Winter is coming...how much am I going to hate the stock Dunlops?

2

2003Can4runner

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I bought a 2005 V8 Sport in May. I LOVE this truck. My dad had a 2003 V8 with the same tires and they seemed pathetic. I bought this truck from a dealer with a great reputation. They cleaned the entire truck, including the engine bay, detailed the interior, changed the oil and put brand new tires on it. I have to admit I was a little disappointed to see brand new Dunlops AT20s, but I can't really complain about brand new tires. I can't really justify replacing brand new tires at this point, so I'm curious. How much am I going to hate these tires this winter? I love the capability of this truck and I don't want it to be canceled out by sh*tty tires.
 
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I'm not sure where you are, but I think you will be fine since the tires are brand new. I got my 'Runner used with the 'Flops that had 35k on them, but had no trouble during a couple spring snow storms we had here back in March. I finally replaced them last week, mostly because its almost winter and they were pretty thin on tread after driving on them all summer.
 
2003Can4runner said:
I bought a 2005 V8 Sport in May. I LOVE this truck. My dad had a 2003 V8 with the same tires and they seemed pathetic. I bought this truck from a dealer with a great reputation. They cleaned the entire truck, including the engine bay, detailed the interior, changed the oil and put brand new tires on it. I have to admit I was a little disappointed to see brand new Dunlops AT20s, but I can't really complain about brand new tires. I can't really justify replacing brand new tires at this point, so I'm curious. How much am I going to hate these tires this winter? I love the capability of this truck and I don't want it to be canceled out by sh*tty tires.
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I bought my 4R in Oct last year so I was worried about the same thing. But I was actually pretty surprised! The 4R does most of the work and it was really hard to slip. However, this winter is going to be different with my Mud Terrains...we'll see how I fair :lol:
 
A10MileHusker said:
I bought my 4R in Oct last year so I was worried about the same thing. But I was actually pretty surprised! The 4R does most of the work and it was really hard to slip. However, this winter is going to be different with my Mud Terrains...we'll see how I fair :lol:
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And with the weather we're having now it seems sooner rather than later!
 
2003Can4runner said:
I bought a 2005 V8 Sport in May. I LOVE this truck. My dad had a 2003 V8 with the same tires and they seemed pathetic. I bought this truck from a dealer with a great reputation. They cleaned the entire truck, including the engine bay, detailed the interior, changed the oil and put brand new tires on it. I have to admit I was a little disappointed to see brand new Dunlops AT20s, but I can't really complain about brand new tires. I can't really justify replacing brand new tires at this point, so I'm curious. How much am I going to hate these tires this winter? I love the capability of this truck and I don't want it to be canceled out by sh*tty tires.
Click to expand...

No worries.... The Dunlops get a bad rap on this forum, but they are really not as bad as some people make them out to be. I kept mine on for the first three winters after I purchased my 4Runner new. They saw plenty of snow (I live in upstate NY) and performed decently for an all-season tire. Since your tires are new and have good tread depth, I'm sure they'll be okay for you in the snow. Just remember that stopping is a bigger challenge than going in a 4wd 4Runner, no matter what tire you are running.

I did install new tires after that 3rd winter because the tread depth was about half of what it was new and I noticed that the tires had a more difficult time handling snow. So I swapped over to the Discoverer ATR, which is actually an excellent tire for snow. I read some reviews on a snowplower's forum of all places and they seemed to be the tire of choice for those guys. So I figured if guys who plow use the Discoverers, then they have to be good in snow!
 
I put snow tires on my 4Runner in the winter. Real, honest-to-God, snow tires. Starting up in the snow with all season tires (whether Dunlops or Michelins) is not the problem. The problem is stopping and turning. When new, all season tires are fair, at best, in the snow. After 15,000 miles, their performance in the snow decreases significantly.

Get a second set of wheels and some real snow tires.
 
Thanks for the responses. Good to hear I won't be as disappointed! I'm in Manitoba Canada so we get some really rude winters. I had a 3rd gen. 4runner and I put Cooper Discoverer ST's. Those were GREAT tires in the snow. Also, I had a Mazdaspeed3 that I put real snow tires on and the stopping ability was fantastic. I hope to wear these out as quick as possible so I can go back to the Coopers. I think they would look great on the 4th gen. as well.
 
2003Can4runner said:
Thanks for the responses. Good to hear I won't be as disappointed! I'm in Manitoba Canada so we get some really rude winters. I had a 3rd gen. 4runner and I put Cooper Discoverer ST's. Those were GREAT tires in the snow. Also, I had a Mazdaspeed3 that I put real snow tires on and the stopping ability was fantastic. I hope to wear these out as quick as possible so I can go back to the Coopers. I think they would look great on the 4th gen. as well.
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Members here like several tires. do a search and you will find good links. I myself here in AK go with the Pirelli ATR' Scorpions. I think that any tire which members have will serve you much better than the dunlops. You only need to slip once to wish you had changed them eh?
 
