Large Winter Tires

[eaneumann]

I’m looking for advice on larger winter tires for my Toyota Tundra. I want a tire that is as close to a 35” as possible. The narrower the better. I’m currently running Toyo AT2 in a 285/75/18. It’s been a great tire, but I need a serious winter tire. I’d like a dedicated winter tire, but I’m considering the Nitto AWT and the Goodyear Duratrac. Both are able to be studded. I had Duratracs on my Jeep years ago that I wasn’t impressed with on ice, but they weren’t studded. I have no experience with a studded all terrain. The other choices I’m looking at are the Nokian LT2 studded and the Cooper M+S studded. The largest they come in is a 33.2/10.8, a really nice size actually, I’m just worried about it looking dumb on my lifted truck. Silly, I know.

I’m leaning towards the Nokian, just seeing if anyone had real world experience with studded all terrain or maybe someone knows of a true winter tire that I don’t know about.

 

[McCarthy]

KO2's are awesome. Duratracs are good for the first winter or two, but their sipes are only about 1/4 way through. Once it wears past the sipes, they suck.

 

[Betarocker]

http://www.toyotires.ca/tires/open-country-ct

No experience with them, but studable and have the extreme winter rating.

 

[cdthiker]

The toyo M55 is also studdable they last forever, but are pretty spendy.
The Nokian is hands down the best winter tire you can put on a rig.
I have been blow away by how good they are. I do not run them on my Tacoma but they are on my wifes car. The tech they pack into these tires is awesome. Anthing less then 6 inches of snow and he car out preforms my 4x4 truck. I will be replcing my Hankook winter tires with these when the time comes.

Another option you might look at is the Cooper AT3. Not studdable, but it comes in the size that you are looking for. I recently put a set on my Tacoma for when I am not running my studded snow tires. I have ben fairly impressed so far. Got caught in some early season mountain snow the other day and had to drive through about a hundred miles that had a few inches on the road. Most of this snow tired to greasey frozen crap aka the kind of snow that glazes the pavement and traction sucks no matter what. I was fairly impressed how well they did consindering that I had no weight in the back the tires are 10 ply, set at 50 PSI and I have a light truck ( Tacoma regular cab)
they stuck well, handles the twists and turns of the mountain road and braked about as good as one could hope for given the above condations
I would say they worked much better then a set of duratrcks that i have run in the past.


if you really want snow traction drop sizes a bit and deal with the funny looking tires and run the Nokian Happa 9 or 8 or SUV version on the rig. Hankook I pike rw11s are an awesome budget choice if you can deall with a 255 18

 

[Dan Grec]

Having lived in the Yukon for 4 years, and Calgary for a couple, I can tell you an A/T is a 0/10 on ice compared to a dedicated snow/ice winter tire.

I can drive any vehicle like it's summer when it is -40 outside and the roads are too slick to walk on, if they have studded winter snow/ice tires.
You want tons and tons of sipes.

An A/T with studs will be fine, but is nothing in comparison to a real snow/ice tire.

Nokkian all the way, the others won't even be close

-Dan

 

[kayadog]

Take a look at General Grabber AT2’s. They are studdable and there is a rebate on them right now.

 

[cdthiker]

Having lived in the Yukon for 4 years, and Calgary for a couple, I can tell you an A/T is a 0/10 on ice compared to a dedicated snow/ice winter tire.

I can drive any vehicle like it's summer when it is -40 outside and the roads are too slick to walk on, if they have studded winter snow/ice tires.
You want tons and tons of sipes.

An A/T with studs will be fine, but is nothing in comparison to a real snow/ice tire.

Nokkian all the way, the others won't even be close

-Dan

Yep..... Worth every cent.
Worth every cent and then some of it is a set of Nokians
Cheaper then a new truck or insurance payment
Much cheaper then what your life is worth.

Nokian, hands down no competition

and..... you can get them on Amazon every once and a while for cheap with free shipping if you have prime !

 

[hemifoot]

Take a look at General Grabber AT2's. They are studdable and there is a rebate on them right now.

i have these on my 2500 ram.not overly impresses with the wet weather traction,.but still better than duratracs by a long margin.those were the worst tires for an hd truck that i've ever owned.

 

[LikeABoss]

I've been looking as well. If I was going about 35" I probably would have gone with Falken Wildpeak at3w. If you haven't, take a look at those. I am moving up to 37" so ordered some Nitto Ridge Grapplers which seem highly rated all around. I realize they won't compare to a true snow tire.

 

[eaneumann]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I’m going to go with the Nokian’s. Just trying to get behind the price haha. I was quoted $1200 installed. Not happy that it’s a 33”, but I need the best traction that I can get this winter.


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[Trikebubble]

I've resigned myself to the fact that my winters are never going to look as "cool" as my other 3-season tires. I consider good winter rated studded tires a good insurance policy. If I use them once to save the lives of my loved ones, they are worth every penny and worth the funny look. I live in BC, always have, and have grown up driving mountain highways in winter conditions. I've always. always had winter rated studded tires on all my vehicles, both work and personal.
My 3-season tires on my Tundra are 295 70 18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. (We actually got caught in a mountain snowstorm last weekend, and I was surprised at how well they dealt with the ice and snow). I have a set of 275 studded winter tires on the stock wheels waiting to be installed at some point in the next few weeks. My Wife and I snowshoe and hike in the winter almost every weekend, and like I mentioned, a good set of winter specific tire is worth every penny I spend on them......even if they look a little funny and small.

FYI. I could not find a winter specific (winter snowflake rated - not just "M&S") studdable tire available that is larger than a 275.

 

[Mountainhound]

I run 265/70/18 tallest and skinniest I could find. You'll have better luck if you get 17" rims. But still there really is no 35" snows.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

FWIW, I have a set of Nokian snow tires on my Mazda 3 commuter car and have never been late to work, often times I will drive in the unplowed lane where 4wd vehicles with lesser tires are scared to venture, I will even take the Mazda over my Montero that has BFG KO's on it in the winter.

 

[eaneumann]

That makes me feel better about the $1200. We don’t stop camping and adventuring in the winter. We live outside of Vail Colorado. Last two winters I just ran my all terrains. First winter was ok, second not so much. Before that I’ve always ran blizzaks, except for my Jeep that had 37” tires on it. It just wasn’t good in snow. Always run Blizzaks on my wife’s car. I’ve never had studs, but the Nokians look ************! Thanks again everyone.


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[jeep-N-montero]

That makes me feel better about the $1200. We don't stop camping and adventuring in the winter. We live outside of Vail Colorado. Last two winters I just ran my all terrains. First winter was ok, second not so much. Before that I've always ran blizzaks, except for my Jeep that had 37” tires on it. It just wasn't good in snow. Always run Blizzaks on my wife's car. I've never had studs, but the Nokians look ************! Thanks again everyone.


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Most Jeeps do suck in the snow, especially the 2-door models due to lighter weight and short wheelbase. This last winter was definitely one to remember, most snow since the 2010/2011 winter, it will be interesting to see how this winter goes but we need another good snowfall year. With my luck though, it will be a weak winter simply because I bought a new snowblower last month.