Do Aftermarket Truck Tires Last Longer Than Oem Tires
Its hard to say exactly how long any tire will last, but the ones that came on your vehicle from the factory were definitely a compromise. Like every other component, they were intended to work for most people in most situations. If you expect more performance out of your tireswhether thats the load rating, tread life, or off-road tractionit might be worth sacrificing other aspects of its performance to get the results youre looking for.
One common assumption is that aftermarket truck tires last longer than whats on the new car lot because their tread is thicker. That may be true, but if you buy a knobby tire and wear it down until the tread is shallower than a street tire, doesnt that defeat the point? Keep an eye on your tire wear and replace them before they overstay their welcome.
Pros And Cons Of Studded Winter Tires
Studded winter tires identified by their symbol of a mountain with 3 peaks or a snowflake. They will have the tungsten carbide metal studs in the treads. Made to perform exceptionally in wet, icy and heavy snow conditions. They perform best in temperatures below 7°C .
Studded tires may provide amazing traction in the rough icy conditions. But, when driving down a dry road without snow or ice. The studs in the tire may be a con as they dont grip the pavement properly allowing you to get full traction. Also, studded tires have caused an excess of $10 million dollars in damage to the roads and highways.
If youre interested in getting studded winter tires for your pickup truck click here. However, be sure to check with your state or provinces road laws.
Studded winter tires are 100% illegal in some states. In others, youre allowed to drive with them for certain months out of the year.
Studless winter tires identified by the symbol of a 3-peaked mountain and a snowflake. These tires perform best in icy conditions and soft to hard-packed snow with temperatures below 7°C . They have an aggressive tread that provides an amazing grip in the ice and snow. However, when driving on pavement the tire tread and the softness of the tires dont allow for the best control. Another disadvantage of winter tires is that since theyre made of a softer rubber. They wear out faster than all-season tires. Even more so when driving down the highways and dry pavement often.
Toyo Open Country A/t Iii
With a fresh redesign, we found the Open Country A/T III offered improvements over its predecessor. Snow performance and off-road capability were commendable on the sharp-looking all-terrain, and we held nothing back when it came to our assessment. We’ll confidently say the tire earned its 3PMSF rating as it comported itself predictably in every winter situation from highways and trails piled with deep snow to slow-speed maneuvering on moderately packed slush.
3PMSF: Yes
Studdable: No
Frosthand Adv-ice: Just look past the non-aggressive sidewall treads, and you’ll have a tire that’s likely to impress from the rock gardens to snow squalls.
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How The Winter/snow Tires Stack Up
To evaluate snow traction, we measure the distance it takes for our Chevrolet Silverado, in two-wheel-drive mode, to accelerate from 5 to 20 mph on packed snow. Tires that have better snow traction need to travel less distance to reach 20 mph. We use GPS instrumentation to record the distance.
No surprise, if you need to drive in severe snow conditions, a dedicated winter/snow tire offers the best snow traction. Those tires needed an average of 80 feet to reach 20 mph.
But the all-terrain and all-weather tires with the mountain/snowflake symbol we tested were not quite as good. On average, they took 98.2 feet to reach 20 mph, shorter than the average distance for all-terrain and all-season tires that without the mountain/snowflake symbol.
Types Of Winter/snow Tires
- All-season tires offer a smooth, quiet ride, secure handling, and grip to tackle most weather conditions including modest snow and ice.
- All-terrain tires offer some grip for off-road driving, but tend to trade off some on-road performance.
- Winter/snow tires are identified with a three-peak mountain/snowflake symbol indicating the tire meets or exceeds an industry-defined level of snow traction.
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Do You Need Winter Tires Even If You Have Awd
All-wheel drive doesnt give your car super powers to overcome physics. Even cars with all-wheel drive should have winter tires. AWD systems do help provide some stability and traction to get going in slippery conditions, but it doesnt do anything when hit the brakes. Winter tires provide the friction to do that, reducing stopping distances hugely.
Going up or down a snowy hill, even with an all-wheel-drive system, can be dangerous. A set of winter tires provides the grip necessary to drive safely in any situation involving snow and ice.
The Best Snow Tires Of 2022
This winter, have confidence on the roads in any weather with a solid set of snow tires.
When winter weather arrives, the show must go on but keep the drama at a minimum with a set of trustworthy snow tires. Now when the weatherman calls for wintery conditions, you can make white-knuckle winter drives a thing of the past with a quality set of snow tires.
The best snow tires for you will depend on your vehicle and your location, which is why weve broken up our list of the best snow tires into a range of options to cover everything from small cars and sedans to full-size trucks and SUVs.
Weve also included some heavy-duty studded tires for the worst winter weather you might encounter as well as a snow-oriented performance tire, in case you get mild winters with only an occasional dusting of the white stuff. Either way, you should be able to find a set of tires that suits both your typical winter conditions and your vehicle on our list of the best snow tires.
