Winter Tires VS All Season AT's

[benzgt]

2017 TRD OFF ROAD

I just moved to CO from FL and will need to change tires in the coming week or so as we have snow starting to come. Also plan to hit the trails and off road as much as possible when the weather breaks. I have been given a few recommendations on winter tires and some all seasons. Any thoughts or recommendations on doing a dedicated winter tire just for the snow season VS doing an all-season A/T that I can trail with when the weather breaks and not have to have 2 sets of tires. Need something very good for this winter as I don't want to take any chances in the weather plus my lady drives my truck a lot also.

Looking at
- mastercraft courser msr (WINTER ONLY TIRE)
- WILDPEAK A/T3w
- Goodyear Duratrak

 

[CO-Cygnus]

Get two sets of wheels - One with dedicated Winter tires and the other with your AT of choice.

 

[benzgt]

Thanks for the replay. What are you driving and what tire are you running?

 

[CO-Cygnus]

My winter set this yeah will probably be upsized Nokain Hakka R3 or Hakka 9 SUV on the 20" limited wheels that came with the truck. Still trying to decide if I want Studded or not this year, I've always used Studless but there were a few days last year when I could have used some extra bite.

 

[Hoser]

We live in northern Michigan and as you all know we get winter here big time. All I have is good all season tires and have never had an issue with getting stuck. That being said, you do need good side clearing grooves in your tires so slush, water can be expelled easily. This will be our first winter with a 4Runner so we'll see how it fares.

 

[GupsT4R]

definitely easier to have two sets. one for Winter and one for AT summer wheelin.

BFG KO was my all year tire which are good in moderate snow but for sleet, ice and slush i eventually opted for Bridgestone Blizzaks winters.

 

[CO-Cygnus]

And again, I would go with two sets of wheels instead of two sets of tires if you budget will allow for it. Much easier to swap wheels on and off yourself instead of making two trips to the tire shop a year to have tires unmounted then remounted.

 

[4Rums]

The Denver Metro area and the main mountain corridors are well maintained and plowed. So an AT Tire with three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) should work if you are keeping to the main roads. If you don't have a lot of snow driving experience (coming from Florida) I would suggest to be conservative with your driving in your first season until you get a feel for it and if you see a blizzard coming, wait it out until the roads have been taken care of. Also, since your truck has a part-time 4wd, knowing when to engage it and disengage it is important as well, specially if the missus will be driving it (part time 4wd is not a set and forget thing, nor should be engaged at the first flake).

 

[CO-Cygnus]

The Denver Metro area and the main mountain corridors are well maintained and plowed. So an AT Tire with three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) should work if you are keeping to the main roads. If you don't have a lot of snow driving experience (coming from Florida) I would suggest to be conservative with your driving in your first season until you get a feel for it and if you see a blizzard coming, wait it out until the roads have been taken care of. Also, since your truck has a part-time 4wd, knowing when to engage it and disengage it is important as well, specially if the missus will be driving it (part time 4wd is not a set and forget thing, nor should be engaged at the first flake).

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... Yeah kinda, in my opinion. An AT 3PMSF can work, but nothing beats a dedicated winter tire when Colorado is being Colorado.

 

[mscot]

When has Colorado been Colorado? Two decades ago?

That said, you should definitely just move back to Florida and not bother with any of this winter nonsense.


FWIW
Everyone has different levels of risk.
I've done the two sets thing and just don't see the point anymore. Especially around Denver and out to the mtns on 70.
I had Blizzaks on my Touareg and sure, I could slam on the brakes and it would stop sooner but not significantly over having quality ATs with good siping.
I may change my mind now that I have very wide 285s.

IMO you're better off spending the money on a winter driving course for the two of you.

Or just go back to Florida. That's definitely the better option. Colorado is crowded, expensive, too many liberals (so I hear), smells like ganja, and it doesn't snow like it used to. It's horrible here.

 

[Woz1976-MT]

I've had a great experience running Cooper Discoverer A/Tw (Load E) on my 4Runner Trail in Montana winters. They made it through some deep snow, wet/heavy snow, and were ok at handling ice/slush. For an all-around tire they've been impressive.

