My snow setup

[jjvincent]

I’ve used snows on my various vehicles for many years. So, it was time to do the Jeep. The wheels are Tactik D shaped with Nokian Rotiiva AT 265/70/17. I mounted and balanced these yesterday.

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[Carlton]

Curious why you didn't go with the Hakkapeliitta LT3?

 

[Reinen]

Seems odd to me too. The Rotiiva isn't a winter tire and is only intended for light off-road use.

 

[MrMischief]

Seems odd to me too. The Rotiiva isn't a winter tire and is only intended for light off-road use.

I believe that they do carry the three peak snowflake rating. So they would be a winter tire similar to a KO2.

 

[jhackathorne]

The do carry the 3 peak rating. Not sure if they are actually any good in snow though. I know my KO2's were ok in snow. In slush and ice they were not good at all.

 

[Reinen]

The do carry the 3 peak rating. Not sure if they are actually any good in snow though. I know my KO2's were ok in snow. In slush and ice they were not good at all.

I find that 3PMSF doesn't mean much. I found the stock KO2s terrifying in light snow & ice. However I'm used to true winter tires and I drive on shelf roads with no guardrails, where the penalties for losing traction is severe.

 

[JollieOllie]

I find that 3PMSF doesn't mean much. I found the stock KO2s terrifying in light snow & ice. However I'm used to true winter tires and I drive on shelf roads with no guardrails, where the penalties for losing traction is severe.

What winter tires do you use?

 

[jhackathorne]

What winter tires do you use?

I know you did not ask me, but I am running Falken Wildpeak AT3W which get excellent ratings for snow and ice. They are about as good as it gets without going to a dedicated snow tire.

 

[JollieOllie]

I know you did not ask me, but I am running Falken Wildpeak AT3W which get excellent ratings for snow and ice. They are about as good as it gets without going to a dedicated snow tire.

Thanks!

Living in Ottawa I'm wondering if a dedicated winter tire makes more sense.

 

[Reinen]

What winter tires do you use?

Hakkapelliitta LT3s. Night & day difference to the KO2s (or any AT tire for that matter).

 

[jhackathorne]

Thanks!

Living in Ottawa I'm wondering if a dedicated winter tire makes more sense.

Honestly if you have the funds to run separate tires and the need, i.e. lots of snow constantly, I would get snow tires. Our snow comes in quickly and disappears almost as quickly with the sun melting it so quickly.

I have ran Blizzaks in the past and used those for several years on a Ford Edge that was FWD only and it did great in all snowy types of weather. I have not tried anything else however.

 

[Reinen]

Thanks!

Living in Ottawa I'm wondering if a dedicated winter tire makes more sense.

I'll tell ya this, if you've never driven on dedicated winter tires you will likely find it hard to believe that they can have that much traction on snow & ice. It will really change your perspective.

If you routinely get snow, ice, and temps below 45f/7c, dedicated winter tires makes huge sense. But there is the cost and storage of a 2nd set of tires.

 

[jjvincent]

Curious why you didn't go with the Hakkapeliitta LT3?

Mostly because of past experience. I have used these tires on two other vehicles and they work very well. I was really impressed with them on my Eurovan as it's only FWD and weighs in at 4800 lbs dry. So loaded up and driving through lots of snow when we go skiing in VT, they worked as well as the past Nokian snows I had on it. Another time it was -20F and snowing along with ice. The van did just fine for going, turning and stopping.

I really liked them as they didn't get noisy over time. I literally kept them on my Eurovan all year and never switched out to the summer tires. That worked out well when I went camping and it would be a muddy mess after a few huge rainstorms. That van was just a trooper and got out without getting stuck.

The only time I got stuck was at Pico when it snowed a foot during the day and they could not get the lot plowed. The van high centered itself and I had to dig it out. Once I got it moving, it kept going. I figured that if they worked good on that fan and a pickup I had, then they should work well on my Jeep. Plus getting them on closeout for $105/ea was a bonus.

 

[wolf]

I remember back in the mid 60’s in Bavaria I had a 68vw bug. Put four snow tires on it and it would go anywhere I wanted. We used to get a lot of snow in that area. It was fun just to go play. Don’t know now but then you had to have snow tires on all four. Logic being, you can’t turn the front with traction only on the rear. It was a lot of fun.

 

[Carlton]

Mostly because of past experience. I have used these tires on two other vehicles and they work very well. I was really impressed with them on my Eurovan as it's only FWD and weighs in at 4800 lbs dry. So loaded up and driving through lots of snow when we go skiing in VT, they worked as well as the past Nokian snows I had on it. Another time it was -20F and snowing along with ice. The van did just fine for going, turning and stopping.

I really liked them as they didn't get noisy over time. I literally kept them on my Eurovan all year and never switched out to the summer tires. That worked out well when I went camping and it would be a muddy mess after a few huge rainstorms. That van was just a trooper and got out without getting stuck.

The only time I got stuck was at Pico when it snowed a foot during the day and they could not get the lot plowed. The van high centered itself and I had to dig it out. Once I got it moving, it kept going. I figured that if they worked good on that fan and a pickup I had, then they should work well on my Jeep. Plus getting them on closeout for $105/ea was a bonus.

Makes sense. Being able to use them all year is a major bonus. Sale price is an added plus as well!

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