What is a good dedicated snow and ice tire for a diesel pickup?

MountainCat1 · Nov 26, 2018

Load range?

Castforcash said:
I had duratracs and ko2s on my '13 f150, liked the ko2s a lot better. I'm in the market for a dedicated snow/ice tire for my new '18 f150. Has anybody tried Blizzaks? My truck came with Michelin tires and they are pretty good, but not a winter rated tire. I want a dedicated set of winter tires, anybody have experience with Blizzaks? I am also considering putting them on my trailer if they are that good of a winter tire. Truck has 18" rims.

I only run load range E and I don't think Blizzazaks are available in the heavier ply-rated sizes, otherwise I'd be tempted to try them. Consumer Reports rates them highly. My $.02.

Reg2view · Nov 26, 2018

Castforcash said:
I had duratracs and ko2s on my '13 f150, liked the ko2s a lot better. I'm in the market for a dedicated snow/ice tire for my new '18 f150. Has anybody tried Blizzaks? My truck came with Michelin tires and they are pretty good, but not a winter rated tire. I want a dedicated set of winter tires, anybody have experience with Blizzaks? I am also considering putting them on my trailer if they are that good of a winter tire. Truck has 18" rims.

Have run Blizzacks on cars for the past 20 years, as they have evolved, very good to great winter-only tire. LT sizes have been limited, but they do offer a 275 65 20 in 10 ply now, and some other sizes. They are pricey, and supplies are always limited, but I doubt their performance will disappoint you as a winter-only tire. Wear-wise, I suspect they will not last long on any HD truck with a load, perhaps only a season, but you might get two or more season out of a light duty truck.

Castforcash · Nov 26, 2018

Thanks guys, I looked them up and they have a LT version that is E rated. Should work just fine on my F150. I'm going with 275/70/18s I will only use them in the winter and will switch back to my Michelins for rest of the year.

kbroderick · Nov 30, 2018

Castforcash said:
I had duratracs and ko2s on my '13 f150, liked the ko2s a lot better. I'm in the market for a dedicated snow/ice tire for my new '18 f150. Has anybody tried Blizzaks? My truck came with Michelin tires and they are pretty good, but not a winter rated tire. I want a dedicated set of winter tires, anybody have experience with Blizzaks? I am also considering putting them on my trailer if they are that good of a winter tire. Truck has 18" rims.

Are you looking to stick with a P-metric tire or go LT? If you go LT, Blizzak's W965 only comes as big as 17"; the Blizzak LT is new this year (and looks very interesting). Between 275/70/18 and 275/65/18, there are a few options out there (275/70/18 will fit on a stock 4x4 with OEM rims, although I don't know for sure if chaining up will work).

I went with the Nokian LT2 (in a factory-studded configuration), but that's an older tire model, and I might have gone with the Blizzak LT had it been available. I didn't want to drop to the 17" size due to the reduced overall diameter.

Castforcash · Nov 30, 2018

If I go with the Blizzaks, I am going with the Lt 275/70/18. That's the same size as the ko2s I had on my '13. Still on the fence as I might just go with the ko2s again. I drove on some pretty nasty ice packed roads with those pulling the trailer and they performed great. For what I do and where I ride, I can't foresee ever needing chains. I would love to go with a studded tire, but they aren't legal here. I am going to talk to my tire guy and see what he recommends between the 2.

NorthMNSledder · Nov 30, 2018

Castforcash said:
If I go with the Blizzaks, I am going with the Lt 275/70/18. That's the same size as the ko2s I had on my '13. Still on the fence as I might just go with the ko2s again. I drove on some pretty nasty ice packed roads with those pulling the trailer and they performed great. For what I do and where I ride, I can't foresee ever needing chains. I would love to go with a studded tire, but they aren't legal here. I am going to talk to my tire guy and see what he recommends between the 2.

I'd be curious to what he says as well.

I have been running the ko2s the last 2 winters on my winter wheels and while they wear much faster then the older versions they seem to be a bit softer and handle ice and snow better then the older ones as well. Really curious to how they stand compare to the blizzaks.

Dogmeat · Nov 30, 2018

https://www.lesschwab.com/article/performance-tire-siping.html

I think the next pair of snow tires I buy are going to be siped and studded. Probably call Les Schwab up to see which tires they know they can sipe and still retain studs .... Not that the studded Duratracs I run right now are bad, but that'd be the icing on the cake if they were siped like that as well

Reg2view · Dec 1, 2018

NorthMNSledder said:
I'd be curious to what he says as well.

