Third winter on the original Dunlops

[Rowan611]

Assuming you started with 265/65 R17 and are going to 265/70 R17's your speedometer should register 3.4% slower than stock.

Check my math here at the best tire size calculator I've ever seen on the interwebs:

Tire Size Calculator

Right, so I'll be traveling faster but my speedometer reads slower than I'm actually driving. According to that site you listed; when my speedo is at 60 I'm actually doing 62. I'm going to have to figure out the difference

 

[abp79]

Are Dunlop AT20s really that bad???

Does anyone have a story of sliding into something due to the Dunlops "inability" to handle snow and ice?

If the Dunlops are truly dangerous to drive in inclement weather, then I will drop $1000 on Revos.

 

[MegaByte907]

Just like JPAlaska and AlaskaMan I too live up here in Anchorage. I get by pretty well with my dunlops. This is my 2nd winter with them and I have no issues as far as loosing control of my car. They handled pretty nicely a few weeks ago when the roads were glazed with ice to where it looked like you were driving on glass. And they did fine last year when it dumped a few feet of snow over night. That and the 4runner helped tremedously with ATRAC and VSC. I'm pretty sure i can get better grip with other tires. My dad has a set of Nokians on his Jeep and has excellent traction on them. I'm looking at Firestone Destination AT's or some REVOS. But I've never been worried about my safety with the dunlops. Plus here in alaska you learn to drive carefully and give yourself plenty of room to stop. Like everyone else here has said four wheel drive doesn't mean four wheel stop. The Dunlops do have trouble getting grip from time to time and it kicks in the VSC a lot to where it gets annoying but i've learned to adjust until I can get a better set of tires.

 

[alaskaman]

Just like JPAlaska and AlaskaMan I too live up here in Anchorage. I get by pretty well with my dunlops. This is my 2nd winter with them and I have no issues as far as loosing control of my car. They handled pretty nicely a few weeks ago when the roads were glazed with ice to where it looked like you were driving on glass. And they did fine last year when it dumped a few feet of snow over night. That and the 4runner helped tremedously with ATRAC and VSC. I'm pretty sure i can get better grip with other tires. My dad has a set of Nokians on his Jeep and has excellent traction on them. I'm looking at Firestone Destination AT's or some REVOS. But I've never been worried about my safety with the dunlops. Plus here in alaska you learn to drive carefully and give yourself plenty of room to stop. Like everyone else here has said four wheel drive doesn't mean four wheel stop. The Dunlops do have trouble getting grip from time to time and it kicks in the VSC a lot to where it gets annoying but i've learned to adjust until I can get a better set of tires.

If you want to try the Scorpions PM me and we will go for a ride anytime.

 

[MegaByte907]

If you want to try the Scorpions PM me and we will go for a ride anytime.

Thanks for the offer i'll keep that in mind when I'm ready to upgrade my tires

 

[alaskaman]

two weeks ago in Anchorage.

 

[jpalaska]

Hey Alaskaman,
It wasn't so much that snow a few weeks ago that made our roads slicker than snot. It was that drizzle on top of the packed snow and ice that gave me a few "white knuckle" moments in the 4Runner.
How about you?

JP

 

[alaskaman]

indeed. that next morning the street was glazed. zero control at anything over 10MPH. I saw a few cars simply go right through the intersection. supposed to snow then warm up in the next few days so could happen again soon. Oh Joy!:bash:

 

[Dracord]

I think it's just a matter of how much experience you have with winter driving, and what your expectations are. I had the stock dunlops for 2 winters and 27,000 miles in the upper pennisula of Michigan next to Lake Superior. They served me fine during that time, and I was out all the time during winter. I honestly didn't have any complaints with them.

That being said, I just got some Nitto Terra Grapplers and I like them so far. They got me through this storm that hit the midwest quite well. They are certainly better than the dunlops, but I guess I never really needed anything too much better. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to upgrade the tires, but it gave me a piece of mind after my dunlops were around 5 and 6/32 tread depth