Snow tires?

I ran through three sets of General Altimax Arctic snows on my previous 2WD truck in legendary Western NY winters. With the 4x4, I just run the stock tires. They work fine.

I am on my third set of EXO Grapplers and I like them. If your looking for a dedicated Winter tire, I think one of the best is Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9. If your on ice packed roads all the time, you cant beat these tires. An aggressive All Terrains can be a good compromise, but the best traction on icy roads will be the dedicated snow tires. I have the Cooper SST and it is good as well, the EXO has more sipes than does the Cooper. One set is on a DRW 3500 and the other on a SRW so it is not a direct comparison. All depends on what your doing, if your cutting trail the dedicated snow tires don't have large voids and will plug, but if your staying on the road and deal with snow/ice pack, than go with the dedicated snow tires and swap them out after the season.

Grit dog wrote:


Was wonderin about those and almost bought a set. Tire deals are almost non existent recently. My Craigslist tire shopping days are numbered, unless for takeoffs. Seems nothing out there like it used to be locally. (Too many people and too much $ in Seattle currently)

But the Exos looked like the best $/feature when I was lookin recently.

I was able to leave them locally but they wanted between 3-400$ more for the set. I waited until discount tire had a promotion going on and purchased them for around 900 and with mounting and balancing g was just over $1,000. Cheaper than most other option especially ko2s and ridge grapplers which are much more popular tires. The ko2s are very loud on my work vehicle and friends haven't even gotten 20k when used on a tow vehicle. I've got about 4k miles on mine and really couldnt be any happier. Another tire I read high reviews about was the copper st maxx

TurnThePage wrote:
Exo Grapplers do look nice, but just a bit too much weight for my little half ton I think.

They're heavy as theyre based off the mud tire carcass but have a more road friendly tread. My last truck came with 10ply from the factory and they worked great, however I would guarantee you probably suffer mileage. I've only seen these tires twice. One on a jeep and the other on an f150.

Another option not mentioned yet is the Falken Wildpeak At3. Those were almost on my truck but because they were so cheap I was nervous they wouldn't hold up. My rear axle is nearly 6900lbs and I didnt want to have an issue trying to save $50.

Bridgestone winter dualler, a truck version of the blizzak is another good winter tire. Same rubber compound, but a bit more aggressive for pickup/ sub use. Also comes in LT sizes. Had some on an AWD safari van.

Marty

Exo Grapplers do look nice, but just a bit too much weight for my little half ton I think.

2012Oudoorsman wrote:
Look at Nitto Exo Grappler. For some reason their not popular however im very happy with mine. I was looking for an all around good snow long last tire. A couple people have them on the cummins forum and theyve lasted around 40k miles.

They have the snowflake for severe snow rating. They have large deep lugs and work great towing with minimal noise. My 5er 14.4k lbs and im 23.7k combined. The noise stays nice below 70. When getting above that they do get louder. My wife didnt notice a differece from the stock firestone AT

Was wonderin about those and almost bought a set. Tire deals are almost non existent recently. My Craigslist tire shopping days are numbered, unless for takeoffs. Seems nothing out there like it used to be locally. (Too many people and too much $ in Seattle currently)

But the Exos looked like the best $/feature when I was lookin recently.

memtb wrote:

blt2ski wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
And if you like or want MTs , they are excellent snow tires if you sipe them. Best of both worlds kind of. Deep lugs for deeper snow and siped makes them grab good on packed and ice.

Another good option.

No BEST option honestly. What works best for you and driving you do.
I preferred this option when pulling TT to local ski areas. If it got bad enough per say I needed studs, usually I was also required to chain up truck and trailer.

Marty

+1

I didn't say they were the best snow tire....lol. I said best of both worlds.

Although show me a better option for any and all types of snow and ice driving than a nice new deep lug mudder siped 1/2" deep and studded, because I want THAT tire.
I don't stud em though cause sometimes they get run year round. Besides they tear up my driveway and garage floor coating.

TurnThePage wrote:
Think I'm leaning toward the Cooper A/TW. Good reviews and reasonably priced, and it's still an all terrain tire.

You are headed in the right direction with Coopers , I believe the ones you mentioned are a fairly new lineup, but overall Coopers have good reviews. Another Sailun to at least consider is the Iceblazer WST2LT.

Many have no idea of the quality of the Sailun brand, The Sailun S637 has gained a reputation arguably as the best RV tire for the heavier fifth wheels .

TurnThePage wrote:
I replaced my OEM rims with aftermarket. Now I'm thinking I'd like to put some dedicated winter tires on those OEM rims. I'm interested in original or close size, P275/60r20. I wouldn't mind an LT tire, just has to fit reasonably well. As a dedicated winter tire, most of its time would be on paved roads, but I do get out there sometimes, and we are in a mountainous region. I was kind of thinking an MT. In reality there would be very little towing going with these tires also.

Thoughts or suggestions?

From the sounds of it, I doubt you need Mudders for what little off road you will be doing, All Terrain would do you okay.

IMO I would take a look at the Sailun Terramax AT's, not only the cost, and reputation, but especially for a set of tires sitting in a garage part of the time aging out, the investment wouldn't be as painful. Toyo's , Nitto , etc are pretty spendy tires.

Look at Nitto Exo Grappler. For some reason their not popular however im very happy with mine. I was looking for an all around good snow long last tire. A couple people have them on the cummins forum and theyve lasted around 40k miles.

They have the snowflake for severe snow rating. They have large deep lugs and work great towing with minimal noise. My 5er 14.4k lbs and im 23.7k combined. The noise stays nice below 70. When getting above that they do get louder. My wife didnt notice a differece from the stock firestone AT