Studded Snow Tires
I live in the mountains of North Carolina. A heavy snowfall up here is ten inches. My problem is ice. I have a steep 1/2 mile long driveway that is shaded in the winter. We get three inches of snow, you drive up and down a few times, that snow is packed into ice, which lasts for a few days.
I ran it in my two wheel drive '95 Pickup for 9 years. I put 12 concrete blocks in the back, and put on chains in the ice. Of course, I owned the road with the chains.
I got sick of using chains. I got a little four wheel drive Subaru with studded snow tires. They were hard to tell from chains. I could hit the brakes on the steepest icy part of that driveway, and it would stop like on asphalt.
I bought a Nissan 4WD pickup. I got studded snow tires. I got my first chance to really try them out today, and I am disappointed. I hit the brakes on the steep part, and I started sliding around, in fact, I nearly crashed. The studded tires eventually did stop the truck, but it slid for 20 feet or so first, not a good feeling. Going up the driveway, I was slipping a little.
I had thought that all studded snow tires were the same, but they are not.
My neighbor was going up in his big Dodge 4WD truck. He did about as well as I did, and he doesn't have studded snow tires.
The tires for the Subaru had four rows of studs on each tire, one near the edge of the tire, and another row about an inch in from that.
These truck tires have only two rows of studs, which are about an inch in from the edge.
Given, the Subaru is 2,000 pounds lighter than the Nissan. Perhaps that accounts for the entire braking problem. But slipping while going uphill? No, I think the Subaru tires gripped better.
The tires I now have are, as best I can tell, M+S Pacemark tires. 235 75 R15
Who makes an aggressive grip studded snow tire?
I ran it in my two wheel drive '95 Pickup for 9 years. I put 12 concrete blocks in the back, and put on chains in the ice. Of course, I owned the road with the chains.
I got sick of using chains. I got a little four wheel drive Subaru with studded snow tires. They were hard to tell from chains. I could hit the brakes on the steepest icy part of that driveway, and it would stop like on asphalt.
I bought a Nissan 4WD pickup. I got studded snow tires. I got my first chance to really try them out today, and I am disappointed. I hit the brakes on the steep part, and I started sliding around, in fact, I nearly crashed. The studded tires eventually did stop the truck, but it slid for 20 feet or so first, not a good feeling. Going up the driveway, I was slipping a little.
I had thought that all studded snow tires were the same, but they are not.
My neighbor was going up in his big Dodge 4WD truck. He did about as well as I did, and he doesn't have studded snow tires.
The tires for the Subaru had four rows of studs on each tire, one near the edge of the tire, and another row about an inch in from that.
These truck tires have only two rows of studs, which are about an inch in from the edge.
Given, the Subaru is 2,000 pounds lighter than the Nissan. Perhaps that accounts for the entire braking problem. But slipping while going uphill? No, I think the Subaru tires gripped better.
The tires I now have are, as best I can tell, M+S Pacemark tires. 235 75 R15
Who makes an aggressive grip studded snow tire?
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MY FATHER OWNED A TIRE STORE FOR OVER 30 YRS,YOUR RIGHT ABOUT THE WEIGHT OF THE TWO VEHICLES THEORY,AND ONCE YOU SPIN AGGRESSIVLY WITH STUDS YOU CAN DISLODGE A FEW,ONE THING ABOUT GOING UP BOTH TRUCKS PROBABLY HAVE MORE AIR IN THE TIRES,IE NOT AS BIG OF CONTACT PATCH ON SURFACE OF ROAD,AND THE SUBARU WAS ALL WHEEL DRIVE UNLIKE YOUR NISSAN AND THE DODGE, ALSO DIFF. TIRES TAKE DIFF. SIZE STUDS LOOK AND SEE WHAT MANUFACURE SUGGESTS FOR TIRE PRESSURE ON YOUR NISSAN YOU COULD SAFELY GO DOWN 5-10LBS AND TRY IT,REMEMBER TO AIR UP FOR ANY LONG TRIPS THOUGH AS IT WILL AFFECT YOUR GAS MILEAGE AND TIRE LIFE.HOPE THIS MAKE SENSE[:D] 0 -
MICHELIN MAKES SOME OF THE BEST SNOW/ICE TIRES AROUND ALSO KNOWN FOR MILEAGE 35000+ NOT CHEAP THOUGH BUT WITH A USED SET OF FACTORY WHEELS YOU COULD SWITCH OUT WHEN GOOD WEATHER GETS HERE 0 -
The smaller the contact patch on ice, the better the traction, for a given weight vehicle.
