Need snow/ice tires for 2020 limited

Hi there! Just sold my 1997 4Runner and got a year old 2020 Limited with the 245/60R20 (“unusual tire size” per the local guys)I run Nokian ice tires on my 2006 land cruiser but they don’t make that size. I was looking at Toyos open country A/T 3’s but recently moved up another 1000 ft we’ve got ice all winter long up here. And all terrains won’t cut it. Blizzacks? IceX? Anyone? I should mention, I’ve got to drive one kid 400 miles round trip for medical treatment once a month, so really soft tires that are going to wear out if I put 1600 miles a year on dry roads is a no go…Help Please! All advice welcome. I’ve got precious cargo (my 12 yr old shredders) Thank you! Mountain Mama

 

Nothing is good on ICE, short of studs or chains. I know you don't want to run either one of those on the highway.
My choice would be Falken Wildpeaks. I have heard that one of their strong points is their performance in snow.
I have them on my 3rd gen, but have yet to encounter any snow. So far, I love the ride. Will put them on my 5th gen when the highway tread Generals that it came with wear out.
Maybe they will still be available in 2029....sorry, couldn't help myself. I know your thread title must just be a typo.

 

Thanks anyway! But I’m done with A/T’s up here. I need dedicated snow/ice tires…the Falkins are similar to the Toyo OC A/T 3’s I think.

 

I used Blizzak’s on all of my vehicles when I lived in Alaska and Colorado, they are an excellent winter tire. I could get around 30K miles, 3 or 4 winter seasons on a set in CO where the roads were dry 80% of the time.

 

As others have said, there isn’t dedicated ice tires. All terrains would be your best bet, as snow tires on regular roads probably aren’t the greatest and will wear down fast.

 

Yeah, I think it’ll be cheaper to rent a car once a month rather than ruin my snow tires. I’m checking out the Blizzacks DM V2’s at Costco for $300 off what the locals are selling them for. Great deal at $213.00 a piece mounted. Thank you both!

 

Since OP is not interested in A/Ts I did not comment.

I too like Falken Wildpeak & KO2 on mine for snow. Last Thursday I was able to test new to me Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs on snow on-road. Even though it did not have grip as dry pavement and sand/gravel trails as my KO2 it was equally good on snow/ice.

Even though all 3 have 3peak mountain snow flake rating for hard ice it would be useless I guess.

But for my use here in CO I prefer to have stronger A/T and drive carefully vs dedicated winter tires. Weather is crazy here where afternoon it would about 70F and at night go down to 20s and next day morning 18F with snow. (One example my last video. It was nice and sunny on the bulb install part and the night testing clip smoke is coming out of my mouth when talking)

 

Careful with Costco tires. Regardless of what you might be led to believe, and even though they carry the brand name, they are not of the same quality as those you might get at a reputable tire center. Take a look at the serial/model #'s.

 

As long as OP lives in place that doesn't go above 32F they will be better off using snow tires on the road since the compound wont be solid. Normal tires (and to some extent all seasons with 3 peak mountain) will harden once the temperature drops and they wont grip well.

Dedicated snow/winter tires are formulated to stay soft and grippy when the temperature drops, but you will see decreased life if you keep using them once the temperature rises above 40 F or so.


Snow tires won't offer you much grip on ice either, for that you need chains or studs to dig into the ice.

 

I'd like to be first in line to purchase the OP's 2029 Limited!

But seriously, BFG All Terrains. The gold standard.

 

On my 2017 4Runner Limited, I have Blizzaks on a second set of 17 inch winter wheels. On my GMC Yukon, I have 33 inch BFG A/T with triple studding on a second set of wheels, as well as an Eaton Tru-Trac differential. Some days, the 4Runner is better; some days the Yukon is better. Snow and ice on roads are different everyday; there is no best tire all the time.

Most of the time, the Yukon studs do nothing, except the three or four times a year when we have very wet ice, when it freezes at night and thaws during the day, or it's raining on top of ice. The studs are perfect. The majority of the time, the roads are snow, frost, black ice or just slick. Studs don't help at all, but the BFG A/Ts do okay, especially when it is deep snow. Without the studs, they aren't so good on ice.

On the 4Runner, the Blizzaks are great all the time. Even on wet ice at cautious speed, they do well (not perfect) with all the 4Runner traction devices.

Whatever you choose, I recommend investing in a second set of 17 inch winter wheels with Blizzaks.

 

Rotiivas or Blizzaks on 17” steel wheels.

 

Did you do any wheeling with Rotiiva AT Plus? Are they strong enough to wheel? I did not feel comfortable by the looks so I did not install them. As per specs they were ideal for me. A/T with 3PMSF rating and way less weight than Wildpeak Load Cs. The set I order (and didn't install) was 275/70R17.

 

I just put them on for winter on road driving.

I mostly did my wheeling in the warm months.

I don’t think I would trust them very far off road.

 

Get a 2nd set of wheels and put studded Nokians on them.

Check facebook market place for set of 17 inch Toyota 4Runner wheels. They will fit on your 4Runner.
Take those wheels over to your local tire store and have snow tires put on them. Have them mount the wheels and tires on your vehicle, plus put the original tires & wheels in the back.

Come spring swap them out.

A good tire store like Discount Tire or Tire Rack can also outfit your 4Runner with a 2nd set of 17 inch steel wheels with snow tires.

Make sure you take your original 20 inch wheels and tires home with you.

 

I put 255 75 17 WinterForce on the 4Runner this year for the wife. Even though ours is a SR5P