What tyres for this impending snow ?

[Graham]

Hi all,

I have two sets of tyres.

Both sets are 265 x 70 x r17

First and general "every day set" is BFG All Terrains, about 9mm remaining.

Second set, largely as new, real chunky Mastercraft Courser MT's (same as Cooper mud's) about 12mm remaining.

I think the MT's look better in the snow, but what do you think would be better for pulling all these inferior toy 4x4's out of the drifts ?

Roll on the deep stuff.

Gra.

 

[clivehorridge]

Hi Gra,

For asphalt that's been cleared but still with snow on, I find the GG ATs better. But if you're on deeper snow, where the tyre gets nowhere near the asphalt or snow with grass under, the BFG MTs are better.

Can't wait!

 

[Cptsideways]

Hardpacked snow MT's are crap, I have some Michelin snow winter tyres which are simply mega. Full throttle launches no wheelspin at all from a standstill in my auto.

 

[Graham]

OK, so how about the fluffy stuff that is still falling, and your the first one on teh road / lane ?

Gra

 

[Gary820]

I ran the mastercraft MT (285/75) on other trucks, not bad In the still falling stuff but did understeer a bit, compact stuff not bad but found had to engage 4x4 more often, with ats could leave in 2wd.

I've just removed my bfg mt's in favour of the cooper st's. Mainly for an everyday tyre but they'll perform better in snow imo.

Tyres with decent siping cuts perform better in snow, if you look at snow/winter tyres they've got a lot of siping on them (have a set for the focus and in laws Beemer)

 

[clivehorridge]

OK, so how about the fluffy stuff that is still falling, and your the first one on teh road / lane ?

Gra

MTs if it's deep enough! But it rarely is all the time enough to keep them on! TBH, I put my MUDs on after the first deep snowfall because the city driving is normally low speed on cleared/ semi cleared roads, but then at the weekends... I'm ready for some playtime!

 

[Towpack]

On fresh snow the tread of the tyre can 'dig in' and get grip so the more aggressive the the tread the better. On hard packed snow/ice the opposite applies. The tread is useless so you want as much tyre in contact with the surface as possible or, going to the next level, use studded tyres which are impractical for most situations and localities. I run AT pattern which, last winter, were down to about 2/3 worn and I could definately feel the difference compared to when they were new. I'm currently in the process of having the wheels refurbed and, when complete, a new set of BTG AT's are going on. If you don't want to run a second set of wheels and have the faff of swapping them over when the weather gets bad then AT's are the best compromise IMO.

 

[Paddler Ed]

I ran the mastercraft MT (285/75) on other trucks, not bad In the still falling stuff but did understeer a bit, compact stuff not bad but found had to engage 4x4 more often, with ats could leave in 2wd.

I've just removed my bfg mt's in favour of the cooper st's. Mainly for an everyday tyre but they'll perform better in snow imo.

Tyres with decent siping cuts perform better in snow, if you look at snow/winter tyres they've got a lot of siping on them (have a set for the focus and in laws Beemer)

In addition the compound is softer on a winter tyre, so they grip better at a lower temperature, but start to go off above about 7*. What was telling was that we running winter tyres right up until May this year, because not only are they better in the snow they are better in the rain as well. Could certainly feel the extra grip according to the GF because the car gripped around the corners a lot better (the traction control light didn't come on, even going a couple of mph quicker)

Siping works like the grip on a deck shoe; a deck shoe doesn't make sense that it should grip as well as it does...

 

[Rob]

Out of those 2 tyres I would choose the ATs as they happen to meet US winter tyre regulations. You can tell as they have a mountain snowflake symbol on the sidewall. They are not a purpose designed winter tyre so are not great in the snow. The MTs will be useless sometimes dangerous in hard packed snow, ice even rain below 7 deg c so it's not just the snow you should be worried about.

Last year my Volvo V70R AWD with proper Michelin winter tyres was so much better in the snow than the LC on BFG ATs, even the deepish powdery stuff up to a point due to the low ground clearance of the Volvo. The most grip I have ever had from any tyre is with those winter tyres on a dry B road at -15 deg c. So if you want the best grip in the snow get some winter tyres designed for use on a 4x4, which should preform well in the soft stuff as well.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Gary820]

We sell loads of winter wheel sets at work, what really proves they're worth the money is when a Beemer will drive in snow lol.

Out of the 2 sets asked about I'd go with the ats.

