Tire Options

[eyemgh]

I've had both the Falkens and the Toyo's. I thought the Falkens got the nod on ice, and the Toyo's were better in mud. But both were great tires. Toyo's were slightly louder. I liked the confidence of having three ply sidewalls on the Toyo's and would buy again. I've gone back to 15" wheels though, so no availability of them in a size that works.

I'm now running General X3's. They're awesome off road and ride soft, but I miss the on road performance of the AT's (mostly fuel economy and tread squirm).

Based on what I could get, I ended up with Open Country A/T IIIs in 35 12.5r17E. They’ll live on black Method 701s. Method says they’ll fit, so we’re moving forward.

 

[billiebob]

We're building a rig right now around a 2022 F350 Super Cab. I want to upsize to 35s and have a winter rated tire. I currently run Wildpeak AT3/Ws on our current truck and like them a lot. They come in the size I want, 35 12.5/R17. Two others do though too that seem to get a lot of love, K02 and Toyo Open Country A/T III. Does anyone have experience with one or more of these? Any love? ANy hate? Thanks!

I've had lots of KOs and KO2s, they are not winter tires.
Winter tires have a fine tread with many sipes designed to pack with snow and stick like a snowball then throw the snow so the tread is ready to pack like a snow ball again. Snow traction is all about not sponning tires. It is about sticking snow in the sipes to snow on the ground. Proper winter tires are the winner but you are correct, they are only made in smaller sizes.

Winter tires here. I stopped for the picture, reversed 5' and went ahead again, no tire spin and the snow was on top of ice. NO all terrain is a winter snow tire, they are all a compromize. Mud Terrains are even worse.

These might not look cool but they sure do work.

 

[eyemgh]

I've had lots of KOs and KO2s, they are not winter tires.
Winter tires have a fine tread with many sipes designed to pack with snow and stick like a snowball then throw the snow so the tread is ready to pack like a snow ball again. Snow traction is all about not sponning tires. It is about sticking snow in the sipes to snow on the ground. Proper winter tires are the winner but you are correct, they are only made in smaller sizes.

Winter tires here. I stopped for the picture, reversed 5' and went ahead again, no tire spin and the snow was on top of ice. NO all terrain is a winter snow tire, they are all a compromize. Mud Terrains are even worse.

These might not look cool but they sure do work.
View attachment 695319

I used to routinely run what I thought was the best winter tire of all time, studded Nokian Hakkapeliittas. They were bomber. The Wildpeaks were a compromise, knowing they wouldn't be as good, but hopefully good enough. They turned out to be better than any tire I've ever run that wasn't a fully dedicated snow and even better than a few of those (Toyo Observe...I'm looking at you). In short, they were good enough considering we need a tire that can encounter snow and DVNP on the same trip. I couldn't get those for the new build and settled for Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs. Again, they won't be dedicated snows. Hopefully they'll be good enough.

 

[billiebob]

I used to routinely run what I thought was the best winter tire of all time, studded Nokian Hakkapeliittas. They were bomber. The Wildpeaks were a compromise, knowing they wouldn't be as good, but hopefully good enough. They turned out to be better than any tire I've ever run that wasn't a fully dedicated snow and even better than a few of those (Toyo Observe...I'm looking at you). In short, they were good enough considering we need a tire that can encounter snow and DVNP on the same trip. I couldn't get those for the new build and settled for Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs. Again, they won't be dedicated snows. Hopefully they'll be good enough.

yep, I made the compromise too. I run a year round M&S 7.50R16... which is a 185/100R16. I love them but they are not quite as good as a snow tire. Their plus is a 100K KM warranty, Super skinny so they cut thru the slush when pulling out to pass, and a 5mpg bump in fuel economy.... thats a range increase of 95 miles on the highway.

I loved the confidence, power of pushing thru incredibly deep snow on "winter" tires. These have plusses but they are not "winter" tires.

Chains make any tire unbeatable.