Absolute Best Winter Tire For The 80
- Thread starter turbocruiser
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You make me sick
I actually tried to do some homework because I was curious...didn't find a studdable that big. Nokian used to have some larger sizes in the LT, but they must not have been selling. Too bad.
The Yokohama IT is probably going to be your best bet - they come in up to 315's.
I understand your disappointment but you have to understand one thing, that the Blizzak is primarily an ICE tire. And as an ice tire it does perform very well (hardened snow surface)
But as it is, it lacks large and widely spaced blocks that are best for deep snow and its tread design is not in a V, a design that actually helps evacuate the snow and get down to the hard surface. I must say that that is a definite minus for this tire.
Under different winter circumstances I would have probably been happy, but the winter conditions we have had favour large winter lug designs much more than ice designs. Also, the type of snow we have had resemble more rounded beads than the sticky stuff we have had in the past several winters. These are the conditions we usually face by mid february (blowing blizzard powder/snow pellets). It's so unexpected ath this time... Global warming my ass!...
In any case the only true test would be to test these tires side by side on the same vehicle, wouldn't it? Anyone north of Montreal with an HDJ81 with Nokians or any other winter tire willing to swap for testing?
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- Thread starter
- #204
From the Green Diamond website:
"Green Diamond Tires are an Icelandic invention... from a region of the world where they know about safe winter driving. Each Green Diamond Tire is an ingenious and technologically sophisticated remoldedtire with thousands of diamond-hard silicium carbide granules embedded evenly throughout the tire's tread.
As the tread wears, new granules appear at the tread surface affording enhanced safety, control and handling security. Green Diamond Tires are well suited to Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS)... gripping in the most slippery of braking and cornering conditions at road surface temperatures nearing 0o Celsius. Green Diamond Tires are scientifically proven to out-perform 'major' tire manufacturer's products in the harshest of conditions. "
No mention of walnut shells. I love the idea (especially if it's from those crazy bastards in Iceland
So if you are geared (4.88 or lower for Nay's sake), live in areas with lots of snow, want a real snow tire, you are screwed!
Just noticed something on this advertisement ... they officially state that their tires provide better performance with street temps "nearing Oo C" ... I'd imagine that past that point (pretty common really) they simply "turn back into" a regular AT or MT tire again. Something to consider along with the fact that they are "re-molded" tires; I would not feel free to really romp on those tires like I normally do. JMHO.
Just noticed something on this advertisement ... they officially state that their tires provide better performance with street temps "nearing Oo C" ... I'd imagine that past that point (pretty common really) they simply "turn back into" a regular AT or MT tire again. Something to consider along with the fact that they are "re-molded" tires; I would not feel free to really romp on those tires like I normally do. JMHO.
Silica compound tires are the standard in the "winter performance catgory" - this market is directed at your European sedan AWD market (Audi, etc.). All the major manufacturers have extensive lines of silica compound based winter tires.
I had a set of Nokian WR's on a Sube Legacy wagon, and those tires were incredible down to below zero F temps - they are nothing like an all season, but are rather a winter tire that you can run 4 seasons (not many do, because they want performance summer tires in summer, but if you have a short summer season they can stay on year round).
This type of compound is designed for high speed use in very cold temps where you need a speed rating that is greater than the low ratings of the studless snows. Nokian even has a Z rated tire in the WR line, which I believe is speeds over 159 mph.
Now, this has nothing to do with the quality of the tires in question. I did see a "how they make it" show the other day when I was channel surfing about retreading that was very interesting. Retreaders take tires down to the about the belt and build them back up from there - they are molded like a new tire from the base part of the tire that is recycled. So the idea that a properly retreaded tire is going to fall apart I think is unfounded, but again, the quality of any tire ultimately depends on the manufacturing process and in retreads an assumption that the recycled portion of the tire has the durability of a new one. How they get a "Revo" tread is they design the mold to look just like the Revo tread and then they mold the tire with their silica compound. That's all it takes.
I still wouldn't buy them because you can get brand new silica compound tires if that is what you are after, but for somebody needing inexpensive tires with a winter biased compound they could be worth a look.
Well if you watched the same show I watched, remember the problem is dirt and foreign substances remaining embedded in the carcass. So if the carcass is not 100% perfect and well cleaned, a pocket of air could from during the retreading process and cause the tread to delaminate from the casing at speed. That to me is sufficient for barring these tires completely. They are just not safe enough.
I'm told we will be having RAIN in the next few days, My God it's going to create havoc over Christmas especially on top of 4 feet of snow. Guys, take your shovels and clear your roofs before rains starts to fall!!! It will be interesting to find out how well our tires perform under these bizarre weather conditions...
had a nice storm come through last week and while this doesn't go directly to the discussion , I will say the the Koyo ATs in a 315 handle the crap we get extremely well. The best winter tire I have had on the truck. But since I get a lot of miles out of my tires that isn't saying much.
http://www.yokohamatire.com/TireSizes.asp?TireID=800
315 ice tires...
