Light Truck 275 winter tires

[oswaldr2]

I’ve been looking at studless winter tires for my F-150 4x4 Super Crew. Tire rack has 5 studless options and seen some other sites with other tires.

Blizzak DM-V2
Blizzak LT
Yokohama Iceguard
Michelin LTX
Continental Viking contact
Nokian R3

I’d really be interested in the Michelin x-ice due to performance and 40k warranty, but they don’t fit my F-150 size wise as they don’t come up to 275. Anybody have any of the above and can provide thoughts? I live in Denver so would prefer better tread life, so the Michelin LTX with the only warranty at 40k miles would seem to be the ideal choice. However it’s performance ratings leave something to be desired. Love the Blizzak DM-V2, but I don’t really want to buy another set for $900 after 2 seasons. Found the Nokian R3 on Amazon as well, seems like maybe the one.

Next thought is in regards to the Studded tire options out there. Cooper, Hankook, General Grabber, Goodyear, & Firestone have some studded options. I don’t plan on studding them, would the performance be up to par of the studdless if I don’t plan on studding them?

 

[pete]

There's bunch of other treads on snows, final choice may be the amount of snow verses ice or slush you will drive.

handful of folks gave their comments between Nokia's and Mich : https://www.pugski.com/threads/michelin-x-ice-xi3-vs-nokian-r3-suv.16297/


My general observation has been that the Nokian's tend to have overall higher love here. Blizzacks well liked but as you, most note that their more grippy compound runs half way into the tread so once 1/2 gone.

I have older General Artic's (which were studable but I hadn't) for my Silverado but their current tread pattern has changed , I like them quite a bit but I don't drive aggressively.

I get a bit apprehensive on Amazon, If you're in Denver and haven't a favorite tire store, Tire Rack has a shop there so they match pricing and mount. Discount tires too as I have family in Northern Indiana, I found that I like Tire Rack partially out of guilt using their tire guide and ratings. One can search for reviews based on your truck.

other thread:

https://www.pugski.com/threads/managing-tires-for-the-upcoming-ski-season.16887/#post-395443

@ScotsSkier has a F150 ...may have input

 

[oswaldr2]

Yeah I think I’ll just go to Discount tire and talk to them.

Probably safe to end the thread

 

[pete]

nice though to get direct input for your vehicle, ScotsSkier is Denver based.

Oh, besides the Discount Tire, Tire Rack has shop in Denver too, which you likely know but ...


9690 East 40th Ave
Denver, CO 80238

 

[coskigirl]

nice though to get direct input for your vehicle, ScotsSkier is Denver based.

Oh, besides the Discount Tire, Tire Rack has shop in Denver too, which you likely know but ...


9690 East 40th Ave
Denver, CO 80238

I’m pretty sure that’s just a distribution center and they don’t do installation there. I’ve picked up tires there before. Not sure of the expertise they have available onsite.

 

[Bruuuce]

Tire Rack also has lots of info on these as well as comparison testing. I've owned the Hakkas and now have the Blizzaks on my truck. Love them both.

 

[jmeb]

Paging @nay to Tire Aisle 3.

I’ve been happy with my Falken AT3W as a year rounder. Snow rated, 55k mileage warranty, and a boss on anything I-70 would be open in.

I got mine at Discount Tire.

 

[Ogg]

Paging @nay to Tire Aisle 3.

I’ve been happy with my Falken AT3W as a year rounder. Snow rated, 55k mileage warranty, and a boss on anything I-70 would be open in.

I got mine at Discount Tire.

I’ve been quite impressed with my AT3Ws in all sorts of conditions despite them being 33 x 11.5s.
The Goodyear ultra terrain is supposed to be even better in the snow.

 

[ScotsSkier]

The Yokohama ig51 in 275/55-20 is what I have found to work best on my f150s and my favorite. Also works great on my wife’s Macan turbo. I guess I would class myself as pushing fairly hard on my truck so my tire life is usually less than most so I usually run them 2 winters on my truck (5-6 months) then sell them ( mywifes ones are coming up their 5 thwinter). I tried the Generals a couple of years ago- hated them, crap for my application, they may work for others, sold them after a year. Have also tried variousbizzaks, Firestone, hankook etc but keep coming back to Yokos for me. Lots of other ( strong!) and different opinions here and I am not going to take the bait. studded tires are a waste of time in tahoe IMHO. I like an aggressive tread that copes with both deeper and hard packed snow, the Michelin’s I have found to be more light snow/ ice oriented than a true snow tire. So Yokos have given me the best overall performance and wear. YMMV

 

[Ogg]

@ScotsSkier I know you’ve posted before about how unimpressed you were with the generals and I’ve wanted to ask which ones? The car or LT version? I’m wondering because they have drastically different tread patterns.

 

[ScotsSkier]

The general grabber arctic light truck/suv version

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...TR0GRAXL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Havent tried the car version so can't comment on it

Oh, also it felt like the sidewall on them was excessively soft, pushing hard you could feel it rolling over on the sidewall a bit. Didn't feel like an XL rated tire

 

[sparty]

Are you running 18s or 20s?

