Snow tires necessary for SW Montana?

[bigbassfish]

Are blizzacks really worth $1000 over a fairly new set of cooper discoverer road and trail? The coopers are 3PMSF rated and my truck has 4wd. Are dedicated snows really necessary? I have a set of chains and winter driving experience, but have never lived somewhere with winters like Montana. What’s the general consensus? Any concerns with durability on FS roads with snow tires?

Thanks in advance!

 

[joehew89]

You don't need dedicated snow tires on a 4 wheel drive truck imo. Most AT tires will do just fine. Falken wild peak at3w are the best in the snow ive had experience with. Ive had toyo at, toyo rt, cooper stt and the falkens. Maybe some others.

 

[JMundy84]

Ive driven in the snow in Idaho my entire life the only thing Ive ever had dedicated snow tires on was a 2wd pickup and a couple fwd cars. Never felt that I've needed them on a 4wd I've had great luck running ko2s

 

[2ski]

I never once was stuck in my explorer sport and I guarantee ive had it narlier places 90% of Tacoma users have had theirs. No snow tires. So no you don't need them if you know what youre doing.

 

[bigbassfish]

Yeah I figure snows will be a given on the fwd Corolla, sounds like I can atleast rough it this first year and bite the bullet down the road if need be. Thanks for the advice.

 

[rabbithuntr]

You’ll be fine with 3 peaks, that’s what my wife get for her suv my pickups have m+s tires

 

[jtevanMT]

Good set of Cooper are fine for the entire year in MT. Cary 2 or 4 chains if hunting on backcountry roads.

 

[bigbassfish]

Looks like maybe some chance for ice next Monday, going to try and fill my leftover bear tag from this spring, might just be the perfect opportunity to find out lol

 

[derrick454@]

I mistakenly bought Blizzarks on wife’s SUV because she drives across Oregons blue mountains a lot. Studless ones. My intentions were BFG All terrain but they didn’t have that particular size. Blizzarks are supposed to be only winter run tires which I didn’t realize. I won’t buy again because it’s a pain to swap back and forth and I’m not. Not supposed to run em over [emoji[emoji[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]]][emoji[emoji[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]]]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]] F [emoji[emoji[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]]][emoji[emoji[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]]]][emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]]] F either. Oh well.
I’d get BFG or Falken for your area for sure .
Derrick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2ski]

Yeah I figure snows will be a given on the fwd Corolla, sounds like I can atleast rough it this first year and bite the bullet down the road if need be. Thanks for the advice.

I wouldn't put them on the corolla either. What town do you live in? As long as they plow the streets its rare anywhere gets enough snow to not be able for a car to handle it. And most fwd cars handle ice decently. My guess is if you drive someplace on the highway in the winter you'd be taking your truck. Braking on snow and ice is a much more valuable skill to develop.

 

[ORJoe]

Thousands of people get by without snow tires.
But if there is snow, snow tires will make your driving life less stressful.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I’d say skip the snow tires and move back to CA.

 

[TaperPin]

Most western drivers don’t use separate winter tires, but that’s somewhat a cost thing and somewhat regional custom - we don’t need them because we make do with what we have. However, the cost per mile with a second set of tires isn’t much more, it’s the upfront cost that keeps folks from getting them. I used to be one of the guys that made fun of skiers and their studded tires, until I started skiing, now I’m sold if you do any amount of winter driving. There’s nothing as safe on icy roads as studs.

Even running non studded winter tires year round doesn’t hurt anything - the tread is a softer rubber so it wears a little faster, but that’s about it. For our Murano with the weird tire size, we fell into a set of nearly new blizzaks used for the short ski season. 35k miles each on that set and the new set we replaced them with. It’s also a much tougher tire than your average all season - getting a tire plug through the belts can be tough.

The more you drive the more winter wrecks you’ll see first hand. I’ve lost track of the number of oncoming cars that have drifted into my lane as their tires broke traction on corners. Good tires help you get out of their way. Just traveling between Boise and Wyoming in one storm with wet snow followed by cold blowing conditions there were two fatality wrecks in different places along the drive. That one trip made the cost of that set of studded tires well worth it.

Two years ago a pickup a few cars in front of me lost traction on fresh ice at 50 mph on a straight road, hit one K barrier, shot across to the other k barrier hitting it at 90 degrees bending the entire frame and came to rest without a single straight piece of sheet metal. Totaled.

Your local conditions may not be as icy. By far the worst ice is freshly frozen, so staying off roads when the temps are about to freeze prevents a lot of rodeos. Packed snow isn’t bad to drive on. Old ice isn’t bad once tire chains have worn texture into it. Places with a good budget to spread sand isn’t bad. No wind helps. Weather that gets below freezing and stays there for a long time helps.

Not living next to a high school helps. lol