Winter/Snow Tires

[Remoat]

Ill give you my 2 cents in spring.

 

[Sethrad]

Having lived in snow country for half my life and having always driven AWD and 4WD vehicles, there is NO REASON for studs. I lived in Tahoe...we had 30-60 feet of snow every winter. Studs are for ice...useless in snow.
MT tires are useless in snow. You need siping.
You need a solid AT tire with 3 mountain rating for deep snow. In some areas, that’s a legal requirement even with AWD and 4WD. In some areas an M&S rating is an absolute legal requirement and highway patrol can and will turn you back if you don’t have chains on non M&S tires.
Toyo/Nitto (same company) make terrific 3 mountain AT tires.
If you really want to go with a Hybrid tire, thought I don’t have experience with this tire, I understand that the Nitto Ridge Grappler is supposed to be pretty good in light/moderate snow. There’s quite a bit written about this.

 

[New recaros]

Cooper Discover ST Maxx with studs

 

[Badgertits]

Having lived in snow country for half my life and having always driven AWD and 4WD vehicles, there is NO REASON for studs. I lived in Tahoe...we had 30-60 feet of snow every winter. Studs are for ice...useless in snow.
MT tires are useless in snow. You need siping.
You need a solid AT tire with 3 mountain rating for deep snow. In some areas, that’s a legal requirement even with AWD and 4WD. In some areas an M&S rating is an absolute legal requirement and highway patrol can and will turn you back if you don’t have chains on non M&S tires.
Toyo/Nitto (same company) make terrific 3 mountain AT tires.
If you really want to go with a Hybrid tire, thought I don’t have experience with this tire, I understand that the Nitto Ridge Grappler is supposed to be pretty good in light/moderate snow. There’s quite a bit written about this.

All about location. “Snow country”
In Utah not the same as snow country in Maine or Quebec or MN for instance- heavier wet snow, hard packed snow, not fluffy powder that’s like frozen beach sand out west- the KO2s are OK in that kinda stuff.

They’re no good once the snow gets hard packed or in sleet, or in heavy slush - OR- like how it usually is in MA- a combo of everything w/ black ice patches thrown in just for fun lol

The KO2s are not so great in rain either- in heavy rain or even just slick roads I will put in 4A a lot.

 

[RotorHead695]

Studded seems a bit overkill in a 4x4 truck.

Im pretty happy with Duratracs

I've have the Duratracs as well and love them. There can be a big advantage with studs on heavy ice. Duratracs are studable too.

 

[RotorHead695]

I'm in northern Alberta and get extreme cold and icy roads. Proper studded winter tires are the best choice here. I have Nokian LT3s on my Raptor. I have had both studded Duratracs and LT2s on my previous truck and the LT2s were significantly better on road. If you are only concerned about a few dumps of snow and don't care about extreme temperatures or ice the Duratracs are a solid choice (they do have issues with balancing though).

I agree with his balancing statement, they are known for it. Just make sure your tire company checks the balance every 5,000 miles when you get them rotated. I've been through many sets of Duratracs and never had an issue.

 

[Richard Hinsley]

I’m curious as to what your gripes were with the KO2 in snow, as this has been a concern of mine and I have no experience with them. I’ve always run mud terrains through the winter, most recently the Cooper STT pros. I’ve been considering switching them out, but everyone seems to swear that KO2s are great in the snow.

I used the older BFG A/T in Colorado on my 89 Toyota xtra cab and only had a issue once but that was on a iced over freeway bridge in Wyoming.

 

[NASSTY]

I've driven in 38 Maine winters and the only vehicle that I ever had dedicated snow tires on was a rwd 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix that I owned back in the mid 80's. I never really needed snow tires on my 4x4 trucks.

 

[nikhsub1]

I would go for the General ATX if I needed snow tires. They are triple peak rated and studable. They also have a similar tread pattern to the KO2.

https://generaltire.com/tires/light-trucksuv/grabber-atx

 

[Wild Card]

I live in Maine and own a snow removal company, 8 loaders with Nokian snow tires and 17 trucks plowing. Haven’t missed a storm in 28 years. With all that said I run 35x12.50/18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers on Methods in the summer and the stock beadlocks and BFG’s on my ‘18 in the winter. I drive all night through every storm inspecting sites and checking on snow removal crews. The Ridge Grapplers are terrible in the snow. The BFG is good, in narrower sizes they are excellent plow tires. Duratracs or Nokians are the absolute best available. Mud Tires are useless in the snow. Studs are loud and terrible to drive with. Don’t need them on a 4WD vehicle. If you drive in a lot of snow it’s BFG and best is Duratrac. If you drive on a lot of black ice BFG are alright, Nokians are best