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Old 09-10-2013, 01:29 PM
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Scott N Scott N is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary
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Default Winter Truck Tires

Hey all,

Just wondering what most of you put on your trucks for the winter.... do you use the same tire all year round, or put on specific winter tires for when the snow flies? I need to replace the tires on my 2010 F-150 4X4, and I'm finding that the choices for 275/55/R20 tires is limited. If you're running that size of tire, what do you like? Is somewhere around $300 per tire reasonable, or is my cost estimation out to lunch?
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Old 09-10-2013, 01:32 PM
Bound2Fish Bound2Fish is offline
 
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I run 325/60R20 Duratrac's. I think the last set was $520/each. My choices for tires are also limited but I have been really happy with the Duratracs for both summer and winter.
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Old 09-10-2013, 01:41 PM
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leeaspell leeaspell is offline
 
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Location: Whitecourt
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I run an MT in the summer, and studded grabber at2 in the winter. You might have to go a little or smaller to get more selection
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Old 09-10-2013, 02:45 PM
JB_AOL JB_AOL is offline
 
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Location: Calgary, Alberta
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What kind of driving do you do?

Your location says calgary, so I assume you would be commuting in the city..

In the city you want something that will grab the ice (ie lots of sipes or studs). If you drive lots in the country with uncleared roads you want something that'll clear the snow better and be able to grip the ice..

Basically.. If you do occasional highway, with lots of commuting you are better off with something like a blizzak.

But if you do lots of secondary roads/highway/mountain driving, there's more of a possibility of deep snow, and you want something that will clear the snow from the tires (like the duratrac or some all terrains..

As far as one tire year round.. with tires there is always a compromise. I'll use the extremes, if you use a blizzak style tire (soft rubber winter tire) year round, on the 20+ days like today, your truck will have a "squishy" feel to it. True winter tires are designed with softer compounds and side walls, this will also cause your winter tires to wear ALOT faster. And vice versa, if you use an all season tire in the winter, the compound is optimized for tread life (ie. hard), so you won't have as good ice traction.

Some people say, just drive slower (ie use allseasons year round), that's fine, but it's the evasive manuevers when you are reacting to what other people are doing.. That is when you want traction , not matter how fast you are going.

I personally am a firm believer in the right tires for the job.. I've got two sets (winter/summer) for my family mover, and my commuter I've got three sets (winter/summer/gravel). I've located what I thought to be the best tire for each season (summer/winter), as I've felt black ice/reg ice is a bigger danger than deep snow. So my winter tires have alot of sipes, I should've studded them, but I didn't.

The only downside to having dedicated winter tires, is the initial cost. Basically double as you are buying two sets of tires/rims, but that also means you won't have to buy tires for ALONG time (twice as long than if you only have one set).

Do yourself a favour and find some 17" or 18" rims on kijiji that fit your truck, you will save alot of money by purchasing 17/18" vs 20" winter tires. I made that mistake once.. Bought 19" blizzaks for my Acadia, $1800 later, I had 19" tires, I could've bought 17" blizzaks and rims for about $1200..

I'm planning on getting some grabber AT2 for my truck this winter, but my truck really only does towing duties, with the odd commute in the city..

Leeaspell, how do you like the Grabbers?
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Old 09-10-2013, 03:19 PM
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leeaspell leeaspell is offline
 
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I love the grabbers. Thread life is good, got almost 40k still over half thread left, that's on a diesel f350 that I tow with quite often, not super heavy though. I got caught not being able to switch them out as soon as I wanted this spring, but was pretty impressed with them in the mud. Not as good as an mt, but done good for an AT. I do alot of winter driving, 7-10k a month, usually before the plows are out. Not once did I find it sketchy. They hook up good when starting off and braking and evasive moves are controlled, tested many times avoiding moose on hwy 32. And for the price you can't go wrong, I'll be buying them again.
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Old 09-10-2013, 03:20 PM
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Coiloil37 Coiloil37 is offline
 
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My old push ran Goodyear silent armor tires on his Titan. On ice roads with no weight in the box, 2wd you could floor it and that truck wouldn't lose traction. Hit the brakes and it would throw you into the seatbelt. They cleaned well in the mud, ride quiet and wore slowly. I'm a fan of dedicated winter tires on most vehicles but those are a very good year round truck tire. I'm running them on my 2500 and have no complaints.
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Old 09-10-2013, 03:50 PM
javlin101 javlin101 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coiloil37 View Post
My old push ran Goodyear silent armor tires on his Titan. On ice roads with no weight in the box, 2wd you could floor it and that truck wouldn't lose traction. Hit the brakes and it would throw you into the seatbelt. They cleaned well in the mud, ride quiet and wore slowly. I'm a fan of dedicated winter tires on most vehicles but those are a very good year round truck tire. I'm running them on my 2500 and have no complaints.
X2

Ran them on my truck and my current Pathfinder, good all around tire.
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Old 09-10-2013, 03:25 PM
camshaft camshaft is offline
 
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Location: Calgary
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BFG AT KO

What type of truck are u putting them on? This makes a huge difference. If just a 1/2 ton, these are great tires. Some love them, others hate them it seems. I just replaced a set with 120k on them that still had 6/32 all around.
Regular rotation and balance is key! Every 8000k religiously and these tires seem to last forever.

I never received so much as a flat despite having a shingle nain stuck in a lug one day lol. Stiff sidewalls are great in the summer when airing up for pulling a trailer ect as well.
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