I live in NE Ohio and every other year we tend to get a lot of snow [like the global warming of 2009]. It'll be my first winter with my JK, and being a Mountain edition it has the same Mud Terrain tires as the Rubicon. I keep reading that mud tires are bad for the snow and am wondering why? I don't see why the aggressive tread would be bad for snow, especially on unplowed streets. Now, I've driven 4x4 vehicles in the past with all-terrain tires and all-season tires, fwd and rwd vehicles as well. In my area, driving with common sense goes a long way, but a lot of people don't have that [Great Lakes members know what I'm talking about]. So could someone fill me in why mud tires are bad in the winter?
20JK10
Why are mud tires bad in the winter?
They have a smaller contact patch because of the agressive tread, and very few of them are siped....so you tend to slip around a lot. Also they get packed with snow easily and become slicks.
I have never had such a problem that i ever felt like i needed "winter tires". I ran those same BFG's as well as some maxxis bighorns in colorado with no real problems. Just eb ginger on the brakes haha
I have never had such a problem that i ever felt like i needed "winter tires". I ran those same BFG's as well as some maxxis bighorns in colorado with no real problems. Just eb ginger on the brakes haha
Siping
Siping works by snow packing inside the rubber of the tire, giving it more traction on packed snow and ice than frozen rubber. That is why when you look at a winter only tire such as the Blizzak it is full of tiny sipes. Packed snow in tire equals greater traction than rubber only. I had my MTs siped at Discount the first week I owned my Rubi. Last winter the only time I was able to get it to spin out (sort of) is when I was trying to fish tail in a parking lot. I was testing the ESP to get a feel for it and it worked at advertised. Couldn't get the rear to lose control on packed snow, but I wasn't going to try it on ice.
Tires with deep lugs work well in deep snow. But, since most streets are plowed (at least in my area), this is advantage is is pretty much negated. Works well in the thick slushy stuff though.
Siping works by snow packing inside the rubber of the tire, giving it more traction on packed snow and ice than frozen rubber. That is why when you look at a winter only tire such as the Blizzak it is full of tiny sipes. Packed snow in tire equals greater traction than rubber only. I had my MTs siped at Discount the first week I owned my Rubi. Last winter the only time I was able to get it to spin out (sort of) is when I was trying to fish tail in a parking lot. I was testing the ESP to get a feel for it and it worked at advertised. Couldn't get the rear to lose control on packed snow, but I wasn't going to try it on ice.
Tires with deep lugs work well in deep snow. But, since most streets are plowed (at least in my area), this is advantage is is pretty much negated. Works well in the thick slushy stuff though.
Depends on what you mean by winter weather. Just the occasional snow flurry requiring a few drives on unplowed streets during the winter? Do the roads freeze-over frequently? Are you driving on icy permafrost during the morning and slush in the middle of the day? Does it dump 6 feet of powder overnight in your area or is a few inches considered a lot of snow? Or do you just like to play in the snow with the Jeep on the weekends?
For deep snow, some mud tires (like Iroks and Rockers) kick serious ass. Some don't do so well (like KM2s) due to lack of siping and inability to "clean-out". So for winter trail use, I actually prefer a really aggressive MT tire.
On icy paved roads, most mud tires do not fair well because of a limited contact surface area. I'm not overly impressed with the MT/Rs in the rocks, but must admit that they are a damn good winter tire and seem to really handle slick roads well. But if your looking for "Duratrac" winter performance out of a mud tire, I think you will be disappointed.
For deep snow, some mud tires (like Iroks and Rockers) kick serious ass. Some don't do so well (like KM2s) due to lack of siping and inability to "clean-out". So for winter trail use, I actually prefer a really aggressive MT tire.
On icy paved roads, most mud tires do not fair well because of a limited contact surface area. I'm not overly impressed with the MT/Rs in the rocks, but must admit that they are a damn good winter tire and seem to really handle slick roads well. But if your looking for "Duratrac" winter performance out of a mud tire, I think you will be disappointed.
The TRXUS MT abolishes that myth. I had the TRXUS MT 33x12.5 on my YJ in Massachusetts.
It is a well siped MT. They dig very nicely in the snow. And wet traction is among the highest rated for MTs and exceeds many ATs.
In heavy snow they handle better than any AT or AS in the snow.
Great for a DD too because they are not loud at highway speeds.
You can't go wrong putting these on your Jeep or truck.
It is a well siped MT. They dig very nicely in the snow. And wet traction is among the highest rated for MTs and exceeds many ATs.
In heavy snow they handle better than any AT or AS in the snow.
Great for a DD too because they are not loud at highway speeds.
You can't go wrong putting these on your Jeep or truck.
I am in the 'all tires are bad in snow / ice' camp. When I lived in MO I had AT tires on my TJ for a couple of years and then MTs for a couple of years. They were about the same. But both kept me on the road when the rice burners were sliding off.
