Colorado Driving SNOW TIRES

[pesimsmd]

I am new to this forum, and this is my first post. I have searched the forum about snow tires and chains, and really did not find what I was looking for. It still may be there, but I just did not see it.

I have a stock 2000 Land cruiser, and I will be driving from TX to Colorado in Nov and in Feb. I have the Stock Michelins and I am not sure they are going to work well in the snow. I have very little exp with snow tires, and here in Houston, they only know mud tires, snow doesn't last long if it even does fall.

What I am looking for is recommendation for good snow tires for Colorado, and if I should get a set of snow chains, or will snow tires work. I will be going colorado springs, but not just limited to that city, I would be going all over Colorado if I get the chance.

 

[darrelwallac]

Greetings from Colorado. I dont know if it will help, but I wanted to give you my two cents on your snow tire question.

When I lived in Houston I bought BFG Long Trails for my FJ80 because I was more concerned about rain than snow. I soon thereafter moved to the mountains near Vail. I thought about going back to the M+S or a BFG AT, but they had plenty of tread left on them, and didnt see spending the money. They worked out great. After a few good snowstorms, I became less and less concerned with their ability to perform. I am not plugging that particular tire, what I am trying to say is that if you have good tread left on the M+S tires, and drive conservatively, you will be fine. (assuming that youwill be mainly on road/highway/interstate). CDOT does a pretty good job of keeping up with the weather.

I am running the same Mich. M+S as you are on my '99 100 series, and we got 8" this morning, and is still coming down.

I wouldnt plan on spending the money on chains, until you get the lay of the land. Maybe others have a better insight to your question. Good Luck!

 

[NMuzj100]

$s for 4 chains < $s for one tow or very minor fender bender. It will also give you the ability to leave the house in the worst conditions in case of emergency.

I think snow/ice tires are overkill for the front range out of the mountains.

 

[Sno bored]

I've never needed chains in the 10+ years i've lived up in the mountians. If you have 4 wheel drive and decent tires you won't have a problem. Just take your time and give yourself a little more distance for braking.

 

[bwbski26]

I go up to vt almost every weekend during the winter. on my 98 crusier (with 16 inch rims) i ran the bridgestone winter dulers, part of the blizack series, they were great. they are an ice and snow tire. on my 2003 crusier (18 inch rim) the only ice and snow tire i could find was the dunlop sj5. these tires are great also. never did a side by side, since i sold the 98 to get the 2003, but id say both are excellent choices.

 

[wrxboy76]

I lived in Colorado Springs for three years. At the time I drove a Mazda Miata and a VW Jetta. Even during the blizzard of '97 I was able to get around w/o chains (CO snow is usually quite dry and grippy). The VW was easier to drive in the snow than the Miata: FWD as opposed to RWD. One time I even took the VW over Monarch Pass on the way to Gunnison during a snow storm and never chained up (tires were Goodyear Eagle GTA H-rated all-season). Taking this experience into account, your 100 should have absolutely no problems regardless of the tire. Just drive at a reasonable speed and leave plenty of room to stop.

 

[LXPearl]

If you have about half tread or more the Michelins should do just fine. I had half tread on the Grandtreks on my LC and never had a complaint. I had less than half tread on my Michelins last past year and did not have a problem with snow or ice. Even then, I had a hard time getting the TRAC to kick in.

While you will not have much trouble starting out and going, leave plenty of room for stopping. The VSC and ABS help quite a bit, but ideally you will practice starts, stops, turns, etc. in the snow in an empty parking lot before getting overconfident.

 

[1loudLX]

The Michelin LTX M+S in 275/70/R16 inch are pretty good in the snow. I have them.
I mean you arent going to be driving around like a mad man ied assume so you should be good. Last year we had a 20" snow storm in just a few hours. The Police/EMS/Fire trucks were all running chains and were barely keeping traction main plowed routess. Then here i come, on roads with fresh powder, nobody drove on them at all and i was in total control, even able to stop at a pretty short distance from 45mph. On roads that at least were driven on or plowed a little bit i could almost forget i was driving on snow.

Assuming you have a decent amount of tread left, at least 40% you should be fine. Put it this way, those tires and my LX make snow driving my most favorite condition....if i didnt have that combination i would stay home when it snowed. Snow plow? who needs one when you have that setup!

 

[NMuzj100]

I misread the first post and agree with all the other posters. Don't buy chains or dedicated snow tires just to visit. Even in the winter. Last year at Christmas it was sunny and about sixty degrees.

Two nights ago though you would have needed chains and 4wd just to get down my driveway. They are already calling it the blizzard of 2006.

 

[1loudLX]

sweet. I gota call my friend in boulder tell him to make sure he goes and wheels the FJ around!

 

[SamoL]

I don't know how are things in US, but in Europe a set of Blizzaks costs $730. That is less than one body repair that includes a headlight replacement. With winter tires you won't need chains - by the time you would consider putting them on, other cars would allready block all the roads .
I've ended up having three sets of tyres and two sets of rims:
- Blizzaks for the winter
- Revos (well in Europe they are called Dueller 694 and are P rated) for the summer
- MT/R for heavy stuff on steel rims.

If you will be making only one trip to the mountains buying a set of winter tires would probably be an overkill - and it probably even wouldn't snow when you would go there .

Currently I don't have chains, but I've had them for my previous 4x4 (Suzuki Jimny). If you plan to offroad in the snow, chains are something you won't regret. For roads only they are not needed.
And if you buy only one pair, make sure that you put them on the rear wheels:
- when you drive uphill, it will give you more traction than on the front wheels
- when you drive downhill, it will keep the butt of the truck where it should be: behind
The only minus is reduced steering ability. You get that by buying two sets of chains - for all 4 wheels. But by using 4 chains you will hardly notice better traction when driving uphill - so buying two sets depends on how often are you planning to use them.

Regards
Samo