Best AT tires for everyday use and snow?

[HEMIMANN]

The difference in ride between the stock 18" GY and 20" michelin defender's is quite noticable to me as well. I plan to only run 18's from now on.

Running dedicated winters isn't always the answer, I had michelin x ice on my previous jeep and that thing was still worse on the road then my truck; well first year on stock GY's anyway, this past year they got so bad I was just sledding around. Not sure what happened to them but they're not going through another winter.

Winters over here are not so much cold as they are messy. Most often winter hovers around -5C to 5C (with only a week or two between -20 to -10) and a good 3peak tires should be able to handle this fine.

If I ever ordered a new truck again I never would get 20" dia. rims. They ride worse and cost more, but boy do they LOOK HOT! lol How friggin' stupid. Spend more money for a more expensive and worse ride. Riiiiiiiight.

Anyway, dealers aren't really stocking any trucks without 20" rims cause big city dudes think they're HOT , so usually there's no used or new trucks with 18" in my region. I could search out state or just get from Mark Dodge these days.

 

[ramffml]

If I ever ordered a new truck again I never would get 20" dia. rims. They ride worse and cost more, but boy do they LOOK HOT! lol How friggin' stupid. Spend more money for a more expensive and worse ride. Riiiiiiiight.

Anyway, dealers aren't really stocking any trucks without 20" rims cause big city dudes think they're HOT , so usually there's no used or new trucks with 18" in my region. I could search out state or just get from Mark Dodge these days.

I went the aftermarket way, you can get rims that look exactly like stock, just 18" instead of 20". My 20" were a clone of the 22" sport rims and you'd never know unless you nerd out on this stuff.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I went the aftermarket way, you can get rims that look exactly like stock, just 18" instead of 20". My 20" were a clone of the 22" sport rims and you'd never know unless you nerd out on this stuff.

Need to reprogram ECM, yes? Plus rims are expensive.

 

[star_deceiver]

Buy the best set of Hakkas they make!

 

[ccsrt8]

For all around daily driving and still an AT tire that is 3 peak snow rated, I am a big fan of the Falken Wildpeak AT3's or AT4's. I have the AT3's on my wife's F150 and it performed well last winter with the one snowfall we had. I have the AT4's on my Ram 1500 and am happy with them so far. Well rated for long treadlife as well.

 

[Gwerner74]

For all around daily driving and still an AT tire that is 3 peak snow rated, I am a big fan of the Falken Wildpeak AT3's or AT4's. I have the AT3's on my wife's F150 and it performed well last winter with the one snowfall we had. I have the AT4's on my Ram 1500 and am happy with them so far. Well rated for long treadlife as well.

How are the AT4s with regards to road noise? I'm about to pull the trigger on them for my 2500 and while the treadlife has great reviews, the road noise reviews seem a little mixed from what I've read.

 

[crash68]

Need to reprogram ECM, yes? Plus rims are expensive.

Depends on the tire size, not just the rim. The Gen4 truck has different size tire depending on the rim diameter but the Gen5 trucks three rim sizes(18", 20", & 22") all have the same 32" tire size(with the exception of the Rebel and TRX).

 

[Curmudgeon]

How are the AT4s with regards to road noise? I'm about to pull the trigger on them for my 2500 and while the treadlife has great reviews, the road noise reviews seem a little mixed from what I've read.

I can't speak for the AT4s, I currently have the AT3s from 2 years ago and they are good for at least another year. It looks like the AT3 was discontinued when the AT4 came out so they will likely be my next tire. I'm having a tough time seeing the difference between the 2 tread patterns.

The AT3s seemed quiet for me, when new and running on highway or side roads, and also now at about 1/2 life. Traction is incredible in all conditions including unplowed snow roads, but we haven't had really deep snow and I can't speak for that.

 

[ramffml]

Need to reprogram ECM, yes? Plus rims are expensive.

As long as the outside diameter doesn't change, then no programming needed. I've stayed around 32" OD.

 

[ramffml]

Buy the best set of Hakkas they make!

View attachment 574313

It's illegal to run studs on the roads here.

And 90% of the time the roads are absolutely dry.

 

[RamDiver]

It's illegal to run studs on the roads here.

And 90% of the time the roads are absolutely dry.

That's the same here in this part of Ontario, except the dry roads part.

No studded tires allowed anywhere in Ontario., AFAIK.

.

 

[RamDiver]

Need to reprogram ECM, yes? Plus rims are expensive.

That all depends on whatever tire has been installed by the owners or previous owners.

The tire size tweak in the BCM is easy with AlfaOBD of Jscan.

I adjust mine twice per year because my summer and winter tires have a different circumference size.

When I bought my truck 3.5 years ago, I bought OE 17" steel rims from the dealership for $60 each.

The aftermarket price at that time was twice as much and more.

With all the crazy $hit of the past 3 years, the price rise might be equivalent to 2 decades.

.

 

[Dean2]

My 2 cents, I run summer, Pirelli Scorpions and winter tires, Michelin SUV X-Ice, on my wife's Grand Cherokee, both on 20" factory rims. It never goes off paved roads and is mostly driven in town. True winter tires are a much softer compound that stays soft in the cold and have better grip on pavement, snow, ice etc particularly at 0F and colder. What they are NOT great at is deep snow or mud of any kind, as they do not have large tread blocks with large openings. Those smaller tread blocks are why they are quiet and work so well stopping, turning and accelerating on ice, they have more rubber and many more sipes touching hte ground.




