Dedicated snow tires or not

Do you run studded tires or not? Winter tires no studs? Or just all terrain? Where do you live so I can compare apples to apples. I am in north Idaho

 

If you do a lot of highway driving in winter get a dedicated non studded pavement tire. Lighter and less noisy than a studded tire.

Some AT tires do well in the snow but the tire compound freezes rock hard in serious cold and loses traction on frozen pavement.

As usual, tire choice is a tradeoff. Skinny tires will also help on winter paved roads to cut through the white stuff and reach pavement.

I've never encountered a situation where I felt I needed studded tires or even chains. 4x4 is great in the snow and ice.

For snow wheeling tho a wider tire with a more aggressive tread works great.

For reference in winter I drive my truck all over Appalachia region/the Dakotas/ NEK and sometimes that weird Canadia place up north.

 

I run studded tires from Nov-April in Maine. I have off-grid camp out in the sticks & it helps a lot if it's all ice after I do snow removal. The only downfall is less mpg. I will say when it's snowing & I'm traveling I do feel safer & I noticed the Tacoma is unstoppable with the 400lbs of sandbags I put in bed & my heavy tool box & gear. I still get 20mpg & to me that doesn't hurt the wallet too bad.... I just put on Falken Wildpeaks AT4w (I love so far) & I may see how they go VS studded tires on steelies. Which are a softer tire (Artic Claw's). I did notice a 2mpg drop.... I would say it depends on how many miles you put on in winter & how far you travel & conditions..

 

I live in central B.C. We drive through all types of snow,light powder,slippery compact and heavy wet snow. I run a dedicated set of studded snows with a back up set of v bar chains. The chains I’ve used on a number of occasions and feel they are good insurance. If you travel remote roads get the best you can afford,being stranded in winter is no joy.

 

Our experience with new or now era year-round 3PMSF tires changed any thoughts to do repeat any more dedicated winter tires and wheels. For most snow fall and snow storms their snow performance is fantastic. They are far superior to AT and M+S (all season) class tires on ice and snow. Current state of the art dedicated snow tires have some advantage on ice but are no good when it is warmer and inferior for lots of general driving.

This is not how we felt only a few years ago. It is not saying the best dedicated winter tires are no good or not worth considering. It is saying considerable experience with both has us preferring this new category of tire for the total amounts of driving we do. There's still so much of winter that is not a storm or all snow and ice covered that we prefer this new type of tire because they are so good when weather his bad.

 

What he said.

Cheers

 

i think they have their benefits. but it comes down to the conditions of your area.

in my area in nw indiana, snow doesn't stick around more than a few days on the roads. they salt everything.

for me, i bought snow tires for my other vehicle, but can't justify running them when they end up being used on mostly-dry pavement for most of the snow season, regardless of the amount of snow that falls.

snow tires absolutely do better on snow-covered roads. if you're out in the areas that either stay too cold to salt, or too remote for them to consistently plow, i would absolutely recommend the best snow tires you can get. but if you're anything like me, near a major metropolitan area, there's really no need for it other than while the snow is falling, and even then, most towns around me start making it illegal to drive unless it's an emergency under those conditions.

 

I always suggest running a 4 season all terrain on trucks first to see if its enough for the driver, especially in mild winters.

Anywhere that has less than 6 hours of winter day light already know they need dedicated winters.

 

If you want to compare apples to apples, you need to consult a website as motor1.com that has tested tires under exact the same conditions. Two stock vehicles with same tires may have different MPG, durability, better or worse control over the vehicle. It is not the tire, it's the driver... Contributing factors are also tire size, and year of manufacturing, as not seldom the profile gets changed over the years with the same tire brand and name.
However, one universal factor for tire performance is the temperature. As I read, 7C is the magic number where companies recommend switching from winter to summer tires, as the rubber mix of summer tires hardens to fast and reduces the grip. Likewise, above 7C the winter tires do not perform well because of the mixture of the rubber. They wear fast and produce low MPG. Add rain to it and you set yourself up for trouble.
AT M&S are normally a good mix for all year driving in moderate conditions due to the rubber mix and profile, but they may not be the optimal for either extreme condition and overall have poor performance when it comes to MPG, noise pollution, wear...

This may help also: Summer tires vs. winter tires | Continental Tires (continental-tires.com)

Now you have to decide what kind of conditions you are in, what kind of driver you are, what your budget is, what your risk acceptance threshold is...

 

Studded & Sipped Snow tire. Winter.

 

BFG commercial traction T/A have been kicking ass for 14 years

 

That does not seem to reflect the current marketplace. I've had Conti models with the DWS stamp and dedicated winter tires that have some negative aspects too. One of our vehicles had those Conti swapped for the Michelin CC2s. The CC2s are a whole other and better league. A modern state of art winter only tire has some slight advantage on ice but overall those CC2 perform all the time. That has me interested in the BFG OEM and 3PMSF versions of the Trail Terrain T/A (a Michelin brand) and Michelin's light truck 3PMSF tires.

My experience with the modern all year 3PMSF tires and same for associates is they're also less prone to flat or be damaged from braking. Same time I'm ski area crew I also have to do 88 mi and 183 mi leg freeway trips when I disliked dedicated winter tires.

Conti has been behind others but now I do see their General brand has all year 3PMSF offerings. With others experience and those Michelin CC2 SO good I'll be sticking with what gets same sort of top rated by owners reviews. As said earlier, I'm waiting to try the OEM Trail Terrain T/A before spending.

 

NY/NJ border here but I occasionally travel 5 hours north to go snowmobiling in the winter and I run studded snows. I got the set of 4 for a good price on FB Marketplace and they happened to be studded. I'm not sure I'd have shelled out the extra money for studs if I were buying new. The truck has not disappointed me traveling up there and I'm sure having 600 lbs of snowmobile and gear in the bed don't hurt matters.

 

This "in my opinion " is a no brainer. Dedicated snow tire.

Oh and here is some advice: This does not come out of your mod Tacoma budget. Strike this line item from your "cost of ownership " this is about safety. It comes out of the "protecting my family; being a good husband, being a good dad" bucket. And the bonus is,,,, it's not bullshit, it's being a man and caregiver!

 

lol, jokes on you! i don't have a family, not a husband, or a father! ha!

 

Dedicated responsible driver then...