i've been running coopers for the last 5 winters, and i won't use anything else.... i buy 4 and only get 2 years out of them, but at half the price that's no big deal.. i can have 4 235's mounted and ballenced on my truck for under $400.... i dont' mind having new tires every 2 years, cause i don't like half worn tires in the winter.. being a volly firefighter, gets you out in some real bad weather....

 

>I would like to be able to run 4.56's which will be good for
>me on the 35s. But in order to do that I need a 32" or
>bigger winter tire. 32" would run me 2500 rpm at 65 on the
>highway, I dont like but I'm hardly ever on the highway so
>I'd be ok. Are there any popular sizes in 16" wheels that
>would be 32-33's? I don't know my metric tires. If not, I
>either run 35s all year round on 4.56s or I get 4.10s and
>stick with a smaller winter tire.
>
>
I think your gonna have a really hard time finding a winter tire that tall. I haven't seen any taller than 31.5". If your dead set on a taller tire you may have to resort to a all terrain or an MT. The BFG AT does carry the severe weather approval and comes in sizes up to 37". Also, I've heard that the new Super Swamper TRXUS-MT is very good in snow. It has alot of siping on the tread (they claim more siping than any other MT)and are priced pretty reasonable. Other than that I think you may be S.O.L.

 

Well that stinks, BFGs are expensive. My firestoners were only $50 a pop.



Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

Why not just have your existing tires siped? The siping is what makes "winter" tires so special. Go look at a winter only tire for cars and look at all the little cuts in em. Almost any tire shop can sipe any tire. Get some 31x9.5" swampers and have em siped. They have soft tread (good!) and when siped will kick butt on ice. I have never ran siped tire but I know (personally) 4 poeple who do it every time they get new tires and they love it. Only costs like 15-30 dollars a tire.

 

Well the tires that would need to be siped would be 35" BFG mud terrains. In my opinion it's not just the siping that will do the trick. A dedicated snow tire (not a BFG all terain type) has a different tread compound and tread pattern. You can't sipe a BFG mud into an awesome snow tire. You can improve its capabilities but not match a snow tire. Have a look at the link below, it has a picture of my snow tire's tread and a description by me. They are a totally different tire than my mud terrains because they have a different purpose. The siping doesn't really help the ice traction in my opinion, it helps to dispurse water and slush. Ice isn't slippery, it's the water on top of it. But that small layer of water can't easily be dispursed by sipes. A good snow tire has a compound with an absorbic tendency to it. It has a better tendency to absorb that small layer of water and stick better. I think your suggestion was a good one and a valid one, as siping does help improve a tire's performance, nothing against you, but in my opionion since a snow tire has a different tread design, it will outperform the type of tire I would be siping.


https://www.ford-trucks.com/dcforum/DCForumID120/1956.html


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 03-Dec-02 AT 07:52 PM (EST)]>I have 235/75/15 firestone winterfire's and I love them. But
>i'm planning on a 6" lift with 35s and 4.10 gears. I want to
>have winter tires but with 4.10s the 235s are a little
>small. 31s would be ok or even 32s. I would like to find
>some 33/9.5 or 10.5" tires but I dont think they make them.
>Have you guys seen any good winter tires that are
>31-32-33"s? I can't find any, I looked at firestone and I
>looked at the tire rack. Thanks.
>
>
>

Now, I may be out in left field when i say this, but I think that it may be a possible option.

I'd pick up some 16' steel rims, and go from there. A 235/85/16, 215's, 225's, or something real close in a snow tire shouldn't be that hard to find (at least they aren't in my area). Only bad thing is you won't get them as cheap as your 15's.

just a thought....

 

Sipes are not meant to disperse water, only aquatreads (and others)will do that. Sipes are actually meant to trap snow. Snow on snow gives better traction than rubber on snow. All the little edges also give better bite. Pack some snow onto rubber and then try to push it off, then pack some snow onto snow and do the same. Snow/Snow has higher shear resistance.

The point I was trying to convey was that a siped tire will outperform (by far!) a non siped identical tire on snow AND ice. Ever see the Blizzak? I do agree though that DEDICATED winter tires are a different compound and designed exclusively for winter. I dunno if I agree that they have "water absorbancy" though. That sounds more like an urban legend to me.

On a side note, siping is also said to improve tread life by increasing the heat dissipation of the tire. Maybe an excellent idea for mud terrains and swampers, but I am a little skeptical about that claim. But then again anyone who has ever ran swampers and come off the highway knows how warm those babies can get!

 

>Sipes are not meant to disperse water, only aquatreads (and
>others)will do that. Sipes are actually meant to trap snow.
>Snow on snow gives better traction than rubber on snow. All
>the little edges also give better bite. Pack some snow onto
>rubber and then try to push it off, then pack some snow onto
>snow and do the same. Snow/Snow has higher shear resistance.
>
>The point I was trying to convey was that a siped tire will
>outperform (by far!) a non siped identical tire on snow AND
>ice. Ever see the Blizzak? I do agree though that DEDICATED
>winter tires are a different compound and designed
>exclusively for winter. I dunno if I agree that they have
>"water absorbancy" though. That sounds more like an urban
>legend to me.
>
>On a side note, siping is also said to improve tread life by
>increasing the heat dissipation of the tire. Maybe an
>excellent idea for mud terrains and swampers, but I am a
>little skeptical about that claim. But then again anyone who
>has ever ran swampers and come off the highway knows how
>warm those babies can get!

If siping is not made to disperse water, then why is it that a tire ment for rain and water have sipes? My mud terrains have no sipes and are not very good in the rain. I'm not saying you're wrong, i'm just trying to investigate a little more. I wasn't trying to say you were wrong before either, I know that sipes are important but you can't sipe a mud terrain into out performing a dedicated winter tire is what i was getting at. However, you didnt really know what tire i would be siping so i feel that you're suggestion was a good one.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member