winter tires when I live where it snows a lot but also plan to go to the desert?

[Martinjmpr]

I put General Grabber ATX's on my F-150 in January of last year and they did fine in the heavy, wet spring snow we got in March and April. I've also had Falken Wildpeaks on my Suburban and they did fine as well.

We haven't had any measurable snow yet this year (!) so I can't evaluate their performance after a few thousand miles of wear (I think I put them on with about 33,000 miles on the truck and it's at 48,000 now due to a lot of camping this Summer.)

 

[phsycle]

Hi Colin. Glad to hear you are living the dream. I hope all is well.

Probably not a popular decision, but I’ve found a “studded” snow tire to have excellent resilience in warmer climates because the rubber isn’t really getting worn out, as it’s really not even touching the road. After 5 years of running Firestone Winterforce studded on one of our trucks, the tires are still like new. And most importantly to me, when road conditions deteriorated, I had really great grip. I’m not driving a sports car so the loss of traction with studs on the road in warmer climate was a non issue.
I didn’t plan this at all. I just wanted maximum traction for the truck that serviced the ski area. Life happened and the tires just got run in all conditions and a few times were run the whole year.

I have also found for studdless that the Michelin X-ice provides almost as good of performance as the Hakka’s, but much easier to find where I was. They DID wear quickly though. Probably 2 seasons of maximum performance before they started to act like a regular tire.

The Falken AT3 has probably been the best non snow snow tire for us in the snow. Really a nice tire. For all around use, these with a good set of chains would probably last the longest.

Good luck and good to see you here.

Note that most states have regulation regarding studded tire use. ie specific date range of permissible usage. Some states outright ban them. Just fyi. Check your local laws.

 

[nomad_games]

Well, we’ve had a load of snow the last few weeks and I’ve been driving up the mountain to the ski resort every day, and I haven’t gotten around to putting snow tires on. My verdict on the Grabber ATX is pretty much the same as it was: good in dry, deep, or fresh snow. Not very good in wet snow or slush. On ice or very packed snow, they basically just go “You’re not the boss of me, I do what I want!”

I’ve gotten used to them enough that they’re fine. I just have to plan on slowing down way before I need to stop at any heavily used intersections. But I haven’t had any issue with them getting stuck in deep new snow.

 

[nomad_games]

Hi Colin. Glad to hear you are living the dream. I hope all is well.

Probably not a popular decision, but I’ve found a “studded” snow tire to have excellent resilience in warmer climates because the rubber isn’t really getting worn out, as it’s really not even touching the road. After 5 years of running Firestone Winterforce studded on one of our trucks, the tires are still like new. And most importantly to me, when road conditions deteriorated, I had really great grip. I’m not driving a sports car so the loss of traction with studs on the road in warmer climate was a non issue.
I didn’t plan this at all. I just wanted maximum traction for the truck that serviced the ski area. Life happened and the tires just got run in all conditions and a few times were run the whole year.

I have also found for studdless that the Michelin X-ice provides almost as good of performance as the Hakka’s, but much easier to find where I was. They DID wear quickly though. Probably 2 seasons of maximum performance before they started to act like a regular tire.

The Falken AT3 has probably been the best non snow snow tire for us in the snow. Really a nice tire. For all around use, these with a good set of chains would probably last the longest.

Good luck and good to see you here.

What’s up mike. Did you end up moving to Kansas?

 

[Trail Talk]

anyone have experience with the Nokians? do they burn up like the Blizzaks? Is there an A/T tire that's good enough in snow that I could just switch to those and get rid of my Grabbers? I supposed I could buy some cheap wheels for the nokians and swap when I go to the desert.

Happy New Year ? it’s minus 30something outside with a frostbite warning so a great time to discuss snow tires from the comfort of my kitchen. We are on our third set of Nokian all-weather tires for the SUV which we leave on all year. They are true to their claimed tread life. Just changed from the WRG3 to Rotiiva which have 100k tread warranty. So far they are equal to the WRG on snow, ice, and dry pavement, and just as quiet.

Now for the camper we run separate summer and winter sets. IMO the value of the asset combined with its weight and higher CG justify this extra insurance for our intended use. We keep to Mountain/Snowflake rated ATs for summer partly to avoid getting caught between changes in those provinces which mandate such tires from October to May. The dedicated winters are also studded, same Firestone Winterforce someone else mentioned. Last winter was our first on studded and I was very pleased to have them on the icy mountain roads and country backroads. The real test will come in a few months when we head north via ice roads.

Hope this helps ?

 

[krick3tt]

I keep chains in the Jeep (Liberty) just in case. Have not had to use them since I moved from Washington state 12 years ago. Used studded tires for one year here several years ago. Great at going but not good for stopping. Took them off and will use the chains if required.

 

[plumber mike]

What’s up mike. Did you end up moving to Kansas?

Yup. I rolled into downtown Wichita in August on studded snows. I ended up renting my house because I couldn’t commit to selling it. Look me up if you are ever passing through.

 

[nomad_games]

Yup. I rolled into downtown Wichita in August on studded snows. I ended up renting my house because I couldn’t commit to selling it. Look me up if you are ever passing through.

cool. The only time I pass through Kansas is when I drive home to the east coast to see my family. From Idaho it’s 30 hours, so I prob won’t make it again soon. Hope you’re enjoying the life change. I’m loving east Idaho. Kind of can’t imagine moving again unless I move abroad or just go somewhere temporarily. Maybe I should change my username ?

 

[sargeek]

Back to a common rant - studded snow tire. If you live in a location that has continually snow-packed and icy roads, they are solid performance-enhancing products. However, it is a proven fact that studded tire lose traction and braking performance on wet and dry roads. I find if interesting that people are willing to give up dry/wet weather performance for 80% of the time for increased performance for 20% of the time.