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Snow and ice performance

MadChef

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My daily drive is on an old highway through the rolling hills of Southern Chester County Pa. Absolutely gorgeous drive but pretty tricky in the snow. I opted for the LSD in my JL80 for that reason and am extremely happy with it’s performance in the snow. I picked my Jeep up in early January and the next day we had a snow storm. I headed off into the storm for a quick test drive and didn’t come back for 4 hours. LSD is definitely the way to go if snow is a concern.
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viper88

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I have driven a base TJ, JK with LSD, JL Rubicon with BLD. 25+ years of snowy and icy winters. Many on I94 between Chicago and Detroit with lake effect snow. A few times where the highway was closed and detoured from heavy lake effect snow. All of the different rear ends do fine. I would not over think that. Any Wrangler in any configuration will do well in snow if you have the correct tires. Driving skill and dedicated winter tires will make the biggest difference. Give yourself plenty of time to stop and steer. Especially on ice. Be overly cautious and don't think a heavy 4x4 will defy physics and you will be fine.
 
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viper88

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I went with Grand Cherokee and a JL MOAB with LSD/Select Trac...because of the intense Snow in Lake Tahoe and in Plumas County. When things aren't burning, it's usually snowing...
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You don't need a Wrangler or Grand Cherokee. You need a Helicopter.
 

alksion

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Yeah. I recall driving to Big Bear after a snow dump. What a clusterf*ck that was.
it’s disgusting. I always rent an Airbnb before the big storm so I’m already up there.
 

Cypher

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You don't need a Wrangler or Grand Cherokee. You need a Helicopter.
I was thinking they needed a pack of Huskies and a sled lol.
 

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Yogi1956

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You neen narrow snow tires on your Wrangler to get best traction. Rubicon tires are not ideal at all for winter... Sahara or sport are better. Lokers are useless in the winter. Traction control and torque vectoring will take care of it all.
Tires are a huge factor with ice. We had a Subaru Impreza on an Easter trip to Lake Arrowhead , had a freak snow storm and the Subaru never missed a beat, even at sunset with icy roads. We passed a few part time 4x’s having issues with the ice.
 

RudeJeepin

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I carry real tire chains in my jeep and my truck all winter. We have chain laws here where they may be required to travel. I have not needed them in either vehicle but you never know.

These falken at3w’s are truly amazing in snow. Not perfect but definitely in a class between true snow tires and common all terrain tires like the KO2.

I have them on my half ton pickup in P-Rated (extra silica) and gladiator spec LT 275/70-17 (C) on my 2 door JL sport (with lsd) that sport will dig through feet of snow in my yard with ease.
One of my favorite all around tires. They are 3 peak mountain snowflake rated.
Jeep Wrangler JL Snow and ice performance 1631100357109
 

Ridgway Jeeper

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I carry real tire chains in my jeep and my truck all winter. We have chain laws here where they may be required to travel. I have not needed them in either vehicle but you never know.

These falken at3w’s are truly amazing in snow. Not perfect but definitely in a class between true snow tires and common all terrain tires like the KO2.

I have them on my half ton pickup in P-Rated (extra silica) and gladiator spec LT 275/70-17 (C) on my 2 door JL sport (with lsd) that sport will dig through feet of snow in my yard with ease.
I have "real" tire chains in my truck all winter but I also use it for snow plowing. We have chain laws but they only apply to commercial vehicles. We do have a passenger vehicle traction law but 4wd and M&S tires meet the criteria, there is never an instance where a 4wd passenger vehicle is required to have chains on.

The BFG KO2's have the same snow rating as the Falkens, they are far from ordinary in my experience. I have Firestone XT's on the truck now, snow rated, worked great last season. Any "snowflake on the mtn" rated AT tire is going to perform fairly well in the snow. If you have a lot of ice, not generally a problem in CO, dedicated snow tires are best.

If you really want an impressive, more aggressive than an AT tire in the snow, the GY Duratracs can not be beat and can be studded for even more impressive traction.

Winter is my passion. I make sure I can access the deep snow via unplowed forest service roads all season. I love working in it and playing in it. The Jeep will be in the warm garage for the heavy stuff because nothing beats a heavy duty truck properly prepared when the snow gets deep.

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Caveman044

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I have "real" tire chains in my truck all winter but I also use it for snow plowing. We have chain laws but they only apply to commercial vehicles. We do have a passenger vehicle traction law but 4wd and M&S tires meet the criteria, there is never an instance where a 4wd passenger vehicle is required to have chains on.

The BFG KO2's have the same snow rating as the Falkens, they are far from ordinary in my experience. I have Firestone XT's on the truck now, snow rated, worked great last season. Any "snowflake on the mtn" rated AT tire is going to perform fairly well in the snow. If you have a lot of ice, not generally a problem in CO, dedicated snow tires are best.

If you really want an impressive, more aggressive than an AT tire in the snow, the GY Duratracs can not be beat and can be studded for even more impressive traction.

