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

summ8rmk · Oct 24, 2017

On my Ford Powerstroke CCLB I run the Toyo MT during the no snow season and run Hankook Dynapro ATM during the winter. The Toyo MT is a good looking tire that will last a lot of miles and is ok in mud.

On my GMC Dirtymax CCLB i run BFG KO2 and they are an awesome all year tire, hard to beat on snow and ice.

U couldn't make me run Duratracs..... did it for 14,000 miles and 50% of the tires tread.

Mountain Cat

shonuff · Oct 24, 2017

Mastercraft Courser MSRs for me!! Awesome on ice!! Great traction in snow!

FatDogX · Oct 24, 2017

Another vote for Toyo RT's !!!

Dogmeat · Oct 24, 2017

Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac with studs ....

Also, anyone who thinks running a "mud" tire in the winter is a good idea is a moron, plain and simple.

LoudHandle · Oct 24, 2017

There is no magic bullet, if that's what you want, prepare for disappointment!

There is no one magic bullet. Winter conditions vary too much day to day hour to hour, what works on dry snow typically does not work on wet snow and most snow tires suck on ice and most ice tires suck on snow. You need to find what works best for your specific geographic conditions and then back that with driving to whatever the tires coefficent of traction is at that moment. Anything less with give you a false sense of control and you will be the road hazard.

Saying that you need to frequently test what kind of traction you are getting currently and know how to countersteer and use the throttle and brake appropriately to regain control of the vehicle. Above all there is nothing made that will give you similar traction as driving in the summer on dry road. Adapt your driving habits appropriately. In the winter you need to drive far smoother and anticipate the need for directional changes far sooner as well as acceleration and deceleration.

I know this is all common sense stuff, but living in Alaska all my life it is entertaining how many people get behind the wheel in the wintertime and try and drive like they are at some NASCAR event.

Ultimately it is not the tire but rather driver skill that will make it or break it. IMO

MORSNO · Oct 25, 2017

Exactly what LoudHandle said! There is no best, there is what works best for you and your driving habits (which need to adapt to driving conditions).

GoBigParts · Nov 12, 2017

GoBigParts said:
My buddy just bought these fore his 2015 GMC HD because the old tires couldn't move the truck on a snowy driveway. The nice thing about these are is you can run them all year but he claims they stick to the road on ice and snow like nothing he has experienced before.

I just ordered these from my local tire shop. Truck goes in tomorrow to get them put on along with 2 new interstate batteries for the old duramax. This is the first time I bought a tire based on snow performance over looks.

I will let you know how they do.

White Rad · Nov 14, 2017

Anyone run the cooper st maxx? Another hybrid between an AT and MT that can be studded.

How about the new toyo C/T with the mountain snow flake symbol? Commercial traction tire based off the M-55

And Schwab has a new backcountry MT made for them by cooper that is studdable...

volcano buster · Nov 14, 2017

White Rad said:
Anyone run the cooper st maxx? Another hybrid between an AT and MT that can be studded.

I'm on my second set of ST Maxx's. I like them for my woods work but don't think they would be my choice of tire for slick snotty conditions towing a sled trailer. They are on my '17 F150 EcoBoost right now and with wet blacktop it will break the tires loose with very little effort (@22K right now) so I would think if the road was super slick it could get spooky. Maybe not, don't know yet.

Dogmeat · Nov 14, 2017

I've run so many different sets of tires between work trucks and personal trucks its kind of ridiculous ... But, my top pick for overall driving with preference given to tires that do better in the winter on slick roads while still retaining usefulness off-road in the muddy seasons -

1.) Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac. This is hands down the best AT tire I've ever run.

2.) BF Goodrich AT KOs. This used to be my #1, but after Goodyear came out with the Duratrac's this became #2

Honorable Mention: Toyo Open Country A/Ts - Very good all around performance and considerable tire life.

Recognizable - Michelin LTX ATs .... These tires are great in the winter on slick roads but they don't have an aggressive enough tread to get the bite I want in firmer snow or on muddy two track.

The simple fact of the matter is, you get what you pay for. I realize you're paying $30-50 a tire more for the ones I listed than you will a Nitto, Cooper, etc ...

My current setup for my Ram 3500 is to run a set of studded Duratracs in the winter, and then I actually run a set of Big O A/Ts for the warmer season ... The Big O A/Ts ride well, handle well, and the flippin' last forever .... but they leave quite a bit to be desired on slick roads and int he snow. I've never felt like Cooper tires performed very well at all on slick roads, but they were always a good price and lasted awhile .... Same with Nittos, but I'd give the Nittos a nod over the Coopers .... *shrug* My $0.02.

jrizman · Nov 15, 2017

White Rad said:
Anyone run the cooper st maxx? Another hybrid between an AT and MT that can be studded.

How about the new toyo C/T with the mountain snow flake symbol? Commercial traction tire based off the M-55

And Schwab has a new backcountry MT made for them by cooper that is studdable...

I run the st maxx on my tacoma. Great all around tire for woods mountains and road. They have been a super tire off road. They have knobby lugs so I'm not sure They Would be besy choice in winter, and actually are not too good in icy conditions, deep snow they work well.
On the superduty, I run cooper m&s, studded, in winter and have been very happy. Several others I ride with run these too, we all are pleased with the performance.

However, others like duratrack and I thought they were one of the worst tires I've owned, so take it with a grain of salt.

warreng417 · Nov 22, 2017

Dogmeat said:
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac with studs ....

Also, anyone who thinks running a "mud" tire in the winter is a good idea is a moron, plain and simple.

