snows or good all seasons?

[roadshow]

I live in ON, Canada and the area I live in gets a healthy amount of snow every year. Nothing insane but pretty steady. I'm pretty confident when I'm driving in 4wd high on the stock tires. But what gets me a little white knuckled is those days on the highway where most of it is fairly clear but you get those scattered snow patches that are around 500m long from the wind blowing it onto the road. It's a real PITA to keep toggling 4wd on and off for the sake of those occasional patches but my tires suck pretty bad in 2wd on slippery surfaces (I don't have the 4wd auto option in my truck for days like that, just 2wd, 4wd hi, 4wd lo)

What do you guys think? Do you guys put snows on every winter or keep all seasons all year around? I'm also looking for 20" tire recommendations, I want whatever ones are currently really good either way

Don't know if it's also worth mentioning but a lot of my 40 minute work commute is on a single lane hwy that's unlit at night.

 

[Buddy]

I looked at it this way, I have been driving for years, but just look at the news any day, accidents can and do happen to anyone. I do take my hat off to Quebec and their mandatory winter tire law, they did the studies and there is a significant difference. I look at it as all things end up the same at the end - by that I mean if you have to buy tires about every 5 years, well if you buy winter tires and put them on almost 6 months of the year, you have to buy your all seasons after 10 years... it's all the same. So with that, I say have the very best control you can. I paid a lot (for me) for my truck, and there is only 4 very small actual patches of rubber between you and the road. I will make it the best I can, with tires made for that specific situation. Winter tires are proven to outperform all season tires at -7 and below... FACT!!!! In a potential accident, a foot or two can make all the difference. Me and my truck, and the welfare of others on the road, are worth the money of winter tires to me.
I have stock 20" tires, so for winter I dropped to 18", for both cheaper costs, and I wanted a taller sidewall for the frozen frost heaved roads, a little more comfort. I also went with a 265 over the stock 275, not much narrower, but in winter narrow is better than wider. 265 is still wide enough I still have good handling on all the dry winter days.
I am a huge believer in having dedicated winter tires.

 

[xrsman]

What Buddy said ^

Get a good set of winters man, I've got duratracs on my truck and they've been amazing on the winter roads this year!

Why don't you use 4wd all the time? You would just lose a bit of mpg

 

[Two Dog]

If you're in the North, get a set of studded tires. The difference is unbelievable.

 

[regularcab2500]

I live in buffalo bro so we're pretty close in weather id say (unless you live north then its worse lol). I had the same issue with the stock tires in wet conditions. If i stopped on an incline i would need 4wd to get going again! I knew i wanted good quality and badass tires that were severe snow rated and goodyear duratracs fit the bill. Now i only need 4wd when going through 1ft or more and thats just to be safe lol. I also didnt want to spend the extra money on winter rims/tires so i went with a 275/65r20 vs the stock 285/60. Taller and narrower are better in snow and it was well worth every penny for those tires knowing my truck is much more intimate with the road and less so with whatever covers said road.

Bottom line you wont need 4wd as much with a good set of severe snow rated tires (they have the mountain/snowflake symbol in addition to the m+s rating). They also arent dedicated winter tires so you can run them all year.

 

[xrsman]

If you're in the North, get a set of studded tires. The difference is unbelievable.

Studded tires aren't legal in Ontario

 

[Two Dog]

Studded tires aren't legal in Ontario

Sure they are, in Northern Ontario.

 

[xrsman]

Sure they are, in Northern Ontario.

Really? Hmm didn't know that. Down where I am they don't like studs lol

Probably because there much more traffic down here and studs are hard on the roads!

 

[regularcab2500]

Studded tires arent legal in buffalo either but i see people with them every now and again still. Not everyone cares about laws hahaha.

 

[Buddy]

Studs work great up in Northern Ontario, but lower and into the Northern US the roads get plowed and cleared down to pavement pretty quickly, something that isn't the best combo... pavement and studs.

 

[WaterBoy1]

I have had GY Duratracs on my last few trucks, and I still swear by them. When I bought my Ram however, I wanted to have the best traction in winter that I could get. After all, this is the most expensive truck I have ever had!

I was a non-believer in "winter" tires, except the Duratracs. I did buy a good set of tires for my wife's truck, some BF Goodrich Slaloms. I drove it one day this winter in particularly bad weather. Drifting snow and glare ice in some spots. The truck handled like a dream. Cornered amazing, and no drama coming to a stop.

I decided to give dedicated winter tires a shot on my new truck, and picked up a set of OEM steel 18" rims from the dealer, and wrapped them in 275/70/18 Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT's. I can honestly say that these tires are incredible. I had them installed end of January, and have not used 4wd since then. I was able to avoid a collision when a car spun out in front of me on the highway on glare ice. I was able to brake and swerve with no worries.

I'm still a huge fan of the Duratracs, but I'm definitely sold on a dedicated winter tire.

Just my $0.02

 

[Andy578]

i just run all seasons but the stock SR-As really are garbage. plan to get Duratracs or something similar for next winter

 

[roadshow]

Are Duratracs a tire you leave on in the summer too or do you switch them out? I've also heard the BFG A/T is a good all year tire but not as good as the Dura in winter

 

[regularcab2500]

Yes, they are technically a on/offroad commercial trection tire. They have some hum which doesnt bother me but everyones different. The people i know love their bfg's but thus far im extremely impressed with the gy's.

 

[WaterBoy1]

Yes, you can leave the Duratracs on all year and save $ by not buying another set.

My experience with both the BFG and Duratracs is the Duratracs are a superior tire, especially in the winter.

 

[roadshow]

Yes, they are technically a on/offroad commercial trection tire. They have some hum which doesnt bother me but everyones different. The people i know love their bfg's but thus far im extremely impressed with the gy's.

Yes, you can leave the Duratracs on all year and save $ by not buying another set.

My experience with both the BFG and Duratracs is the Duratracs are a superior tire, especially in the winter.

ok thanks guys, that's what I need because winters are so unpredictable here. I've had winters where I only had to plow my driveway once the entire season and then the next winter I get dumped on. It made me mad during the dry ones when I wore out my last set of dedicated winters really fast

 

[loveracing1988]

What Buddy said ^

Get a good set of winters man, I've got duratracs on my truck and they've been amazing on the winter roads this year!

Why don't you use 4wd all the time? You would just lose a bit of mpg

He doesn't have 4 auto so it can't be driven on dry pavement in 4wd.

 

[iam_canadian22]

Really? Hmm didn't know that. Down where I am they don't like studs lol

Probably because there much more traffic down here and studs are hard on the roads!

They may not like them but they are legal


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[iam_canadian22]

I run duratracs year round on my truck also, great tires, there is still a big difference when stepping up to a full blown studded winter tire though, so if you dont use your truck in situations where you would benefit from a mt tire id suggest a second set of dedicated winters


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[xrsman]

He doesn't have 4 auto so it can't be driven on dry pavement in 4wd.

Why not? There are many vehicles that are full time 4wd, what would be the harm?

They may not like them but they are legal


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Are you sure it's not just a northern ontario thing? I looked it up yesterday and the MTO only stated they could be used in northern ontario. They also said if you were out of province visiting that you could only use studded tires for a maximum of 30 days