I did a search and read through many of the threads, but most of the time they got off on tangents or weren't really for winter driving.

A little background first- planning a trip out to Utah/Colorado mid Feb-Mar 2022 for about 4 weeks of skiing. I will be driving my 2016 4Runner 4wd out there from North Carolina, so plenty of driving non winter conditions each way. Don't really want to go with a full blown winter tire and I'm looking more at the 3PMSF category. I just picked up a full set of 17" stock oem wheels to mount these new tires on. So I will not use these tires year round.

Trying to get suggestions from fellow owners that actually have driven a specific tire in snow/winter conditions.

Heard good things about the Nokian's, but just don't know anything about the brand. Also have looked at some Coopers and Falkens. But at this point I'm wide open to all suggestions.

TIA

General ATX or Falken Wildpeaks.


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I'm typically a full blow winter tire kind of guy. My wife's 4Runner has Blizzaks for the winter but I just decided to put General Grabber ATXs on my new Tacoma as a year round tire. I live in the cold Canadian prairies and a couple friends have them on their trucks and have been happy with winter performance. Around here most work trucks (fleet trucks, RCMP, Hydro company etc) use Duratracs all year long. Definitely a proven AT that can handle winter.

I'd recommend either of those two if you're not looking for a full winter tire.

www.tirerack.com is your friend for tire research. Other than brand new tire models they have extensive reviews as well as objective ratings for dry, wet, snow, noise, treadwear, etc...

I know you aren't looking for full winter, but if you are going to own 2 sets of tires/rims you really should use that to your advantage to cover the full range of conditions. Aka... get winter tires and throw them on every winter. Whether you go full winter or not you will likely never use up the tread and end up scrapping due to age. I was an engineer at Bridgestone for 5 years, there really is no substitute for winter tires in CO winter conditions.

I'd recommend the Bridgestone Blizzak DM V2s
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...TRD%20Off-Road

We run Cooper AT3 4S' and have been extremely pleased with them all around, including winter/snow/slush/rain. They don't look nearly as aggressive as most A/T tires but they are quiet, handle great and haven't impacted MPG.

Almost any tire with 3 peak snow rating would be good. Yokohama geolander at have served me well. You cant beat Michelin defender ltx ms in my opinion. Really good highway tire really good wet and snow tire and pretty good off road.

I agree with the guys who are recommending a full on winter tire. If you're going to have two sets, you might as well have the advantage. I have studded Firestone Winterforces that I run from December to about mid-March. They turn your 4Runner into a tank in the snow. I don't know what the legalities are in your state regarding studded tires, but they are totally worth the noise when things get ugly.
HOWEVER, if you don't go full on winter, go Grabber ATX.

Mike-
Thanks for the suggestion- I grew up in NJ and my dad used studded on his work van during the winters- can't beat them. I guess I could bring in the full on winter tires into my search (non studded). Living in NC now- I have learned that when it snows and the conditions are bad- that you stay home so you don't interact with the crazies that really don't have a clue on how to drive in the snow...

I have the Nokian Rotiiva AT Plus in 275/70/17 (LT C-Load) and have been happy with them. They are quiet, don't vibrate, and good traction in the snow. I run them all-year and drive frequently to the mountains during the winter. They are just short of 30k miles and the 80% wear mark is still showing, so durability seems pretty good too (17/32" thread depth when new).

I ski Utah exclusively, UDOT does a great job with keeping the roads to the resorts open. Tourism is Utah's Bread & Butter.

I have Michelin Defenders and have not had any problems with them.
The only resort I would hesitate to go in Bad weather is Powder Mountain the road from Eden to the resort is a "Double Diamond".

Regardless of what tires you get, always carry a set of Tire Chains

if you're driving anywhere where it's below about 45 degrees F, a non dedicated winter tire, even the 3PMS, is going to be a compromise. there's nothing more to it, dedicated winter tires are far superior to all terrain tires in every type of winter driving scenario, including very cold dry pavement

If you only drive in winter weather occasionally and generally have warmer winters without a lot of ice and sub zero temperatures then many of the tires listed here will be fine. the siping of the winter tires is very different from the all terrain tires. honestly it sucks to have to get two sets of tires and two sets of rims, but really that is the best combination you can have

Many will disagree with me and say they run ATs that are as good as winters. I run winters from nov - april due to the sub zero temps, snow, ice and slush where I live during those months, I can tell who runs them and who doesn't on the road

I do plan on picking up some chains just in case- would hate to miss a great Pow day because I can't get to the mountain. We will be skiing LCC and BCC with maybe a couple trips to Deer Valley.
I do agree about the Powder mountain access road- fun in clear weather- down right never racking snow covered in places.

I'll look into the Defenders

I live in the NE and snow can get bad. I used to do dedicated Vredestein snowtrac 5's (best dedicated snow I have used) on my Acura TL and Mazda3 since i had dedicated rims for them. But with the 4Runner i went with Goodyear Duratracs, so many people reamended them for better snow/wet AT tire. Great tire and hard to beat in the snow without going dedicated snow tires.

They seem to get a lot of hate but always a fan of KO2’s in the winter. I’ve never had an issue in rain or snow with these tires. I think they grip really well in the snow and I highly recommend them.


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I live by the Cottonwood Canyons, and can tell you that sometimes they can be treacherous. There are also Traction Laws that are enforced if conditions are bad. Blizzak DMV2's are great if you don't want to miss a powder day.

I'm running Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015's. They are 3PMSF rated, and do better than KO2's IME. Better wet traction than Duratracs. Better than Defender LTX M/S tires (which are just M+S rated). They do better than lots of tires I've tried over the years. But they are not dedicated snow tires like the Blizzak DMV2's.



The road to Powder Mountain is great on a Sportbike in summer.

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