Best tires for Canadian / northern U.S. winters

Good day to all.
Just throwing out a line to get suggestions for best tires to put on stock rims for the snowy and icy roads I'll soon be dealing with in the great white north. I used to use Goodyear Duratracs on my old Tundra and they were awesome. I wonder if they'd work just as well on my 4Runner. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Have an awesome weekend!

 

If you can find them Cooper AT/w they work great I run them year round and they perform awesome in all conditions...

 

Falken at3w. That’s what I’ve run for a couple years now and they’ve been great. I also know quite a few guys running them up north and have been very happy with them

 

Thanks for the suggestion. i'll see if I can find them.

 

I've never heard of those. I'll check them out. Thanks!

 

If you can’t find them they replaced them with the Cooper AT/3-4s

here is a article on them https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/02/cooper-tire-discoverer-at-w-tire-review.html

they also have the Canadian version supposedly? It’s Cooper XT/4

 

Definitely get yourself a good winter tire. There are many good brands, mine are Blizzaks. I take off K02s and put on Blizzaks. K02s are snow rated, but it’s cold and ice that you need to worry about in a daily driver. A winter tire is fantastic on icy slippery roads. Their biggest problem is that you might be tempted to overdrive them, that’s how good they are.

 

For the best performance, dedicated winter tires, no question about it. I’m getting along with the severe weather rated tires (wildpeaks), but they are far from a dedicated winter tire. How north are we talking about ?

 

Slave Lake, AB north!

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm gonna do a bit more research. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of storage space to have two sets of tires, so I have to get something that's good all year round.

 

Thanks, Ill keep an eye out for those and keep researching a bit. i'm hoping the white stuff can hold off for another few weeks! DOn't wanna say that too loud though.

 

Dedicated winter tires would be the best option. If that's not an option there are plenty of 3-peak snow rated AT's worth considering. If you were satisfied with Duratracs in the past, they should be fine on the 4runner as well.

 

I've heard Nokian makes good winter tires

 

Another vote for Cooper; their tires, like the AT's have lots of siping which seems to be the thing for wet/snowy/slippery roads.

 

Yes they do! We have Hakkapliittas on our Scion TC, and they're amazing!

 

Yes, my storage space is limited too, DepMode, but in the small town where I live, the tire shop stores the change over tires for me for free. I’ve been in Slave Lake, and while it’s not too far north in Canadian terms, it’s pretty far north for most of the members on this forum. God’s country! You might get away with a snow rated tire where you are, but with snow packed, icy roads a winter tire would be a no brainer for me.

 

Hey Oldtoyotaguy! If I got free tire storage that would be a game changer for me. I'll have to ask the local tire shops about that, although I do think they all charge a fee. You're right, not so far north to a Canadian.

 

i'd get dedicated winter tires. Small town, snow plow services might not be as good as a larger town, you probably have to do some highway. I know it is not exactly cheap, but not that bad either. You can get a set of rims for under $150 (each) and 4 tires under $800. Small investment for this type of vehicle.

 

If you have a good shop where the guys are careful and you know them, you can cut a few corners by mounting the tires on the original rims. Not ideal, but it will save a few bucks. Keep an eye out for OEM wheels. Guys sell these for ridiculously low prices just to get rid of them. If you go for steelies, you can do without tpms the first season, unless you’re OCD like I am and can’t stand a warning light being on all the time.

 

I can vouch for the AT3 4S tires. I had a couple of sets on my last truck and will likely be adding them to the Tacoma next month.

However, the 4Runner will be getting some dedicated winters. Does anyone have any they'd recommend?

 

Blizzaks work great for me.

 

Thanks, I'll look into them. The last winter tire I had was discontinued and it's been a few years since I've looked.

 

I live near Vancouver, so plenty of rain, wet snow, mountain and winding roads... Looking for a single all-year and my current thought is the 265/70/17 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W SL-rated

Thoughts on the LT rated? Any other tires to be looking at?

 

I’m running GT Radial’s ZR rated cruising tire right now but they offer a studded winter tire...

 

The venerable BFG K02 is always a great choice. A classic look on 4 Runner or Tacoma. Heavy duty.

 

Pretty well all the major brands of winter tires are good. They must all use the same soft compound to make them grippy at low temperatures. This is where price can be an issue, all other things being equal. I’d go with the best deal on a major brand. But The Blizzaks I have certainly perform well, and the local dealer gave me a good deal on them. He also stores the changeovers for free, as long as he has space to do so.

 

Thanks, I'll definitely keep them in mind. I had some Toyo Open Country directional snow tires about 4 years ago, but said tires were discontinued.

That's definitely nice about the storage! I think our plan is to get some TRD Pro wheels for the summer though and use the stock gray ones for the winters.

I am also interested in the Cooper Discoverer Snow Claw, but it is so new that there are no reviews yet.

 

I'd check out the Goodyear Duratrac. they are an all weather tire. The rubber is softer than the others so you won't get great durability with them but they perform much better on packed snow and ice than the KO2.

 

Newbie to the forum here. You’ve convinced me to buy Blizzaks for my 2019 4Runner TRD Off-Road. I had a terrifying black ice experience with my old Sequoia a few years ago so try to take tire quality seriously but also feel like I get “sold” on “great” tires in the shop. Bought the 4Runner early 2019 with stock Dunlop tires - not happy with handling in winter so will spring for the Blizzaks. My question now is what do I need to know about “steelies?” Thinking I might have the tires mounted on those right off the bat. Thanks!

 

Great decision, SweetMagnolia! That decision also ensures the safety of others as well as yourself so it’s a win-win. I mounted mine on steelies, and had OEM tpms units installed in them. Tpms isn’t essential, if you don’t mind the dash light being on all the time. It’s part of the vehicles safety equipment, so I wanted it operate perfectly. There’s nothing magic about steelies, any reputable tire shop of your dealer will supply the right ones. Personally, I like steelies, they look traditional on a 4 Runner. I don’t off road in winter, so the OR wheels aren’t needed but they are a bit wider and higher quality. My OR wheels have a design that protects the valve stem when off road. But steelies are fine too, for pavement driving.
You are going to find a tremendous difference with winter tires on your 4 Runner. Your biggest challenge will be to be disciplined in slippery conditions and don’t overdrive them. It’s easy to do! You’ll have about 2 x the traction of most cars in the road, but don’t use that for speed. Use it for safety. Good luck.