On 18s, 275/70/18 fits fine on a stock F-150 (at least current-gen) and gets you a little more height. I'm happy with studded Nokian LT2s, but I wouldn't go to an LT tire unless you have a reason for one (I wanted stronger sidewalls for spring/fall trips up questionable USFS roads with pointy rocks). I'd expect the LT3 to be a kick-ass tire, with the advances in tire tech since the LT2 was developed.

 

[tball]

I’d really be interested in the Michelin x-ice due to performance and 40k warranty, but they don’t fit my F-150 size wise as they don’t come up to 275. Anybody have any of the above and can provide thoughts? I live in Denver so would prefer better tread life, so the Michelin LTX with the only warranty at 40k miles would seem to be the ideal choice. However it’s performance ratings leave something to be desired.

Maybe see if there is a different size X-ice that might fit, or consider getting some wheels in a size that will work for your truck and fit an available X-ice.

I know the X-ice comes in larger sizes. I'm thinking of getting the available 275/55 R20 X-ices for my new to me Sequoia, but will probably go with studded Hakkas again.

I really like the X-ice's for Denver and all but the most severe mountain conditions. I got my X-ices bolted on my RWD G35 before the storm this week and have been having a blast driving it. I don't have extra wheels for the X-ices on my wife's MDX so I couldn't get them mounted before the snow hit. She had to drive to the other side of the city yesterday in the middle of the storm and decided to take the RWD G with the X-ices over the AWD MDX with good Michelin Premiers and was glad she did. She's a smart cookie and knows from experience it's all about the tires in the snow!

 

[oswaldr2]

The Yokohama ig51 in 275/55-20 is what I have found to work best on my f150s and my favorite. Also works great on my wife’s Macan turbo. I guess I would class myself as pushing fairly hard on my truck so my tire life is usually less than most so I usually run them 2 winters on my truck (5-6 months) then sell them ( mywifes ones are coming up their 5 thwinter). I tried the Generals a couple of years ago- hated them, crap for my application, they may work for others, sold them after a year. Have also tried variousbizzaks, Firestone, hankook etc but keep coming back to Yokos for me. Lots of other ( strong!) and different opinions here and I am not going to take the bait. studded tires are a waste of time in tahoe IMHO. I like an aggressive tread that copes with both deeper and hard packed snow, the Michelin’s I have found to be more light snow/ ice oriented than a true snow tire. So Yokos have given me the best overall performance and wear. YMMV

Very interesting @ScotsSkier , it's funny because Tirerack basically knocks these Yokos down quite a bit with their x-ice vs. blizzak vs. yoko ig test (link below). I can get the Yokos for $729 shipped/taxed if i pickup at the tire rack warehouse and a $60 rebate on top of that. So $670 all in for the tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=205

 

[ScotsSkier]

Very interesting @ScotsSkier , it's funny because Tirerack basically knocks these Yokos down quite a bit with their x-ice vs. blizzak vs. yoko ig test (link below). I can get the Yokos for $729 shipped/taxed if i pickup at the tire rack warehouse and a $60 rebate on top of that. So $670 all in for the tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=205

yes, and that can be the issue with tests, it depends on the testing environment nd type of snow. My feedback is from extended real-life use and primarily tahoe/mammoth type conditions (having said which, my aspen trip last year saw a lot of snow in both directions and around aspen - the mammoth coach that was riding with me was amazed at the stability and quality of traction from the yokos just from riding shotgun). They don't wear s fast as the Blizzaks and they are also more effective in slushy/heavy/wet stuff which has fro me always been the achilles heel with Blizzaks which I have found become very unpredictable under these conditions.

 

[oswaldr2]

Cool, good to know. And you’re totally right about reading these tests vs. the real world application. I definitely value your opinion as it sounds like you have a lot of experience with them.

With that said, here’s another test I found. Has some interesting info on a few options. Click the tyre at the bottom and it goes to each page of the test for each in case somebody else is interested in reading.

https://alltyretests.com/yokohama-ice-guard-ig51v-test-review/

 

[oswaldr2]

At a certain point, one can only read so much. I decided to order the Continental VikingContact 7. Were $188 per tire which seemed pretty reasonable relative to the rest. Won’t be in stock until early December, will report back once I’ve used them a bit. Appreciate the thoughts from those who contributed.

 

[tball]

^^^ I bet those Continental's will be great. They weren't tested by Consumer Reports (too new for this year?) but there were a number of new Continental's that jumped ahead of previously top-ranked Michelin's in other CR testing categories this year. It's great to see the competition pushing everybody to make better tires with each update. It's amazing how far winter tires have come in the last 10-15 years.

 

[oswaldr2]

FYI - For those who are interested, Continental is now running a $70 visa gift card rebate for a tire purchase in November. If you were on the fence about buying, this might help with the budget.

 

[DocGKR]

Just put new P265/70 R16 Goodyear UltraTerrain's on our Suburban, as the old Michelin's were worn out--we'll see how these work out for Bay Area to Tahoe trips this winter...