# Snow tire choices



## sagent (Jan 2, 2012)

I have an extra set of wheels I intend to mount some snow tires up to for plowing in the winter months. I have a 2011 Sierra 2500HD. Any recommendations for snow tire ? The size I need is 265/70/18E 

The Michelin atx/2 factory tires were ok the first season but the last 2 not so well. 

Thanks in advance


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## Jguck25 (Oct 30, 2009)

i have always used all terrains until this year, i just got a set of firestone winterforce lt's after reading lots of good reviews and the great price of them


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## gc3 (Dec 6, 2007)

Bridgestone Dueler Revo 2 are pretty good in the snow but expensive.


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## Evil Diesel (Nov 9, 2011)

Goodyear duratrac work really well. I personally just put on a set of toyo at2's. Never used then before but the got good reviews in the snow


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## Jguck25 (Oct 30, 2009)

he is looking for a snow tire though, even all these all terrain tires that are great in the snow, are nothing compared to a true snow tire. trust me i used to be one of the guys that only ran all terrains and swore they were awesome. then i tried a snow tire.


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## 2006Sierra1500 (Dec 28, 2011)

Firestone Winterforce LT. Great traction, but they will wear very quickly.


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## PlowMan03 (Dec 31, 2003)

The General Grabber AT2s are a good snow tire. I haven't had a problem with them yet


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## stone74 (Nov 15, 2013)

General altimax artic on mine, little pricey here in Canada but worth it.


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## THORNTON (Jan 28, 2013)

I use MSR tires, they do a good job for me.


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

If available in your size I recommend Cooper Discovers M & S. Awesome snow tire! I just bought a set a few weeks ago, they plowed great in yesterday a snow!


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## dlcs (Sep 2, 2004)

My 2011 3500hd needs new tires. I have the Michelins liek the poster has but the tire dealers say there is only about two options in the E rated tires in the 265 70 r18 e size. Do i have to buy a E tire? I'm tire dumb.


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## Bigcat99 (Jan 7, 2009)

dlcs;1670923 said:


> My 2011 3500hd needs new tires. I have the Michelins liek the poster has but the tire dealers say there is only about two options in the E rated tires in the 265 70 r18 e size. Do i have to buy a E tire? I'm tire dumb.


Unless you are one of those people driving 3500's just to say you can, you will want a 10 ply(E rated) tire for any hauling or heaving towing that your truck was built for.

Here are 4 options on tire rack:
see link
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?skipOver=true&width=265/&ratio=70&diameter=18


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## dlcs (Sep 2, 2004)

No I use my 3500hd 5 days a week pulling trailers and hauling. Those 18" rims don't leave you many choices for e rated tires though. Found a dealer that has new "take off" OEM Michelin tires for $800 a set. Another dealer wanted $1300 for a new set of the OEm Michelin tires.


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## bersh (Dec 12, 2003)

Nevermind, just reread OP. One option is to sell your current set and buy a set of 17" or see if you can swap for a set as that will open up your tire choices a bit.


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## Jguck25 (Oct 30, 2009)

bersh;1671414 said:


> Nevermind, just reread OP. One option is to sell your current set and buy a set of 17" or see if you can swap for a set as that will open up your tire choices a bit.


That is exactly what I did.

I have 18's in the summer and just bought 17s for winter tires. They make plenty of a/s and a/t tires in 18" load range E, but not too many winter tires, and for the price difference I got 17" snow tires and rims for just slightly more than just 18" tires. I like not having to make an appointment to have them changed over every time, I can just do it myself.

Can you use 275/70r18s? Thats what ford uses for 18" rims on their superduties, and seems to have more options than the size you listed.


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## brown91redcam (Dec 12, 2008)

The firestone winterforce have been a great snow tire for us,are you extra rims from a 2011 or newer truck? Chevrolet changed wheels the older rims will not fit on 11 and up


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## Leland Lawn (Sep 27, 2011)

I see a lot of people who go with the Cooper Discoverer M/S's and are super happy with them. It looks like an amazing snow tire for trucks, but they're kind of pricy. 

