Snow Advice

[ohpaul]

Hey Everyone-

I'm fairly new to this forum and just bought my first 4runner (2011 SR5) in november. it's supposed to snow in seattle about 6-7 inches and wanted to know if anyone had advice on whether or not I needed to chain up or get snow tires. I'm only going to be driving on residential streets and/or freeways...no offroading. How well has the 4runner done in snow with stock tires? There's a lot of hills where i live. Any advice or experience you've had with snow helps. Thanks!

 

[Scuba6]

Welcome to forum.

If you search last winter's 5th Gen pages, you'll find a few threads about snow and the settings that folks used (traction control, etc). The short answer is that for that amount of snow, and the driving you described, you should be just fine as is.

I'm a southerner with limited snow driving experience and I found that my truck did great in last winter's Kansas City blizzard. The only additions I picked up were a snow shovel and some basic tow straps / tow gear that was recommended on here. I never had a chance to help anyone else out of a ditch, but I was prepared to play Boy Scout if the need arose.

 

[1engineer]

Hey Everyone-

I'm fairly new to this forum and just bought my first 4runner (2011 SR5) in november. it's supposed to snow in seattle about 6-7 inches and wanted to know if anyone had advice on whether or not I needed to chain up or get snow tires. I'm only going to be driving on residential streets and/or freeways...no offroading. How well has the 4runner done in snow with stock tires? There's a lot of hills where i live. Any advice or experience you've had with snow helps. Thanks!

I live in the snow and mountains too. Just pull your lever back into 4H and you will be fine. Go slower, allow more room for stopping etc. 4X4 helps you go, not coast or stop. Stock tires do ok. I am at 30K with the stockers now and looking to get new tires soon. So far though they did fine. Of course better tires will help but stock tires were adequate. We got almost 10" here several days ago and I went through it no problems.

 

[ohpaul]

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[Bonin]

Up in Canada

My outside temperature displays 90°F in July and -18°F five months laters in January, with about 10 inches of snow on a weekly basis. Never had to adapt my driving between both. You will be fine.

 

[Catchlight]

I've driven Toyota SUV's (Land Cruiser and two 4Runners) in Canadian winter conditions for over 20 years, but wouldn't drive on Seattle's hills or on Snoqualmie, Stevens, or any other mountain pass in snow season without winter-rated tires (with the mountain/snowflake symbol on them).

Same goes for the higher sections of I-5. The main problem is that softer rubber compounds make winter tires stay pliant and adherent below 40 degrees, while summer tires harden up and get slippery. Having good winter tires in snow, ice, and slush conditions is more important than having 4WD, which only gives you a traction boost when you're accelerating, not cornering or braking.

If you don't want the expense of owning two sets and changing your tires twice a year, the Nokian WG R2 SUV is a top-rated winter tire with a quiet tread that you can run year-round without wearing them out too quickly. They also have better resistance to hydroplaning than most winter tires, an essential characteristic on the "wet coast".

 

[Wepps]

My advice... Don't go out unless you absolutely have to. The 4Runner does well in the snow with the traction control on. I did upgrade my tires to BFG All Terrain KO's in 2010 before the snow hit right before Thanksgiving and had no issues (other than getting squirrelly on some ice. Seattle's response to snow is piss poor at best and the local Seattleites preparedness for driving in snow and ice is much worse.

If you do have to go out in it and there are hills in the area try to keep the passenger side tires in the rough stuff that is on the side of the road and out of the tracks made by other drivers.. Things ice up on hills and no tire will prevent you from sliding however, the cars at the bottom of the hill will. Go light on the skinny pedal from being stopped and if going up hill try to maintain the momentum and keep your tires in the rough stuff.

Most of all be aware of your surroundings and other drivers. I can't count how many times I've seen people fly by only to lose it 1/2 mile down the road. Had a guy going the opposite way I was spin out and nearly hit me head on back in the snowpocalype of 2008.