Best Overall: Bridgestone Blizzak WS90
The latest iteration of the popular Bridgestone Blizzak snow tire features a new tread compound with a larger contact patch specifically designed for better performance on ice. This optimized contact patch helps distribute forces evenly across the tire, giving you better stability in dry, icy, and snowy conditions and shortening your stopping distance on ice and snow.
Specs:
- Price Range: $99-230 per tire
Pros:
- Available in a wide range of sizes
Cons:
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General Grabber Arctic Lt
General Grabber Arctic is studdable winter tire. Its designed for heavy-duty trucks. You can find it in 16, 17, 18 and 20 rim sizes with an E load range. Though worth reminding, winter tires wore quickly above 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
In summary, General Grabber Arctic LT is all-round tire. Due to tread life, its the superior pick on this list. Well, Its a slightly uncomfortable tire because of its 10-ply construction. Yet, its dry and wet grip capability make it one of the best winter/ice tire.
| Pros |
|---|
| Wet traction |
| Dirt cheap |
Grabber Arctic LT is built in the USA. Well, that makes it trustworthy. You can break the back of the hardest circumstances with it.
Note: You can select the stud or studless option during the shopping
Choosing The Best Winter Tire
Knowing Your Tire Size
The size of the tire is easy enough. The important part is that you match the size specification of your vehicle. This can be located in a number of places, the main location is a sticker normally located on the driver side inside door panel below the locking mechanism of the door. The sticker will provide the size appropriate for the front and rear of the vehicle. For foreign cars such as BMW and Volkswagen, this sticker may also be located on the passenger door panel in the same general location. Some performance vehicles require different front and rear sized tires so be aware of that.
Load index & Speed rating of a Tire
This part is VERY important and in my experience, I have seen various companies and garages not pay attention to these values. They are important because each vehicle manufacturer actually specifies what value of load index and speed rating required for the given vehicle for Optimal Performance. These values will be located directly after the size written on the tire. For example , these values are the 99H values and can be found in your vehicle manual for what range your vehicle needs to be within for the best performance of the vehicle.
DOT Number of a Tire
Mileage Warranty of a Tire
Tire Tread Depth
Tire Tread Design
Winter Tire Studs
Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake :
Pricing of a Tire
Final Thoughts
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Hercules Tires Avalanche Xuv
Hercules Tires wasnt satisfied with a tire that only performs great. Those tires being the Avalanche X-Treme winter tire. This led to them evolving to create the Avalanche XUV. Their newest top-performing studdable winter tire for SUVs and light-duty trucks.
Hercules Tires Avalanche XUV features a new Snow Grip Technology. This technology is their collection of advanced features that work together in synergy. To make sure the tires perform in the coldest and harshest winter driving conditions.
When tested against the previous generation of tires, the Avalanche X-Treme. Hercules XUV tires can stop the vehicle 4 feet sooner in snow and up to 8 feet sooner on ice.
- Advanced Snow Grip Technology everything needed for smoother acceleration and faster stopping times in the snow.
- Snow Grabber Grooves that trap the snow inside for better snow to snow traction
- Thin sipes for better road contact and improved handling
- Tailored treads for a responsive ride and increased tread life
The Avalanche XUV winter tires are a great choice of studdable tire. Fantastic to equip your SUV or pickup truck with this winter.
Try them out risk-free this winter, Hercules Tires offers a 45-day trial. You can replace them if not satisfied during the trial. Also, they guarantee free replacement. Up to 2 years or 50% remaining tread life with their road hazard protection plan.
To checkout more information on their warranty plans click here
Goodyear Ultra Grip Wrt Lt
Represented the older technology of the studded winter pickup tire segment. The E-rated Ultra Grip WRT utilizes a specialized ice tread compound that provides enhanced traction on ice and snow-covered roads. Although it has fewer sipes in the tread blocks than the Blizzak and wider grooves/voids between the blocks, it performed nearly identical with a combined average of just 1.3 feet more than the Blizzak.
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Buying Winter Snow Tires
Buying winter snow tires early on in the year can mean finding good prices. If you have a good way to store your tires then its probably not a bad idea to go ahead and buy a new set for your pickup truck or SUV when you find the right tire at the right price. But how do you choose which tires to shop for?
Firstly, you need to know what size your specific vehicle requires. You also need to take into account the way you drive. Furthermore, the actual surfaces you travers the most often should also affect your decision when it comes to buying winter snow tires.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Suv
Do you care more about speed than practicality? Look for a snow tire to match your trucks abilities. While performance tires often come with a higher price tag, the result should be well worth it.
If its speed you seek, outfit your truck with the same tires that track-day enthusiasts choose for their cars. Michelin PS4s arrived on the scene to replace the original Pilot Sport. Their superb handling is matched by their sexy looks, thanks to a curvaceous shoulder section that transitions from sidewall to thick, grippy contact patch.
