Snow Traction Devices Question

[Ducky]

Winter is coming...

 

Thought I'd do a general search online to see what kind of traction devices I could get... Was looking at the König XG-12 Pros, or other like items and noticed this little tidbit in my User manual... 

 

Having the Midnight edition with the 265/65R18 Duratracs... I guess I'm out of luck, unless I go with studded tires or I guess get a lift? 

 

Owners with these size tires and factory lift, what are you doing?

 

[j-ten-ner]

I don't know where you live and what road conditions you're facing, but if your truck is as good as my 2013 Silverado, you won't need chains.

Put on KO 2's and you're getting home!

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[amused2deth]

Just got rid of stock tires on my 2016 for some KO2's today! Cant wait until it snows! Had 2 sets of regular KO's on my Blazer and loved them.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[silveradosid]

by the first post every size gm puts on a pick up cant use chains i have to agree with the other guys i got k02's and they definately do the job

[rjpoog1989]

If he’s already got duratracs, KO2s ain’t going to help. Trust me, I’m a KO2 fan, but duratracs reign supreme in every test and review I’ve seen... I just can’t switch to Goodyear after some poor experiences.

[14GMCZ71]

Some good info:

 

https://www.peerlesschain.com/limited-clearance-issues/

 

[14GMCZ71]

This one might be an option:

 

https://www.peerlesschain.com/brands/traction-product-choices/super-z-lt/

 

[Bikemobile]

Duratracs are excellent in snow, ice, mud. Chains are better than any tire in deep mud. 

 

What do you need chains for? 

[Donstar]

On ‎2018‎-‎11‎-‎23 at 6:45 PM, silveradosid said:

by the first post every size gm puts on a pick up cant use chains i have to agree with the other guys i got k02's and they definately do the job

I believe those of us with 255/70r/17 standard GM size tires are safe with chains.  I often carried chains with my 2wd trucks but never found the need with good quality all seasons and 4wd.  If snow and ice were a greater concern, dedicated snow tires on separate rims would be my choice over chains.

[Ducky]

10 hours ago, Bikemobile said:

Duratracs are excellent in snow, ice, mud. Chains are better than any tire in deep mud. 

 

What do you need chains for? 

Pass Travel when the need arises.

[Tmac Z71]

What do you guys do in mountain areas that have certain times where chains are mandatory?  

[Bikemobile]

3 hours ago, Tmac Z71 said:

What do you guys do in mountain areas that have certain times where chains are mandatory?  

I carry a set of cables for those times. Very rare in Colorado that they will activate “code 16” chains required on everything. 3PMSF tires, “3 peak mountain snowflake” and 4 wheel/all wheel drive will get you over the big passes in Colorado and meets the requirements of code 15 “passenger traction law” I carry the cables to get through the State Trooper checkpoints. 

[Tmac Z71]

That makes sense, thanks for the info.  I've been traveling from NC to Colorado and Tahoe the past few summers and have seen the checkpoints.  Definitely want to move out that way,  the mountains are amazing.

[crushNchowda]

Snow tires will perform better than ANY "all season" or "all terrain" tire out there, period. Studded snow tires will DESTROY anything else in winter conditions performance & its not even close.

If you can run studded snows in your area, do a lot of driving, & live in a place that can get frigid temps & snow 4-5 months outta the year, they're a great investment. They'll last 4-6 years min depending on driving conditions/mileage & also help keep your "rugged looking" AT tires nice & nubby w/ deeper tread longer. The initial hit stinks, but ultimately gets more life outta your "regular" tire setup. Also - if mounting to steelies or a cheap wheel can keep your nice expensive stock rims from getting destroyed in the winter.

Whenever I get questions like, "why would you run snow tires on a 4x4 truck" I just roll my eyes - I've lived in new England my whole life, I would 100% of the time pick a large RWD sedan w/ studded snows over an AWD SUV or 4x4 truck running all seasons, and I did just that when my DD was a G8 GT w/ a stall/cam/headers - ran studded snows for 6 winters going up to VT ski country every other weekend.

 

Whenever I hear truck guys contemplating purchasing them, aside from saying what I just did above, is offer the following analogy. I have a Z06 vette - on the opposite end of the spectrum, think about how much better a max performance summer only tire would perform on that car on a road course over "all seasons"? Now imagine max performance summers vs. R compound Nitto's or Michelin Pilot cups? At the drag strip, how much better of a time could you put down running Micky Thompson DR's over "all seasons"?

 

Finally, while imaging just how much better the more narrowly focused racing type tires would perform over "all seasons" (& how ridiculous it would be for someone to show up to the drag strip on "all seasons") & consider that those analogies all concerned different tire types performing against each other in DRY CONDITIONS ON A PREPPED SURFACE

 

Now think about how much better a tire designed specifically for sub zero temps, slush/snow/ice + having damn metal studs in 'em would do vs. an all terrain or all season type on crappy ass public hwys pock marked pavement in the worst winter driving conditions.

 

If you think an all season or all terrain would be even comparable to true snow tires I got a bridge in Brooklyn for ya!

 

FWIW - even BFG K02's are not "good in the snow" relative to snow tires, they're awful. In comparison to the average AT tire? Definitely at the top of the heap. Keep in mind 1 of the  biggest things a snow tire brings to the table over an AT (since sipes & tread patterns on AT tires can translate well to snow conditions many times) is the rubber compound used. Snows are MUCH MUCH more supple/soft in sub zero conditions, thus allowing them to have better grip in dry or wet conditions & allow the sipes/tread to do their job. Other all season tires have much harder rubber that, depending on the temp, may as well be solid rocks regardless of the tread pattern since the rubber has no give.
 

[Loco-diablo]

I live in New England.. The Duratrac's as is are all I've ever needed for snow, and I've driven in some pretty narley snow conditions.