Is a non stock wheel set worth it for Winter/Snow?

So, I'm moving from SoCal to the Ohio.
In the last couple of years, I've had a stock wheelset with KO2s for off-road and SoCal "winters" or trips up to the snow.
Now that I'll be facing actual serious rain, sleet, snow, slush, ice, etc..., is it worth having a non-stock size wheelset with KO2s or ATW3/4's? Browsing the galleries, I see a lot of setups on 17-18's. Does that truly matter? Does a smaller rim/larger tire do better in the snow?
Would love to get input from the folks who live in 4 actual seasons lol.
Thanks in advance!

 

In my opinion, wheel diameter does not matter, but what does make a difference is having a narrower tire for the snow, slush and ice. A narrower tire digs better and gives you more weight per square inch of tread surface. BTW, I live in Alaska...

 

I second this. When I was stationed in socal at Pendleton I noticed that this is the same concept they run on their humvees. Tall and narrow is what gets it done. Snow, slush, mud and ice I've always felt better hookup with narrow tire. I live in the high country in Colorado. Summer is my shortest season.

 

There are plenty of TRD Off Road wheel sets floating around in the $1000 to $1500 range with like new tires. Replace with a set of winter tires in stock size 265/60/20 and you'll be more than good to go...sell the take off tires for a few hundred bucks or keep for when your OE are shot at 25-30k...new tire prices like everything else are $$$.

 

Welcome to Ohio! A good A/T tire will be just fine, as others have said, diameter probably doesn't matter. I've had KO2s on a Silverado 20" wheels, Ram 20" wheels and now my Tundra with 20" wheels. All no issues in conditions here.

I currently run KO2s (275/65/20) right now on stock rims with no issues, 36k mi. Will probably go with A/TW4 next time to change things up. Still deciding on changing from 20s to 18s.

 

The other option to consider is getting a dedicated snow tire or studded tires for winter. This would cause you to change tires seasonally or have a whole second set of wheels with your winter tires already mounted for an easy swap over at your convenience.

if you're not used to driving in snow/ice this is a good option that will help you gain more traction. Now this doesn't mean I'd advise you to get studded tires and drive like you normally would on dry roads. No matter what tire you choose, wider, skinnier, snow, or studded; the best thing you can do for yourself and others on roadways alongside you is slow down when the conditions require it. I see too many people that assume that because you have 4WD or studded tires you can just drive like normal. That's simply not the case. Driver awareness is more important than the tire wheel combo your using.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback. So glad I asked, I thought wider would be better. I'll probably go 275/60/20 atw4 on an extra wheel set.

 

I live in snow country and I can tell you an AT tire can’t come close to a dedicated snow tire for on-road inclement weather.
The rubber is vastly different.
I run Michelin X-Ice and my kids have Bridgestone Blizzaks
The Blizzaks the best, but don’t have a treadware warranty

 

A good A/T is still superior to Ohio's split personality disorder.

 

Also a good idea to keep your first set in good condition.

Winter is rough in wheels as well as deicer and salt they put in the roads.

 

100%
I grew up in Ohio and had plenty of snow drove a Mustang with a limited slip and all season tires in all my driving years there. In Cincinnati which has tons of hills especially compared to most of the state.
Got anywhere I needed to go. Now I live in Kentucky get just as much snow as Ohio and a ton more ice.
Never had an issue driving the Tundra on 275/60/20 Michelin LTX A/T2s now I have 285/70/17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs and they handled everything this winter just fine.

There is no reason to run dedicated snow tires on a 4wd truck in Ohio.

You’ll be perfectly fine with K02s in stock size presuming your truck is 4wd.

 

I agree about the defensive driving. You might also want to consider an under coating to prevent rust. I know there’s been lots of discussion on what under coating to use. I also get my truck washed (under carriage too) as many times as possible in the winter and spring.

 

First of all, KO2’s are extremely meh in snow. if you were going to run a single tire year round KO2’s would not be my choice. Duratracs or AT3W are a better winter all terrain

Second, Blizzaks or other winter tires are fantastic. I have run them on my former GX460, just bought a set for my current LX570 and run Michelins X-Ice on my Chevy Bolt. The Bolt is fwd and gets around great with the X-Ice here in the mountains of Utah.

Find a used set of Tundra wheels with Blizzaks. The ones I just bought for my LX570 were 4 Tundra wheels with some low mile Blizzaks for $400.

Got my Chevy Bolt X-Ice with 3000 miles for $200 and then bought steel wheels off eBay for $250

 

This is not true about the narrow tires and has been proven incorrect in testing. A narrower tire will not have more psi if the tire is inflated to the same pressure, the contact patch will just be longer/narrower vs wider/shorter.

https://youtu.be/6wAJAOxh8LE?si=fwtw7CtyfY01kItA

Narrow tires will cut through deeper snow better but if the snow is too deep then you no longer wanna dig down, you wanna float. Thats why the guys who snow wheel are running 40”x14.5” tires at 3 psi.

