Thanks for hanging out with the 3rd Gens. I have a 98 2WD, not equipped with ABS. We had way too much snow in KC last winter, and it was miserable. I run Hankook Optimo H72 on all my cars.
This year I scored a set of 5 stars on CL for $200 and bought General Altimax Arctic from TireRack. This is the first time I have ever purchased snow tires for any vehicle.
After two small storms, I am never going back. I will always have a set of winter tires, mounted and ready to go, for at least one vehicle. People who say there is no reason to have snow tires... have never driven on snow tires.
I watched two four wheel drive trucks try and fail miserably to climb a hill near my house, making it 1/3 of the way up. The 2WD 4Runner went right up it. Yes it slips some, but these tires claw at the snow the way the other tires never did. The traction works when braking too.
If you have kids that are going to drive your Runner, or you have a long driveway, or just want to go where you want to go, even when the weather is bad, these things are great. Total investment, not counting the 5 stars: under $500. If I leave them on November to March, I should get two or three years out of them.
As always, your mileage may vary. Have fun in the snow!
I now have 2500 miles on these tires, including one round trip to Grand Lake, CO (1400 miles on I-70). The General Altimax Arctic are well mannered on the dry highway (95% of use so far). I can't see much wear on the tread, and the tread started much deeper than any other new tire I have purchased. They look pretty much like day 1.
In snow the difference is night and day, or stuck and going where I need to go. Kansas City got 14.5" of snow over the last 24 hours, and I got to work with no drama. I stopped at the base of our hill last night to get mail, and it there was lots of wheel spin in 6" of snow. But once I got going, I was able to accelerate going up hill. This never would have happened with all seasons.
When I exited I-70 last night I got too far to the right, into the unplowed area. I don't know how deep it was, but snow was flying everywhere at 45 MPH. I eased back to the left, and stayed out of the ditch. Much safer and more forgiving.
Ice is still ice, and 4WD would help me get going if at least one tire was on solid ground. But I haven't had to do more than rock it so far, and I do think they grip better at low temps.
So if you are like me and a 4WD Runner is not in your budget, consider some winter tires for your 2WD. I think it would cost about $4000 to upgrade to a 4WD, and I have invested about 85% less than that invested in these tires. Less, if you count that I have to run some kind of tire all winter, so I am saving wear on my all seasons.
If you like to go off road, you probably still need 4WD. But for snowy winter roads, I am getting by pretty well with 2WD.