My '08 came with the DumbCrap AT20's. I had hoped to try them last winter but my location at the time didn't get any DEEP snow. What little they saw, they did fine. But with the 4WD variations, they should be ok for basic street driving. Off-road and/or very hilly roads might be a totally different story.

I'm a bit concerned with them now that I'm in the Chicago NW suburbs. Based on ratings of tires in their class on tirerack.com, they came in #65 out of 67 tires. :nono:
 
Here's a picture to give you an idea what I went through with my AT20's.
Picture126-1.jpg~original

Sorry for the bad quality - it's a picture from my phone
 
Okay, and here's a picture of what I went through with the Dunlops. This was during the 1st winter after I purchased my 4Runner. Before the leveling lift & wheels/tires were changed. BTW, I was not stuck in this picture. After I snapped the pic, I got back in, hit the gas and drove right out, and all with the stock tires. I think the snow was about 18" deep at the time and posed no problem for my 4Runner, even with the stock tires.

.
 

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yeah you should be 'ok' just smart driving and allow extra time. i had great success with the stocks last winter even in deep blizzards across vail and loveland pass so im going to be cheap and let them ride for a 2nd winter. i now have about 18k on them so i know they wont perform as well as they did last year but im going to give it a shot.
with it snowing already in the mtns and it pointing to a nasty winter i may re-visit my cheap idea but we will see if i can surive a whole winter again
 
I think the stock Dunlops get a worse wrap then they deserve. Are they a great tire? No. Are they decent for an OEM, all-season tire? IMO, yes.

Below is a pic of my first, deep snow with the Dunlops. That Honda next to me was spinning there for a while before they got out. I just scraped my windows, hopped in, started 'er up, threw it in reverse, and I was out of there with no problems. :zoom:

DSC00046.jpg~original
 
You could probably get by with Dunlops for a winter especially when new, as they will be fine for the application of accelerative force for traction in snow in 4WD mode i.e. moving forward . That is only part of the equation however. They will not be nearly as good for turning and braking in winter as that is a function of the tire compound and the sipes, and in both cases a dedicated snow tire would be much better. Since you live in Manitoba, and I know that when it gets cold in Manitoba you are talking COLD, I would get snows, even a Crappy Tire set, as they would be much better in winter on ice and packed snow.
 
!!!
How do you think my stock EVERYTHING will do in this? (march 2003 blizzard, Highlands Ranch, CO (that woman is 6ft tall!!!))
 

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ToyTech99 said:
Okay, and here's a picture of what I went through with the Dunlops. This was during the 1st winter after I purchased my 4Runner. Before the leveling lift & wheels/tires were changed. BTW, I was not stuck in this picture. After I snapped the pic, I got back in, hit the gas and drove right out, and all with the stock tires. I think the snow was about 18" deep at the time and posed no problem for my 4Runner, even with the stock tires..
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Once again, the problem is not starting up. The well-engineered 4WD system on the 4Runner will get you going, even with all season tires, particularly when they are new.

The problem is stopping and turning. This becomes more noticeable after you put 15-20,000 miles on the all season tires.

Real snow tires vastly outperform all season tires in snow and ice.
 
M1911 said:
Once again, the problem is not starting up. The well-engineered 4WD system on the 4Runner will get you going, even with all season tires, particularly when they are new.

The problem is stopping and turning. This becomes more noticeable after you put 15-20,000 miles on the all season tires.

Real snow tires vastly outperform all season tires in snow and ice.
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Um...yeah...okay, thanks for that. Nobody here is arguing with you and my picture in no way was intended to make anyone think that turning or stopping aren't important. I'm not really sure how you got that out of my words or picture.

Then again, my 4Runner did happen to turn and stop just fine with the OEM Dunlops, all throughout the first two winters I owned it. It's all relative and your experiences may vary. Personally, I've lived in the snowbelt my entire life and have driven hundreds, if not thousands of hours in the snow, so I think I can handle it.

BTW, if you read my words a few posts up, you'll see that I was the first to mention that getting going isn't a problem witha 4wd 4Runner, but stopping is something that is more important. Just look up already.
 
I've driven my 4Runner in the snow with both snow tires and all seasons. Have you?

Drive a 4Runner in the snow with a real set of snow tires. Then come back and tell us how good you think your all seasons are in comparison.
 
M1911 said:
I've driven my 4Runner in the snow with both snow tires and all seasons. Have you?

Drive a 4Runner in the snow with a real set of snow tires. Then come back and tell us how good you think your all seasons are in comparison.
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You need to stop acting like a child. Nowhere did I say that all-seasons are as good as true snow tires. Never. Not once.

And for the record, I've driven both my 3rd gen and 4th gen 4Runner with true snows and all-season tires in the snow. On more than one occasion. Now go play with someone else because you're starting to bore me. K' bye.
 
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