Trying something different this winter

[Jeep backroads]

I have always struggled with the all-terrain vs mud terrain tires for winter snow driving. The all terrain tires have so much better sipes and more of them for wet slippery slushy stuff. I have in the past siped my mud tires and then modified the tread patten for better traction. Sometimes if the snow is deep the all terrain tires don’t cut it and on ice and wet stuff the mud terrain don’t cut it. So I bought 2 new all terrain for the front and 2 new mud terrain for the rear. That should give me great steering control and the mud terrain should help push in the deep stuff. What do you think?

 

[Anak]

I am not impressed with mud terrains in the snow.

I think it is better to have a tire that will hold the snow and give you "snow on snow" traction.

As with anything, there are different points of view on this topic. Try it and see if it works for your conditions. Let us know what you find out.

 

[Jeep backroads]

Thanks for your opinion.

 

[Corbet]

I think your better off to have a dedicated set of snow tires. Personally I’m currently running a studded set of GY Duratracs in the winter. (No much available in 35” actual snow tires) Allowing me to run MT’s in the summer for wheeling.

Mt’s are aweful for winter use except maybe deep snow. Typical on road conditions they are squirrelly at best.

If someone wants to run one tire year round I say you stick to an AT with as much sipping as possible.

 

[MidOH]

Ran Cooper STT's on a empty Ford F250 for years in the snow belt. Ran great. Choose the proper tire and proper compound. Some MT's are hard rubber and plasticy in the winter.

At's and dedicated snow tires suck in deep slush, and are useless in mud. And above 40 degrees, mud is everywhere.

Mixing and matching different tires might cause some weird instability. Understeer/oversteer.

 

[grubworm]

I bought 2 new all terrain for the front and 2 new mud terrain for the rear. That should give me great steering control and the mud terrain should help push in the deep stuff. What do you think?

makes sense. my step dad did that to a chevy truck he had out on the farm so he could drive on the road mostly and then have better traction on muddy roads. he went a size bigger in the back and it seemed to work well

 

[Jeep backroads]

If I could have I would have went with mixed matched sizes. You always want the front pulling more than the back it slippery or and bad situations. 4 percent is about the max you can go with today’s systems and not get everything in a bad bind. 35 in front and 37 in the back are a bit much. The all terrain are slightly small like a few 32 of a inch but with lower air pressure you can make them pull you around a turn vs being pushed by the back . Pushed by the rear is what makes vehicles want to go straight on slippery surfaces. Your step dad was correct. Thanks for that reminder on how other people with good knowledge set up there rigs.

 

[L2828]

This is the exact setup I went with this year. AT's front and MT's rear. Growing up rural America this was the "norm" whether for style purposes or not. I am not sure. I decided while buying tires last week, I would go back to my childhood roots. Lol. I like the look it gives and so far seems to be a good choice for me.

 

[Jeep backroads]

Thanks for your reply. We live in snow country and it’s always been a problem choosing for me on our overland setup. It’s gets used a lot when the snow is deep. So I’m glad that I’m not the only one running different tires front to back. Thanks again

 

[billum v2.0]

First hand knowledge limited to Nitto Trail Grapplers (M/T) in snow.

Short wheelbase (2 dr. JK) + M/T + snow = Nope. Even with Truetrac LSD in rear axle, still = Nope.

 

[The other Sean]

I run Duratracs for this reason. Has plenty of knobby for mud and deep snow, but has the siping for wet and packed snow and does reasonably well on road. Having the severe weather rating and a decent mud rating will always be the determining factor for me with tire choice for my truck. I live in MN and want only 1 set of tires for all around use.

 

[PNW EXPLR]

Studded Toyo M/T's

 

[toxicity_27]

When I had the factory M/Ts on my JKU they were terrible anytime there was a bit of precipitation on the ground, be it rain, snow or ice. I can't imagine a 2dr in 2 wheel drive will do well at all with the M/Ts. I'm currently running BFG KO2s, and they're leaps and bounds better than the M/Ts I had.

 

[Jeep backroads]

I run Duratracs for this reason. Has plenty of knobby for mud and deep snow, but has the siping for wet and packed snow and does reasonably well on road. Having the severe weather rating and a decent mud rating will always be the determining factor for me with tire choice for my truck. I live in MN and want only 1 set of tires for all around use.

I agree duratracs are one tire that the manufacturer has tried really hard to make it work in all environments.

 

[Jeep backroads]

Studded Toyo M/T's

Toyo make great tires especially for trucks. With the advances in tread design and better rubber compounds the new tires really outperform studded tires . If you look at the test data the studded tire performance drops off completely after just 1,000 miles. But they are the best solution on pure ice.