Tires (22")

[Janky]

I know there have been many posts about tires, but I have to relay this. Last year, I made it to the mountains many times with the factory Hankooks. As you all have found, they are horrible in snow and ice, but I never got stuck. Well, today was the day. Stevens pass got a good dumping today. The highway had a bunch of stop and go. Right at the pass, the road banks right at the first entrance to the ski area parking. I witnessed 4 cars going sideways just trying to move slowly. Fortunately, I was able to inch over to the high shoulder and get in a few inches of fresh, before finding a window and going for it. I took a picture from our first chairlift and you can see what looks like a capable 4x4, stuck sideways into the bank.

Thankfully, I got a mostly flat spot in the upper parking lot. However when I pulled in, the tires just spun. I tried to back up and go forward again to pack down a little section, but it was hopeless and the car on one side was a little close, so I just parked it. Upon returning, the closer vehicle was gone but when we went to get out, the wheels just spun. 4L, locking diff, mud/snow setting - none of it made a difference. I wonder if my attempts when first parking actually sealed my fate by freezing a nice little wheel hole.
Dug and dug and got it to move about 6 inches... into the next hole. Then I gave up and pulled out the chains. Before I got them on, the neighbor on the other side showed up and pulled us out. Nice little Jeep, thank you!

When we finally got our beast out, I just had to take a picture. The 'holes' I was stuck in were embarrassingly small! The factory Expy is just pathetic in the snow. The tires are crap and that stupid transmission is impossible to shift back and forth between R and D to rock out of a bind. Don't get me wrong, I love the truck, just hate getting stuck.

I'd love to hear tire recommendations. My use is lots of city/highway and 10-15 trips to the snow a year. Currently eyeing the Falken Wildpeak and Conti TerrainContact. I love the 22's but after today's mishap, I'm one step closer to changing to 20", which would open up many more choices.

 

[MattG]

I put dedicated 22" winter tires on my factory rims.

The BFG TA sport are an all weather 22" that I would consider. There are many other AT all weather tires in 22" as well. My '20 Lariat F150 has the Toyo ATIII and they have been great.

 

[sjwhiteley]

Huh. There’s no reason you should’ve got stuck there. As you’ve deduced, the tires are just not up to the task. I watched the Tire Rack reviews which included the continental tires: while they came in last (out of 4) in the snow section, it wasn’t a tragedy by any means, and appeared capable. They did the best in the wet conditions, though.

Anything but the OEM!

 

[Janky]

Wow, looking again at tire rack, there are quite a lot of choices! Ironically, Hankook does have a good looking AT tire at a good price but I just can't trust the brand after dealing with the crummy factory tires.

 

[MattG]

Those Hankook AT2 are actually pretty good all weather tires. A worthwhile consideration as I had them on a previous F150 and overall they were above average.

 

[Calidad]

These have been night and day upgrade over the Handkook garbage

 

[Team_Z]

I just spent the day driving through a hell of a lot of snow up in the mountains, testing out these OEM’s and I was very surprised at how well they did especially in snow mode. I’m guessing it’s because they are new but I’m pretty confident they will suffice this season.

 

[John Ferrero]

I have factory 22" with the Hankook, mine are HTs. I've kept the HT's on for now in summer but purchased Blizzak DMV2's (on 18" aftermarket wheels from TR) for winter soon after taking delivery of the vehicle. The SUV handles spectacularly in the snow (we take 3+ trips a year out to Colorado's Summit Co to ski) on the B's. I've hit white-out conditions on I80 several times and been up in the mountains with 10"+ falling overnight and the vehicle has never skipped a beat/felt out of control. The OEM tires on the other hand are TERRIBLE. I had the misfortune of converting back to the 22" rims and HT tires one March for a spring break trip to FL. Unfortunately we got hit with a couple inches of snow the week we were leaving, it was terrifying driving in snow without the dedicated snow tires on. Also, I would recommend against going to AT tires with the mountain symbol as an alternative....they are winter rated but not nearly as effective as dedicated snow tires on the road. MT had an article articulating the same (as have other magazines)...https://www.motortrend.com/features/1612-diggin-snow-we-test-the-best-tread-design-for-driving-in/
Good luck....

 

[Team_Z]

I have factory 22" with the Hankook, mine are HTs. I've kept the HT's on for now in summer but purchased Blizzak DMV2's (on 18" aftermarket wheels from TR) for winter soon after taking delivery of the vehicle. The SUV handles spectacularly in the snow (we take 3+ trips a year out to Colorado's Summit Co to ski) on the B's. I've hit white-out conditions on I80 several times and been up in the mountains with 10"+ falling overnight and the vehicle has never skipped a beat/felt out of control. The OEM tires on the other hand are TERRIBLE. I had the misfortune of converting back to the 22" rims and HT tires one March for a spring break trip to FL. Unfortunately we got hit with a couple inches of snow the week we were leaving, it was terrifying driving in snow without the dedicated snow tires on. Also, I would recommend against going to AT tires with the mountain symbol as an alternative....they are winter rated but not nearly as effective as dedicated snow tires on the road. MT had an article articulating the same (as have other magazines)...https://www.motortrend.com/features/1612-diggin-snow-we-test-the-best-tread-design-for-driving-in/
Good luck....

