Tire Questions: Snow and Beach

[PRspawn]

1) Has anyone considered snow tires? I have an O/L and the stock tires look sick on a nice summer day but I'm considering getting true snow tires for our NY winters. The Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 gets good reviews on Amazon, but so do the Cooper Evolution Winter tires.

2) Has anyone take the 265/50R20 tires on loose sand? I'm a drive-on beach person and I'm curious how the stockers perform.

 

[Evans956]

Get the falken wildpeak AT3W. I had them on my wrangler and they are a superior all season tire with the three peak rating. Once my tires go on this new GCL I’m going to try and get them for it

 

[SweetAndLow]

I run 2 sets of wheels and tires on all my cars. Dedicated summer and dedicated winter. For my GCL overland I ordered a set of the off-road wheels(4755433AA) from jeep and bought some dm-v2 for them. One drawback to the dm-v2 is the speed rating is lower than stock but not a big deal unless you care. If you care you should get the Micheline ice X, it's the same rating at stock. Bridgestone makes an amazing winter tire when temps drop into the 40's or lower.

For tpms I think the jeep Auto relearns so no need to reprogram the ECU every time I swap them over.

 

[MTMark]

I’ve been using Blizzak winter tires on our cars ever since we moved into the mountains. I was hesitating putting them on the Jeep because I just spent a lot on it. After our first snow here in Montana (and was sliding with the oem tires) I went down and bought the Blizzaks. They are awesome winter tires. I have complete confidence that my Jeep will do everything I need it to to this winter. It is a beast in the snow now. BTW, snow mode really makes a noticeable difference.

 

[Sarge]

The Michelin X-Ice SUV Snow is a better choice for snow. I bought a set and have had Blizzaks for decades (still have them on two other vehicles), and the Michelin's snow traction is as good or better than the Blizzaks. What's better, for certain, is that the Michelins use the same rubber compound for the entire depth of the tread compound, whereas the Blizzaks only have the softer silica-rich compound on the top 1/3 of the tread block.

So, if you're looking for snow tires, go with the Michelins.

 

[SweetAndLow]

The Michelin X-Ice SUV Snow is a better choice for snow. I bought a set and have had Blizzaks for decades (still have them on two other vehicles), and the Michelin's snow traction is as good or better than the Blizzaks. What's better, for certain, is that the Michelins use the same rubber compound for the entire depth of the tread compound, whereas the Blizzaks only have the softer silica-rich compound on the top 1/3 of the tread block.

So, if you're looking for snow tires, go with the Michelins.

You keep mentioning this thread depth thing. Well after the first 40-55% the compound changes from their nano rubber to normal winter tire compound. I'll also add that around that read depth you should be replacing a snow tire any ways. So those reasons are not great reasons to avoid the blizzack.

Things like loss of lateral traction with the dm-v2 are bigger reasons to avoid then. There where released in 2014 I think and based off the ws80. The ws80 has already been updated to the ws90. The dm-v2 is due for an update to the team design, the dm-v3 we probably come out in the US next year.

At the end of the day either tire is going to be a huge improvement in the snow and you can't go wrong.

 

[MTMark]

It has been very snowy and icy here in Montana. With Blizzaks and Snow Mode, the Jeep is so stable it’s a little boring. On the steep icy road up to my house, I can floor the accelerator and the Jeep won’t let me spin the wheels. On a turn, (where it is safe to do so), it prevents me from initiating a 4 wheel drift. I’ve been playing around with sand/mud mode when there is no traffic around to get a feel for it. Much more responsive. I can see how sand/mud will be helpful for deep snow situations or if I get stuck (which I don’t think will happen).

Overall, I am glad I got the Blizzaks (or any winter tire). I was debating all terrain tires (never had them before) but suspect I would still be sliding around. Changing tires twice a year is a hassle but it will take a few summers to wear out the Ecopia OEM tires. Blizzaks usually last a few winters for us as well. Maybe, there will be a good “All Weather” tire by then that will fit the Jeep. (I have Michelin CrossClimates on my sons Subaru and am impressed that they feel (almost) as stable as Blizzaks.)