D,0 -
The Subaru was 4 wheel drive. It was an old one, a 1987. It was a manual, and had a HI/LO axle shifter on it.
So, when you drove it around on the highway, you put it in 2 wheel drive.
I do have two sets of wheels, one set with regular tires and the other with these half-assed snow tires.0 -
living in conn in the old days, studs were legal, until towns complained about road repair costs and outlawed them. in relation to non studed tires, studs were heaven sent. law said we could keep them on until 30 april.
on big storm days, chains were the only way to fly.
i guess if you had chains, to have anything less will be disapointment. sounds like youre dubbing down in theory. chains cant be beat. but chains are a lot of work putting on and off.
sorry partner, no cutting corners in performance. when its real bad, only chains will do....or maybe moving into one of those retirement homes when you cant bend over to put them on with freezing fingertips might be easier![8D][:I]0 -
Forum members: Please read carefully
I have tried chains. I don't like to use them.
The studded tires I got on the Subaru worked great. They had a different stud configuration than the studded tires I now have on the truck.
This means that THERE ARE DIFFERENCES in the types of studded snow tires. This means that THERE ARE DIFFERENCES in the performance available from studded snow tires.
It is not like chains, which are all going to give similar, and great, performance on ice.
I have been looking for comparison testing of studded snow tires on google, but it is hard to get the scoop. One study listed the number one tire as the Gistaved Nordfrost 3. I went to their web site, it is not available in truck sizes.
One study comparing the top brands of studded tires was done by a Swedish newspaper, I clicked the link, I found the study; it is written in Swedish.
If you are knowledgable about which studded snow tire would work better than mine, and I have described mine in detail in the top post, I would really appreciate your advice.
If you love chains, please use them, and God bless you.0 -
Bridgestone Blizzaks are the best snow tire availible, but they aren't studdable.
Goodyear puts out a Winterforce tire that is studdable. I have no experience with them however. Any snow/ice tire will outperform any all season tire with great ease.
I'd jump all over them.
From Tirerack.com.....your given size is $54/ea.0 -
my dad always told me that studs work better on NON RADIALS and they did. might want to look into that. and of course, how much you drive them on good roads will determine how long they last. but...i know you knew that.[:I][:)] 0 -
might depend on the type of rear axle you have also. Did one of them have a limited slip or similar type axle? Had a Ford truck once with the limited slip rear, you could go alot more places in two-wheel drive than most other vehicles that were in 4-wheel drive.
Moose0 -
I'd tell ya a joke about a studded tire, but it would prolly just get pooooffffeeedddd. 0 -
It isn't the size of the tire, the amount of surface contact, or even the tread pattern. What makes the difference on ice are two things:1 the sharpness of the studs so they can scratch the ice, 2 the compound of the tire. If the tire is approved as a "traction tire" for ice it will problably be made of a rubber compound that doesn't harden when cold, and will be able to grip cold surfaces such as ice. Not sure what the present tires are, but in the past I've used Goodyear F-32s and Kleber snows. A pattern that has a lot of edge parallel to the direction of travel will give best steerability. A tire with edge perpendicular to travel will give better traction. But in both cases, sharp new studs and cold compound tires a much more a factor than tread design. 0 -
I have been researching this problem. I have learned that the most knowledge about studded snow tires comes from Scandanavia. Studded snow tires are widely used there, whereas, for instance, they are illegal in Germany.
Every November a big Swedish newspaper does consumer tests of studded snow tires. By comparison, Consumer Reports here in America did tests of winter tires last November, they didn't even test studded tires.
So I found the Swedish tests online, but I don't read Swedish, so kinda hard to comprehend. But, I have found a few translations of these tests online, I had to go to the library and get on the high speed, I had to do so much surfing to find this info.
There are five brands of studded tires that are highly rated. The Michelin X-Ice North, the Continental Winter Viking 1, and the Uniroyal Nordic [do you notice a similarity in these names] are not sold in America, but only in Scandanavia. The Gislaved Norfrost is highly rated, is sold in America, but does not come in truck sizes. These are mostly sold by Volvo dealers.
The tire that comes out as best in the world, year in and year out, is the Nokian Hakkepeliitta 4. These tires are made in Finland. Thank God they are sold in America. They come in car and truck sizes. I will be buying a set next year. Looks like it will be about $600 out the door for the set of four.
That is a great deal for me. I have two sets of wheels. November 15 next year, I take off my warm weather tires, and put on the Nokian Hakkepeliittas, and I can rip up the driveway in the ice no problems. With the $375 studded tires I have on now, I nearly crashed twice this winter. The deductible on my car insurance is $500. It is an easy choice.
Plus I can sell my old tires and get half my money back.0
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