Pretty sure diesel trucks dont even run right without a 6" lift and 35" MT tires. Puking black smoke also helps with traction I hear.
Sorry, so many diesel driving meat hammers here in Alberta, it gets old.

LoudHandle · Nov 22, 2017

Off Topic

warreng417 said:
Pretty sure diesel trucks dont even run right without a 6" lift and 35" MT tires. Puking black smoke also helps with traction I hear.
Sorry, so many diesel driving meat hammers here in Alberta, it gets old.

If they're driving a built truck with a lift and big meats, they are obviously compensating for God short changing them with a undersized third leg.

ak · Nov 23, 2017

BFg Ko2 been pretty happy with them on my last two trucks.

AZ800 · Nov 23, 2017

Dogmeat said:
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac with studs ....

Also, anyone who thinks running a "mud" tire in the winter is a good idea is a moron, plain and simple.

Duratracs are definitely top of the heap without going to a dedicated snow tire......but like was said above, conditions vary so widely, that dedicated snows don't do well in deeper rutted or untracked snow, like that last 5 miles to get yer sleds unloaded after you leave the highway.
I agree with your mud tire statement 100% UNLESS you sipe them.
Then they become great all around tires like Duratracs or KO2s.
Like you, I've run more brands and styles of tires on personal and work rigs everywhere from AZ to AK and top 3 do it all tires are Duratracs, KO2s and Toyo ATII.
But on my personal rig, my go to have been siped mudders for years now. They just work. They dig when you're in the soft stuff and the siped tread grips well on the icy/slick stuff. Never studded them because now we live in the land of rain. 100miles of wet and 10 miles of snow is a typical drive to the hill.

The other 2 main things that determine how well a tire performs (besides your driving skill and right foot) is tire pressure and weight in the back.
Sooooo many people don't get the concept that having 80psi in your back tires because that's what the sidewalk or door sticker says is WRONG.
Sure, pallet of block in the bed=80 psi. Towing the sled trailer to the hill = like 35-40 psi, or possibly less depending on conditions.
Many days, conditions are bad, I'll hop out and drop rear pressure to 30psi or less depending on load. It's like having a new set of tires!

Dogmeat · Nov 23, 2017

AZ800 said:
Duratracs are definitely top of the heap without going to a dedicated snow tire......but like was said above, conditions vary so widely, that dedicated snows don't do well in deeper rutted or untracked snow, like that last 5 miles to get yer sleds unloaded after you leave the highway.
I agree with your mud tire statement 100% UNLESS you sipe them.
Then they become great all around tires like Duratracs or KO2s.
Like you, I've run more brands and styles of tires on personal and work rigs everywhere from AZ to AK and top 3 do it all tires are Duratracs, KO2s and Toyo ATII.
But on my personal rig, my go to have been siped mudders for years now. They just work. They dig when you're in the soft stuff and the siped tread grips well on the icy/slick stuff. Never studded them because now we live in the land of rain. 100miles of wet and 10 miles of snow is a typical drive to the hill.

The other 2 main things that determine how well a tire performs (besides your driving skill and right foot) is tire pressure and weight in the back.
Sooooo many people don't get the concept that having 80psi in your back tires because that's what the sidewalk or door sticker says is WRONG.
Sure, pallet of block in the bed=80 psi. Towing the sled trailer to the hill = like 35-40 psi, or possibly less depending on conditions.
Many days, conditions are bad, I'll hop out and drop rear pressure to 30psi or less depending on load. It's like having a new set of tires!

The siping is in fact the big issue I have with the mud tires and why they aren't worth a damn in the winter, but just like you said .... If you have them siped, then depending on rubber compound I'd actually be willing to bet they would be better than certain A/T tires in the winter due to the softer rubber compound.

My big beef with the mud tires is the no siping from the factory as that makes them horrible on slick roads, combined with the fact that they are typically a bit softer rubber compound, and the aggressive tread patterns causes them to typically wear a lot more unevenly unless you rotate them every 7500 miles or so ... so generally what happens is you pay 30% more for a tire that has 30% less life than a comparable A/T tire and is terrible on slick roads

.....

But yeah, having them siped would change that game entirely. In fact, thinking about it, if you could get a set of mud tires that would accept studs, then have those siped, and use them as a dedicated snow tire .... You'd pretty well have the best of all worlds there, then you could run whatever you wanted in the summer.

summ8rmk · Nov 23, 2017

U can stud any tire. Drill a hole and insert stud. Not hard just time consuming.

Mountain Cat

sledhead_79 · Nov 24, 2017

I run Toyo on my work truck, not sure which tire, but its a hard rubber due to fresh sharp rocks on oil field roads. This specific Toyo tire sucked on the ice. I removed the seat cloth from the sphincter more than once in the mornings headed out to the field last winter north of Casper.

FearMyWrX · Nov 24, 2017

I’m running Firestone Transforce AT tires (285/60/20) that came stock on my 16 Ram 3500 Cummins. These tires are mehhh, and rated between 5-6 for snow, deep snow, and ice.

I’ve been thinking a dedicated winter tire would be a smart move on potentially a different set of rims (probably smaller, 18”) for the winter season. In the mean time I have V-BAR tire chains Incase I get myself into a sticky situation.

I just want the hook up that I have on my Subaru’s snow tires (General AltiMax) that are studded. Ride height (snow depth) aside, those things can take you anywhere!

**Edit: looks like General Tire has the Arctic Grabber LT, it looks beefy and is able to be studded.

black z · Nov 24, 2017

Anyone running Nitto Terra Grappler G2s? I bought my super duty with 305-65-18s, and haven't had them on the snow yet. They're at ~75% tread

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

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