In another post someone suggested carrying snow chains / straps for driving in snow / ice. Most of the winter I'm driving in places that is snow and ice covered on a regular basis. What is the best solution, chains or these snow straps that seem to be more common? OR, do I really need them?
Snow chains, straps for an 80? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter 80drifter
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depends 100% on the quality of your tires. Chains are unnecessary 99.99% of the time if you've got real quality snow tires. They are also unnecessary about 98% of the time if you've got a good snow-capable AT tire like Duratrac, BFG AT or even a General Grabber AT2.
I'll put it this way, I have lived and driven in Colorado my entire life, most of that time in vehicles far less capable in the snow that the land cruiser, and I have never needed chains. The only time I have had a weather-related incident was at a speed and road condition where I would not have been running chains even if I had them.
I'll put it this way, I have lived and driven in Colorado my entire life, most of that time in vehicles far less capable in the snow that the land cruiser, and I have never needed chains. The only time I have had a weather-related incident was at a speed and road condition where I would not have been running chains even if I had them.
Hornd
SILVER Star
Be mindful that snow tires are not to be run in temperatures above 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Might be best to have them mounted on steelies. Bridgestone Blizzaks are supposedly good, but I have zero experience.
Might be best to have them mounted on steelies. Bridgestone Blizzaks are supposedly good, but I have zero experience.
- Thread starter
- #5
Just curious, sounds like you have tire experience in the snow, what tires do you use?
I have used Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 (current version is the 80 I think), General Altimax and they're good. Nokian Hakkepelita (sp?) are one of the best snow tires out there. But like Hornd mentioned, if you run a dedicated snow tire in the winter, you'll need to change them out in summer (or they will wear crazy fast).
For a tire that you can run year round, I hear the Goodyear Duratracs are very good in the snow, but I don't have any personal experience. I have always run BFG AT's (they do not have the snowflake designation like the Duratracs and General Grabbers do) and I've never gotten stuck with those. Right now I'm shopping for a year-round tire and Duratrac is on the top of the list.
For a tire that you can run year round, I hear the Goodyear Duratracs are very good in the snow, but I don't have any personal experience. I have always run BFG AT's (they do not have the snowflake designation like the Duratracs and General Grabbers do) and I've never gotten stuck with those. Right now I'm shopping for a year-round tire and Duratrac is on the top of the list.
I live in Colorado and have Duratracs on my GMC truck. They are great in the snow and can also be studded.
The new FZJ80 that I bought last month has Cooper ST/Maxx tires on it all ready. The reviews state that they are supposed to be as good as the Duratracs, but i will not know for a few months.
If you do offroading in the winter, it may be good to carry a set of chains. But for driving on the road, you should not need them.
The new FZJ80 that I bought last month has Cooper ST/Maxx tires on it all ready. The reviews state that they are supposed to be as good as the Duratracs, but i will not know for a few months.
If you do offroading in the winter, it may be good to carry a set of chains. But for driving on the road, you should not need them.
To clarify, I have had Duratracs for the last 2 winters. Have been amazed at the traction they provide.
I'll throw my $.02 in. I just put Duratracs on my 97 cruiser, but will be putting studded Nokian Hakkapeliittas on my wives 95. We don't really use salt here so there are plenty of times where the surface is ice.
Also, I have BTG TA KO's on our Suburban and had no problem last winter.
Also, I have BTG TA KO's on our Suburban and had no problem last winter.
Some BFG ATs are branded with the snowflake symbol:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...AKORWLV2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
I have also run the Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmors in the snow and they have performed wonderfully (and have the snowflake symbol):
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Wrangler SilentArmor
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=125
Your expectations will determine what you purchase. To get an idea, what have you driven in the past? An 80 is pretty capable right out of the box, and tires with a snowflake symbol should be able to get you just about anywhere on a paved road or even a county dirt road in winter.