For mud, deep snow, unpaved roads, the 3 Peak AT tires are a better choice. They are softer compound than a regular AT, thus will wear sooner, but provide better on road wet, ice and light snow traction in cold weather than the harder AT compounds that last longer. You cannot get long tread life and really good winter traction from the same tire. The compound needed for good winter traction is incompatible with the hard rubber needed for long tread life.

Tire choice gets debated here endlessly, but the truth of the matter is, the right tire for the specific use is actually pretty easy to pick. Bigger tread blocks, softer rubber, better rock, mud deep snow, think Mud Terrains and similar designed tires. If it has lots of sipes like a Duratrac, will work decent on road too. I sipe my Mud Terrains to improve on road and winter use.

Best winter pavement and good gravel, quietest, has small tread blocks, real soft winter compound, a ton of sipes. So Michelin X-Ice, Hakipilatas etc. Deep snow, mud, you need biiger tread blocks. I run Mud Terrains or Duratracs on my PUs and off road rigs.



BF Goodrich Mud Terrain

 

[ramffml]

My 2 cents, I run summer, Pirelli Scorpions and winter tires, Michelin SUV X-Ice, on my wife's Grand Cherokee, both on 20" factory rims. It never goes off paved roads and is mostly driven in town. True winter tires are a much softer compound that stays soft in the cold and have better grip on pavement, snow, ice etc particularly at 0F and colder. What they are NOT great at is deep snow or mud of any kind, as they do not have large tread blocks with large openings. Those smaller tread blocks are why they are quiet and work so well stopping, turning and accelerating on ice, they have more rubber and many more sipes touching hte ground.

View attachment 574319


For mud, deep snow, unpaved roads, the 3 Peak AT tires are a better choice. They are softer compound than a regular AT, thus will wear sooner, but provide better on road wet, ice and light snow traction in cold weather than the harder AT compounds that last longer. You cannot get long tread life and really good winter traction from the same tire. The compound needed for good winter traction is incompatible with the hard rubber needed for long tread life.

Tire choice gets debated here endlessly, but the truth of the matter is, the right tire for the specific use is actually pretty easy to pick. Bigger tread blocks, softer rubber, better rock, mud deep snow, think Mud Terrains and similar designed tires. If it has lots of sipes like a Duratrac, will work decent on road too. I sipe my Mud Terrains to improve on road and winter use.

Best winter pavement and good gravel, quietest, has small tread blocks, real soft winter compound, a ton of sipes. So Michelin X-Ice, Hakipilatas etc. Deep snow, mud, you need biiger tread blocks. I run Mud Terrains or Duratracs on my PUs and off road rigs.

View attachment 574320

BF Goodrich Mud Terrain

View attachment 574321

Exactly it. So here in Southern Ontario the roads are mostly dry and winter hovers just around freezing, only a few colder weeks in Feb. We get dumped on by lake effect snow and all he|| brakes lose as the roads get snowed over and greasy, but then they dry up and it's just pavement again for a while. I've never had trouble controlling my truck on the dry roads where a true studless winter tire would shine. I need better control over the deeper snow and greasy stuff and IMHO a 3 peak AT tire should handle this very well and a dedicated winter with short grooves would just sled over the greasy stuff as it can't eject it out fast enough.

 

[RamDiver]

This article compares the WildPeaks AT3 & AT4

Falken WildPeak AT3W vs. AT4W: Which Tire Should You Buy?

If you've spent any time in the all-terrain tire world, you've heard of the Falken WildPeak AT3W. For years it's been one of the go-to choices for trucks, SUVs,

www.4wdtalk.com

This is another comparison that indicates that the only AT3 remaining are old stock.

Falken Wildpeak AT4W vs AT3W: Definitive Test Data & Upgrade Analysis | TireTerrain

Data-driven technical analysis verified by a former Bridgestone test engineer, synthesized from thousands of online tests and user feedback. The Falken Wildpeak AT4W and AT3W are premier Off-Road A/T tires for pickup trucks and SUVs, both with the 3PMSF rating. The critical status is that the...

tireterrain.com

And as always, these tires lose performance quality as they age. If we choose to believe the reviews, the AT4s appear to retain their performance longer as they age and sound as though the wet road performance is good.

I do question the wet performance ratings on the BFG All Terrain in the second article.
They may work well in warm and wet conditions when brand new, but they suck after a year or two in wet and cold conditions.

The AT4s will be my next winter tires when the BFGs are no fun anymore.
Or, the wet and icy performance starts to overshadow the deep snow performance.

.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Every set of Michelins I've had started getting dry cracks in the sidewalls after a few years. Never had that problem with BFG's or my present Coopers.

Every product has an engineered defect so that you must replace said product! Gone are the days of durability!

 

[HEMIMANN]

Yeah, Michelin is renown for insufficient UV protection additive in their sidewalls. Remember, the originated in France, even though many are made in U.S. today. The corporate culture is still French.

Southern USA is high UV index high amounts of the time. France doesn't have such weather. Many RV'rs I know switched to Goodyear for this reason. Goodyear makes a good commercial tire, not so much passenger tires.

 

[bcbouy]

It's illegal to run studs on the roads here.

And 90% of the time the roads are absolutely dry.

you don't have to stud them.i got mine without because of my epoxy floor in my garage.

 

[star_deceiver]

And 90% of the time the roads are absolutely dry.

I have these tires for those 10% times. Been using them for years on multiple vehicles.

 

[ppine]

Lots of good tires out there now. I like Toyos and Coopers.
After driving in CO and Wyo year around in the bush, I learned the value of studded tires where they are legal. Many people buy tires that are too wide. Stay with the stock width for snow travel.