We run sipped and studded mud tires for our plow trucks though. We have a set of tires (maxis bighorns) that are on their 3rd season now and still look nearly new. I also have some Bridgestone snow tires (from costco) that I really like and were cheap, but they don't come in a size that would fit the wheels for your truck.


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## Jguck25 (Oct 30, 2009)

brown91redcam;1672469 said:


> The firestone winterforce have been a great snow tire for us,are you extra rims from a 2011 or newer truck? Chevrolet changed wheels the older rims will not fit on 11 and up


Great to know, thanks! I haven't used my winterforces yet and iI have a feeling they will get good traction, just worried about tread life. Which I guess isn't that big of a deal, the trucks are not my daily drivers. How do they compare to other snow tires you have used?

they are significantly cheaper than other snow tires. Like a couple hundred per set.

The only other snow tire i have used is a goodyear ultra grip wrt on my girlfriends escape, and it was night and day compared to an all terrian


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## Jguck25 (Oct 30, 2009)

Leland Lawn;1672475 said:


> I see a lot of people who go with the Cooper Discoverer M/S's and are super happy with them. It looks like an amazing snow tire for trucks, but they're kind of pricy.
> 
> We run sipped and studded mud tires for our plow trucks though. We have a set of tires (maxis bighorns) that are on their 3rd season now and still look nearly new. I also have some Bridgestone snow tires (from costco) that I really like and were cheap, but they don't come in a size that would fit the wheels for your truck.


just curious, but why do you spend the money to sipe and stud mud tires instead of getting true snow tires?I know regular mud terrians are absolutely horrible in snow.. just curious what the benefit is. Seems like it would be more expensive and more of a hassle that way instead of buying a tire that is made for this purpose.
even after you do that, the rubber compound is still much harder than a snow tire
i


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## Leland Lawn (Sep 27, 2011)

Jguck25;1672524 said:


> just curious, but why do you spend the money to sipe and stud mud tires instead of getting true snow tires?I know regular mud terrians are absolutely horrible in snow.. just curious what the benefit is. Seems like it would be more expensive and more of a hassle that way instead of buying a tire that is made for this purpose.
> even after you do that, the rubber compound is still much harder than a snow tire
> i


I never really thought about that actually! hahaha
Im pretty new to the whole plowing with trucks thing. We used ATVs for years and thats primarily what I rode. We just got our first truck 3 years ago and had some ATs on that truck that weren't amazing, so thats when the mud terrains were purchased at the recommendation of the local Les Schwab. The next year we got the BFG snow tires for our new truck. This years new truck has some Mastercraft AT's on it that have been pretty good for plowing so far this year.

I'd say that the only advantage to the MT's over the snow tires is the harder rubber compound. They can handle a little more beating and spinning before breaking down and wearing out quickly. Plus MT's have really deep tread lugs that can handle snowy city roads the best. Personally my next plow truck tires will be designated studless snow terrains. Thats what I think you should go with.


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## REAPER (Nov 23, 2004)

Leland Lawn;1672475 said:


> I see a lot of people who go with the Cooper Discoverer M/S's and are super happy with them. It looks like an amazing snow tire for trucks, but they're kind of pricy.
> 
> We run sipped and studded mud tires for our plow trucks though. We have a set of tires (maxis bighorns) that are on their 3rd season now and still look nearly new. I also have some Bridgestone snow tires (from costco) that I really like and were cheap, but they don't come in a size that would fit the wheels for your truck.


Best tire for snow and ice by far. 
These are also already siped and stud ready. They may be a bit pricey but for the extra traction and ability well worth the cost. 
Strictly snow/ice tire tho as they will wear out in one(maybe 2) season if you run em year round. Thumbs Up


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## Grassman09 (Mar 18, 2009)

Mounting a set of Open Toyo open country WLT1 Tomorrow. They are a commercial winter tire. I have used the coopers before with good luck but wanted to see how these do.