The next step up would be to have a set of studded tires. These would generally be a winter-specific tire running studs. The tires will probably wear quicker than an all-season, and the studs provide less traction on dry surfaces than an all-season, so you pretty much have to have a dedicated set of wheels to swap out every 6 months.
Cables would be the next step up for use on an as-needed basis. I can't say I've personally used cables, and don't know if they are available for 80 sized tires, but they are available for cars and provide a little smoother ride for the few miles you might need them to get over that mountain pass or ride out that snowstorm.
Chains would be the next step. Chains are heavy, somewhat complicated to install (in other words you will want to practice before you leave home), will make the ride incredibly rough (probably won't want to go over 20 mph or so), and even though trucks use them on paved roads I'm not sure I would ever want to use them in an 80 on paved roads. Off-road only.
Straps from the other post are probably referring to recovery straps. These are great if you are in a group and need help getting un-stuck. But you need recovery points to connect shackles to, and another vehicle to provide the pulling power. The 80 rear trailer hitch could be used, with a special receiver, as a recovery point, but the front is equipped with tie-down loops which could be used for light pulls but are suspect on heavy pulls. Youtube search "vehicle recovery gone wrong" to get an idea of what can happen when poor recovery points are used.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...AKORWLV2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
I have also run the Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmors in the snow and they have performed wonderfully (and have the snowflake symbol):
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Wrangler SilentArmor
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=125
Your expectations will determine what you purchase. To get an idea, what have you driven in the past? An 80 is pretty capable right out of the box, and tires with a snowflake symbol should be able to get you just about anywhere on a paved road or even a county dirt road in winter.
The next step up would be to have a set of studded tires. These would generally be a winter-specific tire running studs. The tires will probably wear quicker than an all-season, and the studs provide less traction on dry surfaces than an all-season, so you pretty much have to have a dedicated set of wheels to swap out every 6 months.
Cables would be the next step up for use on an as-needed basis. I can't say I've personally used cables, and don't know if they are available for 80 sized tires, but they are available for cars and provide a little smoother ride for the few miles you might need them to get over that mountain pass or ride out that snowstorm.
Chains would be the next step. Chains are heavy, somewhat complicated to install (in other words you will want to practice before you leave home), will make the ride incredibly rough (probably won't want to go over 20 mph or so), and even though trucks use them on paved roads I'm not sure I would ever want to use them in an 80 on paved roads. Off-road only.
Straps from the other post are probably referring to recovery straps. These are great if you are in a group and need help getting un-stuck. But you need recovery points to connect shackles to, and another vehicle to provide the pulling power. The 80 rear trailer hitch could be used, with a special receiver, as a recovery point, but the front is equipped with tie-down loops which could be used for light pulls but are suspect on heavy pulls. Youtube search "vehicle recovery gone wrong" to get an idea of what can happen when poor recovery points are used.
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If your dealing with constant snow and ice for 3+ months id suggest running some snow tires. If not a good quality tire like the bfg a/t ko or the toyo a/t 2 would be great options. My older model toyo a/t s did fantastic in the snow and descent on ice. As far as ice is concerned as long as you dont have studs you wont find much grab although some of the super sipped studless winter tires do perform better theyre still not ideal. If you fall into the many months of snow and ice catagory ive heard good things about the nokian snow tires and personally have had a great performance out of michelin x-ices. As others have said dont run them when it gets warmer out or theyll only last you a few seasons.
supdizzle
SILVER Star
I live in Boulder CO and run Michelin M/S tires with no problem. I do go winter camping in the mountains and have chains for that along with a come along if we hit some nasty stuff.
I live in mountains...real mountains... The alps. If your tyres are road legal in an 80, I can't imagine you need anything else....
Here in Georgia, we have one or two good ice storms a year, with little significant snow. Snow is never our problem. Ice is always our problem.
