What winter tires are you running?

I've looked into the Cooper M+S for my 01 outback. How do they last? I would probably run them year round as I don't put but maybe 8k ea on my tacoma and outback.

 

On a truck that is heavier they do wear. On a small SUV or car maybe they will last. They are noisy. You can tell just looking at them. I am used to the BFG’s so no big deal.

I think in deeper snow they behave better than those normal tightly siped and cut snow tires that are more car like. These have pretty open areas unlike some snows.

Honestly my favorite all around tire is a Michelin Defender and they are similar to these Coopers but way better all year round. We use this on our Highlander SE.

 

I have been using Toyo Observe winter tire for almost 20 years and Highly recommend them. I have GSi5 on the Tacoma.

And walnut shells, FTW! These shells are crushed up and molded into the tread rubber, aka Microbit, is the worlds hardest plant material.

 

This is why I went with them. I wanted something better than the Duratracs on road but didn’t want to completely sacrifice my ability to go off the maintained roads in the winter. I’m hoping they’ll be a good compromise. Especially at the weight and price point they go for.

 

Coopers M+S are more of a country winter tire, lack of directional tread means poor water evacuation and they aren't as soft as a normal winter tire.

 

Goodyear Wrangler AT/S 265/70R17 113 S .

 

I've driven 35 years in the harshest winter conditions. Endured Manitoba and Quebec winters with all kinds of tires. When I was young and foolish I prided myself on using the same tires year round. When Quebec made winter tires mandatory I realized the error of my ways and started running snow tires every year. I keep them mounted on steelies so I can swap them quickly and get better longevity by only using the winters when the conditions are cold enough. In 2018 I tried Blizzaks on my new 6spd DCSB Tacoma on a trip to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean. Spent February up there and it was -50 degrees the entire trip. I let my 14 year old drive about 90KMH on the Dempster highway and the Yukon River. The dealership in Whitehorse Yukon recommends them even more than studded tire. I've never experienced better traction on ice.

 

Here’s a side by side for comparison. Tread compound aside, it’s pretty clear why the Duratracs fail to perform on ice.

 

I might have to give them a shot....I'm used to the Duratracs on my tacoma for noise and the current tires on my outback are about 8 yrs old (older than I like on tires) so they are getting noisy too.

 

blizzaks

 

Thanks for the help people. Pretty sure I’m going to go with blizzaks. They seems to be the consensus on best performance. Now to decide if I want to pay a fortune for nice winter rims or just get shitty steels ones haha

 

Im running Dunlop Winter Maxx now, dealer recommended them and I confirmed they were highly rated. Ive only run them one season but didnt have issues.

My last Tacoma I ran a couple winters on Toyos Observes and would highly recommend them, theyre a great tire.

Wouldnt recommend Duratracs, I run them as summer tires and I do like them but they have mediocre wet traction, pretty sure theyd be useless on ice/slush.

 

All of these people running tires... What are you dudes doing different? I've only ever seen them roll. I have shoes for running. And let me tell you, it's way easier to balance.

 

Shitty steel, I actually like the look of them... And you won't regret the Blizzaks - the reason they're so good is the first ~50% of the tread is their special "multicell compound". After that wears down, their performance is similar to other winter tire manufacturers.

 

Great tires.
I have them for my Rav4 as well as all previous cars. I like the 10 ply rated tires for my Tacoma because of tongue loads I put on it.

 

OP, I was going to go with steelies, (No sense in spending a fortune on rims that are going to get abused by salt.) but I ended up mounting the tires on a cheap set of SR5 rims (OEM takeoffs) without TPMS sensors. People are practically giving them away on eBay after upgrading and they're lighter than steel too. Good luck!

 

There are probably a dozen tires that perform well in the snow because that’s easy. It’s the tires that can handle black ice that will save your life. Blizzak hands down.

 

I enjoyed my the Michelin X-Ice I had on an old RWD Mazda truck and I also purchased them for my Honda Civic. Currently using Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUVs non-studded on my Tacoma and they perform great. Next round of winter tires I'll be going with the Hakkapeliitta LTs just so I can get a bigger than stock size tire.

Haven't purchased rims yet but I'll more than likely just buy some cheap steel wheels for winter.

 

I’m only at 5k miles on oem toyo’s. They should be ok? No?

 

If you live in Phoenix, sure. If you live where you drive in winter conditions for months, no.