Just moved to Upstate NY; never driven in snow before

revrnd · November 28, 2016

Yes, they certainly are that much better on packed snow and ice compared with most other tires. But you're really doing a disservice to everybody by lumping all other tires in the "anything else" basket as if they're all equally bad. That is far from the case. Some of the latest all terrains, especially those with the snowflake symbol, are very, very good.

A while back Canadian Tire did one of their winter comparison tests between a typical "all terrain", an "all terrain" with the snowflake symbol and a dedicated winter tire and of course the winter tire easily won, but the snowflake all terrain more than split the difference (its stopping distance was closer to the winter tire than the all terrain tire, etc).

Nobody is going to argue that winter tires aren't better for highway use on packed snow and ice, but this notion a 4WD with a good set of all terrains (Canadian Tire actually rates the new KO2 as the "best choice for ice") is handicapped or an accident waiting to happen is overdone in your posts. While they are the "right tool for the job," a very specific job, for some people in some places, they are a very poor tool for other jobs many of us use our trucks for in the winter time.

Back to the OP...for his situation, dedicated snows probably are a good idea. 2WD needs them much more, he does not mention towing/hauling or driving offroad (things winter tires are not very good at) so they would probably be a good choice for him for the winter. That doesn't mean they are for everybody.

I hope it wasn't a "Crappy Tire" ad w/ the bozo yammering away. I don't put much faith in anything he's shilling.

Sean Neilan · November 28, 2016

Also keep your washer fluid reservoir full of -40* washer fluid. Nothing is worse than running out of fluid. Did that ONCE in the early days of owning a truck, never again. Summer bug wash is useless & will freeze up (I had a jug freeze solid in my garage). If you know of anyone going up to Ontario (about an hour north of you) we have -45*C & -49*C (-49*F & -56*F) washer fluid.

When I moved from florida to NY in January of '14 my washer fluid was the warm weather kind they mix at the shop (basically mostly water with a little bit of the alcohol) and I went 3 months before it thawed enough for me to be able to use it lol

deweyg63 · November 28, 2016

Growing up in illinois we used to love driving on snow packed roads in winter. Great practice for driving on snow and ice. I took my kids to empty snow covered parking lots for practice steering into skids and getting a feel for it. Good practice for anyone who hasn't driven in those conditions. Sand bags for weight in back are a good idea as mentioned before

Cyaple · November 28, 2016

Your best bet is weight in the bed and a good set of snow tires. Take it slow and on the first snow maybe hit an open parking lot to see how your truck handles.

Willyone · November 28, 2016

OP.... Being a life long resident of central and northern NY I'll throw in my 2 cents here.

With 2 WD, good snow tires front and rear is the best way to go. Studded would be icing on the cake. And some weight added to the bed will help too. Common sense tells you to be careful and keep plenty of distance between you and the guy ahead of you, and around corners. And you obviously need more stopping room in the snow, especially hard packed snow.

And slush from salted roads is your enemy!! Not only because it will turn your shiny new truck into a rust bucket, but it increases the chance of hydroplaning, especially when you're on Rte. 81 and 11. There have been plenty of times when I've been driving on slushy roads and thought I was going slow enough, and all of a sudden I've felt the front end drifting. That there is some scary stuff LOL.

Watertown and further north generally isn't killer as far as snow fall is concerned. Heading south of Watertown however, is a different story. Preliminary winds are from the NW and bring on the lake affect snow, from Lake Ontario. The closer you get to Pulaski and Mexico the more snow you'll encounter. During normal winters Rte. 81 and also Rte. 11 will be closed when heading south, now and then. Doesn't happen often but maybe a couple of times during the winter.

Welcome to the hood

KaptKyle · November 28, 2016

Welcome to the area!
Drive slower, stay off the phone, all that stuff.
seeing how you have 2wd, put some weight in the bed, sand, or what have you
and tires, seeing how you have 2wd, tires will be your best friend

i have a '16 reg cab long box, 5.3 with 4wd.
factory tires aren't great, but with 4wd i make it no issues.

ben550 · November 29, 2016

Live on post... The commute will be short. You can always drive off post during your days/time off... If you live off post you will have to drive to post every workday...

My buddy had a RWD Dodge Ram 1500 and he tore it up with a good set of winter tires. He would blast off back and forth between Syracuse and Watertown with no issues.

Elbert · January 15, 2017

consider different vehicle

add a good bit of weight to bed for winter driving

consider dedicated set of winter wheels with snow/winter tires

give others plenty of room

slow down

add posi traction unit to rear axle

learn about chains/cables when needed

understand what you may can drive or slide down, you may have no chance in $ell of driving back up or out of.

