First Snow Drive

[Sramos03]

I wanted to reach out for some guidance I recently purchased a week ago my first 4x4 in a 1994 Z71. It’s currently being worked on for some transmission issues however in getting ready for my first time driving in the snow and seeing snow for the first time as well I wanted to ask if you guys had any suggestions for tires or guidance when using the Z71 4x4 in the snow. We are staying in an Airbnb my girlfriend booked and the owner is adamant about having 4x4 up in Payson AZ. Thanks

 

[Trio]

@Sramos03 It will do fine in snow. If I were you (living in PHX) and seeing snow maybe a couple days every couple years, I would go with Michelin Defender LTX/MS . Quiet, LONG tread life, and do great in occasional snow that you would see in places like Payson. No need for dedicated winter tires in that climate. And no need for super aggressive AT tires, unless you like that look. If that is the case, go to the reviews in your size tire at Tire Rack website, and sort by severe snow rating for All Terrain tires. Otherwise, the Michelin Defenders are a solid choice.

 

[df2x4]

I wanted to ask if you guys had any suggestions for tires

BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2s are "three-peak mountain" rated for snow use and do great in the snow. I run them on both of my '97s and I've been extremely impressed. Very low road noise too considering how aggressive the tread pattern is. I was expecting them to howl on the highway but they really don't at all. On the expensive side for sure, but they've impressed me so much that I'm going to keep running them indefinitely as long as BFG keeps making them. Plus they do look cool.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

When TX had our Snow/Icemageddon I had no problem driving on my Cooper Discover AT3 tires and only using 4WD when I couldn't get going in 2WD in my truck.

My LX470 had the KO2s and it was unstoppable. It's AWD though.

 

[Drunkcanuk]

Goodyear Duratracs or Nitto Exo Grapplers. Both are 3 peak rated. I have a set of each on my 2 other trucks. No complaints.
When I called the shops when I was looking, both said all their shop trucks run Duratracs. Almost every work truck in Alberta runs them as well, there is a reason for that! Lol. Just have to keep up with rotations or they get loud.

 

[Komet]

If it's got the three peak rating, it's going to be a solid snow performer. Keep all your inputs smooth and steady in the snow, leave excessive stopping distance. Sandbags over the rear axle can help a little for trucks with open beds but in my experience it hasn't really been a big deal.

 

[BNielsen]

Another vote for BFGs; ran them on my truck for almost 3 years and had great performance. Only time they sucked was when they were down to about 25% tread, I'd get stuck on wet grass. Not even joking. Didn't mean to wear them down to the quip but tires aren't exactly cheap, and I wanted to get as much use as I could.

I've heard good things about Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx tires; and I'm fairly certain that's what I'm going to go with to replace my Kelly Safaris. Duratracs are damn good too, biggest setback to those is once they get some wear on them, they're noisy. My mother-in-law had a set on her 4Runner, and they were just as loud as the mud tires on my truck.

 

[RichLo]

^ +1 for everything that has already been said. The 3-peak winter tire is a good indication that they have sufficient siping and a soft enough compound to deal with low temps and light snow (light snow for my area, lol)

Being that your in AZ, thats all you need to know.

If you plan to travel further north or want to use the truck on mountain roads then the 3-peak winter tire isnt quite good enough for extreme conditions. Let us know if thats what you need.

Otherwise weight in the bed is your friend, any weight. Get some solid bricks or sand bags to put in the front of your bed during slick conditions, that will help both front and rear traction. Weight behind the rear axle will only help acceleration and nothing else.

 

[b454rat]

For what little snow you get there, Id run whatever suits you. I ran BFG's, cheap skinny mud tires, AT2's, wrangler authority's, Wildpeak AT2's (I think that's what they were) and all did good in the snow. I have a '22 4runner with stock tires on it, and does OK, but is AWD. (and hate it). I live on a hill top, not a mountain, but it's a big hill, and steep roads any of the 3 ways to get here. I had the Authority's on a Tahoe, and with 6" of snow made it up in 2wd. Tahoe/Yukon's have some junk in the truck, so that helps alot.

 

[mr_josh]

Since it's a new-to-you truck, I might suggest finding a gravel road and actually putting it in 4WD for a bit to make sure everything's working and it'll actually engage. In the limited off-road driving I've done with other folks, a surprisingly large number of them have been stuck when they realize their truck won't actually go into 4WD.