1997 Yukon 2WD Winter Tire Traction?

CRXMotorsports · Dec 4, 2007

Yesterday was the first day of 'snow' to speak of... and on some (admittedly worn out) Michelin LTX M/S OEM tires, the Yukon was a POS... haha.. not just spinning under acceleration, but a sliding under braking..

I know I need new tires, and I'm torn right now between two or three...

1. Dayton Winterforce [Made by Bridgestone/Firestone]- snow tire, decent priced, but would have to be 'dedicated' winter tire and I'd have to get new all season type summer tires.. $$$$ :ack:

2. Goodyear Wrangler Radials - an older design that came back for goodyear, it is an all terrain tire (no I do not off-road the yuk) but It seems as though it would be great for snow or even deep snow traction. I understand they would be noisy, but hey, this is a 10+ yr. old truck... it is far from quiet as is.. this could be used for all season use though, decent priced say... $320 for all 4 mount/balanced, etc.

3. Bridgestone/Firestone all season tire, like an H/T model.. Seems like it would be alright for winter, but not great.. again it would be more economical since it would work all year round.. however all the all season tires I see are $100+/each, so say $400 set + m/b, so at a minimum $425 or so..

Other important things to note... this is a 2wd yukon, in Ohio, where it snows ~4 months or so each year.. plenty of sleet/slush, and ice. Mostly I commute to/from work in town. This was bought as a primary tow vehicle, and has somehow found its way to my daily driver year round.

I understand the whole 'get what you pay for' etc. I will stick with name brand tires, but I'm looking for feedback from other 2wd folks... not the 4wd monsters that have no problem getting around. I was thinking of just doing 2 on the rear.. but it doesn't want to stop either.. lol.. (sliding I mean).. so I'll get all 4.

Thanks for any/all input offered.. (aside from ignorant/uninformed comments :nono: )

Hardwarz · Dec 4, 2007

Problem is the standard size tires for the Tahoe/Yukon are very wide. Wider tires are better to "float" on when you can't reach deep into the snow and mud.

If you do a lot of street driving, you'll want thin tires that reach down deep through the snow forcing the weight of the vehicle onto the road. You'll have a smaller contact patch, but the small contact patch will also give you higher pressure on the contact patches.

Problem is, if you have an old Range Rover, you can easily find thin rims and tires, but there's no one that makes a thin tire and rim in the same diameter as the factory size for the Tahoe/Yukon. Turst me, I've looked.

Hardwarz

Rollin Thunder · Dec 4, 2007

i never had trouble in my 99 2wd suburban, had regular tires and concored 10 inches of snow one year, i have to disagree with the wide tires, i think that theory is for compact cars that dont weigh much and that the weight of the truck works better than skinny tires, Skinny tires on a tahoe is like putting a lift kit and 40" off road tires on a prius

. i had the good year ranglers a/t

but arent the land rovers supposed to be off road trucks for the beach, for the beach you want to float so that means land rovers are better for mud but not that good in sand. but im not the best expert for snow, im just going by experence not facts. :thumbsup:

Mike97 · Dec 4, 2007

Hardwarz is correct about the thinner tires being better on wet snow. Wider tires act more like skis, and the truck will not be able to penetrate the muck. Wide tires on wet snow and slush are dangerous. I know this from experience. Most of the snow we get here is wet snow. And I've been driving in it for almost 30 winters.

Hardwarz · Dec 4, 2007

Rollin Thunder said:
i never had trouble in my 99 2wd suburban, had regular tires and concored 10 inches of snow one year, i have to disagree with the wide tires, i think that theory is for compact cars that dont weigh much and that the weight of the truck works better than skinny tires, Skinny tires on a tahoe is like putting a lift kit and 40" off road tires on a prius . i had the good year ranglers a/t

but arent the land rovers supposed to be off road trucks for the beach, for the beach you want to float so that means land rovers are better for mud but not that good in sand. but im not the best expert for snow, im just going by experence not facts. :thumbsup:

Theory comes from the off road industry. My friends in Alaska live by it. If you can get enough penetration to the ground, then do it. If you can't penetrate the ground or need to tread lightly, then wider tires are needed.

hardwarz

Rollin Thunder · Dec 4, 2007

so we should have donuts on in the winter then :ack:

i know i get it, i just though that was for compact cars not big heavy suvs like these, but arent winter tires just as good though??

