All season tires for 50% snow/ice 30% dry 20% mud

[m@x]

These are the tires I am considering:

Firestone Destination A/T
Michelin LTX A/T2
Cooper DISCOVERER A-T3

Considering the "direction" I took, are there any other options that I have missed? Or should I be excluding any items from the above list?


I've noticed that the tire sizes are P and LT prefixed.
I learned what the abbreviations meant and what the difference between the two was.

I just wanted to confirm with you guys that I needed the P265/65R17?

Now regarding the size - I will be installing the Daystar 2.5/1.5 kit very soon.
I am also thinking to find rims with an offset that would stick them out by 1".
I hope to find 17" wheels and buy 17" tires (cheaper than the 18" configuration).

My question is will P265/65R17 look too small? (updated: by "to small" I mean visually, with the car lifted. I know that 265/65-17 are the same size as my stock 265/60-18)
I'd rather save on gas than have big tires. On the other hand it's the matter of aesthetics - I don't want my wheels to look smaller that they should on a moderately lifted car.

Thanks ppl! I appreciate your help!

 

[WXman]

These are the tires I am considering:

Firestone Destination A/T
Michelin LTX A/T2
Cooper DISCOVERER A-T3

Considering the "direction" I took, are there any other options that I have missed? Or should I be excluding any items from the above list?


I've noticed that the tire sizes are P and LT prefixed.
I learned what the abbreviations meant and what the difference between the two was.

I just wanted to confirm with you guys that I needed the P265/65R17?

Now regarding the size - I will be installing the Daystar 2.5/1.5 kit very soon.
I am also thinking to find rims with an offset that would stick them out by 1".
I hope to find 17" wheels and buy 17" tires (cheaper than the 18" configuration).

My question is will P265/65R17 look too small? (updated: by "to small" I mean visually, with the car lifted. I know that 265/65-17 are the same size as my stock 265/60-18)
I'd rather save on gas than have big tires. On the other hand it's the matter of aesthetics - I don't want my wheels to look smaller that they should on a moderately lifted car.

Thanks ppl! I appreciate your help!

Yeah the "P" rating is what you want. It's going to ride better. But if you decide on a tire that only comes in "LT" versions that's OK. It'll just be a bit heavier and more rugged.

265/65 will look tiny. I think if you stay with a mild tread you could go to a P265/70 and still maintain your fuel economy and fill up the fenders a bit better too.

 

[lehiguy]

There are varying conditions when it comes to winter. If the snow is churned up by vehicles and getting deep, a more aggressive tread like a mud terrain will chew through it best. Most of the time winter roads are snow packed and firm with little loose snow. On this surface mud tires will get you killed. The best all around tire I have ever used, the best on hard packed and/or icy roads is the BFG KO. They wear forever and grip like cat's claws. They are not great in the mud but shine everywhere else. They are the yardstick by which all others are measured when it comes to actual off road use and they work exceptionally well on winter roads.

 

[JB.]

I just wanted to confirm with you guys that I needed the P265/65R17?

I'd rather save on gas than have big tires. On the other hand it's the matter of aesthetics - I don't want my wheels to look smaller that they should on a moderately lifted car.

A P prefix, yes. Down here in the states, 265/70/17 is a much more common size and can often be purchased for less than the 265/65/17 so you might want to take a look into that. It would look better, too, and any difference in gas mileage would be to small to notice. In fact, at highway speeds the bigger tire could actually increase mileage.

 

[m@x]

Thank you for all the replies!
I will be looking into 265/70-17

I will add BFG KO to my research list. I will be comparing the prices for all 4 brands.

Also I was wondering how an increased width can affect the driving experience/mileage/handling/accelerated wear of suspension parts?

The reason I am thinking about buying a wider rim and tire is because of the reduced offset of the rim that I am planning to find and the accelerated wear of the wheel bearings that the reduced offset can cause. I was thinking about all the math and physics behind it, and came to the conclusion that:

Imagine a stock rim. If we reduce the offset by 10mm, then the rim will move outward by 10mm. If we add 10mm to the width of the rim on the inside, then the backspacing didn't change from initial stock backspacing. With this configuration we have simply extended the rim by 10mm out. The inner side edge is not displaced at all.

Because of that, the reaction force applied to the wheel by the ground is not displaced too much outward from the wheel hub therefore not providing too much of a leverage (see law of the lever) so less stress on the bearings.

I am going to create a new thread with this discussion but here, I wanted to ask if I go with a wider rim (to compensate the offset), and I put 275 (but keep in mind that on the inner side the edge stays where the stock edge was), then how a wider tire can affect the drive?

Thanks guys!