I am new to 4runners club,I got my 2004 sr5 v8 4 months ago everything is fixed thanks to the forum. The tires that are on the 4runner are 265-65-17 cross contact lx contntal fronts are good, backs are shot. To save money may get back ones only. But the question is does this 4 runner do good in the snow. I know will find out in the comeing months. I gust thought some tips from the members who had drove the 4runners in the snow could help a girl out. We will see.
Snow and the 4th gen TRs
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KidVermicious
New member
Any 4WD does "good" in the snow, assuming you have good snow tires and a good alignment. If you get a lot of snow/ice in the winter, consider a set of studded tires or dedicated snow tires. Blizzaks are a great snow tire.
It does great in the snow as long as you have good tires. If you only drive on road get a good set of all season or all terrain tires. You really need to get 4 new tires as the V8 is an awd vehicle with differential lock. Since you have power going to the front and rear they need to wear the same otherwise you will put stress on the drivetrain.
off-road runner
New member
I logged a lot of hours on the lakes last year with my '06. It did great on snow and ice. A buddy of mine beat the crap out of his brand new Silverado when he got stuck in a drift on the lake. Pretzled his front drive shaft, cracked his transfer case and put a hole in his tranny the size of a baseball. I road around all day... didn't even need ATRAC. Good tires, common sense and you'll be fine.
Remember to turn off vsc to get through deeper snow. It automatically comes back on after 25+MPH I believe.
Remember to turn off vsc to get through deeper snow. It automatically comes back on after 25+MPH I believe.
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Tires makes all the difference. My truck looks like a tank but with the tires I have on it (Mud Tires) I felt like a helpless bit*h last winter when I was sliding all over the place and little old AWD BMW's were going right by me. I moved from Vegas so I didn't need all purpose tires. This year I'm putting on either BF, Nitto's or Coopers and not I'm dealing with clenched anus syndrome when I'm driving on icy roads ever again.
KidVermicious
New member
This is brilliant. You must work at Discount Tires?
I run mud tires all year here, but I had them siped. They're still terrible, but not completely useless if I slow the hell down and remember I'm driving a truck.
Everybody I know that's run Cooper ATRs or ATPs tells me they're very good in Utah snow. The ATWs are supposed to be even better.
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It locks the tires so that they spin at the same speed and rotation. Locking them gives you better traction but you never want to lock them on dry pavement. Only in snow or a surface that will naturally let the tires slip.
Robs08Runner
New member
I would like to recommend the Michelin LTX M/S 2. I got around with 11 inches of snow last year with absolutely no problems. I even stopped on hills to try and make it slip going up and that truck just plowed on though. I believe that these tires are the next best thing to a dedicated winter tire. We'll worth the money to replace all four before the snow flies.
Do you have 2WD or 4WD? having just the rear tires worn is a bit unusual for 4WD, but I guess it could happen if you didn't rotate them enough.
I would be hesitant to have tires with a mis-matched amount of wear if it's 4wd. There is a limited slip center differential, and it might be fighting the slightly different tire sizes, and if you lock the center it might stress it a bit and cause the tires to skip or slip.
In general the 4runner is as good as its tires in the snow. It has some electronic aids that help a little, but they can't give you more traction.
To get going, theres Atrac/Trac (4WD) or Auto LSD (2WD) that will apply brakes if one of the drive wheels slips and starts to spin to send power to the rest of the wheels with better traction. It might also limit engine power because it works best when the wheels are not slipping fast.
To keep you going in the right direction there's VSC (vehicle stability control). It measures the rate of rotation of the vehicle and the angle of the steering wheel, and it makes sure you are moving as expected. If you start spinning out, it will brake one or more wheels individually to try to correct your path. But it is still limited by traction, so if you are on ice it won't be able to do much.
There is an electronic lock for the center differential that's helpful to get going if traction is really bad, but for normal driving I prefer to keep it unlocked because the handling is more predictable that way. With it locked you tend to get a lot more understeer (going in a straight line when you are trying to turn).
