4x4 in Snow and Mud

Bamacommander · Dec 29, 2019

Took my Bighorn into the woods after 2 solid days of rain, needless to say it was very muddy. My truck has Bridgestone street/truck tires. Put it in 4wd high, I didn’t get stuck , the truck slid all around. Had a good time. Just curious as to what others are experiencing when using 4wd , what type of tires work better in these conditions, and any other comments.

Bamacommander · Dec 29, 2019

Fantastipotamus · Dec 29, 2019

Yeah, the Dueler tires you've got on there (I have the same ones) are not going to be great in mud. I like the Duelers a lot for the spring/summer/fall, as I can get pretty good mpg with them. 21-22mpg at 80mph with my 5.7 w/ eTorque 4x4, 3.92 gears.

However, it only took me a trip or two in the snow up here to realize what you found out. Basically, they’re... ok, but not good in snow (and I assume mud for the same reasons). Their ‘street tire’ design that nets decent mpg is the same reason they're subpar in less than ideal conditions.

If you're looking for mudding tires, theres lots of alternatives. Bridgestone All-Terrain KO2’s were what I had on my old truck (‘12 Nissan Titan Pro-4x), and I liked those a lot. Killed my mileage (17 highway down to 14 highway), but they looked great and performed just as well. Likely would've got 50k+ miles out of them too if I hadn't traded the truck, just need to rotate them with every oil change.

Nitto Ridge Grapplers seem to be very popular on the various Ram forums I’m on, but I don't have any personal experience with them, same with the Falken Wildpeaks. Bridgestone also makes (or made?) a Mud Terrain tire, but I recall them being extremely pricey. Happy hunting!

19Jake · Dec 29, 2019

Duratracs

crazykid1994 · Dec 29, 2019

I had procomp at sports in stock size. They were actually really great in mud and on wet roads. They really surprised me being a street/mud tire. Wore really well. Have 8000 miles on them and they had a good 40,000 left on them but I switched out for a 35. I took them mudding and it was slick mud. I didn’t get stuck once and most of my driving was in 2wd. Was out with an off-road group were a Jeep and a chevy Colorado got stuck both on 33s.

yakalong · Dec 29, 2019

I have the same stock tires, they are ok at best in the snow. I don't know what I'll go to when its time to replace them.

star_deceiver · Dec 29, 2019

Hakkapeliita LT3. Winter lasts half the year... or so it seems...

dhay13 · Dec 29, 2019

My son had the factory Firestones on his 2500 and got stuck in the mud a few times. Truck had 12,000 miles on it when he swapped them for Bridgestone K02's and said they were much better

Jus Cruisin · Dec 30, 2019

The 22" Goodyears aren't really designed for anything but dry roads. Didn't much give them a thought as I was a full time Florida resident for 20+ years. Now I'm a Michigan resident and found out they aren't too swift in the snow. I'll be replacing them with some kind of all season 305's in the next month or so.

Fantastipotamus · Dec 30, 2019

Jus Cruisin said:
The 22" Goodyears aren't really designed for anything but dry roads. Didn't much give them a thought as I was a full time Florida resident for 20+ years. Now I'm a Michigan resident and found out they aren't too swift in the snow. I'll be replacing them with some kind of all season 305's in the next month or so.

Not trying to dissuade you necessarily, just more of an FYI that wider tires are worse in the snow than narrower ones (opposite of mud - the idea being you want to stay on top of mud, but want to cut through snow down to the pavement/dirt underneath). 305’s will look good, but you’ll slide around a little more than the same tire in a narrower configuration.

WRC winter rally are the best illustrator, they look like they use dirtbike tires.

RainDesert · Dec 30, 2019

I've always had great luck with Michelin Defender LTX, but next week I will have my first set of Michelin Agilis. They are supposed to be even tougher than the LTX and have the MtnPeak snow flake rating which is a big plus for me here in the PNW.
https://www.michelinman.com/tires/c...EAj_hXAzA41tF7KefYhoCphkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Jus Cruisin · Dec 30, 2019

Fantastipotamus said:
Not trying to dissuade you necessarily, just more of an FYI that wider tires are worse in the snow than narrower ones (opposite of mud - the idea being you want to stay on top of mud, but want to cut through snow down to the pavement/dirt underneath). 305’s will look good, but you’ll slide around a little more than the same tire in a narrower configuration.

WRC winter rally are the best illustrator, they look like they use dirtbike tires.View attachment 190302

Ha ha... Guessin' your not thrilled with my Jeep setup.

mikeru · Dec 30, 2019

Fantastipotamus said:
Not trying to dissuade you necessarily, just more of an FYI that wider tires are worse in the snow than narrower ones (opposite of mud - the idea being you want to stay on top of mud, but want to cut through snow down to the pavement/dirt underneath). 305’s will look good, but you’ll slide around a little more than the same tire in a narrower configuration.

WRC winter rally are the best illustrator, they look like they use dirtbike tires.View attachment 190302

You are correct about that, but along with narrower tires you want a rubber compound that stays soft in cold weather. So a combination of the two works best in snow.

soapy · Dec 30, 2019

When I used to sell tires my motto was that traction is measured in length not width. Wide tire are great for sand and rock. Not so much for ice and mud.

TestPilot57 · Dec 30, 2019

Stock tires are selected to provide the cushiest ride and best MPG.

I replaced my stock tires before it left the dealership. Blizzak DM-V2 for winter. I have been very happy with Nitto Terra Grappler G2 for all-round if you don't need a super-serious, dedicated winter tire.

Our road, and more-so our driveway, are killer, so I use the DM-V2. I also run them on our Explorer and highly recommend them for all-out best winter conditions.

Fantastipotamus · Dec 31, 2019

Jus Cruisin said:
Ha ha... Guessin' your not thrilled with my Jeep setup.

View attachment 190332

Brother, since you're like 750 miles from me, you can put whatever tires you want on your vehicles and it wont bother me one bit.

CaptOchs · Dec 31, 2019

I've had good luck with Goodyear. My last truck I did a lot of research into it. The Duratrac is aggressive but can lower your MPG by 1-2. Some also complained of more road noise. I ended up going with TrailRunners because they had characteristics of both aggressive tread and a highway tire. I live in snowy WNY and I always got to work on time. When the tires go on my new truck, I'll probably go back to Goodyear.

440scout · Jan 1, 2020

Fantastipotamus said:
Not trying to dissuade you necessarily, just more of an FYI that wider tires are worse in the snow than narrower ones (opposite of mud - the idea being you want to stay on top of mud, but want to cut through snow down to the pavement/dirt underneath). 305’s will look good, but you’ll slide around a little more than the same tire in a narrower configuration.

WRC winter rally are the best illustrator, they look like they use dirtbike tires.View attachment 190302

runamuck · Jan 4, 2020

I just returned from my third ski trip to the mountains this year in my laramie and it handled the twisty snow covered mountain roads easily. I have the 20" wildpeaks that came on it and they have done well. I just use 4wd auto. on the last trip had to park every night in snow up to running boards. had no trouble getting out. I also put it 4wd auto when driving in heavy rain..dont know if that has helped me but figure it cant hurt.

Narg · Jan 4, 2020

I personally believe stock tires are for how cheap they are to put on the truck...

I've always bought Michelins because of ride and grip. Though the MPGs usually are not what I'd like. I bought a set of tires from the Asian company that owns Firestone once, forget the name. It was a must have situation, and I fretted the purchase. Wish I could remember the name, because those were some of the best tires I've ever purchased.

4x4 in Snow and Mud

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