What do you guys think about tires and snow???

larry · Post by **larry** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:16 am

ran the cooper st's this year, and they did ok, gonna have to look into the sst I think and see if they last a little longer. All the torque the cummins puts out eats tires pretty fast. Definatley hate wide tires in snow. Went through the big tire phase in high school and learned really quick that the only thing those are for is around town when deep snow is the question. being able to stay in the ruts is priceless when you keep getting thrown out of em, on a narrow switchback road, with 3 feet of snow to grab you and try to suck you off to the side, never again. Pizza cutters on my heavy truck for sure, studs are a must as well far as I'm concerned, then chains. If yer not chainin up, yer not tryin hard enough. Went through two front brake lines this year thanks to the chains though, seems like the newer trucks just won't handle em whithout brake lines gettin in the way :cry:

Lots of different snow out there too, wet, fresh, frozen sugar, concrete hard, will take fresh any day. Anybody know of a tire that reduces the wheel hop in the sugar snow or wet snow and I'm willing to try it.

NWKemDawg · Post by **NWKemDawg** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:28 am

I drove a dodge cummins with narrow studded coopers on it for 3 years before I got my tacoma , and I used to chain up to go places that I go all the time with the tacoma without thinking about chains...

Larry the wheel hop is a strong characteristic of the dodge , there is no tire that will stop it , it might help ( some ) but not stop it . IMO
Take Care

larry · Post by **larry** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:36 am

think the hop is a characteristic of wieght personally, a buddy has a new ford deisel that pretty much hops everywhere it goes, discussion for anther topic, but he loathes that truck and gets in somebody elses dodge every chance he gets.
I have seen the little trucks snake through stuff i couldn't, but it's not real practical for me to have both right now, and the deisel seems to last a little longer than the gas in the fullsized trucks anyway. had a toyata in high school that would go anywhere I wanted and some places I didn't

NWKemDawg · Post by **NWKemDawg** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:03 am

10 / 4 LOL

on that

COHUNTER · Post by **COHUNTER** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:20 am

Not one easy answer. I think it has to do as much with weight as any thing. On my wrangler I have 33 12.5 15 yokohamas they are awsome, but most of the time Im floating on top of the snow. As soon as I fall through or the snow warms up out come the chains. On my powerstroke I have small narrow tires. I know with that weight Im going to the bottom so theres no sense in fighting it. So Wide if your light Narrow if heavy.

Daniel Tremblay · Post by **Daniel Tremblay** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:19 pm

Your not alone with the wheel hoping larry. I have hunted out of a 99 yota and a 06 yota and they both wheel hope pretty good in the right kind of snow when it gets deep. I think your also right its a weight factor with not enough reenforcement for the sway bar connecting the axel and the frame. If you are really concerned about it you could aways go to a four link system or just make up your own sway bar that helps out. I know in the extreme mudding and trail riding trucks, some of them connect an actual coil spring between the axem and frame to reduce on wheel hope. So its just all up to you and how bad you want to get rid of the annoy wheel hope. I know when i buy my yota this summer i am for sure going to be doing something to prevent the wheel hope just havnt decided what yet.

Back to the main topic though, thanks for all the replys thats exactly what i was wanting. I have drivin a jeep in the snow tons of times and have always had 33x12.50's and done perfectly fine but i am not for sure what i should go with for my yota i am getting. I have been told by a couple people that skinny is better but for only having 33's it seems like its a sure killer because that isnt much ground clearance and you would be bottomed out right away but if this many people believe in the skinny tires than its obvious that they work better than wide tires. Thanks again
Daniel

raisersedge · Post by **raisersedge** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:55 pm

We run a forerunner with bald 33 swampers we air it down to 4 lbs and it will go anywhere 10 to 12 feet is doable.

foundationblues · Post by **foundationblues** » Sat May 03, 2008 5:43 am

I would us a narrow/tall tire with alot of bite. Bias ply works realy well because they dont move side to side they just track stright. But some time or another you will need chains,handyman,winch or shovel to get out. If your trying to get rid of wheel hopping put on air bags it helps.

Be safe and good hunting.

treemup44 · Post by **treemup44** » Mon May 05, 2008 9:29 pm

I use skinny BFG Mud Terrains on my cummins with no complaints.

snowy river black and tan · Mon May 05, 2008 10:16 pm

Tried them both depends on the snow. Wide works better on powder. You can float a little bit. Not much good in the frozen stuff. I think it depends on where you live and what your conditions are. Where I live wide seem to do better. I tried skiny again last year and couldnt keep up with my little brother after he had already gone through. He was loving it. Ive got toyo mud terrian on it right now and love them. I think BFG all terian are the best all around tire you can get.

bearcat · Post by **bearcat** » Wed May 07, 2008 4:36 pm

Tall and skinny do a lot better, and if you want to run on top air your tires down, not only can you run on top better but it gives you a lot better traction. But air them back up before you put chains on. Anymore I don't worry about it as much as I used to, I just drive to where I'm going to start hunting and unload the snowmobile.

Spokerider · Post by **Spokerider** » Sat May 10, 2008 1:59 pm

I run a Tracker with 31"x9.5x15 Cooper SST. It goes well in fresh snow, but when it starts melting and is slushy, it becomes impossible to get up any decent sized hill. I hand siped the tread blocks for better ice traction.

It would be nice to be able to but real "pizza cutter" tires, say 32x7x15 but no one makes 'em.

Not to get off topic.........but does anybody run a rear locker in the snow?
I have one that I've not yet installed.

bearcat · Post by **bearcat** » Mon May 12, 2008 5:50 pm

Yes, I run a detriot truetrac in the rearend of my toyota. I really like it but you do have to watch it sometimes in the snow, it will go a lot better, but sometimes the rearend wants to kick sideways and it can suck you in the ditch if your not careful.