I'm a firm believer in running snow tires on all my vehicles and I was looking at the Firestone Winterforce tires on my Astro last night. Two full winters and a couple of months this winter has just about finished them off, so I'm in search of something better. I want good grip in snow but some longer durability would be nice. How do A/T tires work in the snow and how would they last in summer use ? Tire Rack sells a few A/T tires in the 215/75/15 or 225/70/15 size I need and I'm wondering about some sort of light truck tire with an A/T designation. Anybody have first hand experience to relate?
I ran BFG A/Ts and Winterforces on the same car, A/Ts last winter Winterforce this winter. The A/Ts were better on dry pavement, wore better, and were nearly as good in snow, but considerably worse in ice or slush. Basically, you pay for the harder, longer lasting compound with reduced traction in slick conditions. Given the cost difference (almost 2x as much for A/Ts) I didn't think they were worth it, but if you plan to do some offroading in the summer, or they're your only set of tires, they will do well enough in the snow.
All terrain tires do not have the siping that Winter/Snow tires have. They are great for helping you get through the deep stuff, but do not help in icy conditions at all.
When I first got my Durango, it needed tires, so I got a set of All-Terrains (Discount Tires House Brand at the time). They were great in the snow, but as soon as it was icy, forget about it. At first I thought it was the tires, but then when in talked to my buddies that had A/Ts on their trucks, I got the same response I did with mine.
When it came time for tires again, I just opted for some SUV all-seasons (Yokohama) and they have been much better on pavement.
Summer use for A/Ts is great, but in some rainy conditions I have experienced hydroplaning. That's about it. Otherwise they are great for the summer.
I have the General Grabber AT2s on the Vitara and I've been very pleased with them vs the Michellin X-Ice I've run on the Accent for the past few years.
The X-Ice allowed me to run through ~5" of unplowed snow at 55-60 comfortably, and worked well on ice(standing starts were still an exercise in throttle-modulation), but weren't very good in slush. They did wear very well however and I was able to get 20kmi or so out of a set with year-round(hard) use.
The Vitara is still pretty useless in 2wd, but it seems that's mostly due to no weight over the back. It's far, far better in 4wd on everything - snow, slush, and even ice. Granted, it's not overpowered, but in 4wd I can launch as hard on ice as I can on dry pavement, and it stops amost as quickly. It's completely controllable on ice & snow over 60mph too. I haven't had a chance to try it in more than a couple inches of snow yet though. I've only had them mounted for 5kmi so it's yet to be seen how they'll wear.
I know that's cetainly an apples/oranges comparison.
A bunch of the benefit of winter tires is the tread compound. What gets you grip is the soft rubber and the sipes, not so much the tread blocks.
Michelin had some winter tires a while back that looked like siped slicks, and they actually worked great even in deeper snow.
Depends on the A/T tire, really. I had BFG T/A KOs on my XJ and they were overall pretty dreadful in snow or anything slippery on the road (though fine on dry pavement). We had Bridgestone Dueller Revo2's on the 4Runner (and now on the Sequoia), also a true A/T tread pattern, and they are light years better than the BFGs (even though both are "snowflake-on-the-mountain" rated). I mean, really night and day. The Revos are downright excellent in snow and slippery stuff. The BFGs left me in the middle of intersections more than once trying to stop for lights. The Revos are siped, the BFGs are not. We found that wear is pretty equal between them....the BFGs may last a bit longer.
And frankly the Revos are better in all other conditions (dry, handling, ride quality, noise, mud, gravel) than the BFGs as well. The only thing the BFGs are better for (IMO) is rock-crawling due to their bigger and stiffer tread blocks.
ive been happy with my all terrains on a 2wd s10. I ran an older v-tread style mud terrain on the back of my mustang last winter and they also worked well for me. even in ice and slush I don't have any trouble getting around. But its really flat land here and the s10 is very underpowered and undergeared for the tire size on it.
Sonic
SuperDork
1/19/15 5:54 p.m.
True snow tires are the best but some A/Ts are pretty damn good and are even severe snow rated (snowflake on the mountain), like the General Grabber A/T2 on my Suburban, which I have found to be really excellent in the slippery stuff.
In December I put Cooper AT3 all terrain tires on my 97 Nissan pickup, I had used Cooper Snow tires for the past several years. The All Terrains are almost as good on hard packed snow and equivalent in the deep stuff. I have not had much ice experience yet. The photo is the AT3
I have a set of Michelin LTX (M/S2 something I think)tires on the van. They aren't a real snow tire.. but are good enough I wouldn't bother with a snow tire.
I just got a set of Blizzak WS 80's put on my Mazda 2. OMG WTF BBQ van! I knew the stock Yokohama Avids were junk, even with only 17k on them but man what a difference.
I have had snows on other cars in the past and for me it's not the snow but commuting... It gets pretty cold here in MN and while the roads may be clear the snow blows across the road surface and freezes, not to glare ice but to some slippery glaze.
So I bet a good snowish AT would work pretty well if you don't have too far to go.
There really is no substitute for the soft Robert compound of a snow tire on slick or icy surfaces. Softly packed fresh snow is no problem for an all terrain. When it's below freezing every night for days on end though, that snowpacks to ice and all terrains are nowhere near as safe or predictable. That being said, I'm running Treadwright all terrains with Kedge Grip. Www.Treadwright.com
Some ATs are severe snow rated with the RMA mountain/snowflake stamp.