Since I value snow performance I will go with generous siping and grooving of mud tires.
Basically give the fewer larger lugs of the mud tire the same look as the lugs on an ice tire.
315 ice tires...
Since I value snow performance I will go with generous siping and grooving of mud tires.
Basically give the fewer larger lugs of the mud tire the same look as the lugs on an ice tire.
So, I'm gonna slap on some studded cheap mud terrains on Saturday. They are the only things big enough for 4.88s (IMO) without buying some dubs to get a bigger "snow/ice" tire.
Fortunately, I know those pointy metal things that stick into the ice work as I've had them on work trucks for years, and hopefully this will help keep my wife from taking the new cruiser on a short trip to the local concrete retaining wall. Well, that and I'm gonna sell me minitruck and buy her a Subaru...
Fortunately, I know those pointy metal things that stick into the ice work as I've had them on work trucks for years, and hopefully this will help keep my wife from taking the new cruiser on a short trip to the local concrete retaining wall. Well, that and I'm gonna sell me minitruck and buy her a Subaru...
I wouldn't buy them either, I really had the impression this was more of a big rig market, and those thing are shedding all the time.
See, now you are getting rain on top of snow. That's as good as it gets - my first offroad trip ever back in Virginia it was raining and the north side of the trail had 2 feet of rain soaked snow that we got into and stuck before we could turn around (our "leader" was dual locked on nice bald BFG AT's). My entire party had to be rescued by a local 4 wheeling club.
You're really gonna miss those trxus MT's I told you to get now
. Maybe TireRack will start bringing in 2 feet of snow into their ice rink and then set off the sprinkler system to test their winter tires and we'll see what results come out of that one 
[
No mention of walnut shells. I love the idea (especially if it's from those crazy bastards in Iceland),
Look Here
.Toyo Tire Canada Inc. Tires - Pneus
No mention of walnut shells. I love the idea (especially if it's from those crazy bastards in Iceland
), Look Here
.Toyo Tire Canada Inc. Tires - Pneus
[
No mention of walnut shells. I love the idea (especially if it's from those crazy bastards in Iceland
Look Here
.Toyo Tire Canada Inc. Tires - Pneus
Following the link, I want the tire in the middle!
Thread resurrection time!
I ended up buying a cheap set of 285 studded MTs (Nankang Mudstar?) from Big O Tires. Having driven with these tires for a month now, and having record snowfall in the Colorado high country, I've had a good opportunity to get a feel for these in various and extreme winter conditions.
My impressions are as follows:
I ended up buying a cheap set of 285 studded MTs (Nankang Mudstar?) from Big O Tires. Having driven with these tires for a month now, and having record snowfall in the Colorado high country, I've had a good opportunity to get a feel for these in various and extreme winter conditions.
My impressions are as follows:
- The aggressive mud terrain tread pattern, as well as skinnier tires help the 80 perform well in snow, slush, and unplowed sloppy snow conditions.
- The studs perform very well on packed snow and ice.
In the spirit of the OP, I'll chime in.
We get over 350 inches of snow every year where I live. For winter tires, I'm running Yoko Geolandar I/T ("ice traction" I think is what they stand for, and they are studless) in stock size, and they are phenomenal in the snow and ice. This is the 3rd winter on these, and traction is still great, unlike some winter tires where initial grip is great when you first put them on and then traction deteriorates after the first season.
I'd buy these again.
We get over 350 inches of snow every year where I live. For winter tires, I'm running Yoko Geolandar I/T ("ice traction" I think is what they stand for, and they are studless) in stock size, and they are phenomenal in the snow and ice. This is the 3rd winter on these, and traction is still great, unlike some winter tires where initial grip is great when you first put them on and then traction deteriorates after the first season.
I'd buy these again.
235/85 R16 Blizzak W965 on the HDJ81: a Verdict...
Sooo, winter's finally over (I hope) and it's time to finally close the discussion about the 235/85R16 Blizzak W965 tires I installed on my HDJ81 before winter.
Overall, you'll say? In a few words, They're OK, but I wasn't impressed.
This tire is definitely not soft like some others of the brand. The tread, after 15,000 km, shows surprisingly little wear. This is definitely a TRUCK tire and a completely different beast from what I've heard and seen from the DM-Z3 Blizzak series.
Traction wise it was OK, but definitely no better than the Nokian Hakka SUV I had on the winter before. I sure wish I could have gotten those in my rim size and tire diameter...
On dry pavement the tire does not have great huggability and doesn't hold very well in corners.
On heavy snow(we had plenty of that last winter) the performance ws OK, but not as good as I expected. Although it has a fairly deep tread, the blocks are fairly close together and the tread pattern is not as conducive to good evacuation as the Hakka was.
