New Duratracs

[RedRunner_87]

I totally agree with you. I cut my winter driving teeth growing up in Michigan in much less capable vehicles. My favorite mantra is that 4wd on ice simply means that all 4 of your wheel will be receiving power as you slide out of control. =p I'm definitely not in the camp of people that think they're invincible in snow/ice in their SUVs and Pickups...and then end up ditches.

When I was poking around the other day I noticed there are little stud mounting points in my Duratracs. Is that the sort of thing one can get done and then removed every winter? I've studded cyclocross tires before when I used to bike year round in Michigan, but I'm not sure that's a similar process with car tires or what.

Also, do you have an Epic pass? Holler at me if you're every looking for partners. I'm a m-f guy, but I have a handful of vacation days I save for powder days that I'd love to blow on a blower Thursday!

I currently only have a pass at Ski Cooper since it is the closest to me. I am totally down to hit up other Ski Resorts though, but I only have Wed/Thurs off. So you plan any weekday runs I am totally down to go.

I'm not sure how studding the tires work in regards to adding them or taking them off.

 

[rorybg]

I took my truck out with the new 285/75 16 Duratracs on it this weekend. Quite a bit of snow up behind me in the mountains and the tires absolutely killed it. The biggest complaint I have read, and heard, from people is the fact that they are too stiff and make the ride harsh. Maybe I am too used to my BMW which has 650lb springs and rides like a rock, but this feels perfectly fine to me, on and off road. I haven't aired down yet in the snow, so I cannot comment on that, but I know they will perform great. I also haven't driven on ice, so I cannot comment on that.

 

[MtnT4R]

I plan on being up and on the slopes every Thursday this year. To me it is all about how you drive and knowing what you are driving on. I just went up to A-Basin on Thursday and drove on the recently opened US 6. I have a set of Firestone A/T's and the fronts are pretty bad. In Leadville my back got a little loose because I gassed it around a turn, but had no issues on the snow/icy roads on the way up there. That is because I adjusted my driving to the terrain, I only used 4WD right before the parking lot on A-Basin because of ice on the road and in the parking lot. Other than that I was in 2wd the entire time, and I have worn A/T's(waiting on my lift before the Duratrac's)

Adjusting driving speed to conditions is key. You should still do ok in 4wd, but if you take a turn a little too fast you can easily understear and slide off the road without good tread up front to keep you in the turn. Once you lose traction up front you're gonna continue on that trajectory at the same speed. Hitting the brakes makes it worse because you're increasing load on tires that have no traction anyways. Damn near took an Audi into the river that way.

When I was poking around the other day I noticed there are little stud mounting points in my Duratracs. Is that the sort of thing one can get done and then removed every winter? I've studded cyclocross tires before when I used to bike year round in Michigan, but I'm not sure that's a similar process with car tires or what.

They are technically removable, but I believe its a one time deal because the design of the stud will enlarge the mounting holes upon removal. Once you yank them out you're done. Also, I don't think many shops will agree to put studs on anything but brand new tires because its too easy to get debris lodges in those holes once driven on. It would be impossible to warranty their work.

 

[krenaud33]

I have 285/75/16 Cooper ST Maxx tires. Just got them in May/June and haven't had them in snow yet. We are supposed to get our first snow fall this evening so I will be testing them out. I can report back my opinions if anyone is interested.

The snow we got was wet and the roads had a fair amount of slush along with the wet snow. We got somewhere between 4-6" of snow. I drove in what i call the "AWD" mode. The tires did well. No issues with them. I feel they handled better then your typical Goodyear LT all terrain tires they put on most suvs. Like others said I am sure dedicated snow tires would do better then any AT tire.

 

[thor999]

Sorry for the late reply! I could have elaborated more on this, I apologize! I live in Elizabeth CO and work in Blackhawk, CO, which requires a drive from mostly poorly plowed roads, then into the foothills. Basically, going forward, they are outstanding in the snow, but, from recent experiences, should you get stuck in the snow, and have to throw it in reverse to make an escape, it is just not going to happen. I have dug all the snow out from beneath my truck, and all around these tires, to no avail. Yes, I do have tread wear, but have only experienced this with these tires, and had this runner in MN for 6 years. I should probably think more before I post here, I certainly do not wish to misinform anyone, but yes this is my experience w/ these tires. That being said, they are not "snow tires" and when you are not trying to drive through 1' of snow they are pretty damn awesome, I feel more than comfortable driving up old mining roads w/ jagged rocks everywhere on them and they are OUTSTANDING tires in all other aspects.

 

[thor999]

Yeah, I went to pick up a friend of mine at 6:30am here in Denver to head up to Keystone and all of the residential streets were an ice rink. Nothing to do for that except studs really. Even soft-rubber winter tires probably wouldn't do that great on that stuff.

This is a tough call for our environment in Colorado. We can leave the fall-esque weather of the Front Range and drive into unforgiving bowels of winter within an hour. My 4Runner is my DD, and I feel like I should have just gotten another set of Geolanders for 3 season, and then gotten a set of Blizzaks for Winter.

OP, did you get yours from Discount? I know they have a very nice return policy if you're not satisfied. I'm going to give it until I have a chance to drive on actual snow and see how I feel about it.

Problem here in Denver is that it can have 1' of snow in 24 hours then be warm and melted 24 hours later! Even did that when I lived in Idaho Springs, when the sun comes out it melts everything off very quickly! So, if we WERE to buy Blizzaks, we would probably be wasting most of that on dry pavement, unless we had a pit crew to change our wheels out 10x a week

 

[atalarico]

Problem here in Denver is that it can have 1' of snow in 24 hours then be warm and melted 24 hours later! Even did that when I lived in Idaho Springs, when the sun comes out it melts everything off very quickly! So, if we WERE to buy Blizzaks, we would probably be wasting most of that on dry pavement, unless we had a pit crew to change our wheels out 10x a week

I know, right? It's a "problem" that most of the other parts of the country with winter really would hate us for saying, but it's true! Our roads get thrashed because of the studded tires that people run, which really isn't their fault. They need them for the times they need them because of the ice and snow, but then the sun comes out and melts everything away after a day or two. That's why the idea of a non-studded tire like a Blizzak is appealing because at least it's not quite as wasteful as studs on pavement.

Just curious, what inflation do you guys run on your AT tires in the winter? I still have mine pumped up to 42 and I'm wondering if that's contributing to the rather slick performance of them thus far.