I have been running the ko2s the last 2 winters on my winter wheels and while they wear much faster then the older versions they seem to be a bit softer and handle ice and snow better then the older ones as well. Really curious to how they stand compare to the blizzaks.

I run KO2 275 70 18's on a 3500HD SRW right now, and they're decent all around, but after running likely a dozen 4 tire sets of Blizzaks on cars the past 20 years, I'd be very surprised if the KO2s can even come close on ice and highway snow to the Blizzaks. Bliz's wear fast in heat, strictly a cold weather tire, and lose their big ice advantage, T-cell, at about 50% tire life, at least the W60/66/70/now 80 series, I'd guess the LTs will be the same. On the fence if I'll try them this season or next, KO2s are at 10k, but watch for the LTs to sellout by year-end, if Bridgestone's production history is consistent, unless the LT's sell way less than forecast. Dunno. If there are some good deals on LTs come Jan, I'll be buying them regardless, unless the early reports are really negative.

Castforcash · Dec 1, 2018

Reg2view said:
I run KO2 275 70 18's on a 3500HD SRW right now, and they're decent all around, but after running likely a dozen 4 tire sets of Blizzaks on cars the past 20 years, I'd be very surprised if the KO2s can even come close on ice and highway snow to the Blizzaks. Bliz's wear fast in heat, strictly a cold weather tire, and lose their big ice advantage, T-cell, at about 50% tire life, at least the W60/66/70/now 80 series, I'd guess the LTs will be the same. On the fence if I'll try them this season or next, KO2s are at 10k, but watch for the LTs to sellout by year-end, if Bridgestone's production history is consistent, unless the LT's sell way less than forecast. Dunno. If there are some good deals on LTs come Jan, I'll be buying them regardless, unless the early reports are really negative.

My only concern with the blizzaks is how will they do the last few miles when driving to a unplowed trail head parking area?!? Do you think they will perform well in a foot of snow or slightly muddy rutted parking area? This is a situation where I think the ko2s will be betterr.

revrider07 · Dec 1, 2018

Castforcash said:
My only concern with the blizzaks is how will they do the last few miles when driving to a unplowed trail head parking area?!? Do you think they will perform well in a foot of snow or slightly muddy rutted parking area? This is a situation where I think the ko2s will be betterr.

You would be surprised you can always put a set of chains on for maximum traction for those rare times.

Castforcash · Dec 1, 2018

Talked to my buddy who runs blizzaks on his navigator, I am going to try them this winter, will report back as soon as I get a chance to run them. Heading out to ride day after christmas. Aaron, I hope you are around so we can ride with you!!!

mtnbound · Dec 3, 2018

I ran Blizzaks on the wifes Tahoe last year with no problems. I put them on her Suburban this year. We will se how they do on it. I put Cooper M+S 0n the duramax this year.

Mafesto · Dec 3, 2018

mtnbound said:
I put Cooper M+S 0n the duramax this year.

I have a set on order.
Can I ask what you paid?
I paid $230/tire 276/65/18 10 ply
I'm sure that's fair, I just never forked out a K for a set of tires before.

summ8rmk · Dec 3, 2018

Mafesto said:
I have a set on order.
Can I ask what you paid?
I paid $230/tire 276/65/18 10 ply
I'm sure that's fair, I just never forked out a K for a set of tires before.

The markup on tires is so ridiculous, it pisses me off.
Price shot up with the price of oil, as expected...
Price didn't drop a penny when oil prices dropped 70%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kbroderick · Dec 7, 2018

Castforcash said:
My only concern with the blizzaks is how will they do the last few miles when driving to a unplowed trail head parking area?!? Do you think they will perform well in a foot of snow or slightly muddy rutted parking area? This is a situation where I think the ko2s will be betterr.

Yes, in mud, the KO2s would probably be better, but as noted
a) chaining up in a low-speed situation is better than needing to run chains on the larger portion of the drive and potentially slowing down as a result
b) in a foot of snow, I'd expect a dedicated winter tire to do fairly well. They aren't designed to clear voids the same way an A/T tire is, but they will compact the snow and grip it, so until you get high-centered, they'll probably work well enough (especially in lighter, drier snow).

My personal experience is with the Nokian LT2 vs the Radar Renegade A/T5; the Radar is 3PMSF-rated, seemed to do okay in soft snow and was terrifying on packed snow and ice. The Nokians kick ass on packed snow and anything short of skating-rink ice (the only times I've felt like they let me down on traction, I've come close to falling on my ass after getting out of the truck...one of these days I'll learn that I need to be careful when those tires are slipping). In deeper snow, I'd be hard-pressed to clearly identify one vs the other, I think, but that's a tough comparison to make because you rarely get truly comparable deep-snow conditions to drive in two weekends in a row (and I wasn't about to swap the wheels just to test them...I'm not quite that geeky).

