Snow Tires or Offroad Tires

[Unbeatenfiddle]

I live in snow country where it's common enough wake up to 2 feet of snow on the ground. On my SUVs in the past I have always used snow tires. But when I look around town I see lots of trucks rocking off road tires.

Are off road tires sufficient enough for snow and ice? I like the more aggressive look of them and would like not having to change every spring and fall.

Additionally, the mountain passes around here mandate 4WD w/ snowtires. Do offroad tires pass this test?

My main concern is stopping on hard packed snow as the roads in town spend time as snow/ice roads.

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[AMS Guru]

True snow tires have a very specific "gummy" rubber compound in them for snow and ice. A/T tires with the 3 peak mountain snowflake symbol MIGHT pass, but you'd need to check with the DOT in your state. They can be good, but still won't be as good as true snow tires.....

 

[Red Cat]

I've used BFG KO2 and Falken Wildpeak AT3's a lot in snow and they both seem to work pretty darn good. I know at least the Falken's are rated for "severe" snow use.

From an aesthetic standpoint the BFG KO2 is my favorite tire out there.

 

[Kaderast]

While a good AT tire, especially the ones with the 3 peak snowflake symbol are ok in snow/ice, dedicated snow tires are much better. I maintain a fleet of Suburbans we use for shuttling guests in the CO high country, every October I swap Blizzaks onto them. The rubber compounds on dedicated snow tires is much softer and stays more pliable in cold temps, gripping snow and ice much better. Also, as typical AT tires age the rubber gets harder, making winter traction further decline as they age.

I also put Blizzaks on my wife's Durango. You have to be driving like a complete idiot to lose control in the snow with those tires on that car. After driving different vehicles during the winter with either snow or AT tires on them, the difference is incredible.

In CO, traction laws on I70 state that a 4WD or AWD vehicle simply needs to have a minimum of 3/16" tread depth, non AWD vehicles need to have snow tires or 3 peak snowflake rated tires.

Long story short, if you live in a legitimately snowy place and have the financial means, snow tires are a good insurance policy for the safety of you and your loved ones. However, if you have a good 4WD vehicle with AT tires and know how to drive in the snow, you can get by just fine too.