Snow...

Ok.. I am thoroughly impressed. Last night in my area we had our first little blast of "weather". Haven't had a chance to put the Duratracs on yet so I was running with the factory installed all season radials. My 40 minute ride turned into a 5 hour odyssey because of all the stuck people that should not have been on the road. This truck performed admirably. I climbed steep grades in six and seven inch deep snow/ice without so much as a slip. I was amazed and grateful. The semi automatic mode on the transmission was fun as well. I was dubious of that, having come from a 5 speed in my Tacoma. I was certain at several times that I was going to lose traction, as I was forced to climb hills I would have never attempted in the Taco, but she just kept slammin' along. No lateral slipping, little to no slip from a standstill.. I was blown away. It's great to know she is so capable. Planning on installing some studded Goodyear Duratracs next week. In my work I am considered a first responder and NOT getting there is NOT an option, so while it may seem like overkill after last night’s performance.. I'd rather have 'em and not need them than the reverse. Understandable why everyone here is so in love with their trucks.

 

We got 13” last night, measured it in my driveway. All the schools closed today. I put the Blizzaks on the truck today since I had the day off (coincidentally). It’s a pain having 2 sets of wheels and tires, so I would love to hear from people in high snow areas about AT tires that work well in the snow.

 

where you in 4x4 or 4x2 mode?

 

Good to hear you made it through with no problems

 

I was using both. And also semi automatic. Very impressive.

 

sorry but what's semi automatic? LOL I don't see a dial option for that..

 

Manual shifting without the need for a clutch. I’m new to that and it’s fun.

 

I live in northern Alberta. This is my first year running dedicated winters and after experiencing the improvement, I'll deal with swapping twice a year. I run Cooper ST Maxx on on my summer wheels. They did really well in ice and snow but the stopping abililty is nothing like my studded Nokians.

I've also run Duratracs, Toyo and BFG KO2's on various trucks. They all work, though my Coopers are better I feel. Once again though, the stopping ability of my Nokians is way better.

 

Love me some studs! +1 on that.

 

Denver here. I hit the mountains to ride during the storm so im generally driving on shitty winding roads with as bad as a whiteout. I just got a set of K02's and have already used them a half dozen times to hit the slopes and they're amazing. no slippage at all in 4x4.

we also have a civic that we'll take out and have Michellin X-ice's on it. it tears snowy/icey roads up!

 

Is there a benefit to doing this in the snow? And actually, is there a benefit to using it at all? Other than engine braking on steep declines, I’ve never found a use for the manual shifter on an auto.

 

I find it steadies my throttle input and forces the truck to respond with more power and less speed in first and second, if that makes sense to anyone. I miss my 5 speed a little I guess.

 

Yep. I don't like the auto trans's deciding what gear it thinks I should be in (normally the highest due to fuel economy). In all my vehicles I always slap them over to manual/auto for this reason - my fuel economy suffers but I don't care. If I'm cruising at 60 mph and want 3/4 throttle for a few seconds, leaving my car or truck in Auto doesn't manage the shift like I want. It will drop down 2 gears and lunge me forward, then end up cruising in a higher gear.
My car is much easier with paddle shifters - I think every vehicle should have them lol.

PS - you'll love the Duratracs in the snow. I've went through multiple sets and put them on my wife's rig to keep her safe. She's the only one that ever makes it into work after a snow-storm (her co-workers are all on stockish tires)

 

Cooper stt pros are awesome!

 

I’m looking forward to having 2 completely different sets of tire/rim combinations. No need to take her in to swap them out. Fancy summer rims with my factory treads and the Duratracs on my stock steelies. Thinking about powder coating these base rims that came with my girl.

 

Yeah I ran 325 65 18 duratracs on my 1st tundra, they were awesome!

 

I live in upstate NY near lake Ontario, lots of lake effect. Big believer on 2 sets wheels, summers and straight snow tires. Also love my studded tires for ice. Just got a great deal on some Saxon snowblazer(Cooper off brand), ended up studded them. Trucks a beast already, now it's unstoppable. Bring it mother nature!

 

Ya I live in the Syracuse area in NY an run 37 12.5 20 with nitro ridge grapplers an chewed thru the snow no problem but I also run in 4wd hi I don't take the chances of not having control

 

I picked up my ‘18 CM TRD OR last December and was pleasantly surprised how well the stock Michelins performed in several inches of snow in the UP of MI.

However they kinda sucked going through heavy slush on the road as they just dont have the channeling to deal with such.

Next summer I’m going to swap them out with some Coop’s, either Maxx or AT3 XLT’s.

 

Has anyone resorted to 4wd low in deep snow? I was instructed by the dealer to “never” use low unless I was off-road. The use of the word “never” is always suspect to me.

 

Had stock on mine with a bad quick strike storm that wasnt predicted.. people were going around 12mph.. stuck on every slight incline pushing each other.. had no issues whatsoever.. was driving 30+mph on the highway and definitely slowed on the backroads but people were in the ditches and facing wrong way on those

 

It will be a test. My Tacoma with 265/75R16 AT tires was unstoppable in the snow. I’m anxious to see how this truck does. I know it’s heavy, so planning to ensure I have double the stopping distance I held in the Tacoma when there is snow on the road.

 

Dephased, I only use Low range if Im pulling my boat out at the boat launch or pulling a bush or tree, or stuck in mud/snow. once out ill put in high range, or 2wd. think its a speed thing, don't want to go over a certain speed in Low.

 

I've used 4-lo on ice, crawling, works great, and deep snow if 4-hi cant do it. Running Duratracs now and only two storms in with about 6 inches of mix each, no issues getting around in 2 or 4-hi. Cant wait for a big storm to really see the tires potential.

 

Not planning on going into Low unless I get “stuck” but from what I’ve seen so far that seems pretty low probability. The Duratracs are on backorder till December. I think the early storm here in the lower Hudson Valley freaked everyone out and caused a run on them. Looking forward to mounting them and basically being ready for literally.. anything.