Studded or not? (1 Viewer)

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alkaline747trio

alkaline747trio

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Getting a new set of shoes for the 80, can get them studded for 15 bucks a tire through tirerack (Fireston Dest. MTs in 33x12.50 flavor). Was wondering if studded is only good for snow/ice or if it helps off-road. Haven't found much through search, and it was all about ice with those threads. So, the question is, for no ice, stud them or not?
 
Maybe im crazy here but do you mean sipe the tires? I know of people that do that for traction on rocks and sometimes ice but I have never heard of studding a tire.
 
Most states its illegal to drive studded tires on paved roads in the summer time...
 
studed tires are illegal in 14 states(They include: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Utah.) with exception of postal vehicles. pretty much all other states require a permit to get them. if you did decide to use them on the road anyways...anything over 30 is kinda dangerous, and your gas mileage will drop like a ton of bricks. (not to mention road surface damage.."oh well") Studded snow tires provide about a ten percent advantage over conventional tires in stopping ability on glare ice and hard packed snow. In all other situations, studded tires provide no advantage and even an 11% disadvantage on wet asphalt. It’s estimated that there is compact snow or ice on our roadways only1% of the time. so unless your plans include driving on an uphill river or a glacier...i think my recomendation is obvious. hope this helps.
 
I had the same question when I was looking at new shoes for the winter. I could not take the situation lightly because I was driving to Alaska in January.

I setteled on a set of Blizzaks that was recomended by another alaska driver.

Made the trip with no problems and was driving about 55/70 on snow/ice packed roads. There is a whole lot of no one in front of you so it was easier to drive faster.

Stopping on snow ice takes alot longer:doh: But I was amazed by the gripping of these tires.

I also bought 2 sets of chains just in case and never had to use them. Be a safe driver and you will be fine with out studs.

Be aware of ABS in the snow, GENTLY come to a stop. ABS sucks on ice and thats were studs/chains will come in handy.

Boz
 
Studs can make a difference on ice. Tire siping also offers a considerable difference on ice. The more small cuts a.ka. siping, the tire has, the more gripping power the tire has on ice. I can in no way believe that studs on tires would increase off-road tire performance. In most snow/ice situations, a high degree of siping is sufficient, IMO.

Studs made an noticable and much preferred braking response on ice and hardpack snow in my 92 FJ80, because that year and your '91? did not come with ABS. Having spent time in Wyoming with hardsnow/ice 6 months of the year, I consider myself, thank you, close to an expert in the field. Many consider them overkill on a 4x4 vehicle. For severe winter duty in an non-ABS vehicle, I found them invaluable if not darn right life-saving.
I would not recommend them for off-roading, unless your trails are covered with ice or hardpack snow and those conditions are frequent.
I find the drawbacks of studded tires to generally be, increased road noise and increased vibration of front tires. They are softer tires than all-season and I expect off-road tires, so they may wear faster in those applications.

Yes, they are illegal or not allowed in some states or during certain months when conditions do not dictate their use. Have yet to be pulled over for that offense though.
I did not notice any decreased gas mileage running mine. In fact, I have four of them in Roanoke, VA. If you really need / want them, I'll sell them to you for $50.00/each, only used 1.5 seasons, maybe 7,000 miles. Lots of tread and in very good condition. Paid $650.00, actually dealer bought them for me as part of sale after I slid all over the ice without ABS and made it a make or break the deal issue. I think they are 185/75R 15 ?? (15x7 wheels not included). It's a Mastercraft tire, if I recell correctly.

Rob
 
I put studded tires on the car my 17 y.o. daughter drives, (Montero). They are great if you spend a lot of time on snow and ice, which we do. Quite a few of her school mates end up in the ditch or worse during the winter. We have another set of tires we run on the car May-November. Illegal to run them here then.

Dry and wet pavement traction is compromised though, as there is less contact area.

Studless Blizzaks are also very good, but the rubber is so soft you need summer tires also. I have a set of Mastercraft (I think!) glacier grips (again I think) that are studless copies of Blizzak and they are awesome as well. I had them on our Jetta, which is away at college with other daughter and thats why I can't excactly recall the name. Again you need summer tires as well.

If you go studs you can pull the studs out for summer, but once pulled I don't think you can re-stud them. HTH
 
Don't stud, not worth the hassle

They are however great in AK, just for winter though, don't change gas mileage any more then cold weather does, run about 60-80 on the highways so don't affect driveability much either, i run Cooper winter tires with eco-friendly studs which means they are light weight to say the least but only on my Montero so then I can run a little more safely in 2WD, the cruiser has basic Michellins and is doing awesome......maybe next year I will get some winter tires for it but probalby no studs..........
 
Meant primarily for ice. Like the others, I would not stud tires for year-round usage.

If you order them online, help out a fellow IH8mud'r and reference 'gary' as your 'previous contact'
 
Go with a TRUE dedicated ice radial for winter, and swap out in summer to your offroad tires.(never all seasons, or NO seasons as they are called around here)
Nuff Said!
Sean
 
I live in NH and have had studded snow on most of my cars exept the LX450. I have used blizzaks, Artic Alpines and Nokian Hakka's studded and other brands. For severe winter driving nokian Hakkas with studs are the way to go. The blizzaks were good on ice but down right crap on dry pavement. Also getting about 1.5 seasons out of a $100+ tire sucks. Studded snow tires last about 3 to 5 seasons depending on the brand. BTW studded tires are fine up to about 70 to 75 mph. I do it 5 days a week on the highway. BTW I run summer tires too. winter tires are not rated for summer use. Most winter tires are not designed to disipate heat quickly enough for summer use. Ever notice that most winter tires lack a temp rating on the sidewall...

BTW I hate the BFG TA KO 's on the LX in the slushy snow. They load up with slush and have no traction. They are fine in 2 feet of powder though.
 
Ditto. A vote for 265/75R16 Hakkapeliitta LT studded for winter driving on icy dirt roads and barely plowed highways. They last, they grip, they balance well, and other than being noisy, they are fine on wet/dry (cold!) pavement. At $1K per insurance deductible, the tires are cheap...

In MA, you can have studded tires from Nov to April, and with a full-time vehicle, you can even pass inspection with studded snows (no dyno for emissions). Around here, I would definitely not stud year-round tires, but an 80 with studded snows is exactly what the doctor ordered for the kind of DD I do. Takes no time to swap rims/tires when I'm going offroad.

Cattledog said:
I live in NH and have had studded snow on most of my cars exept the LX450. I have used blizzaks, Artic Alpines and Nokian Hakka's studded and other brands. For severe winter driving nokian Hakkas with studs are the way to go. The blizzaks were good on ice but down right crap on dry pavement. Also getting about 1.5 seasons out of a $100+ tire sucks. Studded snow tires last about 3 to 5 seasons depending on the brand. BTW studded tires are fine up to about 70 to 75 mph. I do it 5 days a week on the highway. BTW I run summer tires too. winter tires are not rated for summer use. Most winter tires are not designed to disipate heat quickly enough for summer use. Ever notice that most winter tires lack a temp rating on the sidewall...

BTW I hate the BFG TA KO 's on the LX in the slushy snow. They load up with slush and have no traction. They are fine in 2 feet of powder though.
Click to expand...
 
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Good choice on the tires though.... love them firestone's!
 
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