Snow/Ice rated all-season tire recommendation

[Ranger8729]

I agree with teh Grabber AT2 recommendation. I ran 3 sets on my Jeeps and they were hands down the best blend of road manners, off road traction, and snow grip. They are similar to the old school BFG, but don't cup and skid like BFG on my rigs. They have a hum to them but you get used to it. I got 35-40k from each set with 5k rotations.

But, nothing beats a dedicated winter tire. Blizzak has been my wife's and friends choice for years up in Syracuse.

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[slowmachine]

This annoys me, but it costs less than an outdoor shed, and isn't full of mice and spiders. The vertical stack is from my recently-sold BMW 328i. There is no way to fit a set of Ranger tires in this space. The Blizzaks on the floor are from a CR-V, an are not mounted on wheels. They will probably have to go on the top shelf, which is zero fun.

 

[HenryMac]

This annoys me, but it costs less than an outdoor shed, and isn't full of mice and spiders. The vertical stack is from my recently-sold BMW 328i. There is no way to fit a set of Ranger tires in this space. The Blizzaks on the floor are from a CR-V, an are not mounted on wheels. They will probably have to go on the top shelf, which is zero fun.

That's a terrible waste of space. Sell the tires for the car you don't even own anymore. For the rest of the tires/wheels: Set them on their side and stack them all the way to the ceiling. It's not like you need quick access to them on a weekly basis.

Put the Ranger tires your planning for on the bottom, and the smaller CRV's on top of the Ranger tires.

The other option is actual tire storage racks that attach to the ceiling / wall. But those are problematic due to the weight of the tires that are mounted on wheels. Problematic due to free lifting them over your head to get them on a rack.

 

[Bluestem]

I'll throw my vote toward the Falken Wildpeaks which also have the snow rating. I haven't swapped the tires on my Ranger (only 1500 miles) but will get these once the dynapros are worn out a bit. We have the Falkens on our Ram 2500 and they are great in the snow, have a lifetime warranty for defects and the tread life seems like it's going to be around 60,000 miles unless something weird happens.

 

[slowmachine]

That's a terrible waste of space. Sell the tires for the car you don't even own anymore. For the rest of the tires/wheels: Set them on their side and stack them all the way to the ceiling. It's not like you need quick access to them on a weekly basis.

Put the Ranger tires your planning for on the bottom, and the smaller CRV's on top of the Ranger tires.

The other option is actual tire storage racks that attach to the ceiling / wall. But those are problematic due to the weight of the tires that are mounted on wheels. Problematic due to free lifting them over your head to get them on a rack.

The BMW wheels/tires will be on Craigslist soon. Prime time for snow tire sales is September-October, so I could be stuck with them for a little while. The car has been gone less than a week. I replaced it with the Ranger.

I'll get it sorted out soon enough. You're right about racks of tires being too much for a standard residential wall. My spine can't withstand lifting them up that high anyway. If we didn't need the scaffolding for ongoing house renovation, I'd probably build a two-tier tire rack. I hate having stuff sitting on the floor. It's easy to roll the scaffolding around for cleaning and making room for projects.

 

[slowmachine]

After much research, I ordered a set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S in 265/65R-17 from Tire Rack. They will be mounted on the OE 17x8 painted alloy wheels that I found on Craigslist. The only negative comment that I read about these tires is that the tread life is short compared to other on/off road all-season tires. This is probably why they perform better on snow and ice than most similar models. A reviewer from New York said that his were nearly worn out at 20,000 miles, which sounds about right for snow tires. That's two years of driving for me, and I have no problem buying new tires every other year.

I have two reasons for buying these tires instead of dedicated snow tires. First, I would like to be able to drive the same set of tires all year, instead of constantly storing the off-season set. Second, we have long transition seasons in spring and fall. Dedicated winter tires suffer terribly accelerated wear when the temperature gets above 45-50 degrees, and this happens several times during each transition period, in between freezing temperatures with more snow and ice. It annoys me to swap between winter and summer tires three or four times, to the point where I will drive a different car just to avoid it. So, this will be a good test. We have a BMW X3 and a Honda CR-V with real winter tires, and I can easily drive one of them if the Coopers aren't doing the job as well as I would like.

 

[TylerV76]

After much research, I ordered a set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S in 265/65R-17 from Tire Rack. They will be mounted on the OE 17x8 painted alloy wheels that I found on Craigslist. The only negative comment that I read about these tires is that the tread life is short compared to other on/off road all-season tires. This is probably why they perform better on snow and ice than most similar models. A reviewer from New York said that his were nearly worn out at 20,000 miles, which sounds about right for snow tires. That's two years of driving for me, and I have no problem buying new tires every other year.

