Help a noob, let's talk Wildpeaks and snow....

[BeerMeBruh]

This is my first Jeep and I'm pretty unfamiliar with offroad tires and these Wildpeaks that came on my Recon.

Here's what I've learned so far, my understanding is these Wildpeak MT01 tires that come on the Recon excel with dirt and mud but snow may be a weakness? Previously I was under the impression M/T tires would be fine in snow but what I've gathered so far is that mud tires tend to do poorly in snow because the tread is designed to "fling" the mud away and with snow you don't want that which is why the M/T isn't the best choice; but then I've also read that with more modern design M/T tires this isn't an issue on them and they perform well in snow? Do the Wildpeak M/T's fall under that category? Should I consider something else like an A/T tire?

I really like my Wildpeaks so far, they have even been surprisingly quiet on the road which has been nice, but with snow season around the corner I'm not sure if these are good enough or if I should consider selling them and buying something else.

Can anyone who has experienced the Wildpeak M/T's in snow give me an idea of how well or how poorly you thought they performed?

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[blnewt]

If yo

This is my first Jeep and I'm pretty unfamiliar with offroad tires and these Wildpeaks that came on my Recon.

Here's what I've learned so far, my understanding is these Wildpeak MT01 tires that come on the Recon excel with dirt and mud but snow may be a weakness? Previously I was under the impression M/T tires would be fine in snow but what I've gathered so far is that mud tires tend to do poorly in snow because the tread is designed to "fling" the mud away and with snow you don't want that which is why the M/T isn't the best choice; but then I've also read that with more modern design M/T tires this isn't an issue on them and they perform well in snow? Do the Wildpeak M/T's fall under that category? Should I consider something else like an A/T tire?

I really like my Wildpeaks so far, they have even been surprisingly quiet on the road which has been nice, but with snow season around the corner I'm not sure if these are good enough or if I should consider selling them and buying something else.

Can anyone who has experienced the Wildpeak M/T's in snow give me an idea of how well or how poorly you thought they performed?

If you're wanting a tire primarily for Snow w/ good all-terrain ability look for tires w/ the 3 peak snow rating. Two that come to mind are the BFG K02 and the Toyo AT3 (not sure but I think the Wildpeak ATs are also 3 peak rated). These will be very good all-terrain tires that perform better than almost any other tire in snow (unless you're going w/ a total snow tire w/ studs). These will sacrifice agresssive mud performance and won't have the agresive side wall lugs that most of the MTs have.

These ATs will also give you decent MPG, long tire life, and quiet running.

 

[limeade]

MT's do really good in deep snow, such as you would find out on a trail. They aren't as effective on snow packed and icy roads. I've driven MT's in the winter before, you just have to be aware of their lack of effective traction.

What I've done in the past is to have my MT's siped (Les Schwab tires does this in my area). While still not as good as a dedicated snow tire, they can perform almost as good as an All Terrain. Adding siping will void a tire warranty though.

 

[BRuby]

Yeah M/T for winter conditions is not optimal. Better to get a 3PMSF tire compound designed to handle lower temps at a minimum. Full snows even better. All last year we drove up down mountain roads 40+ times with stock KO2s and they gripped perfectly fine in 4Hi.

Only in one instance was there any loss of traction coming around an iced up large radius downhill bend. JL drifted a hair then re-established grip on the snow to the side.

Better would have been dedicated snows designed for ice. Overall for all purpose all year A/Ts the KO2s are fine. Just be very careful on slippery corners by reducing speed etc. We also carry chains, snow recovery boards, and kinetic straps.

 

[BeerMeBruh]

Yeah M/T for winter conditions is not optimal. Better to get a 3PMSF tire compound designed to handle lower temps at a minimum. Full snows even better. All last year we drove up down mountain roads 40+ times with stock KO2s and they gripped perfectly fine in 4Hi.

Only in one instance was there any loss of traction coming around an iced up large radius downhill bend. JL drifted a hair then re-established grip on the snow to the side.

Better would have been dedicated snows designed for ice. Overall for all purpose all year A/Ts the KO2s are fine. Just be very careful on slippery corners by reducing speed etc. We also carry chains, snow recovery boards, and kinetic straps.

That's kind of a bummer. I thought the Wildpeaks were similar in all season performance as the KO2's. I just need something reliable to get up and down the mountains when they're hit with 12 or so inches of snow, any more than that is pretty rare. 90% of my driving throughout the year is dry desert so I can really justify dropping money for dedicated snow tires.

 

[blnewt]

That's kind of a bummer. I thought the Wildpeaks were similar in all season performance as the KO2's. I just need something reliable to get up and down the mountains when they're hit with 12 or so inches of snow, any more than that is pretty rare. 90% of my driving throughout the year is dry desert so I can really justify dropping money for dedicated snow tires.

Thw Wildpeak ATs would be similar to the K02s for all season performance, it's the MTs that don't have the 2 to 3 peak snow rating (they don't have any snow rating AFAIK).

 

[BeerMeBruh]

Thw Wildpeak ATs would be similar to the K02s for all season performance, it's the MTs that don't have the 2 to 3 peak snow rating (they don't have any snow rating AFAIK).

They just have the usual M+S rating (I'm not tire expert but I know it isn't 3 peak snow lol). I'm actually surprised at how hard it is digging up info on the MT tires specifically but I spent a lot of time reading about them today. I have yet to see any negative reviews on them even from people who have taken them through snow.
I'm still looking for input from people who have ran the Wildpeak MT in the snow but for now I'll probably ride these out until first snow fall and see how it goes.