Only problem is they have been discontinued, but you can still get them online at good prices. They are rated for 50k miles, and I have 51k+ and still have about half of the tread left.

I've decided to try Falken Rubitrek A/T when I need to replace the Coopers.

 

[mscot]

why the rubitreks and not the wildpeaks?

its hard to get a good comparison on the Falken site

 

[Woz1976-MT]

why the rubitreks and not the wildpeaks?

its hard to get a good comparison on the Falken site

I mainly like the looks of the Rubitreks better than the Wildpeaks. But if I could get a better deal on Wildpeaks I'd certainly consider them, too.

 

[CO-Cygnus]

When has Colorado been Colorado? Two decades ago?

Last Winter. 10/8 last year we got an early snow and Berthoud turned in to a slip'n'slide maybe a dozen wrecks - Trucks, Cars, SUVs... didn't matter. They're calling for 8-10" tonight too.

Maybe it's more tame in Denver, I tend to work at home and not commute down when it snows heavily here, but the difference between ATs and Winter tires is significant.

 

[Decipher]

Get two sets of wheels - One with dedicated Winter tires and the other with your AT of choice.

OP, You have advice from someone who actually lives in CO. That should weigh heavily on your decision. While I (very regretfully) don’t live there, I’ve visited many times and have friends out there. They run dedicated snows on their Subaru’s. If it were me, I’d buy no less and a 3 peak mountain snowflake rated tire (3PMS). Anything that doesn’t meet that rating shouldn’t even be on your radar.

I’m running the extremely highly regarded Falken Wildpeak AT3W. I was one of the originals and I’m on a second set. These tire are simply incredible in the snow and have never failed to impress me. Like it or not, Colorado is a much different beast than lame Illinois. I think you could get by with a good AT and if that’s all your budget allows, then do it. Otherwise, get steel wheels and dedicated snows.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[codan]

I live in the heart of the Colorado mountains and have for 31+ years - Gunnison.

I can't speak directly for the 4Runner as I just got mine this summer. But many, many people get around just fine on all season tires on everything. Subarus certainly get around fine without winter specific tires. We've been driving a Suby for more than 1/2 of our time in CO and it goes just fine.

I plan to stay with the stock tires unless it's proven to me that they just won't work. Got by for 15 years in my Tacoma with tires like Generals, etc.

FWIW I drive cautiously and a little slowly, but I drive through anything and everything in all kinds of weather.

That said, if I lived on the front range or drove I70, and was in a situation where job demands or whatever meant I sometimes had to drive, then I'd certainly consider the winter tires. Not because of the weather but because there are a lot of idiots in the world.

 

[mbmellis]

I am in Canada, and sold my second set and 2nd rims and now run BFG KO2 year round.

 

[CO-Cygnus]

Reviving this thread due to relevant experiences.

Snow today in CO and oh boy did I see a lot of trucks with ATs, and others to be fair, having a bad day on Berthoud pass.

Near the top of the pass on the Clear Creek side: F-150 suck in the middle of the roadway with a red suv trying, and failing, to tow the guy the last 1000 yards to the parking lot at the top of the pass. They were just crabbing sideways toward the shoulder.

A few more 1500s pulled off to the side of the road with their flashers on.

Two jacknifed tractor-trailers in the roadway halfway down - one with a rental car buried in the rear bumper of the trailer. One idiot was chaining up his rig while it was half buried in the shoulder ditch.

Some poor guy in a Tundra nearly jacknifed his empty trailer while skidding through a red light on the West Side near the resort.

I had my snows put on the DD last week and had zero issues. Did a few traction checks in spots I saw others just stuck, spun, or otherwise having an interesting afternoon and I had no problems at all.

So, again, if you rarely drive the mountains or can stay home when it gets bad / are sure you'll never encounter unexpected weather then All Season ATs may be fine for you. Personally, I prefer to avoid any white knuckle moments when I'm trying to get somewhere.

 

[NewToy2020]

I switched to BFG KO2, so far like them and heard great results from the snow ratings!

 

[4Rwolf]

I get having winter tires for playing out of the city. Never been stuck in city limits no matter what tire I have. wait i did... in my late 60's beetle which had a chewed up reverse gear.