My pickup, a 2nd gen Tundra with 275-65R18 tires, has a set of Michelin X-Ice Suv snows. They are on their 3rd winter they are not cutting it anymore. This winter has been harsh so far, lots of ice, snow and snow pack, and I am slipping and sliding all over the place with these tires; they do not perform as they did new. I put less than 5K miles per winter on these tires and they measured about 7/32s when I installed them in the fall. So even the wear hasn't been good. I am quite disappointed in ther performance and wear on my truck. They were a better match for my wifes lighter Rav4, expecially for wear. My last set of winter tires on my truck was Blizzak DM-V2s. They were overall a better tire and performed better at winter #4 than these Michelins did at winter #3.
I live in an area with harsh winters and drive on snowy and icy roads almost every day. My road is not salted, so it is usually snow packed all winter and can get as slippery as glare ice if not sanded. Add to that, my house is halfway up a hill. My commute does include a major highway which is generally cleared well and heavily salted, and secondary rural roads which are sloppy due to less thorough snow removal and a sand/salt mixture (usually down the middle of the road only).
I am looking at a few tires:
I am ok with compromising some dry/wet performance for ultimate snow/ice performance. Which is why I am leaning toward Nokian Hakka R10s, with studs. I ran Firestone Winterforce studded tires years ago on a 2WD Suburban and they made that truck a tank. From the Tyre Reviews website, the R10s seem to compare very well to other top tires like the Hakka R5s or Continentals.
I just installed Continental VC8s on the Rav4 and they are great, noticeably better than the Michelins it had. I can get these for my truck, but I don't like how shallow the tread depth is. One issue found with the Michelins is shallow tread depth. Now that they have 7/32s tread, they get plugged up very easily in wet/sticky snow and essentially become slicks. The deep tread seems to help avoid this. R5s seem to be comparable to VC8s but have more tread depth.
The Blizzak DM-V2s were decent when I used them in th past but its an old design and I'd like to go better. They are the cheapest option. The Blizzak in LT have very deep tread depth but are expensive and probably ride rougher. I have no idea how they would perform in the snow compared to the lighter duty P tires.
Any advice is appreciated, opinions or experience appreciated.
I live in an area with harsh winters and drive on snowy and icy roads almost every day. My road is not salted, so it is usually snow packed all winter and can get as slippery as glare ice if not sanded. Add to that, my house is halfway up a hill. My commute does include a major highway which is generally cleared well and heavily salted, and secondary rural roads which are sloppy due to less thorough snow removal and a sand/salt mixture (usually down the middle of the road only).
I am looking at a few tires:
- Nokian Hakkapeliitta R10
- Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
- Continental Vikingcontact 8
- Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
- Bridgestone Blizzak LT
I am ok with compromising some dry/wet performance for ultimate snow/ice performance. Which is why I am leaning toward Nokian Hakka R10s, with studs. I ran Firestone Winterforce studded tires years ago on a 2WD Suburban and they made that truck a tank. From the Tyre Reviews website, the R10s seem to compare very well to other top tires like the Hakka R5s or Continentals.
I just installed Continental VC8s on the Rav4 and they are great, noticeably better than the Michelins it had. I can get these for my truck, but I don't like how shallow the tread depth is. One issue found with the Michelins is shallow tread depth. Now that they have 7/32s tread, they get plugged up very easily in wet/sticky snow and essentially become slicks. The deep tread seems to help avoid this. R5s seem to be comparable to VC8s but have more tread depth.
The Blizzak DM-V2s were decent when I used them in th past but its an old design and I'd like to go better. They are the cheapest option. The Blizzak in LT have very deep tread depth but are expensive and probably ride rougher. I have no idea how they would perform in the snow compared to the lighter duty P tires.
Any advice is appreciated, opinions or experience appreciated.