In light slush and on fine packed snow its performance was satisfactory. In heavy snow it wasn't great. Traction wise I found the rubber not that grippy. On hard packed snow and on ice performance was actually better than I expected. I was also able to pull a truck and a car off of snow banks uphill twice this winter, without any lack of traction, but I credit the locking diffs for that
. To be fair, though, as long as I wasn't high centered (happened once, darn snow bank) the tires performed well.
In conclusion, I would say this is probably a good general winter tire that is probably designed for a much heavier vehicle. As a matter of fact, the tread has worn little over 15,000 km and it has decent snow and ice traction but it is fairly stiff and below par in handling.
Is it a good choice for an 80 series Landcruiser? I would say you would probably be better off with a slightly lighter and wider aspect ratio tire.
After one winter I would say the Hakka SUV was better after two winters than this tire was new.
I would also take the opportunity to tip my had to SUMOTOY as far as tire profile goes. Indeed, you were right, the narrow and tall aspect and stiff E load rating did substantially affect road handling in a negative way. It is not sufficient to be narrow (to get through the snow), you must also have wide lugs to get rid of the packed snow and a wider aspect tire to keep that tread flat on the road surface.
My next winter tire for on the road use? Most probably an 18 inch tire, studded, in 70 aspect ratio for good handling, around 255-275 tread width with wider lug spacing at the shoulder and tons of siping at the center.
I invite everyone to comment on their choice of winter tire and what they think of them after one winter.
Regards,
Chris
Sooo, winter's finally over (I hope) and it's time to finally close the discussion about the 235/85R16 Blizzak W965 tires I installed on my HDJ81 before winter.
Overall, you'll say? In a few words, They're OK, but I wasn't impressed.
This tire is definitely not soft like some others of the brand. The tread, after 15,000 km, shows surprisingly little wear. This is definitely a TRUCK tire and a completely different beast from what I've heard and seen from the DM-Z3 Blizzak series.
Traction wise it was OK, but definitely no better than the Nokian Hakka SUV I had on the winter before. I sure wish I could have gotten those in my rim size and tire diameter...
On dry pavement the tire does not have great huggability and doesn't hold very well in corners.
On heavy snow(we had plenty of that last winter) the performance ws OK, but not as good as I expected. Although it has a fairly deep tread, the blocks are fairly close together and the tread pattern is not as conducive to good evacuation as the Hakka was.
In light slush and on fine packed snow its performance was satisfactory. In heavy snow it wasn't great. Traction wise I found the rubber not that grippy. On hard packed snow and on ice performance was actually better than I expected. I was also able to pull a truck and a car off of snow banks uphill twice this winter, without any lack of traction, but I credit the locking diffs for that
. To be fair, though, as long as I wasn't high centered (happened once, darn snow bank) the tires performed well.In conclusion, I would say this is probably a good general winter tire that is probably designed for a much heavier vehicle. As a matter of fact, the tread has worn little over 15,000 km and it has decent snow and ice traction but it is fairly stiff and below par in handling.
Is it a good choice for an 80 series Landcruiser? I would say you would probably be better off with a slightly lighter and wider aspect ratio tire.
After one winter I would say the Hakka SUV was better after two winters than this tire was new.
I would also take the opportunity to tip my had to SUMOTOY as far as tire profile goes. Indeed, you were right, the narrow and tall aspect and stiff E load rating did substantially affect road handling in a negative way. It is not sufficient to be narrow (to get through the snow), you must also have wide lugs to get rid of the packed snow and a wider aspect tire to keep that tread flat on the road surface.
My next winter tire for on the road use? Most probably an 18 inch tire, studded, in 70 aspect ratio for good handling, around 255-275 tread width with wider lug spacing at the shoulder and tons of siping at the center.
I invite everyone to comment on their choice of winter tire and what they think of them after one winter.
Regards,
Chris
- Thread starter
- #217
Excellent review, thanks for the follow through!
MountNGoat
KK6WRY. Always Learning
I'm new to the forum (first post here...), and more than a little late to this thread. I have limited winter driving experience compared to the breadth of experience shown here (never studded, never dedicated winter tires, just AT's and MT's, in the Sierras so just chained up when needed), but after reading each and every post in this thread (in which I gained considerable knowledge, thank you everyone!) I can't help but wonder that what's needed is a Goodyear Duratrac in a real winter tire compound with (perhaps) a bit more siping. And keep the studs available for those that find them advantageous. My brother-in-law runs Duratracs on his work pickup and drives all over CO and WY in winter conditions and really loves them. I couldn't understand why Duratracs did not get more attention on this thread for a winter tire but I gather that while the Duratrac has the "snowflake" symbol the tread compound really isn't soft/grippy/water-diffusing enough to really be a smooth ice tire. Any thoughts on the Duratrac as it?
Thanks,
Steve
