MT's in snow? (1 Viewer)

[80me]

Looking to move my new Michellins to the Suburban and buy new, more aggressive tires for the Cruiser. Still gonna be primarily a DD but want to go a bit more aggressive and a bit bigger for the occasional off road jaunt. Go MT's or AT's? Gonna be living in coastal Maine so there could be some snow. Are MT's poor in snow? Revo's seem to be the MUD norm. BFG's also seem very popular. Any input....and yes I did do a search...............

285/75 R16 Revo's?

 

[4dmalamute]

I ran the BFG Muds year round...........and I lived in Truckee California (Lake Tahoe) for 12 yrs. They did great. The one thing I would suggest is to have them siped. That is, the knobs (thread pattern) is sliced across, which will act like little fingers gripping the road, ice, snow, mud, etc. It actually helped prolong the life of the tire as well.

I have ran both the AT and Muds and both were great. Just depends on what else you want to do with them. Good luck

 

[John E Davies]

Are you talking about BFG MTs? I can't comment on those, but I run Goodyear MT/Rs and I recommend against those tires for a daily driver where you will be commuting on packed snow, and especially ice. I tried one winter, didn't like the results and had them siped. That helped the straight line traction situation, but did nothing to help the lateral traction (as in sliding into a ditch).

The siping that a tire store cuts is all at 90 degrees to the centerline, so it does nothing for lateral grip. There are some factory-siped mud tires that might be OK, but the very best solution is to get a set of winter tires.

I _really_ like the Yokohama Geolander I/T+ studless snow tire. It is one of the very few pure snow tires available in 33 and 35 inch sizes. It is smooth riding, silent on dry pavement and has simply phenominal traction on ice and packed snow.

http://www.yokohamatire.com/pdf/geoit.pdf

If you don't want to get a second set of tires, consider the BFG AT. They are pretty decent in winter, but I found them not so good in muck. They sure look good tho.

John Davies

 

[John E Davies]

OK, I came back to this thread and got curious. The BFG USA website shows the AT rated as 10 for winter use. That same website gives the MT a 7 for winter, the biggest reason probably being the lack of siping, which is critical for grip on ice.

I disagree with the ratings - I would bump the AT down 2 or 3 points based on persoanl experience, but at least this shows BFG doesn't intend the MT to be a snow tire.

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/catalog/index_7.jsp

One look at the tread will show the differences in siping:

I find it amusing that the AT has a 7 and the MT has a N/A under the header "Quiet Ride"

John Davies

 

[Riley]

Like John - I have G/Y MTR tyres and IMHO there not so good for a DD that's around snow. Plus there's no reason to run MT or MTR if you're not wheeling a bunch. For light wheeling I'd suggest the AT (even if just for the noise factor).

I have a pair of LTX that I swap back and forth around wheeling/fishing season. The LTX don't look that great but sure is nicer to drive.

 

[macneill]

I'm not a fan of the MTs in snow. I've got them on the 100 and the original Michelin LTXs were much better.

Haven't taken the 60 out in snow yet, but I would imagine the ATs are much better.

 

[DJForrestA]

I ran BFG MT's on 1988 Rover and loved them. I think the key to remember is narrower is better on ice and packed snow. Pounds per square inch is a major issue here. Lots of guys run 12.5 in wide tires and gripe that they suck in snow and ice. THey could run the same tread design in a 10.5 or 9.5 and see a big difference. Always have MT's siped. Mine weren't but I have since driven on some and noticed a difference. Remember when it comes to the slick stuff narrower is better to a point as you have more PPSI.

 

[Fochdog]

I have heard good things about the TrXus Mud Terrain from Interco ( AKA Super Swamper)

http://www.intercotire.com/site35.php

 

[80me]

Ok! No MT's for snow. What AT has the most durable side wall? Looking at tire manufacture sites tells very little about ply/construction. I am between the Revo and BFG AT I guess. I would like to increase confidence when driving on rocks. Took the Cruiser off road (on rocks) with Michelin Cross Terrains and was very nervouse about side wall puncture.

 

[valentine]

Bfg all terrain ta's have been the best snow tires I've owned. I still got them siped even though they have the "factory" siping. Imop they are way better than the mud terrains....

 

[Fochdog]

Why not the TrXus Mud Terrain?

It has more siping than some all terrain tires & you get the MT performance off road you wanted.

 

[Pskhaat]

Because the tread life is dismal. They are awesome off-road but I have seen horrible wear on these in the past.

 

[smokethedog]

I live in UT, lots of snow. Switched from GY MTR's (REALLY sucked in snow, rough on the road) to Nitto Terra Grapplers. Have been pleased with performance in snow, tire wear has been good, and they arent outrageously priced.
hth.

 

[Nay]

The compound that BFG uses in their tires sucks in the snow in very cold temps. It will trick you by working ok during the day and then totally losing performance as night and temps fall rapidly. The AT is nowhere near a 10, and BFG MT's are ice sleds.

You have to look at the type of snow. A tire that performs well in the mud will also perform well in deep, heavy snow. Those same tires typically don't do so great on packed snow. The outer lugs of any MT tire will paddle in deep stuff, but slide on packed stuff. The extra siping and tighter tread of AT's helps "bite" in the packed snow (if you have a good tread design, anyway), but those tires lack the ability to paddle forward in deeper conditions because they pack up and don't clean well. I think AT's are particularly bad in variable conditions where you are going from dry pavement to hardpack and slush at a certain amount of speed.

The trxus MT is an unbelievable snow tire. The day I switched from BFG ATs to trxus was the day I got blood flowing through my knuckles again during winter driving. If you want a more aggressive offroad tire that is incredible in the snow and still good on dry pavement, this is your tire. It has more of an AT inner tread, a decent amount of siping, excellent lateral traction, tsl outer lugs...and so it does well in both deep and packed snow. Plus they will be a good offroad tire for the Northeast where you will see more mud/rock combo. Given that these tires cost LESS than BFG AT's....it is such a no brainer.

Of course, if you commute 80 miles a day you probably want a 60K treadlife and you should just carry chains, which are better than any rubber you can buy. Just strap 'em around your ice block AT's and rock and roll.

Nay

 

[Tools R Us]

I live in UT, lots of snow. Switched from GY MTR's (REALLY sucked in snow, rough on the road) to Nitto Terra Grapplers. Have been pleased with performance in snow, tire wear has been good, and they arent outrageously priced.
hth.

I will second the Nitto's, no snow experience but, lots of time on AZ rocks with no cuts, slices, etc., very good performance on the trail and road.

 

[zebrabeefj40]

When I lived in Boston both the BFG AT/KO and Swamper TSL worked well on my 40's and 60. Given your intended use I'd buy the AT/KO and enjoy them. I wheeled the AT/KO all over New England and Paragon in PA with no problems, sidewall or otherwise. I surprised many folks with how well they worked. The last year I lived in that area I rented a cabin 1000' back on a dirt lane. Got plenty of snow that year but I never got stuck in the 40 on AT/KO's. Towed the propane truck out and a neighbor's buddy but I never had any problems. I'd even cruise around in the deeper snow just for grins and didn't get stuck until the truck hung up on the frame.

HTH,
Nick