Winter tire advice

[GhostInTheMachine]

I can't find a 35" Blizzack.

I found all terrains were usually good for 1 winter. Then after that it was time to change em. Just a heads up for you people that are gonna use the stockers again.

 

[Ramrodthrusterpuppy]

I've used the OEM BFGs as my Winter tires for the last 3 years...yeah, they aren't the best option but they do work fairly well as the BFG AT tread has a lot of siping, it's just that the compound gets hard like a hockey puck in the extreme cold. I'd roll with the BFGs lightyears before any MT tread unless they were specifically rated for Winter driving.

 

[JimT]

I have used the General AT2 tires and loved them. A few years back Tulsa, Ok. had one of the worst winters on record, the freeways were like parking lots with all the stuck vehicles but the General AT2's got me anywhere I needed to go. For an all terrain they are not too bad.

 

[TheJoker]

Go to Midas:
Midas "Canadian Police Chase" 2012 - YouTube

 

[AlexRiedel]

How does the road noise of the DuraTracs compare to the stock tires on dry roads?
I will use mine as a DD so that is a bit of a factor. I have the DuracTracs on my Jeep Wrangler and it makes a bit of a droning noise. But the Jeep is generally louder....

 

[BIRDMAN]

How does the road noise of the DuraTracs compare to the stock tires on dry roads?
I will use mine as a DD so that is a bit of a factor. I have the DuracTracs on my Jeep Wrangler and it makes a bit of a droning noise. But the Jeep is generally louder....

About the same maybe a little louder but that's a moot point because they are about as quiet and smooth as you can ask for.

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

I bought the Duratracs today.

Will report back how I find em once I get them on and maybe a couple times over the winter.

 

[Glo]

Just looking into winter tires as well. Really would like to go with Blizzark DM-V1 winter tires. But the largest size I can find is 33".

Wonder how a 33" tire would look on the raptor. Probably acceptable.

I have personally driven and compared DM-V1, BFG AT+MTs, Trail Grapplers, Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 2s, and a few street oriented tires on a 500awhp truck in different winter conditions. With the right air pressure all can fairly deal well in most winter conditions, however on ice they all fail; BUT the DM-V1s and anything studded.

On ice in the AT - class, I personally think the Revo2s are the best, and a class above the rest of the AT options. I also have driven the Duratracs and General AT ( however on another truck/size), and I would say that they are very comparable to the BFG ATs

For me I think I will choose between a Revo 2 in 34" or DM-V1 for a dedicated wintertire...otherwise stock BFG ATs should be more than fine and equal to most tires mentioned in this thread imho.

MT's in my opinion are dangerous in winter, whenever there is sheer ice. They might be super capable for deep snow and snow, but all other ATs do fairly well here as well.

Air pressure is the secret sauce to make most tires work somewhat in the cold.

 

[WRCRaptor]

Some whats your air pressure trick Glo? I like the duratracs better then stk.

 

[Glo]

Some whats your air pressure trick Glo? I like the duratracs better then stk.

I need to make it clear that I haven't tested these tire options on a Raptor, and my opinions might be a be bit off.

I didn't mean to disqualify one AT over the other, rather wanted to give my opinion that the winter performance between most AT tires are close enough not to warrant a change going from let's say stock BFG to Duratrac solely for winter purposes ( unless you are going to stud them). Going to a dedicated snow tire however will make a huge difference especially when having to deal with ice. For my purposes ice traction is the most crucial performance factor for a winter tire, something that can sneak up on you unexpectedly.

You always know when it's snow on the ground and can adjust your driving accordingly - ice can be sneaky, especially on cant / cross sloped roads.

Not really my trick, rather something I have learned when running for example hard rubber MTs like the Tail Grapplers in very cold climates, that drastically reducing tire pressures help tremendously in terms of getting the rubber to warm up, and in return help a bit with traction in ice and snow. Lower tire pressure causes the sidewall to flex a lot more and hence warm up the rubber. Not to be evasive on your question on air pressure - I can't give you a precise answer in terms of PSI - it depends on conditions and speed that you are traveling. To give a couple of examples; I would run my 35" MTs at around 14PSI on a 5,000pound truck when going slow, while BFG ATs at 23PSI when traveling on fresh snow on highway at around 50mph...all depends on so many variables.

A much larger contact patch from the lower pressures can also be very beneficial, however there are many different opinions and applications on that subject.