with Blizzaks was slipping a bit, it was so slick that day. Nothing most people could do, I made it through the pack about 1pm before they shut down the highway behind me because there were so many crashes. Have had Blizzaks on the truck for a total of 6 winters in CO and have been saved multiple times, and overall just make the drive much easier and less stressful. Excellent traction all the time.

Rotate out to cooper Lt Discoverer AT3 tires in the summer for pulling the boat and highways driving. Those tires do surprisingly poorly in the snow.

When I lived in California I was real happy with my Firestone Destination AT tires on my jeep Cherokee. They did awesome (was the year with 30 feet of snow in Tahoe in February), I even pulled out somebody in a snow bank over Donner Pass when they slid out due to black ice. Last about 50,000 miles too even with a lead foot. I’d do snow tires in Tahoe too, but the 3 hour drive to Tahoe from the bay would kill tires too quick.


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[whyturn]

So I will just say my Hakka R3 snows were worth every penny going to Alta and coming back down this weekend. It was dumping and a lot of cars crashed or spun out and believe all season was the reason.

Road noise was super quiet and ride is not bad or squishy.


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[XXX-er]

So ime buying a second set of Haks on steel rims is about 1800 can ( or 10.95$USA ) kind of fucking expensive but you are distributing the wear between 2 sets of tire so the next tire purchase is a long way out, if you sell the vehical you can either sell the tires with the vehical or sell them on FB

[3PinGrin]

So I will just say my snows were worth every penny going to Alta and coming back down this weekend. It was dumping and a lot of cars crashed or spun out and believe all season was the reason.


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Had several tense moments leaving Alta a couple of years ago. It was when you get the weird relatively dry but slushy snow on sheer ice. I was in 4wd on my Falken wildpeaks, but it was real touch and go and I wishing to hell that I was on studded tires that day, about the worst it's been for the Falkens though usually not as bad as that day. Tons of people slid off and stuck, I at least exited the canyon unscathed. Albeit three hours after I left the hill, fak.

[frorider]

So ime buying a second set of Haks on steel rims is about 1800 can ( or 10.95$USA )

Fuck I’m glad the orange shitgibbon was voted out or I’d be forced up north, paying those prices.

[bigdude2468]

I've been bi-wheelsets for several years. And for the past few of those, I've been running General Altimax Arctic XL in size 215/65R-17 on my Forester. These have been the best snow tire I've ever run.

I've never tried a Michelin snow tire that didn't suck, but it could be just me.

Also, I carry chains in case of emergency, and a tow strap, but I've never had to pull them out.

cheers,
john

FWIW worth December's Consumer Reports has a tire review. The best truck snow tire listed is the Michelin Latitude X-Ice X-12. Actually it is tied with Nexen and one point better than Nokian and two points better than Blizzak. Hankook's Pike RW was down the list. They give all of the tires the same snow traction rating and the Michelin has a higher ride and noise rating. I happen to have the X-Ice and they are ok but I seriously doubt they are as good as Blizzak's.

[Name Redacted]

Very icy last night on the commute home, first time on the new Nokians.

Slid in two spots testing the stopping power. Same spots I always slide in, because they are glazed over ice. Stopped way sooner than I would have with the old KO2's though and was able to steer with the ABS on. Probably would have done better if they'd been studded but screw that. No problems spinning tires or sliding around turns whatsoever.

[alpinevibes]

Good to hear, just picked up some Quatrac 5's on a deal from Tire Rack, replacing the shite Falkens that came stock on our '17 Alltrack. I have Blizzaks on wheels for the winter, but wanted something for the other 6mo that had good shoulder season capability.

[XXX-er]

Fuck I’m glad the orange shitgibbon was voted out or I’d be forced up north, paying those prices.

yeah but you make up the money on the universal HC

did i mention my ACL reconstruction last month cost






zero

[Muggydude]

It’s also good to look at the tread depth for the tires. Blizzaks have the deepest tread depth (for just the snow compound) and then have an additional harder tread closer to the wheel that is decent to use in the summer once the snow tread is gone


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[bodywhomper]

It’s also good to look at the tread depth for the tires. Blizzaks have the deepest tread depth (for just the snow compound) and then have an additional harder tread closer to the wheel that is decent to use in the summer once the snow tread is gone


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I do not think all of the blizzaks are like that anymore. Aren’t there a few models (maybe one) that do not have that double compound about half way through the tread life where the soft winter tread is gone.

