Bf Goodrich Long Trail

zipzinn · January 8, 2009

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site, having just got a 2002 Silverado (extended cab Z-71) but I actually want to talk about my last vehicle for a minute, rather it's demise. I had a 1997 Sierra extended cab 4X4, which I loved. Well, last May it came time to put new tires on. I went to Sams club and bought four BF Goodrich Long Trail radials. They set me back about $100 a piece, which being a college student seemed a decent price. I didn't want to go with the cheapest thing on the market but also couldn't afford top of the line.

So fast forward until November. It's the day before Thanksgiving and the West Virginia deer season is in full swing. A friend of mine and I had already had a good season and were in his heated garage pocessing our harvest. Outside we were having a terrific snowstorm and it was really cold outside. We had been there about an hour when we heard a noise down by the road. It sounded like someone slid off the road. One ofmy friends relatives went to check on the noise and soon thereafter returned to tell me that my truck was down in the road.

I ran outside to check it out and found that it had slid, yes that's right, slid about a hundred and fifty yards and off of a twelve foot embankment to land across a culvert. The force of the impact dug my hitch receiver two feet into the gravel roadbed while the front half dangled precariously from the top of the embankment. Two hours later a pair of tow trucks successfully extracted my baby and took her away.

Now you may be asking what this has to do wih my tires. I have since wondered if the tires played a role in my sierra's demise. I had previously noted that these tires perfomed poorly on both snowy and just wet roads. I know that this was a freak accident and I don't want to lay blame or to libel these tires but I have enough of a lingering suspicion that I will never buy another one. I just thought I'd share this with anyone considering a purchase of these tires. If you often drive on wet/snowy roads then you might want to consider a different tire. Just my two cents.

By the way, my friends yard is sloped but not incredibly so.

Zembonez · January 8, 2009

Once an item on ice slips even a milimeter, it loses all traction and is at the mercy of gravity and friction (which is almost nonexistent in ice). I don't think the type of tire is an issue here. Blame the slope and loss of friction.

Just my 0.02

VMax2007 · January 8, 2009

Once an item on ice slips even a milimeter, it loses all traction and is at the mercy of gravity and friction (which is almost nonexistent in ice). I don't think the type of tire is an issue here. Blame the slope and loss of friction.

Just my 0.02

+1

The coefficient of kinetic (sliding) friction between rubber and ice is about .05, For reference, the coefficient of sliding friction between rubber and concrete is about 1.0

DofD · January 8, 2009

I had a similar situation with my 97 Tahoe once. It had BFG Long Trail TA's on it. A group of us went skiing for the day and I was parked in the hill's parking lot which had a slope of maybe 12" over 15'. When we got back to the truck at the end of the day we found that the Tahoe had slid back the 4' into the vehicle parked behind it (there was not damage to either). While those tires aren't the greatest on ice or snow, I never found them that bad. There are many factors that contribute to a vehicle spontaneous sliding on ice with the tires themselves only being a small part. But typically once the slide starts it's not going to stop.