I have two reasons for buying these tires instead of dedicated snow tires. First, I would like to be able to drive the same set of tires all year, instead of constantly storing the off-season set. Second, we have long transition seasons in spring and fall. Dedicated winter tires suffer terribly accelerated wear when the temperature gets above 45-50 degrees, and this happens several times during each transition period, in between freezing temperatures with more snow and ice. It annoys me to swap between winter and summer tires three or four times, to the point where I will drive a different car just to avoid it. So, this will be a good test. We have a BMW X3 and a Honda CR-V with real winter tires, and I can easily drive one of them if the Coopers aren't doing the job as well as I would like.

20,000 miles? Yikes. That would have been a hard pass for me.

 

[slowmachine]

20,000 miles? Yikes. That would have been a hard pass for me.

I'm accustomed to BMW maintenance/service costs. 20-25K miles for only $720 (850 with mount/balance/disposal) worth of tires is a relative bargain. Our X3 tires (2 sets, on BMW wheels) cost about that much every year, and mostly need to be replaced in sets of four if you get a flat.

 

[TylerV76]

I'm accustomed to BMW maintenance/service costs. 20-25K miles for only $720 (850 with mount/balance/disposal) worth of tires is a relative bargain. Our X3 tires (2 sets, on BMW wheels) cost about that much every year, and mostly need to be replaced in sets of four if you get a flat.

Yeah that would be a huge turnoff for me. Im looking at getting about 35-40,000 easily from my KO2's.

 

[slowmachine]

Yeah that would be a huge turnoff for me. Im looking at getting about 35-40,000 easily from my KO2's.

Every choice is a compromise. The only KO2 that I see in the same size is Load Range E and weighs 50 pounds. That’s 11 pounds per tire heavier than the Coopers, which guarantees an increase in fuel consumption and decrease in ride comfort. They’re great rock-crawling tires, and I have had several sets on Arizona Jeeps, but the very thing that makes them so great in the rocks also makes them suck on the street.

 

[TylerV76]

Every choice is a compromise. The only KO2 that I see in the same size is Load Range E and weighs 50 pounds. That’s 11 pounds per tire heavier than the Coopers, which guarantees an increase in fuel consumption and decrease in ride comfort. They’re great rock-crawling tires, and I have had several sets on Arizona Jeeps, but the very thing that makes them so great in the rocks also makes them suck on the street.

You can also get the C’s

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=All-Terrain+T/A+KO2&partnum=67SR7KO2

 

[Motorpsychology]

Big fan of Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws. I'll be putting a set on the Mariner this winter.
We go moose spotting up in the Minnesota arrowhead in winters.
Good reviews overall.

 

[slowmachine]

A month into this process, I got the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S tires mounted and balanced today. Before installing them on the Ranger, I took a ride on the factory-installed Hankook Dynapro AT-M around a local loop with a sound level meter app on my iPhone. I did the same after mounting the Coopers. I understand that this is not an apples-to-apples comparison, with two different size tires on different wheels, and in a Lariat with Active Noise Cancellation. With both sets of tires, the sound level was 67-69 dB at 55 MPH, in tenth gear, on cruise control. Whether it is the tires or the ANC is anyone's guess, but I half-expected an increase in cabin noise from the more aggressive tread. Subjectively, I think that the Coopers are quieter over the numerous hot-tar-injected cracks in the asphalt than the Dynapros, probably because of the softer rubber compound.

So far, so good. I'm going to break them in over the next 500 miles, and then switch back to the Dynapros until they start salting the roads. Then we will see how they do in the snow. I like the look of the 17" alloy wheels, and may try to source a set of the PVD chrome ones to match my Chrome Package trim.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

A month into this process, I got the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S tires mounted and balanced today. Before installing them on the Ranger, I took a ride on the factory-installed Hankook Dynapro AT-M around a local loop with a sound level meter app on my iPhone. I did the same after mounting the Coopers. I understand that this is not an apples-to-apples comparison, with two different size tires on different wheels, and in a Lariat with Active Noise Cancellation. With both sets of tires, the sound level was 67-69 dB at 55 MPH, in tenth gear, on cruise control. Whether it is the tires or the ANC is anyone's guess, but I half-expected an increase in cabin noise from the more aggressive tread. Subjectively, I think that the Coopers are quieter over the numerous hot-tar-injected cracks in the asphalt than the Dynapros, probably because of the softer rubber compound.

So far, so good. I'm going to break them in over the next 500 miles, and then switch back to the Dynapros until they start salting the roads. Then we will see how they do in the snow. I like the look of the 17" alloy wheels, and may try to source a set of the PVD chrome ones to match my Chrome Package trim.

Did you also record MPG over that test period as well? That's also one of the things I'm interested/concerned with by switching to more aggressive tires.

 

[geophb]

Michelin LTX M/S2. Not a/t but if you do 95% on-road driving you are better off with a "highway" tread pattern.
Have them on an 02 f150. Excellent ride, traction, wear life. They are at 58xxx miles and are only worn down about 50-65%.
These are crazy good in slush, slop, ice, and rain. Only thing better on ice would be a dedicated winter tire.

Kinda expensive though.

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