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## peteo1 (Jul 4, 2011)

I just put a set of firestone winterforce on my ram. Great tires. Had real wet heavy stuff the first night out and they didn't slip very much at all. The second night I plowed I was about eight driveways in before I realized I was still in 2wd. It should be noted though the second night was the light fluffy snow and not the heavier type we had the previous round.


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## Antlerart06 (Feb 28, 2011)

I like Hankook tires anything I can put studs in I'll get 4-5 winters out them


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## MikeJee (Nov 22, 2013)

I love the Cooper M & S's........$142 each is not pricey. Shop around and you can find great deals in the fall and spring.


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## maxwellp (Feb 16, 2013)

peteo1;1673818 said:


> I just put a set of firestone winterforce on my ram. Great tires. Had real wet heavy stuff the first night out and they didn't slip very much at all. The second night I plowed I was about eight driveways in before I realized I was still in 2wd. It should be noted though the second night was the light fluffy snow and not the heavier type we had the previous round.


When you plow again, please tell me what you think about them still. I am looking at these. This is the only true winter tire I can find in 285-75-16 so I think I will try them. Two years ago I had my 1/2 bald Goodyears siped and that made a huge difference.


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## Jguck25 (Oct 30, 2009)

I just plowed with the firestone winterforce two days ago and the amount of traction was crazy. I was plowing up driveways that are so steep that i usually spin in 4x4, and I plowed up it in 2wd. I never even locked my hubs in the whole storm. We only got around an inch but there was a lot of ice mixed in and I was the only truck in my driveway to make it up without 4x4. First time plowing with snow tires and I really wish I did it earlier


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## KSikkema (Oct 7, 2008)

We have been using the Firestone Winterforce for a while now and hve used a number of other winter tires before that. In my opinion, the Firestones are by far the best that we've used. The traction is incredible and the wear has not been bad at all.


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## maxwellp (Feb 16, 2013)

Has any one run these in the summer? Do they wear out fast in the summer? I only drive the plow truck 2-3k in the summer just because it gets lonely. haha Or should I just get a set of winter rims with Winterforce tires on them?


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## KSikkema (Oct 7, 2008)

my one truck had them on in the summer and probably did about 5-7,000 kilometers and they didn't wear hardly at all. We've also had a client or two run them all year, every year on their personal vehicle and we've seen them last in the 4 year range. So I don't find that they wear poorly at all.


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## sargex595 (Oct 11, 2005)

I had a 2005 GMC 2500hd that I put the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 2 on and it was amazing the traction I had plowing. This truck had 16" tires. I traded and just bought a 2013 GMC 2500hd Ext cab that came with Michelin LTX A/T 2 LT 265/70R 18 tires. I plowed for the first time with about 7" of lite snow and could feel the tires slipping. I went to the Firestone dealer that I bought the Bridgestone Dueler's from for my 2005 GMC and they were unable to find a winter tire in my size with the LT (light truck). I wanted either the Bridgestone Dueler like my last truck or the Firestone Winter Force as they are suppose to be real good. They said the tire size I was looking for is not very common and they wouldn't be surprised to see 2 or 3 winter tires in that size next year once they become a little for common. I could switch to the 17" tire as my truck also comes with that size tire. I would have preferred the 17" tire over the 18" but I bought the truck from off the dealers lot. If I had to buy (4) new wheels/rims with the tires, not sure it would be worth it as I only put on about 15,000 miles a year on the truck if that. I think I will wait and be really careful this year as see what they have for tires next year. I mainly use the truck to plow the church parking lot and use my JD X595 w/plow to do my driveway.


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## jmassi (Nov 11, 2003)

I have Mastercraft Courser MSR's on my truck and they are by far the best winter tire I've ever used. Amount of traction is nuts! I have an extra set of rims for them so I only use them in the winter. This is my 3rd season with them and I still have about 7/32nds on them and they still bite!


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

I know its been a couple of years ,,,
but did you ever find some tires?


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