All-weather/snow tire choices up North

For those of you that know cold and snow, I wasn’t a fan of the OEM nittos on my pro, especially in the cold and snow. Looking at Nokian’s nAT Outpost, wondering what tires you’ve liked for snow and cold (I’m from MN, so -40 is rare but isn’t unheard of, and -10 to 0 highs are common for at least a few weeks a year.)

I’m also considering the Hakkapelitta R5 SUV winter tires. Did you find winter tires worth it with a 4Runner? Which did you go with?

 

I think the best AT I've used for winter/snow was the Yokohama Geolandar AT G015's I had on my previous 4Runner. They're a less aggressive looking tire, but they performed very well.

Nokian is known to make excellent winter tires. I would expect those nAT's to be an excellent all around tire.

I've never run a winter tire on a 4Runner, but I imagine it would be fantastic. I do run Hakkapeliittas on my Scion TC in the winter, and it's an absolute beast in snow. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use them on the 4Runner if I decided to get a set of dedicated winter tires.

 

I used to just use BFG KO2 year round but I now swap to Hakkapelitta LT3 studded in winter. On normal well plowed roads there is not much advantage tbh. Since I take it winter hunting in the backcountry and we commonly get black ice because of our temp fluctuations and poor plowing where I live I find it worth it for me personally. I would rather not have to store another set of tires if I didn't need to so assess your true needs. Temp difference alone did not matter for me with a good AT.

 

I run Continental wintercontact tires for a few months in the winter. I found they have better traction then the Toyo AT3's I normally run in most all snow conditions. My driveway is a bit of a hill and the Toyos would allow the truck to slide down it unless the pavement was absolutely bare.

 

I've lived in Rochester, NY for all of my 67 years. We average 100" of snow each winter. One thing I've learned is that if you really want control in the snow - or any season for that matter - you need a tire designed specifically for that season - not all seasons.

The problem we have here is not deep snow. They do a great job of plowing. The big problem is hard packed snow and ice. For me, the only tire that works in those conditions is a full set of Blizzaks. Here's what I run from December thru February:

 

Are those Tundra wheels?

 

I'm in MN too. I had the Yoko GO15s for two winters. They were good the first winter, but were pretty terrible the second winter with over 20k miles of wear on them, especially on the greasy slush we get here with the treated roads. I am currently running Cooper Discoverer AT3 4s, and they were very good last winter. I prefer them to the Yokohamas overall, but we'll see how they do this winter with some wear on them.

 

3rd gen Tacoma TRD Sport wheels, ugly but that probably enabled @Too Stroked to get them at a good price.

In my experience, OEM wheels have the most durable finish against road salt.

 

You hit that one right on the head! In fact, I recently swapped them out for a new takeoff set of SR5 wheels. Much better.

 

Don't forget about the zigzag siping.

I agree with you, and @Too Stroked . Nothing compares to a true winter tire on packed snow and ice.

Any true winter tires will outperform AT's. Hakkapeliittas and Blizzaks seem to be the top choices.

 

Living in Ontario Canada we know cold and snow and everything else winter offers. I’ve driven a whack of snow tires in different vehicles and the Nokian is simply the best. That said I put a set of Continental Viking 7s on the Runner this past winter and it’s the quality you would expect from Continental. Very very sure footed solid performer. Drove through lots of ice snow sleet rain and had great traction and inspired confidence.

Jeff

 

I've always run Blizzak DM V2 on my 4Runners and have nothing but good things to say about the tire. If I were to live somewhere where there is more ice on the road than snow, I would go with a Hakkapeliittas studded tire.

 

I live in the Chicago area and my Wildpeaks have never failed me on my Tacoma. I purchased a 4Runner about 3 weeks ago. 1st thing I did was lift, new wheels and Wildpeaks.

 

Mine was Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac. If needed you can add studs to LT versions.

With my experience Duratracs have noticeable improvement grip for winter conditions over other A/T tires with 3PMSF rating like BFG KO2, Falken Wildpeaks. I only had short time to test my current Toyo Open Country AT3 but if I can remember correctly Duratrac was superior in snow and ice.(I didn't have studs)

But for sure nothing beats a dedicated winter tire for winter conditions on paved roads.

"Then why don't I use winter tires? "-
Even though this weekend weather where I live would be 19°F, next weekend would be around 70°F which would wear out winter tires pretty quickly. So winter tires not a good option for me unless I change tires in my garage, re-map tpms.

 

I've always heard good things about Duratracs and snow. Definitely a good option for a do it all tire.

I had KO2's for a little over a year, and I thought the Geolandar AT was better in snow.

 

I might try them on my Limited next time.
Cooper Discover AT4S is also in the list. Both are light weight for what I expect from the Limited.

 

Another vote for the Blizzaks! I grew up in New England and always ran the Blizzaks in the winter and never had any issues even when I had my 2003 Acura RSX.

 

Mine came with BFGoodrich Winter T/A tires. They are not good - light layer of snow on pavement, I stab the throttle in 4hi, and all four tires slip. I'll likely replace these with Duratrac RT when they wear down to 6/32nds.

 

i run Falken Wildpeak AT3 all the time. Love them!

 

I run Toyo Open Country MTs. This was at the recommendation of my garage for all-around excellent performance in all conditions. 23k on them and got to say that I've had zero issues off-road, mud, rain, or snow with the exception that as they've worn they have gotten a bit noisy.

 

Got these puppies from Discount Tire. Made by VOXX. 17x8.5 O Offset wrapped in Wildpeaks

 

If your garage recommend mud tires for rain and snow, I'd start looking for a new garage.

 

agreed

 

the Toyo Open Country MT has extremely good siping and overall performance. I actually thought they’d suffer in rain as well so I checked with 3 other local garages who all are known for their automotive expertise. All of them concurred that these MTs are an exception to the rule. And in using them almost 3 years in all conditions, I concur. Never once had an issue in any weather type or while off-roading.

As with everything in life there are exceptions to the generalities. Keep an open mind and seek others who have tried these for their input. I honestly was blown away with the all around performance.

 

got pics?

 

looking good!

 

I know that MT's can be good in deep snow. But, I have a hard time believing they'd be any good on packed snow or ice. I just don't see an MT as a good choice for winter driving.

I know those are good tires, though. They were a top contender when I was looking for MT's.

 

I have to agree with you there. Generally speaking, larger lugs in an open tread pattern work better in deep snow. On hard packed snow and ice though, a softer tread compound with smaller lugs and lots of sipes seems to work much better. So, if you're breaking trails in deep snow, I could easily believe the MT's are great. If you do most of your winter driving on-road though where hard pack and ice are far more common than deep show, I'll still take a Blizzak (or something similar) any day of the week.