285/70R17 or similar "33 inch" pure winter tire

[aknightinak]

I missed above that you found the Cooper. That price sounds about right. I bought a set of Fuel wheels with my LT3s a year ago (315s), and it was right around $3000 US out the door (not an amount I keep handy to throw around). I tell myself it's offset by the savings of doing the summer/winter swap myself, not running in 4wd all the time (rarely ever vs almost always), or fixing and replacing body parts due to colliding with things. KOs were the worst, imo. The only thing they were good at was going diagonal through roundabouts.

 

[eyemgh]

Honestly, I don't shop for winter tires any more. I just find the local Nokian dealer. Of other brands I've run over the years, none have compared, even before Nokian brought out multi-cornered studs. Those are a game changer in my experience. Size selection has improved in recent years as well. The Hakkapeliitta LT3 comes in a metric equivalent 33 and 35.

No pure winter comes even close to Hakkas, none. I don’t run pure winters anymore, opting for the good enough Wildpeaks and Toyos, but the Hakkas eat snow. We were a ski racing family, and between my vehicles and the team bus, I think I bought 5 sets. I wouldn’t consider anything else for a dedicated snow.

 

[Jacobm]

Another vote for Hakkas. I had a set of Blizzak tires one winter, and they were fine, but the Hakkas I had made snow and cold weather basically a non-issue.

 

[Grassland]

Pay for studs in the Hakkas or save $100 and not get studs?
Our speed limit is 100kph on the highway so it's not like I'll be doing 85 MPH throwing studs, and the 3.7 isn't teeming with low end power.

 

[aknightinak]

I don't know if it's grab-bag, but several years ago Nokian stopped using round, single point studs. I've had 6, 4, and now 3-sided pins in the last 3 sets I bought. They help massively with lateral traction. I run posted speeds in 2wd all day, every day. My commute is a windy, coastal highway. If I'm first in line at an especially glaciated intersection, I'll bump it into 4 to be a good neighbor and not crabwalk off the line but rarely have to.

I was running to Homer a few years ago for a charter that got weathered out, but there were me and my buddy, about midnight, exhausted, trying to catch up with the group at the hotel already, hauling through ice fog over hard-packed snow and black ice. The place is lousy with moose and we knew that. And even if we didn't, we just screamed past another big yellow sign proclaiming the number killed that winter. We neared the bottom of a hill into a couple mile-long flat going at least at 65 mph if I wasn't using that hill and the straightaway ahead to tempt 70 or better. Well, the ice fog parted for a second, and in the middle of my lane stood a cow and half a calf, with the other half the calf and another calf blocking the other lane. If I had a hundred yards, that was far. I started skidding, manual abs leg going crazy. The cow started running but was mostly just slipping in place, then about knocked over the lead calf that was also trying to run. It looked like a Looney Tunes level wreck about to happen, but the two in the lead had created enough space that in the next life before all of our eyes, I was able to control the skid enough to thread it right between the two calves without so much as a hoof to a fender.

I say get the studs.

 

[1000arms]

Pay for studs in the Hakkas or save $100 and not get studs?
Our speed limit is 100kph on the highway so it's not like I'll be doing 85 MPH throwing studs, and the 3.7 isn't teeming with low end power.

Studs can help modern winter tire traction in the right conditions, but the studs can harm winter tire traction in certain conditions (tire rubber not in contact with bare pavement the same way with studs as without studs).

Tire choices are compromises (modern winter tires wear quickly in summer high temperatures, all-seasons don't do as well in the winter as dedicated winter tires, ...).

How much of the driving will be on ice where the studs will be useful? How much driving will be on snow or ice covered roads where the studs won't (slightly) lift the tire where the studs meet the pavement?

Are you willing to slightly compromise the best bare pavement traction for the best traction on ice?

Will you be driving to any places that prohibit studs? Will you have to remove tires early in the spring (or delay mounting them in the fall) due to laws regarding when you can use studded tires?

I like studs in tires for the traction on ice. They may be the best choice for you as well, but, they might not.

 

[Grassland]

These would be a dedicated winter tire so on when studs allowed off when studs are banned.
I have "winter rated" all terrains that suck on paved and icey surfaces.

I live in a subarctic wasteland town of poverty. Not tons of concrete showing, just rock hard compacted snow and ice. What little road surface is exposed is actually more slippery than the ice and snow.

At this rate with the shortages of everything, regardless of choosing to part with near $400 per tire or not, doesn't look like I'll be using any winter tires this year.

 

[Winterpeg]

We are running 285/75/16 studded Nokian LT3's on our Tacoma.... essentially 33's.

I'll be swapping them over to the FJ for an upcoming trip (same bolt pattern and size I currently run) for the added highway safety. My duratracs are great, but there's no comparison to a studded snow tire.