My experience with the hybrid snowflake “all weather” tires (AT style for land cruiser and passenger style for subi) was that they performed pretty well for the first winter and only marginal the following winters as the tires aged and tread was worn down (only a bit - don’t drive a lot).

[klauss]

Wife's whip has the Toyo Celsius all weather tires. 60k warranty and got them sipes

[Jonathan S.]

I do not think all of the blizzaks are like that anymore. Aren’t there a few models (maybe one) that do not have that double compound about half way through the tread life where the soft winter tread is gone.[...]

That's the difference between the WS vs LM models.
Which means all the "Blizzak" recs are pretty much meaningless (unless they're all implicitly referencing the WS models).

[Muggydude]

That's the difference between the WS vs LM models.
Which means all the "Blizzak" recs are pretty much meaningless (unless they're all implicitly referencing the WS models).

No, they’re not. When I looked last winter at x-ice vs Blizzak, the Blizzaks had about 1.5x the tread depth as other snow tires for the Truck tires. Meaning you have almost the same amount of the super sticky winter tread with the Blizzaks, plus an additional tread depth of standard winter/all season tread compound.

For F150 18” rims, Blizzaks DMV2 have 14/32 tread depth. First 55% is special multicell compound. Last 45% is “standard winter compound” (harder).

Michelin X-ice has 10/32 tread depth of their special winter compound. After 7/32 tread wear, I’d feel much more comfortable on 7/32 tread left with the Blizzaks vs 3/32 left on the x-ice (time to replace the tires).

I also believe this helps the Blizzaks perform better in deeper snow because of the extra depth

[Shorty_J]

^^^ his point was that not all blizzaks use the same dual compound, making generalizations about blizzaks somewhat meaningless.

Your point about tread depth is valid, however. Tread depth also varies with tire size, on occasion, and LT designated tires are often deeper tread than the P rated equivalent.

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[Muggydude]

I guess my point was, the tires have either 100% sticky compound, or if they are 50/50 they’re likely deeper tread depth than the competition, so the Rec for Blizzaks is relevant and not dependent on if they’re 50/50 tread or not


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[auvgeek]

But this thread also drifted into "My Hakkapelllkllitjshkfh are awesome" quickly, a long time ago.

It seems like those who have tried the all weather tires found them OK in snow - occupying that middle ground between all seasons and winter tires. Whether that turns out to be good enough snow performance probably depends on each person's specific location.

I agree with your overall assessment. Studded hakkas vs Geolandar G015 aren't really a comparison, but the Geolandars do fine in snow. Especially if you're fine slowing down a bit. Ice and nasty icy slush are really where the studded Hakka shine, IMHO.

It's been mentioned before, but also consider that if you have an all-weather, you might be in the situation where the tread is fine for summer but not winter. So you might have to replace early. I noticed a definite drop off in snow/ice performance with the G015 after like 15-20k miles (or by the second winter, as was mentioned above), and we recently put our Hakkas on earlier than usual because the G015s are down to 4-5/32 and the snow traction was not great. I'd say it was worse than a new M+S in the snow at that point.

[Shorty_J]

I guess my point was, the tires have either 100% sticky compound, or if they are 50/50 they’re likely deeper tread depth than the competition, so the Rec for Blizzaks is relevant and not dependent on if they’re 50/50 tread or not


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Huh... I thought they had 50% or 0%... not sure now.

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[Muggydude]

Why would they have a snow tire that doesn’t have their dedicated winter tire compound that is excellent for snow and ice? That’s the whole point. They are winter tires, not all seasons or all terrain. They have soft winter compounds and siping, that offer much better traction in snow and ice than all seasons, at the expense of tread life due to the soft compound and siping.

I’m sure it’s evolved/changed over the years, and maybe varies somewhat model to model, but I highly doubt any of the blizzak variants offer anything but very good to excellent traction