The Best Winter Tires Available

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I'm looking for input (preferably with experience) on what the best winter tires available are.
Vehicle in question will be a 2017 Tacoma SR5 4x4 double cab 245/75R16.
I drive 20 miles to work (And back) daily on semi-rural state highway (40-55mph, curvy and lots of hills) with 2, 40 mile interstate runs a week (40 there, 40 back)
Plowing in my work route is spotty, some areas are left until a storm is over leaving a good layer of deep snow whereas some areas will be well done. The highway in my area, when plowed, are decent though they often leave a trail of 3/4" to 1" of packed snow.
OF NOTE- I am a volunteer Firefigher/EMT and on occasion will need to haul [censored] on twisty-turny rural roads or trails
BITOG do your thing, and thank you in advance
 
Originally Posted By: NissanHauler
I'm looking for input (preferably with experience) on what the best winter tires available are.
Vehicle in question will be a 2017 Tacoma SR5 4x4 double cab 245/75R16.
I drive 20 miles to work (And back) daily on semi-rural state highway (40-55mph, curvy and lots of hills) with 2, 40 mile interstate runs a week (40 there, 40 back)
Plowing in my work route is spotty, some areas are left until a storm is over leaving a good layer of deep snow whereas some areas will be well done. The highway in my area, when plowed, are decent though they often leave a trail of 3/4" to 1" of packed snow.
OF NOTE- I am a volunteer Firefigher/EMT and on occasion will need to haul [censored] on twisty-turny rural roads or trails
BITOG do your thing, and thank you in advance

For your application get Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 or Nokian Hakka R2 SUV.
 
Nokian hakka flakka flames for sure. By far one of the best and most durable snow tires out there. A favorite of most winter drivers who know anything about snow tires.
 
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: NissanHauler
I'm looking for input (preferably with experience) on what the best winter tires available are.
Vehicle in question will be a 2017 Tacoma SR5 4x4 double cab 245/75R16.
I drive 20 miles to work (And back) daily on semi-rural state highway (40-55mph, curvy and lots of hills) with 2, 40 mile interstate runs a week (40 there, 40 back)
Plowing in my work route is spotty, some areas are left until a storm is over leaving a good layer of deep snow whereas some areas will be well done. The highway in my area, when plowed, are decent though they often leave a trail of 3/4" to 1" of packed snow.
OF NOTE- I am a volunteer Firefigher/EMT and on occasion will need to haul [censored] on twisty-turny rural roads or trails
BITOG do your thing, and thank you in advance

For your application get Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 or Nokian Hakka R2 SUV.


Just get the R2s off your car ASAP if there is a warm spell...it'll be like braking on marbles. The ones I bought better be incredible in snow and on ice to make up for that. There was a bizarre warm spell right after I picked them up in the spring and I almost crashed when some moron blew off a red and I almost just couldn't stop my car to avoid him.
I had DM-V2s on my RAV4 a while back and they gave me very good winter performance as well as decent dry highway manners, important for me as a skier who puts on ton of miles on in all conditions every winter. I'll have plenty of 50 degree days back home for every 1 that is cold and snowy up North.
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: NissanHauler
I'm looking for input (preferably with experience) on what the best winter tires available are.
Vehicle in question will be a 2017 Tacoma SR5 4x4 double cab 245/75R16.
I drive 20 miles to work (And back) daily on semi-rural state highway (40-55mph, curvy and lots of hills) with 2, 40 mile interstate runs a week (40 there, 40 back)
Plowing in my work route is spotty, some areas are left until a storm is over leaving a good layer of deep snow whereas some areas will be well done. The highway in my area, when plowed, are decent though they often leave a trail of 3/4" to 1" of packed snow.
OF NOTE- I am a volunteer Firefigher/EMT and on occasion will need to haul [censored] on twisty-turny rural roads or trails
BITOG do your thing, and thank you in advance

For your application get Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 or Nokian Hakka R2 SUV.


Just get the R2s off your car ASAP if there is a warm spell...it'll be like braking on marbles. The ones I bought better be incredible in snow and on ice to make up for that. There was a bizarre warm spell right after I picked them up in the spring and I almost crashed when some moron blew off a red and I almost just couldn't stop my car to avoid him.
I had DM-V2s on my RAV4 a while back and they gave me very good winter performance as well as decent dry highway manners, important for me as a skier who puts on ton of miles on in all conditions every winter. I'll have plenty of 50 degree days back home for every 1 that is cold and snowy up North.

