"Winter" Tires On Heavy Vehicles..

[Arnold]

Used to be that there was no point in putting "winter" tires on heavy vehicles. Lug tread was all that was neccesary. The softer rubber compound of "winter" tires just wore stupid fast.
  I talked in depth with someone yesterday who said all that has changed in the last 4-5 years. He said that the grip on ice is no longer from the soft rubber of the tread flexing..but of the flex now being built into the tire itself. He said that "winter" tires now last 4-5 seasons..60,000 miles on heavy pickups,4x4's etc.

   He said that if I tried a pair of NEWER "winter" tires I would be stunned by the difference on ice.

    I say this because the other day my police 3/4 ton 4x4 Burb..(which weighs a whopping 6700lbs empty.. My buddies Yukon XL 1/2 ton 4x4 5600lbs over the scales ith him,me.several hundred lbs of junk)found its way into maybe the worst vehicle ever on glare ice in 2wd. The back tires are pretty much new..Bridgestone Duellers. On glare ice in 2wd this vehicle simply could not move at all!! Yes..everything is loose..calipers.etc

   When shifted into 4wd the Burb had grip like NO other 4x4(I have had 13 of them) I have ever been in(older tire technology etc). The front tires are worn somewhat. grip on glare ice with the front wheels..same tires was just absolutely phenomenal. I think it was just the ponderous bulk over those front driving wheels..nothing to do with any tire. I can't imagine ANY tire having better grip. I dunno. I am THINKING of trying some "winter" tires on the back. LOL..kind of a hard thing to just go and "try out" haha.

   My buddy with the Yukon says I am wasting my time and money..and 4wd Suburbans are basically 1wd LOL vehicles. 1 FRONT haha.He said I may as well just throw out the rear end and use some shopping cart wheels..as about
99.99% of the traction comes from the front wheels. Sure seemed that way to me the other day. Man oh man was this thing completely useless in 2wd. WOW! And even scarier..it has a locking rear axle! In 4wd it felt like a roller coaster ratchet type grip WOW!And that no tire on the back will make much difference as there is NO weight there to begin with.

  I do live in area REKNOWNED! for ice/black ice/very high moisture level/hoar frost/frozen fog. Sudden temperature changes. Add snow,melting,salt and rain to the above. We get a LOT! of "sheet ice" on our roads. LOL..at least you can SEE the skating rink haha.

  Just wanted to ask about others experiences

  Thanks very much!

[wayne petty]

i wonder if one can get these in the united states...


makes me want to move to a place with ice on the streets to have a LOT of fun...


http://www.exeros-technologies.com/mita-snow-chains

here is a direct youtube link to their video

[Arnold]

i wonder if one can get these in the united states...


makes me want to move to a place with ice on the streets to have a LOT of fun...


http://www.exeros-technologies.com/mita-snow-chains

here is a direct youtube link to their video

 

  lol..why..you could come and live here where I am haha.

  YES! SOMETIMES Ice is fun..roads..parking lots.


  I remember my very first experience with "black ice".

  Perfectly dry road,beautiful sunny day. Up ahead a 4x4 dually just went CRAZY! WOW! Just spinning and sliding ALL over the road! Man was this UGLY! I had absolutely no idea what had just happened?? Until I got up there. CRYSTAL clear ice. Over the road. Absolutely invisible.

  We have so many variants of icy roads it is scary. Some locals do not have 4x4's because the roads can get so ugly so fast that a 4x4 doesn't make much difference.Others that do have 4x4's say it "helps". Still others have 4x4's but stay off the roads when it gets ugly. When a local is stopped and warns another local of bad roads. There IS respect.

  Cops,tow truck drivers,locals etc.,can ALWAYS tell where the 4x4 IS FROM.

  It is judged by the distance off the road in an almost impossible and $ to get it out.

   They are from Toronto..people pile into their sport utes with NO winter preparedness..hit the 4x4 when the going gets rough get going WAAaaay too fast.

  Some ask about roads..conditions..and then very calmly and confidently reply.."I have a 4x4". Some AFTER being told the road grader is pretty much stuck there. Others say..or add "I have a cell phone"

  Standard insurance joke "Buy a 4wd..have your accident at higher speed"

[wayne petty]

sounds like its time to scrounge some of these from old rovers..

http://www.rover-classics.co.uk/images/reference/thumbnailv8/electrical/pages/Icelert_jpg.htm


makes you wonder if thermal cameras could spot ice on the pavement in front of the cars or trucks..   i have a contact over at gopro.. i will ask...

either that.. or in areas where patches of ice happen again and again... install a sand dispenser like a broadcast seeder.. so it sprays sand or salt out a few times an hour.. or a radar speed trap device.. that when cars approach.. sand or salt is thrown out onto the road..  these could be battery powered bins that are set in place well off the side of the road and use something like a starter motor to spin a disc and an auger .. adjusting the opening and angle of the spreader head would allow changes in width of broadcast..

[UGLY OLDS]

Has anyone had any experience with FireStone " Winter Force" labeled tires  After my recent "incident" with loosing a brake line & "finding" a Jersey barrier, I will be installing a set on my GMC pick up... I had to jump through hoops to get a set of 4 so late in the season but they are on the way ...

EVERYONE I have talked to about them insists that they MUST be removed for summertime use ..    
 
