Any advice for me? I currently have Cooper Discoverer STTs, and while I haven't had the chance to put them through some deep powder yet, they're not the greatest on the roads, they tend to slip a lot, and have almost no traction if its slippery. Now I'm a off-road newbie, so is that just a general rule, tires made for off-roading aren't good on roads, or is there a better tire for me out there? I do a lot of ice fishing, so being a good off-road snow tire is my number one priority. After that comes on-road driving in snow and ice, and I don't really do enough mudding to really make it an issue. I'd actually care about the ride and noise factor first. So my priorities are:
1. off-road capability in snow and ice
2. on-road in the same
3. noise/ride quality

Now I'll add this in, I live in Minnesota so chains are illegal here, but I could be persuaded to buy a pair and save them for off-roading, and just attach them at the lake access. Would I be better off going with that, and getting a less aggressive tire, or are there tires that have enough off-road capabilities but also enough on-road and noise reduction that I don't need to? Thanks for the help guys. Also I have stock 17" wheels.

 

Good tires for snow and ice generally have softer rubber and lots of sipes. Mud and off-road tires seem to have large cleats that do not work well when on-road with the road is covered with ice or snow.

A dedicated winter tire is best. If you only can have one set of tires, look hard at BFG ATs or the Michelin equivalent. Their downside is that they cost a bundle, but the tread pattern seems to work quite well for the conditions that you are describing.

I run Michelin LTX AT2 tires for the winter. These work very well for snow plowing and for general use. They work well offf-road. I used to run the BFGs. They work just as well as the Michelins but are a bit noisy.

For tire research, log onto TireRack. Lots of excellent information there.

Lou Braun