 

[BRuby]

Yeah the key is the 3PMSF designation. But that being said we had the original KO tires on another 4x4 with a much harder tread compound and they were perfectly fine in snow and slush. Almost unstoppable in 4Lo and LSD years back.

Those we know with M/T do note that when wet and on ice it can get squirrelly and go sideways pretty quick. So keep that in mind. Major siping and soft compounds do help a ton for that. Here is what the OEM KO2s can do when the nannies are turned off as much as possible. ESC off alone helps a ton. Def play around in an ice and snow covered empty ski parking lot to see how your vehicle handles in extreme power situations.

 

[Jbeeker]

Yeah M/T for winter conditions is not optimal. Better to get a 3PMSF tire compound designed to handle lower temps at a minimum. Full snows even better. All last year we drove up down mountain roads 40+ times with stock KO2s and they gripped perfectly fine in 4Hi.

Only in one instance was there any loss of traction coming around an iced up large radius downhill bend. JL drifted a hair then re-established grip on the snow to the side.

Better would have been dedicated snows designed for ice. Overall for all purpose all year A/Ts the KO2s are fine. Just be very careful on slippery corners by reducing speed etc. We also carry chains, snow recovery boards, and kinetic straps.

Have you ever encountered a situation where the KO2’s by themselves weren’t adequate and you needed the chains?

 

[sam0329]

Have you ever encountered a situation where the KO2’s by themselves weren’t adequate and you needed the chains?

I had KO2 for one winter. They are ok but definitely not good enough for winter driving, you really do have to give yourself a lot of extra distance to stop. And go easy on your gas paddle. Even on 4Hi they are not able to handle highway speed.
The M/T tires will do worst than A/T tires in winter for city and highway driving. I am using the GY Duratrac right now and most of the people I know are running them here. Our winter is usually around 6 months long here

 

[Sboden]

I love my Falken WildPeak AT W3. They do just fine for my level of off roading and also do good in the snow. They are quiet compared to a MT.

 

[BRuby]

Have you ever encountered a situation where the KO2’s by themselves weren’t adequate and you needed the chains?

When on paved roads no. But when on FSRs yes. Can see if stuck in a roadway slush drift - chains would also claw you out vs just spinning.

The KO2 is not great at anything but not terrible either. It is an AT compromise tire. Will probs switch to 35 Wildpeaks E rated when these wear out as the tread depth is 20 vs 15. Our KO2s have worn much faster than expected after only 10k miles. Already down to 11. Ride will be firmer and that is ok as the C has very soft sidewalls specific for a plush ride and conform crawling.

Since we do more hammering at speed on rough FSRs the Es aired down to 18 should be more stable and more puncture resistant. The KO2s actually roll a huge amount at 18 on tight fast corners. Anyways KO2s do ok when driven carefully. But in the wet and on ice you have to be very attentive.

Compared to other vehicles up at mtn resorts - a Jeep and KO2s is perfectly adequate. If our climate was more snow centric we would get and use dedicated snows for sure. All our other ”cars” have snows - and ice traction is incredible using just FWD or AWD.

 

[97redjeep]

While I’m no tire expert, and know a dedicated winter tire is hard to beat, I just had my wife’s wildpeak mts siped because they have a whopping 4000km on them and I was not wanting to buy a new set to replace the new set, and all I can say is WOW. They’re the closest thing I’ve run to a dedicated tire ever, there were dozens of vehicles in the ditch within 50k of here yesterday due to wet compact snow. Being a little unsure how they’d be (first real winter roads yesterday) I took it for a drive before my wife went to work, cruised at 80k down the hi way in 2wd and it didn’t even seem slippery, (they, the JL also has a great traction control system) so off to work she went. I jumped in my power wagon with the stock wrangler MTS and headed to work (swamping on my brothers tow trucks, great day for him lol) and I’m sure I wrinkled the seat from puckering hahaha, my truck is going on to get siped now too!

 

[BeerMeBruh]

While I’m no tire expert, and know a dedicated winter tire is hard to beat, I just had my wife’s wildpeak mts siped because they have a whopping 4000km on them and I was not wanting to buy a new set to replace the new set, and all I can say is WOW. They’re the closest thing I’ve run to a dedicated tire ever, there were dozens of vehicles in the ditch within 50k of here yesterday due to wet compact snow. Being a little unsure how they’d be (first real winter roads yesterday) I took it for a drive before my wife went to work, cruised at 80k down the hi way in 2wd and it didn’t even seem slippery, (they, the JL also has a great traction control system) so off to work she went. I jumped in my power wagon with the stock wrangler MTS and headed to work (swamping on my brothers tow trucks, great day for him lol) and I’m sure I wrinkled the seat from puckering hahaha, my truck is going on to get siped now too!

I wonder in your circumstances if the siping actually made a difference, I've read a lot of arguments for or against sipping and ultimately it seems the difference is negligible. In other words if same tires and same conditions, just one siped and the other not it seems ultimately it depends on the driver.

Reason I question how much of a difference the siping made is because the Wildpeak M/T's seem to be getting a lot of surprisingly positive reviews about them in snow. Granted they obviously won't ever be as good as a dedicated snow tire but from what I've gathered they do better than expected for a M/T tire.

I'm still unsure about them until snowfall and I get to experience them first hand but I am less worried about it since I started this thread and read up on them some more.

 

[97redjeep]

Keep us updated when you do get snow, Im curious how they seem without sipping. We had shit roads for a couple days and the wife said they seemed as good as the winters she had on her 1500 last winter. I guess I’ll have a good review in about 5 months

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