I would be hesitant to have tires with a mis-matched amount of wear if it's 4wd. There is a limited slip center differential, and it might be fighting the slightly different tire sizes, and if you lock the center it might stress it a bit and cause the tires to skip or slip.
In general the 4runner is as good as its tires in the snow. It has some electronic aids that help a little, but they can't give you more traction.
To get going, theres Atrac/Trac (4WD) or Auto LSD (2WD) that will apply brakes if one of the drive wheels slips and starts to spin to send power to the rest of the wheels with better traction. It might also limit engine power because it works best when the wheels are not slipping fast.
To keep you going in the right direction there's VSC (vehicle stability control). It measures the rate of rotation of the vehicle and the angle of the steering wheel, and it makes sure you are moving as expected. If you start spinning out, it will brake one or more wheels individually to try to correct your path. But it is still limited by traction, so if you are on ice it won't be able to do much.
There is an electronic lock for the center differential that's helpful to get going if traction is really bad, but for normal driving I prefer to keep it unlocked because the handling is more predictable that way. With it locked you tend to get a lot more understeer (going in a straight line when you are trying to turn).
This is the only tire that I will run because of how awesome they are in the snow, yet are drive-able year round. I am on my second set (get about 50k each) & was literally the only person in traffic who was able to navigate through a blizzard the other year because of these:
Grabber? AT² | General Tire
Grabber? AT² | General Tire
With the right set of tires, the 4runner is phenomenal in the snow. I live in a lake effect belt, and haven't had any issues. In fact...the only snow issue has been how to get better visibility during heavy snow at night. I ended up switching the bulbs in the fog/driving lights for yellow bulbs. Yellow is supposed to provide better visibility. They worked well last year! Just another tip..
Edit; I run Firestone Destination AT tires
Edit; I run Firestone Destination AT tires
Yes, visibility can be an issue in heavy snow. The projector headlights in the later models are better than the reflector headlights. And the projector fog lights from older models should be better than the reflector fog lights in the newer ones, but I don't know of a good way to make them fit newer bumpers.
The only time I really had a problem was when I ended up with 1/4" of ice covering the entire front end, including the lights and some of the area of the windshield that the wipers were supposed to clear. I had to stop and knock it all off. Normally the projector headlights will burn through a thin layer of ice.
Some mods that would help with heavy snow visibility:
- Sharp cutoff projector fog lights
- Heated wiper rest (5th gen has this), and beam-type wiper blades to resist icing
- Ability to use fog lights with parking lights
- Full tank of Prestone De-icer washer fluid (don't want to run out)
- Rain-x or similar on glass to keep ice from sticking
GHARP57
New member
Having new tires are better than having old tires any day of the week. It is one of many factors that will determine how well things go in the snow. The number 1 thing is driver ability. I put 4 new goodyear assurance triple tread all seasons on my 2001 V6 manual trans camry. I passed a 4runner and a nissan xterra on the side of the road in a ditch. on a really shitty road. (Milton Road, Charlottesville, Va for those who want to look it up.) I credit new tires I had installed a day before the storm (2-12-15), Having a manual trans to be able to control things better, and also having common sense.
This is the only tire that I will run because of how awesome they are in the snow, yet are drive-able year round. I am on my second set (get about 50k each) & was literally the only person in traffic who was able to navigate through a blizzard the other year because of these:
Grabber? AT² | General Tire
These are what I've used in the past for my other 4x4's. Spectacular tires! Cheap, great traction, quiet and most importantly, last a long freaking time
I've been really impressed with Continental for these tires. These are also the brand of tires I use for my Acura car. They've lasted way longer then advertised.
I have AT3s now, had some regular all seasons the PO had on before that on my 04 v6. In 10-12 inch snow could get around town on either. I feel much more confident in my safety on or off the highway and city braking with the AT3s. They seem better on ice also, but obviously still need to slow ay down. I rotate them every oil change as recommended by my tire shop also. I don't worry at all in the snow with the Runner.
PaulB-2006 T4R
New member
Yes good set of AT, MT or winter tires will help in the snow. Also do not forget if you go through deeper snow turn off the traction control or else you may get stuck. It also most happened to me.
