Good tires for snow in FWD Maverick?

[kcirevam]

I run these on my MINI all year long and don't have any issues with snow and It's actually quite fun. I bought a set of extra rims for snows but they aren't needed. https://continentaltire.com/tires/e...OsFBV0QYBguq3CrM5vdcWXrupZoqilvoaAhAPEALw_wcB

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[fbov]

Don’t put too much faith in the 3PMS. ... Dedicated snows are a very worthwhile investment.

At the same time, plenty of snow tires will leave you high and dry if you don't match your need to their capability. All-terrain tires have an aggressive tread pattern that's not designed for snow, it's intended for grass, dirt and rock. I bet they'd be dangerous at the track.

However, if a top-rated tire has both a 3PMS and really good snow and ice ratings, it's a very worthwhile investment.

 

[Darnon]

Or out in Ohio I bet you can find the Mastercraft ATX2. Same tire. Mastercraft is owned by Cooper. Better price yet. I think Mastercraft was originally Ohio Rubber Co. (fact check ?) and bought by Cooper in the 1930's. I got a set on my F150 now and they are excellent. And quiet.

I've run a lot of Mastercraft tires in fleet service because they're cheap, but I kind of soured some on their snow tires because I found their tread depth specs are... optimistic to the tune of 1-2/32nds. Now I lean more to Hankook (or their budget Laufenn brand) and Nokian.

 

[oljackfrost]

You will almost always find a few consumers that have had a negative experience with a tire and gave a 1 out of 5 star review. These are statistic anomalies and can usually be ignored. However, if you see a recurring theme in the negative reviews, then the consumer may be on to something. Tirerack.com is pretty good about identifying verified purchases, and listing how many miles the consumer has driven on the tires in question, as well as the total accumulated mileage. Sometimes in the millions of miles!

Tire Rack also has printed and video comparison tests between different winter tires (others too, but snow is the subject here).

 

[Equipenquin]

whats the widest tire I can go with on the factory steelies?

 

[Kaje]

I put kumho crugen ht51 on my rwd ranger and had great luck. Handle great in the snow and rain. They get great reviews on tire rack. Liked them so much I got a set for my element as well.

 

[JsnMrd]

Not to high jack the thread but I'm curious what size I can go up on the tires on an XLT stock wheels to fill in the wheel well better without sacrificing any mpg efficiency. I need it more for the looks and functions second. I'm not going off roading or be hitting any snow on the Maverick but would like an aggressive all around look.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Not to high jack the thread but I'm curious what size I can go up on the tires on an XLT stock wheels to fill in the wheel well better without sacrificing any mpg efficiency. I need it more for the looks and functions second. I'm not going off roading or be hitting any snow on the Maverick but would like an aggressive all around look.

Unknown. At some point the front tires will rub when turning. If you want aggressive, you could switch to a meatier larger AT tire, though you will sacrifice mileage, road noise, street-ability, accurate speedometer... perhaps wait and see what the aftermarket comes out with, maybe some wheel-well inserts, or fender flares would change up the cosmetics for you without affecting all of the cons mentioned above?

 

[es7129]

I’ve ran Nokian WRG3s year round on my old Magnum RT and VW Sportwagen TDI. They wear very slowly and do very well in the snow here on Long Island, NY.
When I sold the TDI they still had 10/32 after 8k miles.

 

[vap0rtranz]

The BFG all terrains I used to have on my Sprinter had it, and it performed poorly in the snow.

Yup, I made the same mistake. Wound up in the shoulder after a patch of ice with BFG A/T KO2 despite the 3 Peaks. I don't trust any tire that's A/T or knobby anymore as a real snow tire, even if it has the 3 Peaks.

Maybe there should be a difference between "winter tire" and "snow tire"? Some would say real snow tires must be studdable, even if you aren't allowed to put studs into them.

My mechanic put Cooper Evolution Winter after those BFGs put me into the ditch. Cooper's aren't as popular a tire but are studdable. No complaints. Northern Wisconsin winters.

 

[fbov]

... what size I can go up on the tires on an XLT stock wheels to fill in the wheel well better without sacrificing any mpg efficiency.

There are two ways tires can hurt MPG
- higher rolling resistance in some tires
- increased aerodynamic drag due to changes in wheel well air flow with a larger tire.

OE options include 235/65R17, so that's likely safe on both accounts.

 

[rjag2034]

Nokians make some of the best year round tires The WRG4 Nokian is amazing
Nokian WRG4 SUV tires (kaltire.com)

 

[FirstFord]

I will repeat what others have said, there is no all season tire that will work in the snow as well as a dedicated snow tire. And running a dedicated snow tire all year will just wear it out prematurely.
Most people don't understand that modern snow tires are worlds better than those of just 20-30 years ago. Back then it was assumed that an aggressive tread that bites snow was what's important. It's not. A hydrophobic tread compound that stays soft at colder temperatures is what's important. It's the ice and thin film of water between the ice and the tire that cause most driving problems. High silica tread compounds give unbelievable traction in these conditions.
I've used generations of Bridgestone Blizzaks and swear by them. Each generation is noticeably better than the one before.
I'm currently running some Continental snows because the price was right and the test report on TireRack was solid. No complaints. Can't say they're better or worse than Blizzaks because we had a mild winter last year.

As a New Englander, I have a second set of wheels and tires for every one of my vehicles, even my wife's Subaru Impreza wagon. That car is a hoot in the snow (with the traction control off as it fights me otherwise)!

 

[fbov]

I will repeat what others have said, there is no all season tire that will work in the snow as well as a dedicated snow tire. ...

That's no longer true. The statement since ~2016 is: "no all-season tire will work on ice as well as a dedicated ice tire."

Blizzaks are "studless ice tires," using a very sophisticated foam rubber technology in the upper half of the tread depth. The bubbles give water a place to go, so the rubber doesn't slip. The Michelin X-Ice3 I had on the C-Max use a combination of hydrophilic rubber and tread design to achieve similar ice traction. Even the best of the 3PMS all-season tires will not match them on ice, but they are the equal on snow.

The Escape is my first car in 46 years that won't see snows or a spare set of wheels. It will get a set of CrossClimate2 when the OEMs wear out. I've put them on 4 other cars with great success in Vermont and Upstate NY. We average 8'/year, but it falls 1"/day. I've driven them back-to-back and find no reduction in the snow fun factor.

The real surprise has been the traction of the OEM Ecopias. Much better in their lone winter than expected, they won't last long enough to see a second. No surprise really... good grip is easy to achieve if paired with short tire life. I expect to replace them shortly after 30K.

 

[Darnon]

Modern snow tires actually don't do too bad in the summer due to the wonders of modern material chemistry. I've got 17k miles on my Blizzaks and they still have lots of tread.

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