Do some of you that live in snow country have a second set of tires for the snow season?
My current set-up just doesn't handle the snow and ice all that well. If I'm in 4wd, I usually do okay, but even then, I'm noticing that it slips pretty easily (at least, easier than I would expect). When I drive my wife's Land Cruiser, it sticks like glue in situations where the Jeep slides.
I love my Jeep, but our winters are long enough that I'm wondering if it's worth it, or if I should get a different vehicle (Grand Cherokee perhaps?).
Anyway, I was starting to think that maybe it's all in the tires. Are less meaty tires better? If I have a "winter" set-up, will my problem be solved? Having two sets of wheels/tires is a lot cheaper than buying a $45k SUV, that's for sure.

 

Mud tires are terrible in slick conditions. Tires designed for snow will make all the difference in the world.

 

well my tire guy said that if i have any problems with the stock rubi tires to have them siped, I have not needed to do so. I leave outside of town in the moutains and my "road/driveway" is a mile and half of twist and turns and ups and downs and have not had one bit of problem with them. I think it has to do with your ability and confidence in your driving......

 

Tires designed with softer composition is what it's all about. When it gets cold you can't expect hard rubber on a hard cold surface to do anything much. I haven't needed to here in AK. as my Bridgestone "Revos" are pretty good, but many have two sets of wheels and tires and go with studs in the winter. Also, from what I've read here, Blizzacks are supposed to be one of the best for snow and ice.

 

I live in Ohio and we get alot of snow and ice. My set up last year was 16 inch steel wheels and 33 inch Nitto Terra Grapplers. I've never driven a better tire in winter conditions all my life. From now on, I will these tires for my winter driving!!

 

I can't believe I am the first in the thread to say it. How exciting I get to do it.


DURATRACS....

That is all.

 

I live in Seattle, but I'm down in Bend about every month. I was just down for Thanksgiving weekend and had absolutely no issues with snow, ice, winter road conditions....all the way South through the pass, some deep stuff South of Bend, and throughout Bend streets.

I'd say it's all in the tires. I'm running 315/70/R17 GY Duratracs which have an excellent winter rating....and so far has proved it. I have a couple friends in Bend, not Jeeps, that run different tires in the winter.

I would either recommend getting a more versatile aggressive all terrain for all seasons, like the Duratrac, or just get a set for winter driving only. You can get the Duratracs studded as well, mine are not, which I imagine would really make you unstoppable.

As far as the JK, it handles amazing in the frozen winter conditions, provided you have the right tire set up....no need to ditch it for a grand Cherokee...

I love Bend....wish I was at 10 Barrel right now!

 

If you feel that your Jeep is too squirrly in the snow, then definitely ditch your M/T's for the winter months for a set of good All Terrains or a dedicated snow tire. A good set of tires will totally tranform how it handles in bad weather. Think about the difference of trying to offroad in deep mud with street tires......same deal

My personal experience from here in PA/MD. I have an hour+ commute through two states that have very different ideas of what snow removal is. That means I get all sorts of condition changes. Also, if a bad storm hits during the day, I need the ability to safely get home on the backroads because the highway turns into a parking lot. We had a little shot of snow here last week (under an inch), but it turned the beltway around Baltimore into a cross between bumper cars and an ice skating rink. I didn't have any problems getting where I needed to go (and never had it in 4wd), but my Jeep felt substatially less planted than it did last winter when I was driving on the stock Wrangler ST's (which aren't great tires either). While I don't think it was necessarily unsafe, why take the chance? You can give yourself space and plan all you want, but you never know when some asshat is going to force you to take some sort emergency action........weather it be stopping quickly, swerving, or accelerating out of harms way. A good A/T or snow tire will give you 10x better response in those situations over a M/T. I commute about 600 miles a week and have seen WAY too many stupid things to not have a decent set of tires for the current conditions.

I played around with it alot that day. Intentionally seeing where it would break loose during acceleration and braking. After getting home I made the decision that I definitely needed to put my street tires back on for the winter. The Jeep looks kinda dumb and wimpy, and I'm sure I could have got by with the KM's, but why take the chance? A M/T can handle deep snow pretty well, but you know real world road conditions are hardly ever like that. Most of the time its the good old mix of packed snow, slush, and patches of ice. This is where the M/T's fall flat on their face. Just about any street tire will handle those conditions better than a M/T. An A/T tire will most likely do better than a street tire, and a dedicated winter tire will do better than an A/T tire. Once I wear out my street tires, I will most likely replace them with something like the Bridgestone REVO (had these on my last vehicle and they are damn good), or the Goodyear Duratrac and save my M/T's strictly for when I head out offroading. Hell, I might just end up get a set of Duratracs and sell my M/T's all together.

Just my $.02 of course, but I would park the M/T's in the garage for the winter and get yourself a proper set of rubber

 

Studded Duratracs

 

I have 35"x12.5" Toyo MT's on my JK and they do really well in the hard packed snow and ice....in 2wd. It's not all about the tires... Sometimes just the way people drive is what get's them in trouble. Also, I have some extra weight in the back of mine.