A 2wd drive pickup with no other changes is not the best of the reard wheel two wheel drives becuase of the lack of weight on the rear axle and the resulting poor traction.

redwngr · January 15, 2017

Live on post... The commute will be short. You can always drive off post during your days/time off... If you live off post you will have to drive to post every workday...

My buddy had a RWD Dodge Ram 1500 and he tore it up with a good set of winter tires. He would blast off back and forth between Syracuse and Watertown with no issues.

How's the winter going?

What did you decide?

How it working out?

Thomcat · January 16, 2017

get blizzaks all 4 corners & sandbags in the rear....I have said before on this site 2wd on studded snows > 4wd on s**t "all season" or "all terrain" tires.

I used to take my 400+hp rwd stalled bolted G8 GT through western NY & VT ski country drove through blizzards where i literally saw SUV's & trucks slide off the highway while my car stuck to the road.

Get snows mounted, take the truck to a big open parking lot @ first heavy snowfall & practice getting used to driving in the white stuff & how the truck performs. Besides mounting snow tires and adding weight in the back another good piece of advice is get used to being more deliberate & pre-meditated w/ your driving inputs - snow driving & impulsive inputs don't do well together.

I would also keep some squares of scrap rug or mats in the truck along w/ a shovel & rock salt too just in case

Most States don't allow studs......too bad because they work well.....as did the trunk mounted automatic liquid tire chain injectors GM used in the 60's until the aerosol bottles started to explode in the hot trunks.

That's how my dad tough me....snow/iced parking lot....as large as possible with as few light poles as possible, beach parking lots in the NY/LI areas were great for this. Have fun.....jerk the wheel, slam the brakes and learn how to handle skids - loss of traction - clear snow from the wheels and frame - rock vehicle - unfreeze door locks. And don't forget get new wiper blades and top-off the washer fluid top clear salt from the windshield.

crushNchowda · February 3, 2017

Seen way too many people get themselves into a pickle driving a manual in snow storms. People emergency braking, wheels lock up, car stalls while still sliding forward, now power is not going to the wheels which makes it harder for you to pull out of a slide and the person driving now can't stop, can't power into a turn and their steering is harder because power the steering quit with the engine stalled. Most drivers, regardless of what we think of our own skills arent thinking of downshifting to keep the engine from stalling when they're more focused on stopping their car and hitting what's in front of them. Of course everyone on this site is a self proclaimed driving professional, but there are a lot of terrible drivers out there too. You can control what your response is, but you cannot necessarily control what others around you do. In adverse conditions, most people arent factoring the other guy...all this talk of manuals being better may true in regards to towing, but overall in a situation that takes the guessing out of controlling your car and enhances safety for the vast majority of average drivers on the road in a dire situation, saying a manual is better is just 20 year old braggadocio.

Don't know how to drive a manual then.

I'm gonna blow your mind though - in college driving through a severe snow storm where 18 wheelers were jackknifing in western PA area & I had to get off the highway. I was driving a '94 VW jetta 5 speed, took an offramp w/ a medium downward grade to check into a hotel, only the entire offramp was covered in hardpack snowy ice, I was sliding uncontrollably looking as if I was going to go straight through the stop sign of the exit into oncoming traffic, I don't think the car had ABS but @ the last minute I had an epiphany & threw the gearshift into REVERSE while still on the clutch & then just popped the clutch & gave it hard throttle @ the same time - so my wheels were spinning in reverse while my car slid forward originally going about 30 into a certain collision instead the car started slowing immediately then did a reverse fishtail on the onramp allowing me to stop the car before sliding into oncoming traffic.

Try that in an automatic vehicle

Oh - & that manuever works unbelievable well in an AWD car like a subie....not sure the newest cars out there would allow that to happen now but who knows.

crushNchowda · February 3, 2017

I hope it wasn't a "Crappy Tire" ad w/ the bozo yammering away. I don't put much faith in anything he's shilling.

LOL

btw - zero, and I mean ZERO chance my BFG K02's outperform my blizzaks or michelin snows on ice.......so not sure what Canada is smoking w/ that one.

Silverado Steve · February 3, 2017

Your situation and subsequent reaction are an anomaly, not the norm. Yes, while driving a manual does require a higher degree of skill and situational awareness by the driver, the notion that driving a manual makes you a better driver is complete bunk. If that assertion was indeed true, then vehicle accidents and mishaps would of been much lower 20-30 years ago when manual transmission were more predominant. All the statistics prove the opposite with the fact being 90% of cars today are now automatics with much more technology to distract drivers like infotainment, buttons and gadgets...that should blow your mind.

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