 

[jca21]

best advice is don't drive if you dont have to. you may have the best snow tires with sipping and studs and 4WD and chains but the idiot who crashes into you sure wont.


if you do plan on venturing out i suggest getting a set of snow tires (the FJ steelies should be the same size as the sr5 rims (17x7.5)) AND a set of chains.

you probably wont need the chains but they're definetly nice to have. i have family in washington and when i drive out to see them i pack the chains just in case. I'm still running the factory bridgestone tires which do OK in the snow but you do slip and slide a fair bit more than dedicated snow tires. take it snow and you'll do just fine with the factory tires.

if you'd like to get one set of tires and be done with it i suggest getting a set of duratracs for all terrain tires or if you do mostly highway/city driving get yourself a set of michelin ltx ms/2.

costco has the michelin ltx ms/2 and should be able to get you in and taken care of pretty fast.

for snow tires i suggest the nokian hakka's or bridgestone blizzak dm-v1's

for chains i run the thule xb-16s and they do an AWESOME job on snow and ice. i drive the coquihalla highway a fair amount and have used them on the way to whistler as well and they did just perfect.

 

[Bugser]

I live in hilly western PA and the stock bridgestones were just ok.....I am used to a good snow tire....the stock tires are great in dry and wet conditions.....I slid in my driveway on a thin piece of ice and quickly went to my Discount Tire store and got a set of Mastercraft snows....ran them through ice slush and @ a foot of snow and they worked great....IMHO, get set of snows and change them out in the spring

BTW, anybody know who makes Mastercraft and how they stack up against the other brands?

 

[DDM4]

How long do snow tires last? Not milage but years? Do you store them a specific way to keep them lasting longer?

 

[Bugser]

How long do snow tires last? Not milage but years? Do you store them a specific way to keep them lasting longer?

A good snow tire stays soft in colder temps.....that's why they work well....an all season tire generally will be stiffer and will last longer, translating into more miles....my usual snows get 30k, BUT, I run them all year, summer heat burns up the softer rubber a lot quicker...this time around I decided to pull the stock tires off and get a seperate of snows for winter and put the stock tires back on come spring.....I do like the smooth ride of the stock tires...as far as storing tires, they should be kept at room temperature, extreme temps either way can cause troubles.....

 

[Ukie]

Bugser, did you get a separate set of wheels for winter tires? FJ steelies or something else?

 

[Bugser]

Bugser, did you get a separate set of wheels for winter tires? FJ steelies or something else?

No, but I wanted too....just took off the stocks and put the snows on...I piddeled around too long by not being able to decide on a rim...there have been several on here for sale but shipping is costly...

BTW I got Toby over at Solar Control by you to do my window tint....did a nice job plus he did my Venture shield...only wish I had 25% instead of 35%, it may have matched better...but the police may overlook it since it's a shade lighter...Toby is a nice guy as well

 

[Catchlight]

Hey, ohpaul, it looks like you're getting a pretty good opportunity to test out your rig in snow conditions: Record snowfall for Seattle. What's it like?

 

[DizzyV6P]

He might be stuck at home w/o power judging by the news reports.

 

[dekeman]

We're up to about 30 cms so far and had only a little slip yesterday in new Taco with Toyo Observe winter tires. I wouldn't try that with the stock Bridgestones, however, at least not without a recovery strap.

 

[ladywolf]

I live in hilly western PA and the stock bridgestones were just ok.....I am used to a good snow tire....the stock tires are great in dry and wet conditions.....I slid in my driveway on a thin piece of ice and quickly went to my Discount Tire store and got a set of Mastercraft snows....ran them through ice slush and @ a foot of snow and they worked great....IMHO, get set of snows and change them out in the spring

BTW, anybody know who makes Mastercraft and how they stack up against the other brands?

I believe mastercraft is cooper's "generic" tire. I've looked at them a time or two. The guys at my co-op run them on a bunch of their trucks, they get just a good of mileage out of them as "brand name" tires.

 

[Wepps]

Pretty much sums it up here.

 

[offroadingatc]

go as fast as you can. the other cars are moguls.

seriously, you'll be fine, just go easy while you get used to it.

 

[Arterisk]

My advices :

1st : drive slower. Don't follow folks driving at 70mph. Go around 40-50mph MAX on snow IF there's abrasive or salt. Else not above 30mph. Keep enough distance from other cars.


2nd : get the best snow tire you can get. Michelin X-Ice or Hakkapeliitta LT w/stud.

3nd : Pack some recovery gear AND some hot clothes in case you are stuck.

4nd : I know in the US this is less a problem but in my area the cell phone coverage is really poor, especially on the highway. So when I'm traveling to see my family in the winter (a 1000km ride), I use Google Latitude to enable them to track me. If I was stuck somewhere, they could at least see that I'm not moving for a too long time and see where was my last location.