mariner

Hi Guys,

Would like some input WRT your experiences on aggressive winter tires. I live in an area where there is heavy snowfall most years and winter temperatures often go below -30C or -22F. These temperatures prevent the de-icing components of the gravel/sand mix spread on main roads,from being very effective - leaving large areas of ice often hidden beneath snow cover.

I realize that whatever tires are used, having studs installed for winter use would probably be the best option - as well as having the most agressive tread for snow and ice.

Your thoughts would be appreciated. I have a dually, so the tire cost is not insignificant for me and as such, I would like to get the right tire first time around.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

mariner

Red_Angus

nokian makes a soft studdable tire that may work for you. though i thought u couldnt stud in BC.

mariner

I am in the Prince George - Quesnel area and yes, studding is common up this part of the country.

Thx on the Nokian

mariner

Hodge

I had a set of Nokians on a Jeep. The mud tires are a very soft tread, and wears pretty quickly. That may not be a concern to you, so take it for what it is. They were good tires, but with the added weight of a large diesel truck, I would imagine that they would have a pretty short life.

Hodge

Let me quantify my last statement. I had a set of Nokian Vatiiva's. I just checked their website, and didn't realize how many different tires that they have. I don't know about all the others, but what I said stands for the Vatiiva, which is their agressive mud tire.

baddodges

blizzaks are a common good snow tire here in steamboat,we get about the same conditions as you do.

mishkaya

Last I knew, Nokian did not have any snow tires in load range E...
I have been extremely happy with the Blizzaks as well. Also worth considering in Canada (can't get them in the US) is the TOYO Observe Open Country G-02 Plus. I have the older equivalent, and have been extremely happy with the set. Probably a bit better than the Blizzak's I currently run.

zthatzmanz28

Had a set of Nokians when we were in Michigan. BEST tire we ever had. The sad thing is here in NC we will never use those tires again...
We bought them used (75%) and have put 45K miles since we have had them.

Red_Angus

i didnt realize that nokian considered the vatiiva a summer tire. they are still soft at -10. a surveyer i worked with had them on his ford f350 that he loaded down with quads, he was pretty impressed with them the first day he had them.

there was a fella talkin about Hakkapeliitta LT tires a couple of threads ago. he sounded pretty happy with them.

ive seen alot of michelin ltx m/s tires on consultants trucks.
a few toyo m55s. i have these on my truck, theyre not fond of ice but they dig very well
a buddy of mine is very happy with a set of toyo open country at.

a tech guy i follow suggests that u want a soft rubber with lots of sipes. the sipes are supposed to move all of the water away from the surface of the road so that the tire can form a temperary bond with the ice surface.

snow is different dependin on what its doin when u drive on it. if its wet it will act like soft moist clay, if its powder it might as well be sand. snow only grips snow, as long as i have a tire that cleans it self properly u should never get stuck in snow.

Tate

I've got 235/85 Nokian Vatiivas on my dually. With 1k lbs. in the bed, the thing was like a mountain goat. I never got it stuck when I had weight in the back. Without weight in the back, it was pretty useless though. I've got about 70k km on those tires and there is still a good amount of tread on them.

On my 12v, I run 285/70 Vatiivas for the summer time. I ran them one and half winters, and I bucked up for a set of 235/85 Blizzacks. Even with 1k in the bed, the tires still sat on the snow and slush too much, found I needed 4wd more often than I ever would have with my dually (had it been equipped with 4wd). Vatiivas are a good all-weather tire, but I won't run it in the winter anymore. But I like them as they will handle snow half decently for when we get our early fall (or late summer) and late spring snow falls.

Midnite

I've had good success with my 235/85 Cooper M+S tires. They have pretty good siping and good studs. I'd love to find them in 255/85 though, but they don't make them in that size.

nickg

bad as it sounds, Canadian tire has a studdable winter tire (were on sale last week) that I ran last yr, they held up well, were excellent on ice(because of studs) and had lots of sifts, did a couple hotshots to frt mac, and no worries about loosing traction, I could actually stop when I need to

here is what they looked like before studding

infidel

I used studs in the winter for decades until I discovered siping.
Now I've been studless for over 10 years.
Siping works just as well as studs, you can run the same tires all year plus your tires will last much longer.
Info> http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tireSiping.dos

I get by just fine in the Montana winter with siped nonaggressive thread Toyo H/T highway tires.

Lil Dog

My fave is BFG ATKO. Good in the snow and I like them as they are soft and take to ice pretty well.

mariner

Thanks guys - that is exactly what I was hopig for. Everyone has good and bad experiences with tires amd I am always looking for better alternatives. Living where I do now is a lot different to where I used to live weather wise. So in that respect, I have managed so far with the tires I had previously and for the winter have used BFG AT K/O that were already on my vehicle (winter truck). Maybe siping the BFG's might help - they tend to slide on the ice.

A good aggresive tread that can be studded if need be, will probably work best for me.

Nickg - what was the tire you purchased an Canadian Tire ? Is there any advantage to buying tires in Alberta over BC - 12% adds up some on the prices with the extra's?

Thanks

mariner

Prince George area.