I’m on the Hankook HT’s and made it through a pass just fine last night and icy roads this morning. Putting it on snow mode made a big difference. Next season will definitely get either Blizzaks or Nokians. I’m sure my only reason for success is they are still almost brand new. I slowed down in that pic since a plow was coming at me. But was easily doing 50.

 

[Dice Roll]

I recently had a four wheel skid on a s curve section that leads to my local Costco. I easily caught it, and I went in a little fast for it being wet out, but that was ********. I’ve driven several vehicles over that same stretch and never experienced anything like that. I’ve got under 11k on these and can’t justify trashing them…yet.

 

[Fastcar]

I have factory 22" with the Hankook, mine are HTs. I've kept the HT's on for now in summer but purchased Blizzak DMV2's (on 18" aftermarket wheels from TR) for winter soon after taking delivery of the vehicle. The SUV handles spectacularly in the snow (we take 3+ trips a year out to Colorado's Summit Co to ski) on the B's. I've hit white-out conditions on I80 several times and been up in the mountains with 10"+ falling overnight and the vehicle has never skipped a beat/felt out of control. The OEM tires on the other hand are TERRIBLE. I had the misfortune of converting back to the 22" rims and HT tires one March for a spring break trip to FL. Unfortunately we got hit with a couple inches of snow the week we were leaving, it was terrifying driving in snow without the dedicated snow tires on. Also, I would recommend against going to AT tires with the mountain symbol as an alternative....they are winter rated but not nearly as effective as dedicated snow tires on the road. MT had an article articulating the same (as have other magazines)...https://www.motortrend.com/features/1612-diggin-snow-we-test-the-best-tread-design-for-driving-in/
Good luck....

Yup, couldn't agree more. In snow there isn't a better tire than a Blizzak. I used them for years plowing snow in New England.

 

[MattG]

I don't disagree with dedicated snows as I have WinterCommands for my stock 22s and true summer performance tires for my Saleen 23s.

For some that don't want dedicated sets, I'd go with an all weather tire before an all season, may not get quite as many miles out of them, but there is a noticeable difference in the winter between the two.

 

[Fastcar]

I was under the belief that the criteria for an all weather and all season tire were about the same. Kinda like the swiss army knife. Does a lot of things but none real well.

 

[Anerbe]

Any type of snow covered routes in hilly areas, just go for dedicated winter tires. Either swap them in the OEM rims, and keep the A/S For the warmer months (although change out the OEM’s when you get the chance), or get dedicated set of winter wheel/tires, maybe in 18” or 20”, where you get much better options for tires.

The all terrain / all weathers may do better in deeper snow due to the larger blocks, but they are no better and often times worse in ice conditions due to hard compounds and less edges.

True winter tires on these cars make them absolute tanks in the severe conditions. It’s worth it if you are doing any driving outside of suburbia/urban shopping/commuting.

 

[Wayne Decker]

I got by just fine with the OEM Hankooks when they were pretty new. Now with 33k on them they still have plenty of tread but think they wouldn't be great in snow. So I just put on Conti TerrainContact H/T. I think they'll be much better.

 

[Wayne Decker]

These have been night and day upgrade over the Handkook garbage

What are those?

 

[Emilner]

We drove 30k miles on the stock Hancooks before swapping to Michelin Defenders. On dry roads the Hancooks were quiet and had a good ride. In the rain they were terrible- they had very little traction and it was way too easy to break the rears loose with a little throttle. In the snow they were comical- driving on roads felt the same as when I was a "kid" and would take my Bronco to go hoonin in a snow covered parking lot. The Defenders are night and day different. I would say they are not quite as quiet as the stockers. But in the rain they are planted and never squirrely. We just had our first snow of the year yesterday and I was very impressed. In "slippery conditions" mode (I believe basically it's a 4A mode) the truck never skipped a beat going through unplowed roads and managed quite well on ice. I would not hesitate to get them again.

 

[Calidad]

We drove 30k miles on the stock Hancooks before swapping to Michelin Defenders. On dry roads the Hancooks were quiet and had a good ride. In the rain they were terrible- they had very little traction and it was way too easy to break the rears loose with a little throttle. In the snow they were comical- driving on roads felt the same as when I was a "kid" and would take my Bronco to go hoonin in a snow covered parking lot. The Defenders are night and day different. I would say they are not quite as quiet as the stockers. But in the rain they are planted and never squirrely. We just had our first snow of the year yesterday and I was very impressed. In "slippery conditions" mode (I believe basically it's a 4A mode) the truck never skipped a beat going through unplowed roads and managed quite well on ice. I would not hesitate to get them again.

Same the stock tires were terrible on the wet. They would break loose easily under near ideal conditions and were terrible in less than ideal conditions. The BFG Trail Terrains are better in the wet than the OEM were on the dry.