Expensive... but they will last years.

 

[Grassland]

We are running 285/75/16 studded Nokian LT3's on our Tacoma.... essentially 33's.

I'll be swapping them over to the FJ for an upcoming trip (same bolt pattern and size I currently run) for the added highway safety. My duratracs are great, but there's no comparison to a studded snow tire.

Expensive... but they will last years.

If you've been driving around town lately it's a skating rink eh?
With all seasons anyway.
My Transit 250 with Michelin agilis cross climate and an open diff is out driving my F150 with LSD and KO2s ?

 

[Winterpeg]

If you've been driving around town lately it's a skating rink eh?
With all seasons anyway.
My Transit 250 with Michelin agilis cross climate and an open diff is out driving my F150 with LSD and KO2s ?

In the city I drop my psi on the duratracs to 25... makes a huge difference. If I were to hit the hwy for any period of time I would crank it back up to hwy pressures.

 

[eyemgh]

Pay for studs in the Hakkas or save $100 and not get studs?
Our speed limit is 100kph on the highway so it's not like I'll be doing 85 MPH throwing studs, and the 3.7 isn't teeming with low end power.

I‘ve owned both. There’s no doubt that the studded version is better. The improvement is incremental though. Your tire to a Hakka will be night and day. Studded vs. non-studded Hakka is night and dusk. The studded version holds the speed record on ice, 206 mph. Were I to run dedicated winters again, I’d do the studded version on dedicated wheels.

 

[Grassland]

Prioritized the Transit 250 since it's the fleet vehicle and it's sees twice the KMs a year the truck does.
LT225/75R16 Firestone Winterforce LT with studs. They were in stock locally.
$2000 later after steelies, TPMS, and all the myriad taxes.
I'll have to start working 6-7 days a week again if I want to buy wheels and tires for the Fiddy

 

[nickw]

No pure winter comes even close to Hakkas, none. I don’t run pure winters anymore, opting for the good enough Wildpeaks and Toyos, but the Hakkas eat snow. We were a ski racing family, and between my vehicles and the team bus, I think I bought 5 sets. I wouldn’t consider anything else for a dedicated snow.

I've used several tires over the years, including studded and non-studded Nokians, and there are many winter tires out there that are dang close, Nokian doesn't have any special magic in their tires. While I still consider them the "premium" option, ANY good winter tire is lightyears better than a non-winter tire.

My Audi Allroad on Blizzaks was the best rig on snow and ice I had, better than the X5 on Hakkas (two different X5's and two different set of Hakkas).

I think a taller sidewall / narrower tire in ANY brand I'd pick over a wide low profile Nokian....the BMW had the OEM 19" tires while I was able to downsize to a 16" rim on the Audi and got a taller/narrower tire than stock.

I think Nokians get you a longer lasting tire more than outright performance, Blizzaks for instance are great on year #1, but do degrade rather quickly.

 

[nickw]

Prioritized the Transit 250 since it's the fleet vehicle and it's sees twice the KMs a year the truck does.
LT225/75R16 Firestone Winterforce LT with studs. They were in stock locally.
$2000 later after steelies, TPMS, and all the myriad taxes.
I'll have to start working 6-7 days a week again if I want to buy wheels and tires for the Fiddy

Winters are a tough pill to swallow - but 100% think it's the right call. I've bought several over the years and just consider it a safety item. While I got away without running them for YEARS, in an emergency situation (stopping, swerving) there is no denying they help.

I just tell myself, if I got into an accident, was sitting in a ditch or was stuck on the side of the road for hours...even worse if injured.....would I have wished I spent the $2k? The answer is always yes.

 

[eyemgh]

I've used several tires over the years, including studded and non-studded Nokians, and there are many winter tires out there that are dang close, Nokian doesn't have any special magic in their tires. While I still consider them the "premium" option, ANY good winter tire is lightyears better than a non-winter tire.

My Audi Allroad on Blizzaks was the best rig on snow and ice I had, better than the X5 on Hakkas (two different X5's and two different set of Hakkas).

I think a taller sidewall / narrower tire in ANY brand I'd pick over a wide low profile Nokian....the BMW had the OEM 19" tires while I was able to downsize to a 16" rim on the Audi and got a taller/narrower tire than stock.

I think Nokians get you a longer lasting tire more than outright performance, Blizzaks for instance are great on year #1, but do degrade rather quickly.

I think there’s more to it than just the tire. Tire profile, wheelbase, and vehicle weight are part of the equation too. My Element with studded Hakkas ruled all vehicles I‘ve ever owned in the snow. It’s rare to run different brands on the same vehicle. I’m sure if that car had worn Blizzaks or IceX s, I’d be singing their praises.