Snow tires vs LSD in the snow.

[Dirtman]

I've lived in the northeast all my life so I'm no stranger to snow and have been driving in it for 25 years in all sorts of vehicles.

My current truck (09 regular cab 2wd automatic) is as expected pretty terrible in the snow. It surprisingly steers and stops quite well but take offs are always a dicey maneuver of feathering the pedal and correcting dog tracking. My general snow prep is to load some driveway snow in the bed and 2, 5 gallon buckets of sand and drop the tire psi to 15-20 psi. This does a decent job to a point but I'm weighing the benefits of dropping some money to A. Upgrade to a LSD rear and B. Get some real snow tires for at least the rear. Both are about 400-500 dollar upgrades a peice.

Chains are legal here and I do have a set but they are pretty annoying and only work when the roads are heavily snow covered and not simply icey or slushy.

Which do you guys think would benefit the most since I can't really afford good snow tires AND a LSD at the same time. So should I get the LSD to get both wheels spinning or go with snow tires first? Right now Im leaning towards the limited slip since the one wheel spins are the biggest issue and cause all the dog tracking.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

There is more to driving in snow than going.

LS won’t help you stop or turn.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I like studded snow tires. Try to do all 4 corners.

 

[Dirtman]

There is more to driving in snow than going.

LS won’t help you stop or turn.

Like I said, the truck stops and turns pretty good as is with just some extra weight and lower tire psi. Just wont get going.

 

[sgtsandman]

An LSD would certainly help but a good set of snow tires all the way around will make the biggest difference.

Snow tires are designed to allow snow to pack into the tread since snow grips snow the best. Also the compound is softer for better grip on the road and ice.

Studs help too if your roads are covered most of the time. Otherwise, they just grind down on the pavement and reduce tread grip on a bare road. If your roads are kept pretty clear most of the time, I would skip the studs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[don4331]

Winter tires all the way.

Changing from No seasons to Blizzaks on our Explorer Sport changed personality from being un-driveable to no longer needing 4x4, well almost. My 4x2 Ranger had 4 studded grips and I did better than most 4x4s with their all seasons.

Had I been aware of how much better winter tires made driving in ice and snow, I'd probably still own a Blazer.

 

[Dirtman]

Definitely cant go studded, roads just aren't covered enough to keep studs on all winter and too much hassle to swap out tires every time it snows. But Im definitely gonna buy snow tires now. Can only afford 1 pair at the moment because from what Ive seen a decent snow tire is at least 150 a peice and I need to get some rims. Maybe after Christmas ill get the second pair.

How long do snow tires last when they are stored 8-9 months a year? I probably only drive 500 miles a month, less in the winter. Will I at least get 5 years out of them?

 

[adsm08]

Definitely cant go studded, roads just aren't covered enough to keep studs on all winter and too much hassle to swap out tires every time it snows. But Im definitely gonna buy snow tires now. Can only afford 1 pair at the moment because from what Ive seen a decent snow tire is at least 150 a peice and I need to get some rims. Maybe after Christmas ill get the second pair.

How long do snow tires last when they are stored 8-9 months a year? I probably only drive 500 miles a month, less in the winter. Will I at least get 5 years out of them?

Keep them in trash bags inside.

I had a customer at my last job, regular guy, even worked for us for a while. He had some snow tires that we put on for him every year. I did it for 6 years, and the last year I was there one of the tires ripped coming off in the spring, still had decent tread and no dry rot, just weren't meant to be mounted and dismounted that many times.

 

[Dirtman]

Keep them in trash bags inside.

I had a customer at my last job, regular guy, even worked for us for a while. He had some snow tires that we put on for him every year. I did it for 6 years, and the last year I was there one of the tires ripped coming off in the spring, still had decent tread and no dry rot, just weren't meant to be mounted and dismounted that many times.

Exactly why im buying seperate rims. But if they will last at least 5 years i feel like im not wasting money.

I should probably start another thread but... whats recommended for a 225-70r15 snow tire

Also, if i ever need my chains, will they tear up the snow tires any since they are softer? Ive used them on my current mastercraft tires and have no issues... just wondering.

 

[pjtoledo]

dedicated winter tires, can't beat 'em.


my 2005 reg cab 4cyl had several sets of snow/winter tires over its 346,000 miles. always had 400 lbs of tools in the bed, that helps a lot.
all season tires are terrible, snow tires are OK, dedicated winter tires on all 4 corners are great.
the last set was BFG KSI Slalom in 225-70-16. they did last 4-5 years at about 15,000 per year. current winter tires last a lot longer these days, no more getting new Blizzaks every 2 years.

they do handle different, no hard driving allowed.

 

[sgtsandman]

How long do snow tires last when they are stored 8-9 months a year? I probably only drive 500 miles a month, less in the winter. Will I at least get 5 years out of them?

I have dedicated rims from the junk yard for my winter tires. I get about 4-5 years out of mine, swapping them out every spring and fall with a 5-tire rotation. The bag suggestion isn't a bad one. I've kept mine in the garage or a shed. I've yet to have dry rot or checking issues doing that.

 

[bobbywalter]

snows whenever possible.



chains for bad days.

 

[ZMan]

Snow tires!!!

https://jalopnik.com/heres-proof-that-computers-and-all-wheel-drive-are-no-m-1830536284

My preferred brand are Blizzaks, pricey but worth it.

 

[sgtsandman]

The only caution I have to make is that if you do intend to get an LSD later on, make sure you have the spare in your tire rotation and that you get non-directional tires so you can properly rotate them all. Uneven tire wear can be hard on your LSD and if there is enough of a difference, could burn it out.

 

[ZMan]

The only caution I have to make is that if you do intend to get an LSD later on, make sure you have the spare in your tire rotation and that you get non-directional tires so you can properly rotate them all. Uneven tire wear can be hard on your LSD and if there is enough of a difference, could burn it out.

Unfortunately all of the best winter tires are directional.