AT M+S or Winter Tires???

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Good point made above that vehicle weight totally changes tire feel. Just because some unibidy SUV's and half ton trucks use the same tire sizes doesn't mean the same tires will be best. Particularly if your half ton has heavy shit like a topper, or tools in it. Can be 1500lbs heavier than the SUV easily.

How many Phil Collins cassettes are weighing down your new F150?

[ExtraSlow]

The mp3's on my 16gb memory stick are not very heavy.

[Tik-Tok]

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The mp3's on my 16gb memory stick are not very heavy.

Yeah, but its all those amps and subwoofers in the back to pump out In The Air Tonight for everyone in a 3km radius to enjoy.

[ExtraSlow]

I gotta watch for that noise snare when the beat drops for sure. And Sussudio bangs the whole way.

[nobb]

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...

Not trying to make a blanket statement, just sharing my experiences with the tires and why I think the Duratracs are so poor in the ice and packed snow (lack of aggressive siping). Even if the Duratracs have a larger temperature range on paper, the ATW's are definitely a softer compound with more aggressive siping which likely explains why I felt they performed better overall in the winter. I'm comfortable taking the ATWs on the highway even in the worst of conditions, but I can't say the same for the Duratracs. With extra weight in the back and studs, I'm sure the Duratracs would be ok but they just didn't seem like that much of an improvement over a normal all season.

[r3ccOs]

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Not trying to make a blanket statement, just sharing my experiences with the tires and why I think the Duratracs are so poor in the ice and packed snow (lack of aggressive siping). Even if the Duratracs have a larger temperature range on paper, the ATW's are definitely a softer compound with more aggressive siping which likely explains why I felt they performed better overall in the winter. I'm comfortable taking the ATWs on the highway even in the worst of conditions, but I can't say the same for the Duratracs. With extra weight in the back and studs, I'm sure the Duratracs would be ok but they just didn't seem like that much of an improvement over a normal all season.

I'm using the Cooper AT/W still as my "summer" tires as I picked up my set of Nokians and am switching them over today.

It appears everyone seems to have different perspective on things, but my favorite "offroad" A/T that has good Winter and onroad mannerisms were the BFG AT KO2, Duratrac, and General Grabber AT/2... I have tried the Procomp A/T sport, Wild Country XTX but didn't like them nearly as much

I'd like to try Open Country A/T 2 and I've heard the cheap Chinese Terramax is a solid offroad A/T with decent winter charrastics too

My favorite "onroad" all weather tires - I personally really liked the Nokian Rotiiva... and my neighbour had the Michelin LTX defenders that I tried out. For onroad all weather tires, these two IMO are SUV/LT winners

however, none of them compare onroad on ice or any sub -15c weather to a Proper Winter.

[Brent.ff]

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For my truck i am getting a new set of Duratracs, they're a great AT as well as good on ice.

Duratracs are horrendous on true ice.

I ran duratracs for a couple winters, finally bought winters (X-Ice).. regret not doing it day 1. Such a difference for those shitty days on the Transcanada to go to the mountains. Duratracs great for snow and thats about it.

More curious how many that are running duratracs are running 4Hi all the time in winter.

[killramos]

If the roads are shit I usually leave it in 4A if you find that interesting.

Back to 2Hi if roads are truly clear.

[SKR]

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I'd like to try Open Country A/T 2

The All Weather ones I assume you mean. I'd like to try those too. I have the ATII Extremes on my truck now and I really like them as an all terrain summer tire.

[ExtraSlow]

What about us poor folk who don't have 4A?

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

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Duratracs are horrendous on true ice.

I ran duratracs for a couple winters, finally bought winters (X-Ice).. regret not doing it day 1. Such a difference for those shitty days on the Transcanada to go to the mountains. Duratracs great for snow and thats about it.

More curious how many that are running duratracs are running 4Hi all the time in winter.

Yeah but also you used them on a quarter ton truck and I’m willing to bet in 265 or wider. Big difference in my 7000lb truck on 245s.

[ExtraSlow]

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Yeah but also you used them on a quarter ton truck and I’m willing to bet in 265 or wider. Big difference in my 7000lb truck on 245s.

Absolutely. Ice traction is about ground pressure.