Winter is my passion. I make sure I can access the deep snow via unplowed forest service roads all season. I love working in it and playing in it. The Jeep will be in the warm garage for the heavy stuff because nothing beats a heavy duty truck properly prepared when the snow gets deep.

Jeep Wrangler JL Snow and ice performance plowtruck


Jeep Wrangler JL Snow and ice performance plowtruck


Jeep Wrangler JL Snow and ice performance plowtruck


Jeep Wrangler JL Snow and ice performance plowtruck
I have duratracs on my WJ now, they're awesome.
 

Ridgway Jeeper

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I have duratracs on my WJ now, they're awesome.
If I can get them, that is what is going on my new truck day one. I have had them previously, tried some other tires in the meantime and I am returning to the duratracs because I feel they are simply the best by a good margin for my conditions and use.
 

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five9dak

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P.S. I have been driving in the snow for over 40 years and I can tell you my 2006 TJ with Duratrac tires is a mess in road snow. It's possibly one of the worst...
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Curious to what you attribute the poor snowy road performance of the TJ to. I had a 5spd TJ with 31x10.5 duratracs (open diffs) and it was great. Are your tires too wide for the vehicle weight and it's riding up on top of the mess?
 

alksion

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I have "real" tire chains in my truck all winter but I also use it for snow plowing. We have chain laws but they only apply to commercial vehicles. We do have a passenger vehicle traction law but 4wd and M&S tires meet the criteria, there is never an instance where a 4wd passenger vehicle is required to have chains on.

The BFG KO2's have the same snow rating as the Falkens, they are far from ordinary in my experience. I have Firestone XT's on the truck now, snow rated, worked great last season. Any "snowflake on the mtn" rated AT tire is going to perform fairly well in the snow. If you have a lot of ice, not generally a problem in CO, dedicated snow tires are best.

If you really want an impressive, more aggressive than an AT tire in the snow, the GY Duratracs can not be beat and can be studded for even more impressive traction.

Winter is my passion. I make sure I can access the deep snow via unplowed forest service roads all season. I love working in it and playing in it. The Jeep will be in the warm garage for the heavy stuff because nothing beats a heavy duty truck properly prepared when the snow gets deep.

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A man after my own heart. I love the snow. Great shots!
 

entropy

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Alright ill be honest here.

I hate snow. I lived in VT for a little over 10 years. unfurtunately I do love backcountry skiing, which means I love skiing deep powder, which means I end up chasing snow storms.

You cant get stuck with the Jeep, very difficult. But it sucks on icy/snowy roads at speed. It just does.

just drive slow and youll be fine. Jeeps are very unstable, tippy, etc... Theyre not the best for snowy roads. A grand cherokee or a subaru would do better, as long as they stay on the road.

On a regular road id choose a car with AWD. On a very remote place Id choose the Jeep. Just truly keep the speed in mind.
 

Rock Hopper

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Curious to what you attribute the poor snowy road performance of the TJ to. I had a 5spd TJ with 31x10.5 duratracs (open diffs) and it was great. Are your tires too wide for the vehicle weight and it's riding up on top of the mess?
Not sure. I currently own 4 Jeeps, all are 4x4 (Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, TJ and JL) and the TJ with its Duratrac's is by far the worst in the snow. When I say by far, it's not even in the same league as the other Jeeps. It's a 2006 with a 6 speed and newer 31 x 10.5 Duratrac tires. I tend to favor narrow tires rather than very wide ones for weight considerations.

Obviously, I am using the same winter snow driving "experience" in all 4 Jeeps. From my experience nothing drives better in the snow than the Grand Cherokee. (I've been driving for over 4 decades in the snow).


When it comes to serious 4 wheeling in the Sierra nothing beats the TJ, it's a beast. It just comes up far short operating in the snow with the Duratrac tires. It is clearly the tires that don't like the Sierra snow and the snow depth varies as the elevations are all over the map in the region. Snow can differ from inches to feet between towns that are less than 5 miles apart depending on elevation and topography.

Up here we call it "Sierra Cement" because of the wet and icy composition. ...now if I was to stud the Duratracs that would likely be a game changer. I have nothing against the Duratracs and they are a great off road tire, they just would be my last choice when considering tires for winter use. There are too many better options.
 

Rock Hopper

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Alright ill be honest here.

I hate snow. I lived in VT for a little over 10 years. unfurtunately I do love backcountry skiing, which means I love skiing deep powder, which means I end up chasing snow storms.

You cant get stuck with the Jeep, very difficult. But it sucks on icy/snowy roads at speed. It just does.

just drive slow and youll be fine. Jeeps are very unstable, tippy, etc... Theyre not the best for snowy roads. A grand cherokee or a subaru would do better, as long as they stay on the road.

On a regular road id choose a car with AWD. On a very remote place Id choose the Jeep. Just truly keep the speed in mind.
Exactly 💯
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