 

[Paddler Ed]

We sell loads of winter wheel sets at work, what really proves they're worth the money is when a Beemer will drive in snow lol.

Out of the 2 sets asked about I'd go with the ats.

I'd take the GF's BMW with winters over the XC70 with all seasons on it last winter, neighbour with a Range Rover was surprised we got everywhere we wanted to with the BMW, as theirs was parked forlornly at the top of their driveway not moving anywhere!

£100 for a set of BMW alloys off of ebay, and £200 of winter tyres (4x Marix remould's) and £20 to get them fitted at the local garage and we were sorted.

 

[Rob]

I would recommend you get a set of tyres from this page: http://www.camskill.co.uk/m102b0s15...yres_-_17_inch_R17_inch_-_265_65_17_265_65R17

Look into the test/reviews to find out how good they are in deep snow if you are worried about that, but they should be better than the MT IMO as the MT in deep snow will work in the same was as a paddle steamer does in water where as winter tyres will actually grip the snow. If you want a decent deep snow tyre have a look at what Arctic Trucks have to offer: http://www.arctictrucks.com/?pageid=1296&categoryid=208

 

[Gary820]

I'd take the GF's BMW with winters over the XC70 with all seasons on it last winter, neighbour with a Range Rover was surprised we got everywhere we wanted to with the BMW, as theirs was parked forlornly at the top of their driveway not moving anywhere!

£100 for a set of BMW alloys off of ebay, and £200 of winter tyres (4x Marix remould's) and £20 to get them fitted at the local garage and we were sorted.

I run autogrip ecosnow on the focus, our neighbours clear the drive and struggle getting out of the village, I don't clear the drive and drive out no problem

We even have a m5 that gets winter tyres on at work, 550hp and drives like normal in snow lol.

 

[clivehorridge]

After all this chat about snow tyres, we get lots of snow here, but today (and yesterday) we've had 26 degrees C ! We're of up the hill this afternoon for a hill-top BBQ!

 

[uHu]

As long as we're talking road use, any normal A/T or M/T would be useless. You can sipe the A/Ts to improve them slightly, but only dedicated winter tyres would be a real improvement. Best I tried so far, apart from studded tyres, is the Y0kohama Geolandar I/T G072 (or 073). Fantastic on all kinds of wintery stuff, wet asphalt, snow (loose and hard), ice. On ice, of course, only studded tyres really cut it. Then, if you want to plow some snow, you add chains on the rear wheels.

The worst ice is the salty ice after the snow plow has been spreading agressive salt for days, so that there is a salty soup covering the road, and then the temp drops to -10-12 C so that this soup freezes. Extremely slippery. Normal water-ice is better for driving on. The authorities behind the salting ought to be "converted", to put it mildly.

Driving on standard M/T or A/T on slippery winter roads makes you a threat to others.

 

[uHu]

After all this chat about snow tyres, we get lots of snow here, but today (and yesterday) we've had 26 degrees C ! We're of up the hill this afternoon for a hill-top BBQ!

SUMMER.

Not fair.

 

[froggy Steve]

Early 20's here, but a bit wet with it
We did light the wood burner a couple of weeks ago (1) cos it was a bit chilly (2) chase the resident wasps out!
Still looking for a set of tyres though

Steve

 

[sae70]

Go with whatever tyre suits you best for everyday use and the when the going gets tough



Chain up





Really though if I was you Graham, with those two tyre choices I'd go with the MT's for the short time that we have a fluttering of snow I've always found mine to be perfectly acceptable in all conditions of snow with just a small consideration to driving style

 

[clivehorridge]

SUMMER.

Not fair.

Sticking to the tyre theme of the thread, the MUDs clearly are sips free:



Whereas the GG ATs have sips, even if they're fairly widely spread



On the 'Indian Summer' theme (sorry Gra), we had a lovely afternoon on the hill, at 1,000m above sea level, I was shirtless and enjoying the sun!















Sorry for all that, I'll get my coat....

 

[hairyguy4]

Sticking to the tyre theme of the thread, the MUDs clearly are sips free:

View attachment 9322

Whereas the GG ATs have sips, even if they're fairly widely spread

View attachment 9323

I currently run bfg km2's and for pretty much everything I've run them in they are fantastic but I have to say not that good in snow, I ran maxxis bighorns before and on the same hill both snowy the bighorns walked up and the km2's had no chance