This being my "get to work under any conditions" truck during the winter & the "Garage Sale" truck in the summer , I wonder if the limited summer use is going to wear them out as people say ...
(The truck is used about 3500 miles a year )

I do know that ANY summer use with BridgeStone "Blizzak" tires will pretty much ruin them in one season .. We have fleet cars that run them in the winter in some pretty nasty areas, and they are a really good winter tire under snow & glare ice conditions ... Leave them on after April &  they wear like a cheap bargin tire ......


Anybody using the "WinterForce" tire



Thanks ...
Bob ......

[Arnold]

Has anyone had any experience with FireStone " Winter Force" labeled tires  After my recent "incident" with loosing a brake line & "finding" a Jersey barrier, I will be installing a set on my GMC pick up... I had to jump through hoops to get a set of 4 so late in the season but they are on the way ...

EVERYONE I have talked to about them insists that they MUST be removed for summertime use ..    
 
This being my "get to work under any conditions" truck during the winter & the "Garage Sale" truck in the summer , I wonder if the limited summer use is going to wear them out as people say ...
(The truck is used about 3500 miles a year )

I do know that ANY summer use with BridgeStone "Blizzak" tires will pretty much ruin them in one season .. We have fleet cars that run them in the winter in some pretty nasty areas, and they are a really good winter tire under snow & glare ice conditions ... Leave them on after April &  they wear like a cheap bargin tire ......


Anybody using the "WinterForce" tire



Thanks ...
Bob ......

  Bob..I can only help you out a little. I know nothing about them OTHER
than they are REALLY POPULAR!! where I live. I don't think they came in an E load rating I needed.
  OHhh..I dunno about leaving ANY "winter" tire on after winter.
  I too have heard lots of horror stories.

[1800guy]

Winter tires really should come off as soon as the weather permits.  On our cars I can plan on about four years service on my car and on my wifes car as well.  Remember that the tread pattern is for getting through the snow - the rubber compound is what gets you across the ice.  I don't really understand the chemistry of tire rubber, but I know it's all about trade-offs, and longevity is what gets traded away for grip on ice.

[Arnold]

Used to be that there was no point in putting "winter" tires on heavy vehicles. Lug tread was all that was neccesary. The softer rubber compound of "winter" tires just wore stupid fast.
  I talked in depth with someone yesterday who said all that has changed in the last 4-5 years. He said that the grip on ice is no longer from the soft rubber of the tread flexing..but of the flex now being built into the tire itself. He said that "winter" tires now last 4-5 seasons..60,000 miles on heavy pickups,4x4's etc.

   He said that if I tried a pair of NEWER "winter" tires I would be stunned by the difference on ice.

    I say this because the other day my police 3/4 ton 4x4 Burb..(which weighs a whopping 6700lbs empty.. My buddies Yukon XL 1/2 ton 4x4 5600lbs over the scales ith him,me.several hundred lbs of junk)found its way into maybe the worst vehicle ever on glare ice in 2wd. The back tires are pretty much new..Bridgestone Duellers. On glare ice in 2wd this vehicle simply could not move at all!! Yes..everything is loose..calipers.etc

   When shifted into 4wd the Burb had grip like NO other 4x4(I have had 13 of them) I have ever been in(older tire technology etc). The front tires are worn somewhat. grip on glare ice with the front wheels..same tires was just absolutely phenomenal. I think it was just the ponderous bulk over those front driving wheels..nothing to do with any tire. I can't imagine ANY tire having better grip. I dunno. I am THINKING of trying some "winter" tires on the back. LOL..kind of a hard thing to just go and "try out" haha.

   My buddy with the Yukon says I am wasting my time and money..and 4wd Suburbans are basically 1wd LOL vehicles. 1 FRONT haha.He said I may as well just throw out the rear end and use some shopping cart wheels..as about
99.99% of the traction comes from the front wheels. Sure seemed that way to me the other day. Man oh man was this thing completely useless in 2wd. WOW! And even scarier..it has a locking rear axle! In 4wd it felt like a roller coaster ratchet type grip WOW!And that no tire on the back will make much difference as there is NO weight there to begin with.

  I do live in area REKNOWNED! for ice/black ice/very high moisture level/hoar frost/frozen fog. Sudden temperature changes. Add snow,melting,salt and rain to the above. We get a LOT! of "sheet ice" on our roads. LOL..at least you can SEE the skating rink haha.

  Just wanted to ask about others experiences

  Thanks very much!

   WELlll..I "tried" some "winter tires" on my 4wd Suburban. Mind you my Suburban is an extreme HD 3/4 ton Police unit. This thing has a good 1500 lbs more weight to it than a regular 1/2 ton 4x4 Suburban(over weigh scales).Just where all this extra weight is I dunno
  I tried some Cooper Discoverer's. They are a "winter tire" and certainly have more aggressive tread. Are they any better on ice? No they are not.They are no better with light wheel slip than they are with the limited slip locker kicking in.
I also have some Hercules Terra Tracs I was going to try but someone today who had them on a heavy 4x4 said they are no good on ice. This guy said Michelin LTX MS..just the regular all season tires were as good as anything else on ice.

[UGLY OLDS]

I got the "WinterForce" tires installed on my pick up .. Nice riding tire .. VERY quiet for as agressive as the tread design is ... I'm not looking forward to snow & ice but will advise when it finally comes ....  

Bob....