Well crap, now you guys are freaking me out. We're headed up to Tahoe in a couple weekends, and I don't plan to do any offroading, but the roads will definitely have snow on 'em. Am I gonna be iceskating all over town??
The Raptor will muscle its way through most situations with 4wd, ground clearance and horsepower. I've said it before, the Grabbers will get you where you need to go for the reasons stated above, but if the question is a good winter conditions tire, the Grabber is not the answer.
I got severely stuck in packed snow ruts 2 winters ago. I wasn't high centered, I was just sitting in a rut. I would let off the brake and the tires started spinning in place with little or no throttle input. That was with the stock BFGs. If you're going in a straight line in loose packed snow, great. If it's time to corner, brake or make an evasive maneuver, that 6000lb hunk of metal has a lot of momentum to rely on tires/rubber designed for hot temps and sandy conditions.
BluSVT said he had to air down to 18PSI, that's what it took to get the Grabbers to flatten out, curl under and ride on the shoulder for additional side to side stability. That nowhere close to a long term solution but pretty much tells the story.
Without any technical data to back up my general instincts, I think all of what I said is a pretty fair assessment. Lots of weight in the bed, corner early, corner slow and slowly accelerate through the apex of a turn so your front tires via 4wd is pulling you through the turn. If shit gets ugly, turn in the direction you want to go and hammer on it, standing on the brakes is the worst thing you can do.
---------- Post added at 09:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 PM ----------
and FWIW...
Straight from General. You don't have to take my word for it.
GENERAL TIRE said:
While Off-Road Maximum Traction tires are branded with the M+S symbol and able to churn through deep snow, their typical oversize applications and the absence of snow-biting sipes in their large smooth lugs can challenge their on-road wintertime traction on packed snow and icy surfaces.
