deep snow tires

wADVr

Adventurer
I am interested in your thoughts about tires for deep snow. Snow varying from a foot of powder to very deep packed drifts with a crust of ice on top. Many of my ventures are early season w/ powder and packed powder while my favorite exploration lies in the spring crawling through trails covered with several feet of compacted snow. Floatation is key yet the want for a more street friendly narrow tire without compromising my addiction for deep snow exploration.
For referance I am looking into the 33-34x 11.5-12.5" tire range and am open to 15-17' wheel sizes. The taller end being narrower for fitment. i currently have 305/70R16s (33x12") BFG MT KMs and have been happy with their snow performance but am currious to your thoughts about a slightly taller but narrower option as well as different brands ect. I have done a bit of research but found little on this type of travel in specific.

Example of a common spring time outing, snow surface is apx 4-5' above the ground:
 

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98dango

Expedition Leader
most of thos east of us use

irocks or gumbo mudders
over to Wallawalla thay will get 10-14 feet

check out TIMBERCRAWLER.com for more info
 

rambrush

Adventurer
When I was living in the tri-cities we would run the goodyear terra tires. we were always running deep snow outside of dayton and running the sky line trail. our other trick was we all had tow bars and hitches. we could connect up several vehicles and the mobility was incredible. these are usually run on farm implements and come in super terras and regular. very important to have flotation, not tall and skinny in that kind of country.

Its very difficult to have 1 set of tires that can do it all. easier to have a couple of sets.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/pts/931450626.html
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
I've been wondering about this exact thing. Best I could figure up to this point would be 265/70/16 Cooper Discover M+S. That's the widest winter street tire I could find, but it doesn't seem like enough.

My thing is I have two goals, I want tires that will work for me on the streets, as well as off-road in the snow. Not sure if that's possible.
 

chet

island Explorer
irocs and baja claws seem to be the choice for snow blasting up here. I have not found bfg mud terrains that good for the deep stuff. I have tall 33x10.50 smaper radials on my samurai now. so If I air them down to 3-4 psi I should be good in the snow! :D
 

ExploringNH

Explorer
In the snow we have up here, some wide all terrains are your best bet. The wider the better.

Yokohama just came out with a snow tire in their geolander line, and it has me interested. The other tires in the lineup are great, and the tread pattern on the new snow tire is pretty standard for a good snow tire, but the first time its been available in such large sizes. This tire would be more street oriented, but I bet it would do very well in the deep stuff. Small tread blocks and lots of siping.

http://www.yokohama.ca/en/tires/tire-page.php?tire_name=geolandar_it_g072

Available in both 285/75/16 and 315/75/16, as well as many other common truck sizes.

GO72.jpg
 

chet

island Explorer
that tire would work good for hard compact snow. around my area the snow is wet and icy and once it gets deep those yoko's would pack into a solid ice slick! Obviously different snow requires different tires I guess!
 

mhiscox

Expedition Leader
chet said:
that tire would work good for hard compact snow. around my area the snow is wet and icy and once it gets deep those yoko's would pack into a solid ice slick! Obviously different snow requires different tires I guess!
Actually, am I right in thinking that it's the case that any tire with a tread aggressive enough to break trail and pull you through deep snow will pretty much suck (and even be borderline dangerous sometimes) on packed and/or icy snow? That's kind of what I've personally figured out, but is it really " a rule"?
 

dieselcruiserhead

16 Years on ExPo. Whoa!!
The best I've used are 35 x 12.5 mud terrains in bottomless powder and trail breaking. There was a real difference I noticed between these and your standard 33" - the height difference really helped. Those of us with the larger tire setup seemed to do much better and many times were even forced to break trail so people behind us could make it. I also have a set of chains for 35's but never actually ever had to use them because the 35's worked so well...
 

98dango

Expedition Leader
i agree i have not found a tire that will work good in all snow conditions

here on the cost all we get is nasty wet snow. Wich a good mud tire dose best in becous there is no getting on top. East thay can get on top and have a good frost to hold it on a nice wide foot print is the ticket.

When i lived in Utah it was run what ya brung nothing worked better. All depend on the snow you could be on top then on the bottom with no notice
 

madizell

Explorer
Assuming that you want a tire that works in "deep snow", not one that works in nearly all snow conditions, a displacement mud tire will generally work better all around for deep snow of most any temperature. I have had good use from Swampers and even Boggers in really deep snow where the only means of creating traction is to pack snow under the tread. Ice and snow redials are great tires on the road, but don't work as well when snow is truly deep because of the way they function. Ice and snow tires use micro biting edges to grab snow in a boundary layer around the tire that creates a frictional boundary in the snow itself to create traction. A small crust of snow stays with the tire, and traction is created away from the tire in the snow adjacent to the tire, not at the tire surface. That's fine when the snow is not very deep, but when it is miles deep beneath your tires and flotation is limited, a good displacement tire will work better. Aggressive mud tires work best for this in my experience.
 

wADVr

Adventurer
Thanks for the input. I am trying to talk myself into some slightly narrower more street friendly tires such as a 285/75 16 but an having a hard time loosing some floatation capabilities for the winter explorations. Summer time a BFG AT would do fine as a friend of mine runs them without much trouble even after the rain starts. Stepping up to a 35x12.50 is the limit for my current plans and maybe even a bit much.
 

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