Snow/Winter Tires

[K-22]

My old winter tires still have lots of tread, but at 10+ years old, they have aged out.

I have a 2012 Toyota RAV4, which is a wonderful piece of machinery.
I run the winter tires about 4 months of the year, so I do not need a 40,000+ mile tire. What I am looking for is the best all around performing tire which will handle snow and ice, with a few trips to the mountains, but will ride on wet pavement most of the time.
Quiet, and ride comfort, as well as handling, are important issues.
My last tires were Toyo Observes, but I expect there may be major improvements since then.
There are a lot of choices, so, I would appreciate the wise counsel of the forum.

Best,
Gary

 

[A10]

I always had good luck with Goodyear Wranglers. I run all season tires year round.

It gets a bit icy in the Gorge, are you thinking studs?

 

[Model 19 6"]

I had great luck with Cooper A/T tires. Drove from MI. to Quebec in my Yukon XL in December with my cousin hunting. He was impressed and when we got home he put them on hie Silverado.

 

[arjay]

I’ve been happy with Blizzacks on the old explorer

 

[pawngal]

I’ve been happy with Blizzacks on the old explorer

Good choice, especially since OP says 4 months of year use.

 

[Tom S.]

I’ve been happy with Blizzacks on the old explorer

Another vote for Blizzacks. I use them on my Colorado. Real "snow" tires are much better than one size fits all M&S tires, especially on ice.

 

[dockmurgw]

Check out the General Grabber LT Arctic snow tire. I run them on my truck only during the winter months. I plow snow with them, a great tire on snow and ice. They are also studable, but I never had the need. Extra points to being one of more affordable options.

 

[IAM Rand]

Try these. We have them on our Subaru Impreza and love them. Not sure if they have your size or not.

Michelin CrossClimate

Has Michelin Created The Best All Season Tire? Rain, Sun, or Snow! - YouTube

 

[Beemerguy53]

K-22, I strongly suggest you check out the ratings and reviews for various tires on Tire Rack. You can filter the results for your specific vehicle, and read what TR's testers and customers have to say about the various brands. It's a great resource, even if you don't ultimately buy from them....good luck.

(By the way, I'm using Vredestein winter tires on my 2013 VW Golf R, and I'm very impressed with their overall performance.)

https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/homepage.html

 

[two-bit cowboy]

I live on dirt roads in the mountains. It's four miles of dirt/gravel and another 26 miles to the nearest town. My elevation is 7,880' so we know snow -- 14' feet last winter. I drive a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500.

My "tire guy" is a chap I was in Boy Scouts and high school with back in the '60s. I trust him with my life!

He put 10-ply Nokian all-season tires on my truck in 2006. I put an amazing 78,000 miles on those. I ran through two more sets of Nokians before he couldn't get them during the plandemic.

I've had a set of 10-ply Faulken all-seaon tires on my truck since 2021. Great traction, quiet, and my gas mileage is still on par with what I was getting with the Nokians.

 

[dave1918a2]

I used Michelin defender tires on My 96 powerstroke in Colorado. Elk hunting, fishing, going to work in a blizzard. Drove on snow, mud, rain, and dry. 4 wheeling in deep snow, slick mud, steep climbs and descents. Got stuck a few times, but that is why I had a 12K Warn winch. Put the same tire on My 4runner up here and wouldn't use any other tire. Rain,snow, slush, mud, gravel, and blacktop. Just not the steep of the CO high country.

 

[Rudi]

Go to Les Schwab. They will set you up. Been dealing with them for 40+ tears, a great company.

 

[delcrossv]

Try these. We have them on our Subaru Impreza and love them. Not sure if they have your size or not.

Michelin CrossClimate

Has Michelin Created The Best All Season Tire? Rain, Sun, or Snow! - YouTube

+1 for the CrossClimates. Great tires on the Trailblazer, with excellent snow traction.

 

[Onomea]

Try these. We have them on our Subaru Impreza and love them. Not sure if they have your size or not.

Michelin CrossClimate

Has Michelin Created The Best All Season Tire? Rain, Sun, or Snow! - YouTube

I thought about these for my 2022 Mazda CX-5, and have no doubt that they'd be better than the factory Toyos. On the other hand, the Toyos haven't been a problem so it seems wasteful to just ditch and replace them, for about $1K, with the Michelin CrossClimates. If I do wind up replacing the Toyos in a few years, though, these are the leading candidate.

Very impressive tire.

 

[JET4]

Nokian tires are good tires

 

[Vtgw938]

Which snow tire is like which gun. But I have run Hankook iPike's on both our SUV's and Sierra trucks with good luck but they changed the tire and my garage said they had more balance issues plus price went up. Put on Nokian Hakkapeliitta's this fall and all I can say so far is they are quiet. Nokian's always have been a great tire. They have a ton of sipes and I assume will perform well. Would have run them sooner but price difference was greater in the past than it is now.

 

[Aggie1906]

I have aged out of needing dedicated Winter tires. No more getting to work regardless of weather, and no more ski trips. Good set of M&S serve.
Posting, mostly to agree that Tire Rack used to have, and likely still has, a great wealth of free information and a workable purchase program.
Ride, wet performance, tire life, noise, and other needs are well addressed there.

 

[Tom S.]

Another thing to remember about snow tires: Bigger isn't usually better. Pizza cutter snow tires will cut through snow down to the dirt/pavement rather than try to float on top the snow and that gives you the best traction. In addition, you aren't trying to push more snow with them.

And, if you have a front wheel drive vehicle, it's best to put snow tires on all four wheels, not just the front, to help prevent the rear end from spinning out on cornering.

 

[Kinman]

I’ve been happy with Bizzack's on the old explorer

Super happy with Blizzacks, have run them on a couple of vehicles. The only tire I ever used that impressed me more were designed in Finland and the spelling might not be right but I'll give it a try...Hekkapallita. We put a set of four of them on my wife's '85 Mercedes 190E back in the day and there was no stopping her as long as she didn't high center. I could hear her car turn the corner a block away and come down the street a block away, they were probably real tough on the asphalt but man were they a hell of a tire. I've also had good luck on Cooper's premium snow/ice tire.

 

[K-22]

Les Schwab

Go to Les Schwab. They will set you up. Been dealing with them for 40+ tears, a great company.

I too have used Les Schwab for many years.
At this point, however, I fear they have changed for the worse.
I find them to be considerably overpriced, employees lacking product knowledge, and their prices can vary from store to store.
The local store manager, my go to, guy just retired, and left a serious hole.