The stock BFG M/Ts are fine. I live in NE Ohio to (the snow belt), and was also prepared for the worst last winter after reading all of the horror stories about M/Ts in the winter. I didn't have any issues at all with them. If you know how to drive in bad conditions, you won't have any issues. The JK traction control also helps to mitigate any minor slippage associated with M/Ts in slippery road conditions.
Its mostly to do with the rubber compound, most mud and offroad tires have a hard compound to handle the abuse they are designed to take, hard compund tires get even harder in cold weather. Bottom line Hard tires don't grip.
Most winter and ice tires are made from a softer compound and remain soft at low temps, upside they grip real well when it's cold.
Soft tires have a low life span in warm weather so whats good in winter won't last as long in the summer.
There are a few mud tires that are winter rated, BFG do one so does Nokian.
Most winter and ice tires are made from a softer compound and remain soft at low temps, upside they grip real well when it's cold.
Soft tires have a low life span in warm weather so whats good in winter won't last as long in the summer.
There are a few mud tires that are winter rated, BFG do one so does Nokian.
What about dick cepek mud country ?
any of you have try these one in the snow ?
on the review they call them ice and mud.. they have tiny sipes..
i live in Quebec Canada and we can have alot of snow .
any of you have try these one in the snow ?
on the review they call them ice and mud.. they have tiny sipes..
i live in Quebec Canada and we can have alot of snow .
I don't know where you live but i'm just south of youngstown. I had toyo m/t's on my 2006 ram. I personally thought the MT's were 100x better than the stock tires on it. You just need to drive cautiously. You can't drive it 100 mph. And if your on ice, it doesn't matter what you have, unless you have studs on all 4 tires and at that it won't help you 100%. Just drive cautious and smart. Thinking of the 20+ inches of snow we had last year my stock X tires barely got me out. I had to dig about 10 feet behind my jeep so i could get a run for it to get out of the deep snow. Mud terrains would have helped big time in that situation. I'm getting mud terrains. I just hate the price of them right now. I've been looking at a few tires. Kelly Safari TSR, Goodyear Duratrac, Fierce Attitude MT
thefinger: good price i don't wanna hear it) Goodyear MTR-k and Toyo MT
thefinger: good price i don't wanna hear it) Goodyear MTR-k and Toyo MT
Since I live in Canada... the land of snow and ice, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.
Winter rated tires are better in the cold than your std MT tire because winter tires are made of a rubber compound that doesn't get hard when the temperature drops. When rubber gets hard it slides over snow and ice instead of gripping it. ie... in the game of hockey, they play with frozen hockey pucks because a frozen puck slides better over the ice than a non-frozen puck. Hockey pucks are made of rubber.
Sipping and tire tread voids in a tire allows snow to accumulate in the voids and the sipes. Snow sticks to snow. Every make a snowman? Snow doesn't stick to rubber. Snow in the tire tread will give you better traction.
The only advantage an MT will have in snow is if it is DEEP snow. The MT tire, with its large voids that clear out easily, will dig its way through the deep snow, if you have front wheel drive, instead of pushing the snow in front of the tire.
Winter rated tires are better in the cold than your std MT tire because winter tires are made of a rubber compound that doesn't get hard when the temperature drops. When rubber gets hard it slides over snow and ice instead of gripping it. ie... in the game of hockey, they play with frozen hockey pucks because a frozen puck slides better over the ice than a non-frozen puck. Hockey pucks are made of rubber.
Sipping and tire tread voids in a tire allows snow to accumulate in the voids and the sipes. Snow sticks to snow. Every make a snowman? Snow doesn't stick to rubber. Snow in the tire tread will give you better traction.
The only advantage an MT will have in snow is if it is DEEP snow. The MT tire, with its large voids that clear out easily, will dig its way through the deep snow, if you have front wheel drive, instead of pushing the snow in front of the tire.
Sipping helps to dissapate the very small water layer on the ice. Plus all those tiny cuts act as biting edges on ice. This will help with tractions as well as with braking.
Mud tires have an extreme lack of siping. Getting this done will help tremendously. I had my stock Mud Terrains siped and the difference was night and day.
Here is a bit of info and data to back this all up.
http://www.sipers.com/better_traction.asp
Mud tires have an extreme lack of siping. Getting this done will help tremendously. I had my stock Mud Terrains siped and the difference was night and day.
Here is a bit of info and data to back this all up.
http://www.sipers.com/better_traction.asp
You'll be fine with those. My brother goes to edinboro and he runs rubi tires in the winter and they're great.
Worst winter tire I've ever run are the bfg at's
Btw, check out northeastcrawlers and hrja for local clubs
Worst winter tire I've ever run are the bfg at's
Btw, check out northeastcrawlers and hrja for local clubs
Yes struthers isn't to far away. We need to get some people together to go wheelin sometime. Being a newbie that i am, i need to be broken in.
I'm bidding on Toyo's now for my jeep.
I'm bidding on Toyo's now for my jeep.
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