Snowy State Tundras...Best Tires in the Snow

Yep, and not all snow conditions are created equal. I hate the snows that come in fast after warm weather. I’d rather it be 10 degrees and snowing.

 

Yep! makes your butt whole pucker!

 

Haha. Yep been a few nights running south on 93 from Eureka I pulled so much cotton up I was spitting it out for a week!!!

 

!!!!!

There’s a well known saying in Montana..Pray for me cause I drive Hiway 93!

 

On my way to Dillon to hunt elk several years ago, I started to drift sideways on one of the bridges East of Missoula, just before Bonner. Thankfully I’d been watching the temps and had really dropped my speed. If I had been on cruise at 65 I would have eaten the guard rail.

 

I emailed BFG and they said they are starting production of a 295/70/18 KO2 this month. Ive seen it listed on numerous sites but nobody seams to have it in stock just yet. Sounds like they are coming though. Im debating that or the Toyo AT3s myself.

 

The last set of snow tires I bought was studded Nokian Hakkapelitta 2 s for winter ice., but they are famous for snow tires. I never really drove them in the snow, so I cant really speak for their quality in that respect. It mentions them here.

 

I am not familiar with Snow tires since I live in Florida. I've tried to consult Google for an answer and Bridgestone Blizzak always shows up.

 

This is so true...I hate mine. They are crappy in the rain too. NEVER again

 

I tell my kids its the gauntlet. So far I have only totaled out one car to animal strike.

 

This thread really deserves a poll haha.

 

I’ve seen/read that too. It’s such a great looking tire too. Again, I have no complaints about my 275’s but I’d obviously pretty upset if I couldn’t get them balanced. The spec sheet I saw had 15/32 tread depth (standard for the KO2s) vs 16.5 for then Toyos. Weight was about 69lbs vs 62 for toyos. The meaty sidewall is a big part of that weight I think. With my current 275 KO2s coming in at 57lbs I’d prefer to only add another 5lbs at each corner vs 10 or more when going up to a larger size. We’ll see though.

 

Let’s face it, so many people drive differently. Especially in the snow. I have KO2 on my tundra and had KO2 on my FJ and love them. I live in Maine, so we get out fair share. If it’s sticky snow, all tires can suck, especially with ice.

 

Blizzaks are very popular and for good reason. However, most tire companies have a "winter" specific tire that will (in my experience) far exceed the cold weather (below 35-40 degrees) and ice capabilities of an all season OR all terrain tire. The difference comes down to siping (tread design / block cuts) and the rubber compound itself. The rubber is hydrophobic and softer than all-season/all-terrain tires so it doesn't turn into a plastic block in the cold. Its also why they don't last as long and shouldn't be run in warmer temps for very long. I've been happy with a number of manufacturers winter tires over the years. I keep coming back to Blizzaks (WS for my subarus or DMV series for the Tundra) as i've had the best luck with them, but i wouldn't steer anyone away from others that TEST well in tire reviews.

Lots of good experience in here, but just to voice my experience again, i literally have 2 sets of wheels 1 with BFG KO2 and 1 with Blizzak DMV-1's and there is a reason for both. As someone who has run these two very different tires on the same icy day where people were sliding off the road everywhere there is simply no comparison on ice. The KO2's do things that the winter tires cannot and the winter tires do things the BFG simply can not do nearly as well. There is no getting around that they are designed for different purposes. I ran BFG KOs for years driving a 2 door wrangler from the front range up i70 to ski at 5 am. They will get you there as i stated in an earlier post, but as i have the ability to have the best of both worlds, i believe i do.

Something else to consider is that not ALL BFG KO2 have the Mountain Snowflake badge declaring it a true all-terrain so be aware of that.

Colorado is tough on tires because you will go from 80 degree days to blizzards within 24 hours or 75 miles. It's really an ideal situation for an All-Terrain given that you understand its limitations.

 

I have blizzaks on my civic...that thing goes anywhere in the snow as long as it's not too deep to get buried. Blizzaks, I was told, were designed by Nokian...so I am still tempted to try out the their Hakkapeliitta LT3s this year. I've heard nothing but good things from work ppl that have them on a 4R and Tundra.

 

Not sure of what you mean by the drawbacks I remember by day using studied tires but I was real young . Why not as popular now?

 

They're popular in the right areas and in the right conditions...if you have 7 months of winter/snow, they're top-notch, but the tread life of the tires reduces when studded tires are used, especially in the transition months...it still comes down to tires being the most important part of any vehicle when driving...

 

2nd most important. Best tire in the world can’t make up for an idiot behind the wheel.

 

If you live in the mountains of Colorado, get yourself a dedicated pair of studs - the best are Nokian Hakka's.
If you live down in the foothills like I do AT's work great, Goodyear Duratracs are the best I've ever had - excellent in deep snow. But for all-round performance I recommend Falken AT3w's as they are cheap, light, extreme weather rated and aren't noisy.

For reference I've experienced: Goodyear Wrangler, Duratracs, Falkens AT3w, Michelin's ATX

 

Just to add in that tire preference can be regional. getting around in heavy snowfalls in temps well below freezing is an entirely different experience than getting around on refrozen ice, or greasy slush.

Cold dry snow is a joy to drive in compared to deep slush or freezing rain!