Hi guys... A brand new and excited owner of F150 2002 4x4 4.6L. My playpen is up in Quebec, a just acquired shack in the middle of the wood, lots of mountain dirt roads around. Will use the truck for hauling material to do construction and renos at the land, go and get wood in trails, reaching the place in the middle of winter - Canadian winter no less, lots of snow and ice. Been researching on tires and I the BFGoodrich AT TKO sound sweet, a salesguy told me I could easlily managed in winter with those and to take 31 on those. Others say I truly need a winter tire, cause at -8 the All Season will freeze on me, therefore loosing traction, not so good in a blizzard... Anybody has driven any BFG AT TKO in snow and ice. Anybody has some advice for me, I would appreciate opinions of riders and not sale person.
Merci from a Canadian girl...

 

Ive seen alot of tires not freeze in alot colder temperatures then minus 8. When I worked at a tire shop back in saskatchewan, Ive never seen a tire freeze like that. I know that some offroad tires, like my mt/r's will get harder and not work worth a damn in the winter. But with an all season tire you should be fine. Winter tires are designed for winter though, so if your main use for the truck is in winter, Id go with the winter tires. Just dont use the winter tires in the summer, youll go through a brand new set of winter tires in no time in the summer!

 

Sounds like you may need the more aggressive tread of the AT KO on those back roads too ehh! I have used mine for two winters here in tropical Indiana, and they are fine. If it were me, I would feel more confident with the BFG's in the woods.

Good luck.

 

A big thanks for your advice. Sounds like your BFG handled the job real well. Did you do highway and city driving though in balmy Indiana Im just wondering if they wont get too stiff to grip well on those icy roads. They sure are what I need to explore my trails though, but maybe I could have winter tires from late october to april and those for the rest of the year, when mud comes in play... Its gonna be my first winter driving a pick-up, I hear stories that they dont handle well at all, slipping all over the place, no traction whatsoever, bla bla bla - thats why im concerned a bit. Again thanks Tim, and I think I have to go down to tropical Indiana, you guys sure seem to have a good sense of humour ehh
Cheers man.

 

Good advice, thanks. Went to see photos of yr ride. Nice all white like that. I am getting mine next week, cant wait to play...
Cheers

 

as expensive as tires can be, im getting four used rims and mounting some gnarly winter meats on them. then ill have my radials mounted on the good rims. I figure i should get four years in the rotation.........my .02 rick

 

Thanks, they are really fun trucks to play in! Another thing I thought of, is exactly why rick just mentioned, get a used steel set of rims specifically for winter, you can buy em cheap, and get winter tires. I dont know either, but try and find a set of studable tires (not sure if they still make them in a 16 inch). If you could get studded tires, the ice would never be a problem at all for you!

 

OK I just have to say that this is a girl straight from my dreams.

 

I sure do appreciate all the replies Ive got - it sure help. Glad to see that there s a community of F150 Enthusiasts out there... I will get winter rims and load winter tires on them - I actually found a brand 'Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus' that are made for our winter - they wont freeze up to minus 35C. And comes spring I will get some nice BFG AT KO to go deep in the woods. Yeah baby.....
Now that my tires dilemma is solved, let me ask you guys about exhaust system - I want to save on gas, so I will change the air filter and put a K&N and also install a tonneau cover (will save gas on highway driving they say) although I would sure prefer to install nice chrome side rails and keep the bed open... but anyway, Ive read that by changing the exhaust you get more miles per gallon. Any of you have done that yet. I must say that to have a truck with a nice rumbling sound is really appealing to me - it reminds me of my old Kawasaki GPZ 500 that Id changed the pipe to a 4in1 Kerker, man that sound was soooooo sweet.... So any advice on that, anyone.
Oh, and by the way wgotthardt, come up to Canada, there is a lot of us roaming the woods
Cheers everyone.

 

Hate to rain on your parade, but a new exhaust system is unlikely to save much gas, particularly for your 4.6. If you like the sound, that's another matter.

Similarly, the existing intake and air filter is quite efficient and when clean presents minimal restriction to a 4.6 (the same filter is used for the V10). Also, some feel that the permanent filters pass slightly more dirt, which could increase wear.

Personally, I'd spend the money on those chrome side rails!

 

If you find yourself slipping and sliding around in the winter try putting some weight in the box over the rear axles. This should help quite a bit. It helps in snowy Alberta lol.

 

I jsut use 4x4 in the winter works fine for me And as for the exhaust, I put true dual on my truck, and pulled the cats off. I get way better sound, and I believe it does help the mpg abit. But by abit Im also talking like maybe 1-3 mpg. But every little bit helps!

 

Cool preppypyro cool.... I see you re from the Chilliwack area, would you be Native by any chance... just aking. Take care!

 

No Im a white boy Im originally from saskatchewan too, but I just moved out to chilliwack Its pretty nice, although alot different then sask!