I work a job that you cannot call out for if you can't make it out of your neighborhood. Most of us will go in the night before an ice storm hits to keep from getting stuck at home or on the road. Even so, I had to go to work the day before work twice this year when it iced over for several days. Cables or chains are incredibly beneficial in that instance. The sand/plow trucks weren't out, and the roads would refreeze the slush into a sheet of smooth ice. Around my fire station, there are hills that were piled up with stuck and wrecked vehicles. The interstates were packed for 3 days with abandoned vehicles.
There were a couple guys who were able to spend a few more hours with the family before being stuck at work for 48 hours because they had chains on their 2WD vehicles. There were a number of guys with 4WD vehicles that slid off the road because they had no chains. Chains bite into ice and allow a vehicle to climb a hill that would otherwise just cause the vehicle to slide back down into other vehicles. Chains do restrict speed, but who's driving above 25 MPH in ice anyways?
There was a bobbed deuce out one of those days with chains on, and he was pulling cars up hill, out of ditches, all kinds of stuff that a vehicle would never be able to do on ice no matter what tires you have. I will personally be buying a set of chains for my 35's in preparation for this winter.
I work a job that you cannot call out for if you can't make it out of your neighborhood. Most of us will go in the night before an ice storm hits to keep from getting stuck at home or on the road. Even so, I had to go to work the day before work twice this year when it iced over for several days. Cables or chains are incredibly beneficial in that instance. The sand/plow trucks weren't out, and the roads would refreeze the slush into a sheet of smooth ice. Around my fire station, there are hills that were piled up with stuck and wrecked vehicles. The interstates were packed for 3 days with abandoned vehicles.
There were a couple guys who were able to spend a few more hours with the family before being stuck at work for 48 hours because they had chains on their 2WD vehicles. There were a number of guys with 4WD vehicles that slid off the road because they had no chains. Chains bite into ice and allow a vehicle to climb a hill that would otherwise just cause the vehicle to slide back down into other vehicles. Chains do restrict speed, but who's driving above 25 MPH in ice anyways?
There was a bobbed deuce out one of those days with chains on, and he was pulling cars up hill, out of ditches, all kinds of stuff that a vehicle would never be able to do on ice no matter what tires you have. I will personally be buying a set of chains for my 35's in preparation for this winter.
Like most have said a good winter tire will take you a long way on snowy/icy roads. Even unplowed for the most part. I break out the chains when snow gets to my bumper on unplowed mountain fire roads for fun 
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
Chains are fantastic off Road if you get in a bad spot.
However If you are not wheeling your truck hard then I would suggest Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's. They are KILLER on snow, mud, dirt and road. Although they are not a "snowflake" Tire it really only matters in the ice, the snowflake means the rubber compound is designed to stay soft below 40 degrees F. This is desirable in icy conditions but does not necessarily mean its any better in snow than an BFG mud terrain T/A KM2 or Duratrac.
I have duratracs on my Tundra and absolutely LOVE them. They are a hybrid between all terrains and mud terrains, they wear very well (~50,000 mile life) and despite being a fairly aggressive and chunky tread pattern, they are quite on the highway. All terrains and road tires will not shed the snow out of the tread grooves like a Duratrac or mud terrain tire will, which makes them less superior in the snow.
However If you are not wheeling your truck hard then I would suggest Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's. They are KILLER on snow, mud, dirt and road. Although they are not a "snowflake" Tire it really only matters in the ice, the snowflake means the rubber compound is designed to stay soft below 40 degrees F. This is desirable in icy conditions but does not necessarily mean its any better in snow than an BFG mud terrain T/A KM2 or Duratrac.
I have duratracs on my Tundra and absolutely LOVE them. They are a hybrid between all terrains and mud terrains, they wear very well (~50,000 mile life) and despite being a fairly aggressive and chunky tread pattern, they are quite on the highway. All terrains and road tires will not shed the snow out of the tread grooves like a Duratrac or mud terrain tire will, which makes them less superior in the snow.
Was just going to say that. I thought they were.
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
Ha I stand corrected... Never noticed the little symbol. Still fantastic tires.