CRXMotorsports · Dec 4, 2007

Moderaters help!! Thread hi-jacked! :cuss:

j/k :smilielol:

CRXMotorsports said:
Yesterday was the first day of 'snow' to speak of... and on some (admittedly worn out) Michelin LTX M/S OEM tires, the Yukon was a POS... haha.. not just spinning under acceleration, but a sliding under braking..

I know I need new tires, and I'm torn right now between two or three...

1. Dayton Winterforce [Made by Bridgestone/Firestone]- snow tire, decent priced, but would have to be 'dedicated' winter tire and I'd have to get new all season type summer tires.. $$$$ :ack:

2. Goodyear Wrangler Radials - an older design that came back for goodyear, it is an all terrain tire (no I do not off-road the yuk) but It seems as though it would be great for snow or even deep snow traction. I understand they would be noisy, but hey, this is a 10+ yr. old truck... it is far from quiet as is.. this could be used for all season use though, decent priced say... $320 for all 4 mount/balanced, etc.

3. Bridgestone/Firestone all season tire, like an H/T model.. Seems like it would be alright for winter, but not great.. again it would be more economical since it would work all year round.. however all the all season tires I see are $100+/each, so say $400 set + m/b, so at a minimum $425 or so..

Other important things to note... this is a 2wd yukon, in Ohio, where it snows ~4 months or so each year.. plenty of sleet/slush, and ice. Mostly I commute to/from work in town. This was bought as a primary tow vehicle, and has somehow found its way to my daily driver year round.

I understand the whole 'get what you pay for' etc. I will stick with name brand tires, but I'm looking for feedback from other 2wd folks... not the 4wd monsters that have no problem getting around. I was thinking of just doing 2 on the rear.. but it doesn't want to stop either.. lol.. (sliding I mean).. so I'll get all 4.

Thanks for any/all input offered.. (aside from ignorant/uninformed comments :nono: )

Mike97 · Dec 4, 2007

CRXMotorsports said:
Moderaters help!! Thread hi-jacked! :cuss:

j/k :smilielol:

Sorry, back on topic.

You will always get your best traction in snow/slush/ice with winter tires. The best all-season tires are not ever going to be as good as winter tires. The problem with this is justifying the cost of having tires for both summer and winter. But if you do get winter tires, your summer tires will last longer because you are not running them year-round.

Many people opt to run all-season tires year round, but they are sacrificing winter traction. In the end, the choice is up to you. I myself choose to run snow tires on my non-4wd vehicles. When asked, I always advise people to do the same. Good luck with whatever you decide to run.

Rollin Thunder · Dec 4, 2007

that makes sense, and it one of those pay now save later deals on the winter tires, but you need wheels then too, if you had 4wd i would get the wranglers, but since you got 2wd i would bite the bullit and get the winter tires for all 4 wheels. :thumbsup:

CRXMotorsports · Dec 4, 2007

how about all-season vs. all/terrain tires then? (strictly for winter traction, I understand the issue with noise/wear/etc)

Mike97 · Dec 4, 2007

CRXMotorsports said:
how about all-season vs. all/terrain tires then? (strictly for winter traction, I understand the issue with noise/wear/etc)

Similar issues with all-terrain vs winter tires, in that the best all-terrain tire is still inferior to any winter tire. The all-terrain tires are designed to work well in mud. But mud has different properties than snow and ice. What you want in mud is big lugs. But for winter conditions, you want lots of "sipes" in the tread design. The one thing you can do is have all-terrain tires siped at the tire store. That's when the make hundreds of tiny cuts in the tread. This will greatly improve your traction in slippery conditions. But the other advantage of winter tires is that they are made from a softer rubber compound. The softer the rubber in cold conditions, the better traction you will have.