20IMvLfVavMDbBkq8ZHbI03KTsnNN0Ue5GcKOEQeyau1ugVR96mYqVO2gjXkcv1K4mIV4pXoiPybjwbjHiTm4k8ELqv4SMY1lt2wLVF2IbgNWBrqICReTgJARqTvfQ-Dso5v-Fx6PZp_u7w6QAcY58WA66OG8orRnxBedU4FgwEwq9b2nw7BCUv_8EYgFMeXNMF34WFjf7JKZ_-YmPgUvggtL7viWRG4x3NP2KsRVjuK2s2f_ZpPrmFQZL9zL5yfVvSc-N6NS_Xt2fxfUrV1z3_kRQl3p09Vl6oOOWfySbuBi1vt2PJxhLt8aHHl-MrrMCPvayT10B4s3nIWEdQK1fhZTJNppYlufmOaW9jdisuct-6MojED3RchcYHtZk0MxjifutTtFYRAkUJfIy2kCCpnRQmVMSAy8zWcJ9NV_dqR6nF8uO7QrYtAT7cTHkyuToILy88HLWOE_7IuX6vEjQsdXsso_72HHoZWvwU0RhUM7O1F3px68NP94XNqsknhWIozTptkuCFm6M-Br0vm0f9wgyAWNIeKQ3zWT0NU_5xBrYco3_rdwbkevG11QguCEYVFMu8nQN2zmcIQYpJxr8CQdWdT9OPlSHdT_z2_H-3ZBq6T6_d95SxyUaH2a8u8XFofYmDN9SlvmR9P5YDXsA6hW_7XEdU6raHkXvOyiI51Pe6vkvT03lSDiISeWnbrV9UcOtznQ0rPgSKpXF8=w3910-h2200-no

That was about the limit of what I could reasonably pull off with the AT tires—had to do a little digging to get out of the parking space after pulling off the actual roadway (as I thought might be the case), but I didn't resort to chains. I'm confident that the snow tires would've worked well enough to get me into and out of the same spot (and either set probably would've worked better with a sled in the back of the truck, it's rather front-biased empty).

I do drop the pressure in the AT tires when dealing with real snow driving like that—not to full-on four-wheeling pressures, but 10-15 PSI below chalk-test-approved highway pressures.

goridedoo · Jan 5, 2020

Put General Grabber Atxs on my Duramax. They have great reviews and a mountain snowflake symbol. I hate em. Took one trip out west and broke loose more times than I have in 4-5 years of running Cooper Atws.

Coldfinger · Jan 5, 2020

Run the narrowest tire you can. They slice thru the snow better than a wider tire.

goridedoo · Jan 10, 2020

goridedoo said:
Put General Grabber Atxs on my Duramax. They have great reviews and a mountain snowflake symbol. I hate em. Took one trip out west and broke loose more times than I have in 4-5 years of running Cooper Atws.

Generals are going away, will have Kumho Crugen HT51s on sometime in the next week or so. Going .5" narrower as well. Couldn't find Cooper ATWs in the size I wanted or I would've gone that route again. I'll report back after I get some miles on the Kumhos.

Over budget · Jan 12, 2020

Scott said:
I've always been a fan of Toyo M/T because of the sloppy conditions I can get into here in Montana.

I had some A/Ts one time. ONE TIME. HATED THEM off the pavement when there was ANY moisture of any kind. It was then I decided to buy tire chains. I never felt the urge to buy tire chains until I had the A/Ts.
I suffered through that set and went back to M/T as soon as they wore out.

After about 4 sets of M/Ts, which I've been totally happy with, I'm going to try these new Toyo R/T.

It had them installed on Saturday. I immediately felt a nice difference driving on asphalt.
They are more like a mud tire, but they are a hybrid between mud terrain and an all terrain (highway tire).
I THINK R/T stands for Radial Terrain.
They come with a 45k mile warranty.
They LOOK like mud terrains, but on asphalt they still behave like a highway tire. Holy crap they are quiet!!!!!

My truck runs way more smooth and quiet this week.

Toyo R/T

Toyo M/T

Toyo A/T

MountainCat1 · Jan 12, 2020

Let us know how the Toyo R/Ts do on the packed snow & ice. Currently running a second set of BFG KO2s which are a pretty good compromise for a load range E LT tire, but I'm always looking for the holy grail in truck tires!

What is a good dedicated snow and ice tire for a diesel pickup?

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