 

I’ve never been to Ohio, so don’t know how long and bad their winters are…and any tire with decent tread can work on snow/ice…and it’s damn expensive buying a 2nd set…But…there’s no comparison in performance of softer rubber tire on snow/ice

 

Utah and Ohio are very different places in regard to climate.
There is absolutely no reason to run a 2nd set of wheels for the winter in Ohio in a 4wd pick up truck. 100% complete waste of money and effort.
Even if you are up near the lake while the snow gets deep it is lake effect snow which is nice and fluffy and super easy to drive in.

You are correct K02s are just meh in the snow but he already has them and they will do just fine till he needs to replace them.

Even with as crappy as Toyotas Auto Limited Slip is one rarely needs to break out into 4wd.
Ohio winter driving for the small amount of it you actually get is easy.

Been doing it for years my first 15 years of driving I did in a Mustang with all season tires and a limited slip.
Would I have wanted to do it with an open rear end and 2wd drive, No. That would call for a 2nd set of winter wheels and tires.

 

I’m heading up into the snow this morning on my new A/T4Ws, I’ll give you a report Took my X-Ice tires off too soon

 

KO3s coming out soon
supposed to be better in snow/ice.

 

They have been out for awhile now. Just not a lot of sizes to choose from yet.

 

doesn’t even matter on rim. Just make sure you do your research and find a tire that will suit your needs for road conditions.

 

"From a safety point of view, both types have their good sides: On a dry road, wider tires will offer more grip than narrow ones, but the risk of aquaplaning will be higher with wide tires.

– In the winter, narrow tires are better under extreme conditions as they provide higher surface pressure against the road. Narrow tires also work better than wider ones in loose snow and slush. Wider tires, for their part, will offer more grip on hard surfaces, Martin Dražík says."

This is straight from the Nokian tire website when asked about tire width in regard to traction.

https://www.nokiantyres.com/company/news-article/wide-or-narrow-tires-here-s-how-your-choice-will-affect-driving/#:~:text=Narrow tires also work better,hard surfaces, Martin Dražík says.

We can all go find data that supports our opinions. It's all out there, the internet can be an endless rabbit hole. They key is driving within the conditions. We can support ko2's over the atw3 or vice versa because of a personal experience. This debate will never end. Tire size, width, brand, etc.

Here's my anecdotal experience. Over the last 14 years, I have driven over 250k on 265/70/17 ko2's on my first Gen tundra. I have almost 20k on 285/70/17 on my second Gen. I won't be changing my brand or tires size anytime soon. I don't change my tires over to snow or studded because I drive accordingly. I don't wheel but do drive a lot of miles on Forrest roads and high mtn passes. I've even done quite a bit of the CDR in my first Gen. I don't wheelor rock crawl. I live at 9,000' where we average over 300" of snowfall annually. I've yet to be in a wreck, I don't tailgate or drive like an asshole who thinks that because I have the best tire or truck or AWD/4WD that I can drive outside of the conditions present.

 

What kind of snow do you think we get here in UT? They dont call it the greatest snow on earth for no reason.

Like I said, pick up a set of used wheels and blizzaks for cheap. $400 is not much money and its not like you don't get that back. The miles you drive on the Blizzaks are miles you are not driving on your other tires.

Additionally, winter tires have benefits off of snow too. Their winter oriented compound improves traction in cold weather.

Lastly, 4wd and LSD is only helping you move. They dont help you stop and turn. My mother in law insists her AWD Altima on all-seasons is fine for driving around here in UT but then we find out she slid half way though a red light into an intersection and almost got t-boned by a truck with our kids in the car.

 

I wish we had that dry champagne powder like y'all who live in the desert get. But I'm not mad about the snow we get, just all the people who discovered Colorado was an untapped outdoor heaven. Your not far behind though...

Great point about how traction isn't improved when turning/ stopping. I totally agree that only studded or winter tires will improve that.

 

any feedbacks on them yet ?
waiting on the 35"s 17

 

Wildpeaks did fine in the snow
WHOO-HOOO!

 

Nothing beats a winter tire. I’m in Canada. It’s winter half the year, live in igloos, drink maple syrup and wrestle polar bears.

I bought a set of oem takeoffs from eBay for my winter rubber, preferably nokian or blizzaks.

 

I think you all get real snow, in real amounts and frequency that buying a set of extra wheels and tires is actually worth it.

Ohio not so much. There is absolutely NO reason to spend money on anything other than some good AT tires and run them all year round in a 4wd truck here.
Even if it were $17 in wheels and tires it’s not worth the effort to swap them out.