Wide ones or Skinny ones [tires}

[gpintler]

After pulling 2 people out of the snow on Sunday, we were having a discussion about tires in the snow.

Do you put on the Standard size tire on your truck, just good snow tires ?
or
Do you go buy wider rims and put some mildly "Off Road" tires ?

I happen to believe that a standard M/S tire that is studded is best a tire. Chains in a box in the box is a helpful second.

 

[AH64ID]

Optimal tire width depends on the snow conditions.

Skinnier tires are better for light fluffy snow where you are trying to reach the bottom, or on ice.

Wider tires are better in deep heavy snow where you need to float.

I run OEM size tires and don’t bother with winter tires, but if I did it would be studless snow tires. They out preform studded tires in most, if not all, winter conditions. I’ve run them on other rigs, just never bought them for my pickup.

I also carry anywhere from 1-3 pair of chains depending on weather and where I’m going.

 

[Ozymandias]

That skinny tire thing is out of the past, it doesn't apply anymore to modern tires.
Todays Winter Tires! are the wider the better - Winter Tires, not something that has an M&S stamp on it that almost every available Tire has nowadays.

 

[AH64ID]

That skinny tire thing is out of the past, it doesn't apply anymore to modern tires.
Todays Winter Tires! are the wider the better - Winter Tires, not something that has an M&S stamp on it that almost every available Tire has nowadays.

While tires are too expensive to play with and change out often I have don’t a little with different applications. There is absolutely still a time and place for skinny winter tires, and one for wider ones.

Just like tire siping, works good for some and poorly for others.

 

[GBergen]

One upon a previous life, I had a truck with skinny snow tires. I was followed by a GMC Blazer with 31" mudders down a 6 inch deep snow path in Upstate NY outside of Utica, to retrieve a stuck bronco.
Once the bronco was unstuck, we met the GMC on the way back and helped him get back to the road from where he was bogged down. Maybe it was just the driver of the GMC that got himself into the trouble. The application of power is a tricky thing in snow, if you don't know what's what. Now I used OEM size Michelin LT tires with M&S on them BUT I don't drive in 6" deep snow much any more.

 

[bighammer]

I feel like control is a bit better with the more skinny pizza cutter tires when driving in ruts of snow or slush on an unplowed road. I have run 315/70R17 (Hummer take-offs) in a couple different brands/patterns, but went to a 275/65R20 this time and like them much better in snow. Almost the same height, but significantly narrower footprint.

I still have the old ones for sand and trails in summer, but I didn't bother swapping this year. My truck doesn't get a lot of use in summer.

Can see the comparison here: (very handy site) https://tiresize.com/comparison/

 

[GBergen]

I had a physics teacher that explained to the class that skinnier tires, focus more of the weight of the vehicle over the smaller contact area of each tire. He further went to tell us that adding tube sand to the back of the truck, may help with weight distribution, but not with overall traction. He said that if adding weight was all that was needed, you'd never see a garbage truck sliding on the snow/ice. Personally, I think it comes down to rubber compound and tread design. IMO the design has to clear the snow from the tread as the tire rotates or the grooves are packed with snow and not gripping on what snow is there.. Until I learned that siping voids the warranty on Michelin tires, I used to have that done. One shop here in Boise, siped the tires so deep, it cut into the steel cord.. Of course the tires weren't new, but still a skilled hand should know when to stop. Not a lot of confidence in that tire shop any longer.

 

[JR]

If you drive on roads in NE Ohio where the plow driver's love to dump salt like it's going out of style and let it marinate for several hours before even thinking about coming back to knock off the several inches of slop and slush they created, you definitely don't want wide tires. The wider the tire the lighter your foot print the more likely you are to go for a ride on top of the slop vs maintaining some form of contact with the asphalt.

I buy 3PMSF rated tires for my truck and run them year round. They aren't as good as a dedicated snow tire but I also don't drive my truck through the winter unless I need a truck, so they are good enough. I do have a set of dedicated snows for my car I drive to work. They are 15" wheels vs the standard 17" and a size or two narrower than the skinniest OEM size. I've pushed snow with the bumper on that car. Just a few weeks ago I lost the front license plate trying to get out of my driveway

 

[bighammer]

I had to look up 3PMS, but I do know that 3 peak mountain snowflake symbol. Our Prius gets those for winter and it becomes quite capable in the winter stuff. We are on top of a hill and our one-lane seasonal road can be a challenge.

A few years back, we went to a Christmas party at friend's home about an hour away. It was beginning to snow as we drove over, but really piled up while we were there. Traffic on the main highway was heavy and too fast for conditions-- The road had turned to ice. We decided to take the scenic route back home. A Jeep had gone thru before us for part of it, but turned off. We were left blazing a trail thru about a foot of powder. We kept having to stop and clean off the headlights.

 

[Ozymandias]

Todays real winter tires are incredibly capable.
NO comparsion to like twenty years ago. Rubber compound and sipped from factory makes the difference.

And it is long proven that a wide winter tire gives better control and shorter stopping distance then a narrower one - thanks to its properties.

 

[JR]

And it is long proven that a wide winter tire gives better control and shorter stopping distance then a narrower one - thanks to its properties.

Just curious Ozy, proven by who?

My snow tires were bought used so I was stuck with the size. But with that light little car I would not want to run the OEM 225/45/17 size around here snow tires or not, and that's with new rubber. You have to be careful on wet roads with light standing water. They'd be horrible in slush.

 

[AH64ID]

Agree, I don’t have any experience that agrees with the wider stops better statement. I do have experience with the opposite in snow/ice.

 

[Ozymandias]

Just curious Ozy, proven by who?

Tire tests, done by the German TüV.
Same from motorists clubs like the AAA counterparts over here.

Again,we are talking about real winter tires - not some M&S labels that are on almost every tire that one can buy.

Something like that Michelin https://www.reifendirekt.ch/rshop/R...-91H---mit-Felgenschutzleiste--FSL-/R-252408#

Put this link through Google translate to read about how they test it.

https://www.autobild.de/artikel/winterreifen-test-10811081.html

Some more info about that topic in english.
https://www.oponeo.co.uk/blog/wide-or-narrow-tyres-for-winter

Same conclusion, stay within the sizes that your door sticker says.

 

[DonFitzwater]

The top three tires in Alaska are Toyo winter tire, Bridgestone Blizzak and nokian hakkapeliitta. I run toyo winter tires as they have excellent year after year performance. I run stock size with no studs. Studs are a thing of the past in my experience. I used to run studded tires in the 90s but tire tech has gotten so good studs have been rendered obsolete.

 

[Blakers]

In my experience, unless you are running down the paved highway all the time, wider larger diameter tires are better on dirt roads, off road, or driving on farm roads, etc. They have better floatation in mud and snow. I tended gas wells for ten years here in northwestern Pennsylvania where I had to drive to wells down lease roads that were almost never maintained in any way, usually with ruts a foot or so deep, and in snow that could get up to the truck's headlights. Some had steep hills that required lots of speed and momentum to get up. I've run A/T tires, mud tires, and mud tires with studs. Mud tires with studs were good because the public dirt roads were often completely ice that you could not walk on, and the ruts in the lease roads were full of frozen water. Mud tires without studs or sipes are not good on ice.
I have run the BFG All-Terrain and Mud Terrains for years, but have had many fail structurally. I've run Goodyear Wrangler mud tires with studs. I'm no longer well tending, so I'm only going off road at our farm, so I'm currently trying some Toyo All-Terrains. Most of the tires I've run are 315-70-17, but the Toyos are 285-75-17. So far they aren't bad, but they rut things up more in our fields.