Hardwarz · Dec 4, 2007

Look at Goodyear Fortera TripleTred. If that's an option.

Hardwarz

CRXMotorsports · Dec 4, 2007

saw that one.. but I could go with alot of decent winter tires in the $75 range, no problem going winter only/summer only.. but an all-season vs all-terrain was my curiousity regarding snow/ice traction I guess. I understand tread designs, and siping, etc etc. just was looking to focus more on all-season vs. all-terrain in a 'snow/ice grip' category. lol..

[cliffnotes] if not winter tires... then all-season or all-terrain?

Rollin Thunder · Dec 4, 2007

CRXMotorsports said:
saw that one.. but I could go with alot of decent winter tires in the $75 range, no problem going winter only/summer only.. but an all-season vs all-terrain was my curiousity regarding snow/ice traction I guess. I understand tread designs, and siping, etc etc. just was looking to focus more on all-season vs. all-terrain in a 'snow/ice grip' category. lol..

[cliffnotes] if not winter tires... then all-season or all-terrain?

hmm, hard.

both have goods and bads.

all season is self explanitory, you ovesly dont off road much so you really arent going to use the all terrain much more than snow and ice, which really points out just winter tires, if it were me i would go with all season because they are less noisy, better mpg, and i dont need to change them out, enless you choose winter. because all terrain are more for mud which like someone staited is alot different then snow. my half cent.

:smash:
:rofl: dont have a seizure over this :eek2:

Mike97 · Dec 4, 2007

CRXMotorsports said:
saw that one.. but I could go with alot of decent winter tires in the $75 range, no problem going winter only/summer only.. but an all-season vs all-terrain was my curiousity regarding snow/ice traction I guess. I understand tread designs, and siping, etc etc. just was looking to focus more on all-season vs. all-terrain in a 'snow/ice grip' category. lol..

[cliffnotes] if not winter tires... then all-season or all-terrain?

If you're hell-bent to not buy winter tires, then it depends on how much off-roading you do. Since it's a 2wd vehicle, I'm going to assume that you pretty much stick to the pavement. I would go with the all-season if you don't want to buy dedicated winter tires.

Hardwarz · Dec 4, 2007

Depends on design of All terrain.

Mudders are just that, mudders, they large self cleaning valleys.

Tires like the Mickey Thompson Baja Radial MTZ Tires will be great all terrain and snow/ice, but will cost a lot more then all season.

Hardwarz

Mike97 · Dec 4, 2007

One other thing to consider is weight. All-terrain tires generally weigh more than all-season tires. And that can mean decreased fuel economy. Not sure how much of a factor that would be, but with the gas mileage of these rigs, every little bit helps.

CRXMotorsports · Dec 5, 2007

Ended up with the Goodyear Wrangler Radials last night.. woke up to 3+" of fresh snow this morning... night and day difference from my previous tires to these... so far so good.. I drove home last night on dry pavement at 60mph+.. little to no noise. All and all, ok for now, I'll keep the thread updated though.

Mike97 · Dec 5, 2007

CRXMotorsports said:
Ended up with the Goodyear Wrangler Radials last night.. woke up to 3+" of fresh snow this morning... night and day difference from my previous tires to these... so far so good.. I drove home last night on dry pavement at 60mph+.. little to no noise. All and all, ok for now, I'll keep the thread updated though.

Good to hear. Just to let you know, pretty much all tires will work in snow when brand new. I'm more interested to know how they work next winter. But Wranglers are good tires. You should be fine with them.

CRXMotorsports · Dec 5, 2007

I'll update monthly, annually, or whatever makes sense.

Thanks all!

1997 Yukon 2WD Winter Tire Traction?

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Full Access Member

Similar threads