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What Is A Winter Tire
Tires ensure your vehicle maintains traction with the road. They’re essential for your safety. The variety of vehicles and weather conditions drivers encounter has created a wide range of tires from which to choose, including winter tires. You may also see winter tires referred to as snow tires, but they’re not just for heavy snow.
Thinking of them as winter tires gives you a much better idea of when you should put them on your vehicle since winter isn’t always snowy. It’s also cold, which is a big consideration in a winter tire. The rubber compounds in these tires are designed to stay flexible even as temperatures drop.
Imagine a chocolate bar. At room temperature it’s solid, but if temperatures rise it melts. Put a candy bar in the freezer and it gets too hard to eat. Rubber does the same thing. A winter tire maintains its flexibility in cold weather rather than becoming brittle.
It also has tread patterns specifically designed for snow. “A winter tire is a tire specifically designed to perform in snow, ice, and cold weather conditions. This is achieved through specialized tread rubber compounds that remain flexible in cold temperatures and unique tread patterns that feature designs to trap snow for excellent traction, increased number of slots and sipes for biting edges on snow and ice, and additional tread depth to channel away slush and water,” said McKenney.
What’s The Best Truck Tires On The Market
There’s no one tire that’s the absolute best for every situation. The truck tire that’s ideal for off-roading is not the same tire that’s perfect for highway road trips. To get a good tire, look for a known and respected brand rather than a no-name tire company and make sure that tire is recommended for how you drive your truck.
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Toyo Open Country A/t Ii: Best Dual Purpose Truck Tire
Toyo Tires
The Toyo Open Country A/T II lands in the middle of the street/off-road spectrum but performs admirably in both. This Toyo all-terrain truck tire backs up its hefty price tag with features that separate it from the crowd.
On-road durability gets a major boost from the center row of tread blocks, which creates a smooth rolling surface thats easy on the gas tank and your ears. Closer to the sidewall, tread blocks get more aggressive for better traction in dirt and snow. Tread bars add a layer of support for that chunky tread so you can run these tires longer than youd think. Light truck sizes are backed by a 50,000-mile warranty.
Ive seen this tire with M+S and TPMS ratings, so double-check which one youre getting before you buy. If winter performance is important to you, opt for the TPMS version. Anywhere else, I wouldnt have any doubts about this tire. Ive logged hundreds of highway miles on the Open Country and gotten out of some pretty sticky situations in Oklahomas notorious red clay. Give these tires a shot if theres room in your budget.
How Often Should You Rotate Truck Tires
In general, you should rotate your truck tires every 5,000 to 7,500 miles to ensure they all wear evenly. Those are the maximum figures, but you don’t have to wait that long. Feel free to rotate your tires more often, especially when they’re new and tend to wear more quickly. This is also a great opportunity to inspect your tires to make sure there are no signs of damage.
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Do Pickup Trucks Need Winter Tires
Did you know? Equipping your truck with winter tires can earn yourself a 3 5% discount on your vehicle insurance.
There are always overconfident drivers saying I have a 4 wheel drive pickup truck, why do I need snow tires? The answer is all-season and winter tires offer better performance in certain conditions.
Four-wheel drive does help to improve how your truck accelerates. Plus it allows for better power management to the wheels.
When it comes time to stop or turn. Youll find that 4×4 and your all-season tires dont help with the stopping power of your truck leaving you sliding.
In the winter, you need a softer tire for the cold weather with treads designed for traction in the snow. Winter tires are softer than all-season tires and have saw-toothed edges called sipes.
These sipes spread apart while pushed into the snow. Providing tight snow on snow contact point for your tires.
When manufactured, winter tires get special silica like compounds baked into them. This helps to keep them flexible for the best traction in the snow and cold.
All-season truck tires are too solid and arent able to squish around to grip the snow. The harder design is great for the summer and warmer weather. When the hard tire and slick grip can grab onto the solid pavement without a worry.
Contents In This Article
Best Truck Tires For 2022
If you’re looking for new truck tires, we’ve got recommendations for everything from street driving to playing in the mud.
Tires are designed to fit certain vehicles, with truck tires coming in as a wholly different category than the tires for a sedan or even a minivan. A truck tire is designed to manage the heavier loads of a truck, especially if that truck is towing something. There’s also the potential for some serious off-road adventuring when you have a pickup truck, and that, too, requires a tire that’s up to the task. In addition to off-road truck tires, there are snow tires and performance tires as well as a wide range of all-season tires from which to choose.
Along with considering the conditions you’ll be driving in, it’s important to consider how important comfort and tread life are to your buying decision. Big, beefy off-road tires may take you through mud and over rocks, but they’re not ideal for highway cruising, where they tend to feel sloppy and produce more noise. It might be better to consider an all-season tire with good on-road manners for better passenger comfort. Some tires have no tread life warranty at all, while others cover you for up to 70,000 miles or six years of driving.
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