Snow and mud tires, matched diameters!

[John E Davies]

i have been trying to figure out what tires to choose, so that my winter and mud tires have close to the same OD. That way I can use a mud tire spare in winter in an emergency with no drivetrain stress.

I am going to go with stock wheels, Nitto Ridge Grapplers and Nokian Hakkapeliita LT2 in a LT275/70R18 E. Both have matching OD and section width, both are 33.2 tall and 11.0 wide. The Nitto is 58 lbs and the Nokian is 44 lbs, a little light IMHO but I will be not doing any offroading with them.

Both are a little narrower than stock, which I like.

I am still debating studded or not for the Nokians, we do get ice frequently, but I am not sure about the noise and wear on dry pavement. I haven't ever had studded tires before.... or tried towing 6000 lbs with them. Any issues?

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Comments on this combination are welcome.

Thanks,

John Davies
Spokane WA

 

[Sandroad]

The stock Bridgestone is a very narrow 285, so you may not have a narrower tire with either a 275 Nitto or a 275 Nokian. The 275 Michelin I have are wider than the Bridgestone 285.

If you have not used winter tires before, you will be amazed at the ice grip and snow traction. Here's an article from the Tire Rack indicating studs are no longer needed and not worth the noise, wear, and reduced dry traction.

Do I Need a Studded Winter / Snow Tire Or is a Studless Ice & Snow The Way to Go? - Doc's advice on tires | Tire Rack

 

[John E Davies]

The stock Bridgestone is a very narrow 285, so you may not have a narrower tire with either a 275 Nitto or a 275 Nokian. The 275 Michelin I have are wider than the Bridgestone 285.

If you have not used winter tires before, you will be amazed at the ice grip and snow traction. Here's an article from the Tire Rack indicating studs are no longer needed and not worth the noise, wear, and reduced dry traction.

Do I Need a Studded Winter / Snow Tire Or is a Studless Ice & Snow The Way to Go? - Doc's advice on tires | Tire Rack

Thanks for the comments. I always run winter tires, I just have no experience with studs. I have also read that a "studded studless" is way better than a non studded on glare ice, especially for lateral traction (steering). The rest of the time it isn't a significant difference. Most "ice tires" from Japan are engineered for straight line braking, not handling.

A modern soft compound studless tire is better than an old school hard studded tire. In Scandinavia they run soft tires with studs. Around here I still see regular studded tires a lot. And hear them;( Nokian offers the tire studded from the factory, which is rare.

High torque part time 4wd trucks rip the rear studs out, but I suspect a full time lower powered truck like the 200 would not do that.

Interesting interview with Nokian rep about studs. ....



Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT2 - Studded Tires / Nokian Tires

I think I would probably order studded Nokians, try them one winter, and if they were too objectionable I would just pull out the studs, it is not difficult.

John Davies
Spokane WA