What tyres are best in snow.

Hi guys

i have just been out in the snow with the disco ( d1 300tdi auto ) that is fitted with bfg all terrains and tbh i wasn't that impressed, last year i had a d1 300tdi manual with good year gt4s fitted and they where useless in the snow in january this year but was told bfgs are a better tyres than the good year gt4s they are but not much, i know these are two different animals but in january this year aswell as running a d1 300tdi man i also ran a s11a swb fitted with a 200tdi and off road tyres and where as the disco was all over the place the s11a was great power on and power off no probs, i have herd off road tyres on a disco in the snow are no good so what do peeps use on here.

graham
___________________
98 d1 300tdi auto.

I've got Enduro Runways (road tyres) on my D2, on compacted snow/ice they'll grip where a tyre with an aggressive grip will just spin. This was proven the other day when I had to tow a D1 up a hill on compacted snow/ice, he had AT tyres and just couldn't get a grip. Having said that I doubt my tyres would be much good off road or in soft snow. I run my tyres at 28psi front and 38psi back.

Nigel.

AT's will cope well enough in snow, I've not got stuck yet, a slightly lower tyre pressure to spread the footprint might help....

By Bfg's you mean BFGoodrich ? Is so that is the tyres I'm getting for my Disco soon...

Landy Boy1 said:

By Bfg's you mean BFGoodrich ? Is so that is the tyres I'm getting for my Disco soon...

Click to expand...

thems the ones i am going out later and have lowered the pressures and see how it is.

graham
________________
98 d1 300tdi auto.

I've aways run with the tyres that were fitted by the factory, Mitchelin M&S on the RRC and Goodyear GT4 on the disco and never had any problems with traction in snow, both have self cleaning tread which is important.

Last night I ordered a set of General Grabber AT2 for my Disco, I paid £360 from Tyres Direct. Then this morning I got an email saying out of stock for 2 weeks so now I have to wait

Mind you been out today and she handled pretty well on the road tyres that only have 3mm of tread left.

Had to tow my son out of our drive down to the main road so he could visit his girlfriend. I normally have to spend hours clearing it first, today i just drove over the snow.

All my family who thought I was mad buying my Disco are eating humble pie right now, smug feeling or what

I've got Recip Mud Trials on my D1 and was shocked at how well the managed to grip on sheet ice up a hill the other night, just put the auto box in 2nd and drove up no problem. They are amazing in the mud but was expecting them to be shockingly crap on compacted snow and ice but they did well.

so is it generally a good idea to lower tyre pressure when driving in snow? if so, by how much. 10% or 20% from standard?
my td5 has got 18" wheels and road tyres. this week is the first time i`ve ever driven in snow with a 4x4. having fun but taking it easy.
ta

Who said it was a good idea to lower tyre pressure in snow, what then return them to normal when u hit the tarmac, I have to drive 1/2 mile of spoiler hight snow then i'm on to a gritted and wet slush (A) road, err stop now and pump my tyres up no-way.

Dewin said:

AT's will cope well enough in snow, I've not got stuck yet, a slightly lower tyre pressure to spread the footprint might help....

Click to expand...

this one and-

cornish rattler said:

thems the ones i am going out later and have lowered the pressures and see how it is.

graham
________________
98 d1 300tdi auto.

Click to expand...

this one.

lower pressure = wider tread footprint=more grip.Alledegy

yeah i lowered mine down to 25 psi all round earlier don't know if thats too much or not but will see how it is when i go and drop the missus off at work later.

graham
__________________
98 d1 300tdi auto.

just droped the missus off at work and they do feel a lot better but the snow is more compact and starting to freeze over now but i am hopeing it will snow in the night then i can go and try them out tomorrow in the soft stuff.

graham
_________________
98 d1 300tdi auto.

cornish rattler said:

just droped the missus off at work and they do feel a lot better but the snow is more compact and starting to freeze over now but i am hopeing it will snow in the night then i can go and try them out tomorrow in the soft stuff.

graham
_________________
98 d1 300tdi auto.

Click to expand...

I find traction is better with the mrs in the passenger seat, not so good when she gets out

mine too..
but i find i get this weird whining noise when she's in... " slow down", " ya goin too fast", " ya breaking too late", watch out for that car".... lol...

xat44 said:

this one and-

Click to expand...

I did say slightly lowered. Offroad, if you were stuck in snow then lowering the tyre pressure will aid traction, same as you would on sand, once unstuck tyre pressure would be put back to normal.

BUT if you're travelling along a long stretch of snow on tarmac then you'll be (presumably) driving slower than normal so having a slighty lower tyre pressure (no lower than 25psi) will not affect the handling of the car too much. Once back onto clean tarmac then the tyre pressures would need to be returned to normal. Every time the outside temperature drops 10 degrees Fahrenheit, the air pressure inside your tires goes down about one or two psi.

malatests kaiman for snow got through 3 and 4 foot drifts got to farm at 2000 ft where others failed bit noisy on road though gets me where i need to be

Common theme running here again I feel

AT tyres can cope with snow no problem, but compact stuff / ice and they struggle with no grip, and before any one shouts, no tyres grip to compact snow / ice unless they are winter tyres

BFG or AT2's are great in loose snow

As to "lower pressure and spread the load" WTF for? :doh:

You need a smaller foot print in snow to cut through -
Check rally tyre widths
gravel = wide
snow = narrow

Winter tyres on continent (compulsory in some countries) are narrower than same cars summer tyres




Lower pressure and spread load is for SAND when you sink