[killramos]

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What about us poor folk who don't have 4A?

Just add it to the list of features to add with your V8 swap...

Even the 2005 expedition I used to use for field tours had 4A...

[SKR]

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Yeah but also you used them on a quarter ton truck and I’m willing to bet in 265 or wider. Big difference in my 7000lb truck on 245s.

I had 245s on a GMC 2500 and they were so fuckin squirmy you never knew whether you had traction or not. And fuck did they howl. I never thought Duratracs were a great tire, but I thought they were alright until that experiment. It was such an unpleasant experience that I'll probably never consider for a second buying another set.

[riander5]

I had A/T M+S back in the day when I had a truck (2015)

Performed totally fine for trips to the ski hills, plowing through snow etc. Obviously winters would do better but I can't say A/T M+S didnt get the job done for me.

[ExtraSlow]

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Even the 2005 expedition I used to use for field tours had 4A...

I owned a 2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer. Highest trim I've ever had, such a nice truck. Never attained such heights again.

[Brent.ff]

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If the roads are shit I usually leave it in 4A if you find that interesting.

Back to 2Hi if roads are truly clear.

I definitely noted that i was in 4A a lot more with duratracs, and rarely when using the X-Ice... soo.. saving moneys?

[tirebob]

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Duratracs are horrendous on true ice.

I ran duratracs for a couple winters, finally bought winters (X-Ice).. regret not doing it day 1. Such a difference for those shitty days on the Transcanada to go to the mountains. Duratracs great for snow and thats about it.

More curious how many that are running duratracs are running 4Hi all the time in winter.

I definitely don't run in 4H except if the roads are super slick but absolutely 4wd is the saving grace for any tire that is not a pure winter compound or studded. Again, I am not claiming them to be a true winter tire... Just saying they are one of the better in winter than other tires that are also not winter only tires.

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I had 245s on a GMC 2500 and they were so fuckin squirmy you never knew whether you had traction or not. And fuck did they howl. I never thought Duratracs were a great tire, but I thought they were alright until that experiment. It was such an unpleasant experience that I'll probably never consider for a second buying another set.

See this is funny... You come drive my F150 with these and they are absolutely super quiet and smooth. They are quieter than the OEM tires it came with! When it comes to road noise, it always surprises me that I can be in a vehicle with an individual who thinks tires are quiet and I find them noisy or even the other way around. People do have different ranges in their hearing though where they are kind of like dogs and can pick up certain tones or pitches than another person, and I imagine if your hearing can identify a tone and whatever you are driving on falls in that range you will find it noisy.

That said, with a more aggressive tire like a Duratrac, even wear must be watched for and maintained because if they do start to feather on you from lack of rotation, douche driving, etc, they will get noisy as fuck as all aggressive tires can.

[killramos]

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I definitely noted that i was in 4A a lot more with duratracs, and rarely when using the X-Ice... soo.. saving moneys?

I don’t really see how transfer case settings make a material difference in how bad duratracs are at stopping on ice? 4A and 2H I doubt most people would notice the difference in fuel usage unless at highway speeds anyway (and you should never have any level of 4 on on the highway IMO...).

I think you are falsely equating me switching into 4A when it snows with me saying my tires couldn’t keep up, rather it that if conditions are crap I prefer to give myself every available advantage?

I think 60-70% of my winter gas usage is spent on remote start anyway.

[SKR]

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See this is funny... You come drive my F150 with these and they are absolutely super quiet and smooth. They are quieter than the OEM tires it came with! When it comes to road noise, it always surprises me that I can be in a vehicle with an individual who thinks tires are quiet and I find them noisy or even the other way around. People do have different ranges in their hearing though where they are kind of like dogs and can pick up certain tones or pitches than another person, and I imagine if your hearing can identify a tone and whatever you are driving on falls in that range you will find it noisy.

That said, with a more aggressive tire like a Duratrac, even wear must be watched for and maintained because if they do start to feather on you from lack of rotation, douche driving, etc, they will get noisy as fuck as all aggressive tires can.

I chalked it up to being a narrow tire on a heavy truck. I've had Duratracs before and they were quiet, but never that narrow. Whatever it was, I hated it. They were louder than these, which I put probably 50,000km on: