Rangers in SNOW

[Rangerguy]

Any experience out there with Firestone Winterforce 2 winter tires?

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[Swingpure]

Which tires do you have?

I have the Toyo Observes Si6. They (Si5’s) were absolutely amazing on my MDX the last five winters on snow and ice and very little wear after the 5 seasons.

The Si6’s are on the a Ranger now, but snow yet to try out the a Ranger with them.

 

[Swingpure]

We got our first snow about a month ago. It stuck around for quite awhile, but it warmed up pretty good last week for a few days. Then we got 8" of nice wet heavy stuff 2 nights ago, on top of the 2" of rain we saw the day before. So the roads are still not great.

As far as tires go. I've mentioned on other threads that the stock Hankooks are plenty good in the snow, but pretty bad in the ice, slush, and pretty much any other winter condition.

The truck has a whole is good in the snow. I've driven better (namely my previous Subaru Crosstrek), but it gets the job done without incident or too much complaining. haha

Here are some shots from our first big snow last Thanksgiving weekend. Got 30" over three days, in two different storms. Spent about 8 hrs clearing snow the next day. I didn't get any shots/video of the truck chugging down the driveway and busting through the hood deep plow bank at the end, though I should have in hindsight. I was too busy being upset I had to make a trip to the gas station for more snowblower gas in the first place. haha But truck did it just fine in 4H without issue.

Your pictures remind me it is coming. That is a good amount of early season snow.

I sold my snowblower this summer. I bought it in March 2015, an expensive, large one, but it could not handle the wet snow. I have a very large area we keep clean from snow, so I bought an ATV (which I wanted anyways) with a plow and did all of my snow removal with it. The snowblower got retired and then sat for the last few years.

I plow (push) a lot of snow into a ravine and by the end of the winter I have a snow “road” right across the ravine.

Good to hear your Ranger did well.

 

[Rangerguy]

Those are the ones I've been looking at as well. A nice inexpensive winter tire. I know a buddy at work who has a set on his Silverado and he recommends them. I'd be interested to hear any experiences as well from people.

Our dealer is quoting Firestone Winterforce tires. Not sure what to make of them yet. Widely available. Few reviews, quite mixed, but no professional reviews that I could find. Looks like Winterforce 2 are for cars and minivans, and Winterforce 2 UV are for SUVs and light trucks.

 

[Nevada_Bob]

Any experience out there with Firestone Winterforce 2 winter tires?

I went with a set for my 4x2 Lariat. Definitely a dedicated winter tire

They are load-rated for light trucks and considerably less money than the Blizzaks, so it seems like a good fit (I'll probably be towing a trailer through the crud at one time or another)

We had a few inches the other day, but haven't really had the opportunity to test them for reelz.

The previous best winter tires I had on a truck were Goodyear SilentArmor - those things were great in the Sierra's. No chains necessary

Here in the Northeast, I expect the Winterforce will perform very well. Farmers Almanac says I should have plenty of snow to play in, so we'll see.

 

[Arly]

We dive in snow for months each winter. Somehow taking photos of that are not warranted... When it arrives again this fall, we'll try get photos.

 

[Rangerguy]

Looked at a Firestone Winterforce at Canadian Tire: seemed stiff and not grippy to me, but I am no expert. My Dueler A/T look better I think. Looked at a more expensive Michelin X-Ice: seemed much better to me but Michelin does not make a 255 70 R16. I need that size in a winter tire to match the circumference of the 255 65 R17 summer Duelers I have on now. One dealer went online and said the 2019 Ranger is so new that there are few offerings for it yet in that winter size. The only option he could offer was another inexpensive stiff brand. So I am still looking.

 

[Rangerguy]

Wait a minute -- from tiresize.com:

My current summer tire: "The 255/65R17 Bridgestone Dueler A/T RH-S has a diameter of 30.1”, a width of 10.2”, mounts on a 17” rim and has 693 revolutions per mile."

The winter tire I'm interested in: "The 255/65R17 Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 has a diameter of 30.1”, a width of 10.2”, mounts on a 17” rim and has 691 revolutions per mile."

So why would I need a 255/70 tire on 16" rims for a winter tire on the Ranger?

 

[Rigwright]

Had our first snow last week. Icy local roads. First time I’ve had the Ranger on slippery roads. Fishtailed more than I expected. Used to the sure-footed Forester and Jeep Cherokee. But it was icy slick and I only had the Bridgestone Dueler A/T on. They call them all season but need winter tires. Did not try 4H. Was a wake up call. Had an F150 years ago but I need to sort out winter driving again in this truck.

I don't understand why you didn't put it in 4WD. No wonder it fishtail. That would be expected from a truck in 2WD in icy conditions.

 

[Rangerguy]

I don't understand why you didn't put it in 4WD. No wonder it fishtail. That would be expected from a truck in 2WD in icy conditions.

Just new to me truck. Got it sorted now.

 

[Swingpure]

Our dealer is quoting Firestone Winterforce tires. Not sure what to make of them yet. Widely available. Few reviews, quite mixed, but no professional reviews that I could find. Looks like Winterforce 2 are for cars and minivans, and Winterforce 2 UV are for SUVs and light trucks.

I googled the tire and it has excellent reviews. It performs better than it’s cost. One site recommended the Winterforce LT Tire for trucks.

 

[Rangerguy]

I googled the tire and it has excellent reviews. It performs better than it’s cost. One site recommended the Winterforce LT Tire for trucks.

After all my reading online and talking to the guys around here, the WinterForce would likely be fine. I ended up going with Blizzack. Sharper edges, supposedly higher end. Maybe I just fell for marketing hype, but the decision is done. I guess any winter tire is simply better than any summer or A/T tire.

 

[Swingpure]

I talked to my step son today. He has been driving trucks up here for many years.

He said “Don’t over think driving the truck in the winter.” “If there is snow and slippery roads, put it in 4H. If you get on bare roads and remember that you are in 4H slip it into 2H. He said you won’t really hurt the truck If you drive for a short while on bare roads, as long as you are not doing tight turns. He said the trucks are meant to drive in 4 wheel drive.“

Obviously if you are on bare roads you want to be in 2H, but don’t be afraid of being in 4H on snow covered roads.

Last year we were tobagging down my driveway at this time, this year we may be into December before we get any real snow.

 

[Sped68]

Last Sunday we had a large dump of snow about 12-15” in places. For the prairies that’s actually a very large amount to get at one time. The storm essentially shut the city down and many people were stuck out on the roads and city streets. The hospitals actually put out a call for people with snowmobiles to pick up and drop off hospital staff that night. Sunday night I had to go across the city and pick my son up from work and get him home. I have to say I was very impressed with my Ranger. Other than it being leveled I’ve also swapped out the stock tires for some 275/65r18 Duratracs. They are not a dedicated winter tire but they are winter rated. They performed amazing in the deep snow. All through this last week I’ve rarely switched out of 4wd, with all roads snow covered and even the freeways covered in some snow and ice it hasn’t been an issue leaving it in 4wd. The only downside of Duratracs I’ve found is that at higher speeds on the ice covered freeways there is a feeling of reduced lateral traction. This is not a great feeling but I think if I put a couple hundred pounds of weight in the box it should help this out a bit.
I did have a fun moment last Monday trying to get my son and his car back to his Condo. He has a Mercedes CLA250 4matic which is usually pretty decent in the ice and snow. Unfortunately when we got within a block of his condo, exiting the round a bout he piled into some deep snow and the front end got hung up. For some reason it decided that it was unable to shift into drive or reverse at this point so it could only be placed in neutral. Within a couple minutes a guy came along in his large Ram Powerwagon with a tow strap attached. What seems like an easy job was not with my sons car stuck in neutral and his truck spinning down through the snow to the ice covered streets underneath. Luckily he had another tow strap so I plowed through the snow beside him and hooked my Ranger to his truck. I shifted to 4low and with a bit of throttle off we all went down the street with the Ranger “towing” the Ram 2500 Powerwagon and the broken Mercedes. Once we stopped and unhooked the guy with the Ram truck had a lot of compliments for the Ranger and had to make mention of how it was about time Ford made a decent truck. Sadly I have no pictures of this and no I’m not naive enough to think my Ranger could out muscle or tow his truck but it amused me and probably the Ram owner a bit too. All in all pretty happy with my little truck.

 

[AkRanger]

Little snow storm last week. This is the parking lot at work with the overnight snow. Kept snowing until we had about 16”.

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