terrible in the snow

[Mikep.]

I have a jeep wrangler, and used to have a grand prix with snow tires. Both were/are great in the snow. I recently put some Coopers on the 4runner, it is a MONSTER in the snow. If I'm going anywhere in the snow I'm taking the 4runner. Having gone through multiple sets of tires on all them, I can say tires make all the difference in the world. 4runner sucked in the snow last year, now, it's awesome. We got a decent amount of snow this year so I able to really put these coopers to the test. Seems to me like a skill or tire issue to me.

 

[M1911]

I hear what you're saying about sipes and snow tires but I've driven a lot of cars in the winter with cheapo, worn, all-seasons that were better than my 4Runner is doing right now.

Compared to real snow tires, all season tires suck in the snow.

http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=23

 

[MikeInNH]

Car all season tires are not as good a dedicated snows. But good AT tires can be very very good in the snow. My AT3's are EXCELLENT in snow. I'm on my second set now and they've taken me skiing in the White Mountains numerous times. Visited family in Real Snow country in upstate NY. One time I was driving in a real nice snow storm that was dumping almost 5" an hour. When it finally ended there was over 4' of fresh snow on the ground. The AT3's had no problem handling it.

 

[amg_w211]

Tires can make or break your snow driving experience

I had Yokohama Geolander HT/S tires (highway all seasons) and I felt like I was going to die every time I went around a curve on snow in my 4x4 4Runner. Snap-on oversteer and a resultant spin, even with slight gas inputs. And very poor bite on cornering in the snow. And those problems were with pretty much new tires. And TireRack consumer reviews had them rated quite highly on snow. To be fair, dry and wet handling and cornering were just fine, however.

Shortly after one snow storm in the Geolander HT/S tires, I got some Michelin LTX M/S2 (highway all seasons) and they handled snow/ice with a night and day difference. No more issues mentioned above and it drove like what a 4x4 in snow should. The tread design and tire compound makes a huge difference in snow/ice traction.

While there are really good snow tire options (i.e. dedicated snow tires) or even some all-terrain tires, just swapping from the Yokohama to the Michelins made a night and day difference for me. I surmise it's probably your tires that's causing the sloppy snow handling.

 

[Orc]

I use blizzaks on my 2005 STi and yes I can break traction when accelerating and braking. Any vehicle can depending on how you drive.

 

[RCs4Runner]

It could be the tires but I'd say it's your alignment causing problems too.

After installing Icons a few weeks back the caster was off between the two sides. Driving in the rain felt very unstable and loose. After getting everything within spec and the caster almost matching on both sides it drives like it did before the lift.

 

[Moab_Bound]

Well, I grew up driving in snow in crappy RWD/4WD cars so I don't think it's my driving style; I know how to drive in it. I think I need to take care of my alignment issue regardless, but I hope it takes care of this sliding issue. It darts around just driving straight under light throttle. It's not like I'm hitting the gas in turns and expecting it not to step out. Traction from a stop isn't really bad so I'm hoping it's the alignment. The reviews on discount tire for snow are all 8-10, which is why I got these. This is my first winter with the truck so I don't have other tires to compare it to. My old 3rd gen 4Runner was fine. I don't recall what tires it had but they were some sort of A/T.

Im gonna go with the tires. Finally got myself a second set of wheels after mediocore stock tire winter performance (Dueler H/t) and got 265/65/17 michelin xice x12's. Thing drives like a tank here in the mountains of Colorado.