Do Snow Tires Help

[notfast]

You’ve hit the nail on the head here. These are more aptly called winter tires or ice tires, rather than snow tires.

Ever watch snow wheeling videos or videos of Arctic trucks in open snow fields? Are they using Blizzacks? Nope, they’re using massive mud terrain tires for flotation and large open tread blocks to prevent clogging of the tread pattern.

Blizzacks have silica -sand- in the tread pattern to increase friction on ice and thousands of tiny sipes to increase the wicking away of melted water to prevent the ice skate effect, where the skate is sliding on a thin film of water. Blizzacks are all about ice traction.

Oh yeah, for actual snow wheeling, oversize mud terrains are the way to go. Because what's under the 3 feet of snow and ice on a mountain trail? Mud, and a lot of it.

The best snow wheeling rig I've driven is a Jeep Wrangler on 1-ton axles and 40s. Unstoppable off road, but pretty sketchy on a snowy/icy highway.

For snowy/icy paved roads, I'd take a FWD Civic with Blizzaks over that Jeep.

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[Phimosis]

Oh yeah, for actual snow wheeling, oversize mud terrains are the way to go. Because what's under the 3 feet of snow and ice on a mountain trail? Mud, and a lot of it.

The best snow wheeling rig I've driven is a Jeep Wrangler on 1-ton axles and 40s. Unstoppable off road, but pretty sketchy on a snowy/icy highway.

For snowy/icy paved roads, I'd take a FWD Civic with Blizzaks over that Jeep.

Likewise, for “snow” driving on roads, it’s not the 8 inches of snow that are giving traction, it’s what’s underneath it; pavement covered with a layer of ice. It’s the ice traction that is important.

Also, when snow wheeling in places that get 120+ inches of snow per year, you’re not digging into mud underneath the snow. You’re digging into packed snow that is under the fluffy snow. And mud treads still do well with packed snow.

Plenty of times where you’re just digging into snow and not mud.

 

[Blackbelt]

I have always used this analogy. If you were going to shovel snow off of your driveway, would you put boots on or flip flops? Well, boots are winter tires and flip flops are all(no) season tires. I have a FWD hybrid Mav, but i do not drive it when it snows. I have a Jeep Renegade AWD with 4 winter tires on it for that. Before i retired i drove a Toyota Prius C which is FWD. I ran Firestone Winterforce 2 all the way around and that little car was amazing in the snow. Better than the RAM 1500 i had leased prior to getting the Toyota. If i decide to start using the Mav in the winter, i will buy winter tires. The right tool for the job.
To the OP, you see where i live, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

 

[phoneguyinpgh]

I have always used this analogy. If you were going to shovel snow off of your driveway, would you put boots on or flip flops? Well, boots are winter tires and flip flops are all(no) season tires. I have a FWD hybrid Mav, but i do not drive it when it snows. I have a Jeep Renegade AWD with 4 winter tires on it for that. Before i retired i drove a Toyota Prius C which is FWD. I ran Firestone Winterforce 2 all the way around and that little car was amazing in the snow. Better than the RAM 1500 i had leased prior to getting the Toyota. If i decide to start using the Mav in the winter, i will buy winter tires. The right tool for the job.
To the OP, you see where i live, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

I have ordered a set of Steelies (I couldn't find any at local junk yards) they are coming today. Will have the treads mounted next week when I'm off.

 

[Blackbelt]

I have ordered a set of Steelies (I couldn't find any at local junk yards) they are coming today. Will have the treads mounted next week when I'm off.

Great move. I thought about selling my steelies but since they are in boxes in my sheds loft and not in the way, i decided to keep them. My plan is to keep my truck at least 10 years (bought a 10 year 60K mile contract from Granger) so i may end up needing them if i decide to get rid of my 2017 Renegade. The Renegade hasn't even hit 20K miles yet, but we know how reliable Jeeps can be...LOL
So what area of Pittsburgh are you from? As it says in my sig, i am right outside of Saxonburg Butler county.

