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I run Nokian snow tires that were specifically designed for the Raptor in factory size. While the Raptor is obviously not a “bad” vehicle in winter conditions by any means- ground clearance + 4wd + 4a/awd & the power/gearing etc is all gravy, BUT it depends on what you’re driving situation is like & where ya live. I live in northeast & travel a lot up/down east coast/Midwest for work regardless of weather & ski alot so im many times “chasing” bad weather. The raptor has some of it not THE widest tires on a truck, very wide footprint isn’t conducive to good snow/packed snow/ice performance. As far as the KO2s go…..they’re decent in fresh snow, but leave something to be desired on packed snow or esp icy conditions. They’re ability to dry fairly supple when the temp drops is a big reason they get the “snowflake” designation- not necessarily the tread pattern IMOI like to eliminate the Weather as a concern entirely - running studded nokian snows on a Raptor essentially does that for ya, you don’t NEED them for sure, but when I see the kind of $$$ people spend on all other kinds of mods, I don’t regret having a 2nd set of wheels/snow tires for winter (bought barely used set of 2017 base 17” wheels off a forum member) also helps lengthen the life of the KO2s & keeps my beadlocks from getting chewed up by winter weather/roads.Last thing to mention on this subject - if you are the type of guy to wanna run more aggressive ATs or get into MTs - a lot of those options can be crappier in the snow vs KO2 (esp MTs) so that’s another reason to consider snow tires setup as an option for winter.
I run Nokian snow tires that were specifically designed for the Raptor in factory size. While the Raptor is obviously not a “bad” vehicle in winter conditions by any means- ground clearance + 4wd + 4a/awd & the power/gearing etc is all gravy, BUT it depends on what you’re driving situation is like & where ya live. I live in northeast & travel a lot up/down east coast/Midwest for work regardless of weather & ski alot so im many times “chasing” bad weather. The raptor has some of it not THE widest tires on a truck, very wide footprint isn’t conducive to good snow/packed snow/ice performance. As far as the KO2s go…..they’re decent in fresh snow, but leave something to be desired on packed snow or esp icy conditions. They’re ability to dry fairly supple when the temp drops is a big reason they get the “snowflake” designation- not necessarily the tread pattern IMO
I like to eliminate the Weather as a concern entirely - running studded nokian snows on a Raptor essentially does that for ya, you don’t NEED them for sure, but when I see the kind of $$$ people spend on all other kinds of mods, I don’t regret having a 2nd set of wheels/snow tires for winter (bought barely used set of 2017 base 17” wheels off a forum member) also helps lengthen the life of the KO2s & keeps my beadlocks from getting chewed up by winter weather/roads.
Last thing to mention on this subject - if you are the type of guy to wanna run more aggressive ATs or get into MTs - a lot of those options can be crappier in the snow vs KO2 (esp MTs) so that’s another reason to consider snow tires setup as an option for winter.
