Tire Choice - AT or Dedicated Snow Tires

[Tilter]

I have an opportunity to get a set of tires at a great price and I am trying to determine which to get.

In the late Spring, Summer and early Fall I will be running 22's with the Goodyear Tourings.

In late Fall, Winter and Early Spring I will be running 20's with either dedicated winter tires or All Terrain tires.

I have a camper that I tow once or twice per year, during the late Spring, Summer and very early fall so it will be with the 22's.

Both sets of tires are very high-end, with the Snows being a brand new model and the AT's being a model that is being replaced soon.

I live in Northeast Indiana, we have moderate but Icy/Rainy winters. I have never gone offroad although we do have some gravel roads.

SO my questions is would you go with the A/T tires for Winter or the dedicated Snows and WHY?

 

[nlindste]

With the icy weather I would go with the winter tires. If it was just snow I would lean towards A/T tires, I had a good set on my prior truck and they went through everything we got in the way of snow. But icy weather winter tires are better.

 

[Tilter]

Thanks. The Mfr is saying I’ll get better gas mileage with the winter tires too since they have much lower rolling resistance.

 

[illucid]

You can get winter rated AT tires. That would be your best bet

 

[dswoboda2120]

I live in Wisconsin and every year I get snow tires put on my wife’s car. We tried them once and it made a huge difference how it handled. We get Blizzak snow tires. All terrain are nice but because they make the tires harder as the mileage rating goes up, they are not nearly as good as soft snows. My wife drives 80 miles total to/from work everyday and the last ones we had lasted 4 years and were still good when my wife sold her car. I just purchased another set that fits her new car. Highly recommend.

 

[James1414d]

I run BFG AT KO's with the snow symbol year around.

 

[VectorZ]

Alaskan here. My normal tires are the KO2s, but they aren't even in the same league as my Blizzaks are in the snow and ice. If I lived in Indiana I'm not sure you'll have enough snow and icy conditions frequently enough to warrant the additional investment though.

 

[Tilter]

It’s snot going to be additional - it will either be AT or snows for the winter and all seasons for the rest. Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[Michael_D]

Alaskan here. My normal tires are the KO2s, but they aren't even in the same league as my Blizzaks are in the snow and ice. If I lived in Indiana I'm not sure you'll have enough snow and icy conditions frequently enough to warrant the additional investment though.

I'm also an Alaskan. I always run two sets of wheels and tires. My preferred winter tire is the Blizzak. The directional models are great in slush too.

 

[19llhpb]

It’s snot going to be additional - it will either be AT or snows for the winter and all seasons for the rest. Thanks for all the great advice!

Same here fellow Hoosier and greetings! I am around the Kokomo Marion area. On all my trucks I have always had a larger, wider AT tire on aftermarket wheels for the summer and run a more aggressive taller, thinner AT in the winter on the stock rims. Actually I am getting my winter tires next week. They will be a 275/65 r20 as I found that to be the tallest, most narrow tire for the money. There are some slightly taller and slightly more narrow but man are they expensive. Fortunately the last few winters here have not been to bad as far as snow and ice but I’m sure we are due! Best of luck!

 

[ryanc111]

In addition to the Blizzaks check out the Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT2. You can get them factory studded or without studs. I run them on my truck in the winter and the Bridgestone KO2 the rest of the year. Even though the KO2 is snowflake rated there really isn't any comparison between the tires in the snow & ice. The Nokians are unstoppable and I usually get 3ish winters out of a set. Out of all of the winter tires I've tried they have been far and away the best.

 

[Gman]

I would base some of my suggestions on the trim of your truck. Since you run highway tires during the summer, it doesn't sound like you have a lot of need for AT tires. If you're planning on using a dedicated set of wheels/tires for winter, then I'd go with winter snows.

I don't have the luxury of being able to store extra sets of wheels/tires.

 

[Tilter]

The most off-road I’ll ever be is probably gravel or dirt at a campsite, maybe grass at a field. I’m leaning towards the Nokian Hakka R3. It’s a dedicated winter without the studs that will fit a 275/55 20 according to their site. I’d rather not go with one of the studded ones and supposedly they’ve made some real advancements from the R2 which I have on my car.