 

[phoneguyinpgh]

I'm south of the city, almost in Washington county.

 

[Mad Trapper]

Great move. I thought about selling my steelies but since they are in boxes in my sheds loft and not in the way, i decided to keep them. My plan is to keep my truck at least 10 years (bought a 10 year 60K mile contract from Granger) so i may end up needing them if i decide to get rid of my 2017 Renegade. The Renegade hasn't even hit 20K miles yet, but we know how reliable Jeeps can be...LOL
So what area of Pittsburgh are you from? As it says in my sig, i am right outside of Saxonburg Butler county.

My 2019 Renegade was a beast in the snow, traded it in at 46k miles without a single problem. Got 6 grand more then I paid for it in 2022 when I traded it in on a Wrangler JL. Wrangler is awesome off road and deep snow but miss the Renegade for its on road handling in blizzards.

 

[Blackbelt]

My 2019 Renegade was a beast in the snow, traded it in at 46k miles without a single problem. Got 6 grand more then I paid for it in 2022 when I traded it in on a Wrangler JL. Wrangler is awesome off road and deep snow but miss the Renegade for its on road handling in blizzards.

I leased my Renegade in 2017 and ended up buying it at lease end since it only had 8K miles on it. It is "hyper green" which was a 2 year only color. I did have an 8 year service contract on it which expired earlier this year. I have 4 Goodyear winter tires on it and it is also a beast in the snow. Bit of a gas hog for a 4 banger but i put so few miles on it the gas mileage is not a big deal.

 

[Mad Trapper]

I should’ve kept the Renegade. If they still made them id buy another when my Wrangler lease is up in a few months.

 

[JonP_Maine]

I get what you're saying, if you're gonna habitually outdrive the capabilities of your tires and brakes, it doesn't matter how much grip or brake you've got.

However, I am finding more I need extra margin to steer around the idiots coming at me sideways these days, even though todays real All Seasons are probably better than snow tires of 20 years ago due to better rubber compounds and computer assisted tread design.

My beef with winter tires is they are typically good at ice/snow/slushy-wet, pick any two out of three, and since our roads around here get plowed and salted, and I'd pick my all seasons to have good puddle clearance and low aquaplaning, they'd tend to be good on the slushy-wet we'd have 80% of the time, and go careful on the rest. Though picking them with decent siping and some chonky blocks would give them a bit of a chance in the other realms too.

However, as I say I'm finding myself rarely alone on the road and I wanna avoid the assclowns, so I am seeking winter tires.

Having some thoughts about getting the new Tiger Paw Ice&Snow 4, since one of it's strengths that has come out in the small number of reviews so far is good slush pumping, and that's something I rarely hear, and like I say it's 80% of my winter. Also meant to be LRR.

I am possibly going to have to spend the majority of the tire fund on wifey's Escape though and have to get some used "get by for this winter" stuff for the Mav this year. Looking at a set of Hercules Avalance RT (by Cooper) which are going quite cheap, wifey might get the Tiger Paws, dunno, still trying to evaluate options, had a train of cash draining events and don't wanna dump $2k per vehicle down this drain atm.

Avoiding the Assclowns is the priority. I grew up in NH and live in Maine. I'm very confident with my driving ability in snow/ice, etc. What scares me is the people on the road that do not have a clue. I put Blizzacks on for this winter. I'll let everyone know how they performed after we get through this upcoming winter.

 

[ScottyC]

......One more question... Will 17s fit a 2025 AWD hybrid lariat 4k?? My research seems to say yes but I'm not 100% sure.

Yes they will help and yes, 17's will fit a 2025 AWD hybrid lariat with the 4K TT option.

 

[Timothyd]

You just need a 17" tire with an aspect that matches the 18" diameter. You'll have a bigger sidewall on the 17" which may help ride comfort and pothole damage resistance.

You can search for tire diameter calculators to find your numbers.

I like the better ride part!

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