I put around 25K on DM-V2 in Colorado (I ski twice a week religiously) and they are really good in deep snow.
Where I got disappointed was ice performance. They hold road incredibly and then suddenly without any progressive loose of traction they let go.
Slush is also OK with DM-V2, but considering they start at 13/32 it could be better. Was kind of disappointed there too.
As for R2, I actually never had it. Had in Europe WR D3 series and was utterly disappointed with every aspect of winter performance. R2 has really good reviews for really bad conditions. Now, not sure how worse in warm are they then let;s say Blizzaks? I am actually contemplating to get R2 for Tiguan, or might go with Blizzak WS80 or Michelin Xi3. However, I am not sure about Xi3 slush performance as it seems there is general agreement that they are bad in slush. I might actually try Continental Winetrcontact SI. IMO, Continental makes best winter tires period (except they do not sell TS series in US) and SI should be good too.
 
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I'd probably go for Michelin latitude xice xi2
Handle like normal tires only really good on ice.
but they dont seem available in that size?

So bridgestone blizzak dmv2 or general grabber arctic
seem like pretty good options.
 
You need to decide if you are going to get studded or not first. However Nokian has studded and studless options. My #1 choice in tires is Nokian. I have the R2's right now going into season 4 with them and im down to 6/32's tread. This will be the last season I use them. I feel like the tread wore pretty fast but they have been great overall. If you will experience alot of ice, id go with studded Nokians. No tire is that great on ice unless studded. With 4x4 and studded Nokians, you will be all set! If the Bridgestones are alot cheaper, they are also a good option and Ive heard the X ice's are good too (if planning to go without studs).
 
My comparison is old because I moved here from Vermont 10+ years ago, but then the very best snows I had were Yokohama's. They were much better and more versatile than the Blizzaks and Hakka's I tried. I would strongly recommend looking at their current offerings; the Guardex I used to use was amazing back then. They were far more capable on both ice and snow than anything else.
 
For truck tires Bridgestone Blizzaks are called Bridestone Dueler. They are great winter tires but will wear out fast if you run them in warm weather. They have a soft rubber that has microscopic holes in it that allow the tire rubber to get through the microscopic layer of water that forms on the surface of ice when a tire comes into contact with it. Getting through that surface layer to the hard ice is why they have traction even on ice without studs. Don't expect the kind of traction you have on dry pavement when you are on ice, but if you take it easy you will be able to have complete control on ice.
 
Never go wrong with Blizzaks. Have DM-V2's for the wife's minivan. She is not a gearhead but won't roll on anything else in the winter and tells all her lady friends to get Blizzaks.
Although since you have a 4x4 truck, know that BFG All-Terrain T/A's are severe winter rated so you can just run one tire all year. General Grabbers are also highly regarded as a snow tire.
 
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Ice (stopping) is tough for all winter tires. I nearly slid through an intersection last year with Michelin Xi3s which were new that season. Yes, going slow to match the conditions: 10 mph in a 25 zone. Had to take a different way home due to an accident closing my usual route. Never been on this road in slick stuff. My Audi was rapid firing the ABS. Xi3’s are fine in the slush, no better or worse than some of the older Blizzak’s and Dunlop’s that I’ve run in the past.

The best thing about the Xi3’s is lower noise levels. Around 50-60mph in the wet they will sing. Not bad, but audible. Still better than others that I’ve experienced. Also they are H rated.

Only disappointment is the side bite when turning. You get a little sideways wiggle.
 
I once had a coworker who was from New Hampshire, and he was a winter tire snob. We were discussing winter tires one day, and I swore by the Blizzaks I had on my Camaro, and he swore by the Nokians he had on his Blazer. I'd say they're both good. I got six winters out of the Blizzaks, then I bought a set of Michelin X-Ice2's because they placed #1 in Tire Rack's rankings that year. I ran them for 6 seasons also, and found they were great in the snow, but easy to slide in slush. I went back to Blizzaks (WS70) when it came time to replace the Michelins.

I just bought a set of General Arctic LT's for my Dodge Ram, but I have no previous experience with them. It will be interesting to see how they work when towing trailers in wintry conditions.
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
For truck tires Bridgestone Blizzaks are called Bridestone Dueler. They are great winter tires but will wear out fast if you run them in warm weather. They have a soft rubber that has microscopic holes in it that allow the tire rubber to get through the microscopic layer of water that forms on the surface of ice when a tire comes into contact with it. Getting through that surface layer to the hard ice is why they have traction even on ice without studs. Don't expect the kind of traction you have on dry pavement when you are on ice, but if you take it easy you will be able to have complete control on ice.

They are NOT called Dualer.
Dualer is Bridgestone's truck tire for everything else except winter. Winter is designated as Blizzak as any other Bridgestone's winter tire except their designation starts with DM. Current Bridgestone Blizzak for trucks is DM-V2.
 
Originally Posted By: TheKracken
Duratracts...because truck

No, because A/T tires are horrible is stopping and cornering in snow and ice. Actually they should be banned in snow! We would have less dead JEEP and Pick Up drivers here in Colorado.
 
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