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I've had mixed success with ice traction on my half ton pickups using AT tires. My current tires on two pickups are Hankook Dynapro ATMs, and they're not bad. Friend of mine swears by his Cooper AT3 4S, but another friends had a set of the original Cooper AT3 and said they were horrible. So, for those of you in the northern climates, what do you think is the best AT light truck tires for winter conditions, ice traction a priority, mostly on pavement but some off-road as well?

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Sorry this isn't the direction the way you wanted to go, but if you want a real improvement on ice on paved roads you need to get real snow tires and I'd have them studded. I run studded tires in the winter and switch out to all seasons the rest of the year. That said I drive regularly on snowy roads all winter. If your situation would just be a very occasional thing then this probably isn't a good way to go. Maybe some unstudded real winter/snow tires.

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Nitto exo grappler


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Getting tired of posting this. Toyo M-55.


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Goodyear Duratracs.

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Bridgestone Blizzaks. Hands down.

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Thanks for the info. I will do some research on the tires you folks mentioned. Won't be buying till fall so have time to visit Tire Rack and the manufacturers sites and check them out.

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Originally Posted by 300_savage
So, for those of you in the northern climates, what do you think is the best AT light truck tires for winter conditions, ice traction a priority, mostly on pavement but some off-road as well?


This reminds me of the thread about "the best AT tire in mud", from a few months ago. No AT tire is very good in mud. Or, on ice.

Have you ever felt how soft a snow tire is, in winter? Soft, like the eraser on a pencil. Check any AT tire when it's cold like that, and it will be hard as a rock. An AT tire is simply not optimal for that use, no matter who makes it or what tread pattern it has. The rubber compound is a compromise, to deal with scorching hot summers and cold winters. Snow tires are designed for the cold and that is it.

I think it is unreasonable to expect really good performance on ice, with any AT tire. If I absolutely had no choice but to use an AT tire, then I would look at the Goodyear Duratrac. The rubber is soft, but it's still no match to a dedicated snow tire. And it has a reputation for rock punctures and stone drilling. We have a lot of volcanic rock here in the PNWet and I don't use them for that reason.

I've got several stories of AT tires on ice, that didn't go well. Chains were the answer.







Last edited by 4th_point; 06/30/20.
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Originally Posted by FatCity67
Getting tired of posting this. Toyo M-55.


They SUCK on ice/packed snow.


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Originally Posted by wytex
Goodyear Duratracs.


Good on 1/2tn, not good on 3/4-1tn.


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300 savage,

What type of vehicle are you using?

Up here in interior Alaska, I see Duratracs on more trucks than any other. They work very well on the glare ice we drive on. With any heavy 3/4 to one ton truck, a 3-peak-snowflake rated all terrain is sufficient on the worst of roads. If 1/2 ton or smaller, a dedicated snow tire and being in 4wd/AWD is most sensible. They are too light.

Even on glare ice in below zero weather, the heft of my one ton flatbed keeps me in 2wd almost all season. But in a half ton, 200 lbs of sand over rear axle and being in 4wd is a must.

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I think user location and local weather plays a big factor in everyone's experience and opinion, but I don't think that it means that is how it will be everywhere.

When I lived in a colder climate, it was snowing and cold by Thanksgiving and never warmed up until spring. The ice and packed snow was often times hard to walk on, as it was slick, but even all-season tires could get traction. It was really cold, and the ice was dry.

Now I live in the PNWet, where it is often right around freezing. We have warm moist air, mixing with cold air. It almost seems like the premelt condition for ice skating, with a thin layer of water between the tire and ice.

I know several people who lived in the colder regions of the midwest, northeast, etc that moved here, and they ended up in the ditch. They said, "I know how to drive in the snow. Been doing it all my life." But where they lived, it was really cold and there was good traction.

I can tell you that the Toyo M-55, Toyo R/T, Toyo Open Country, and Nitto EXO do not do well on the wet ice here. I think the Duratrac is marginally better, but I have had to recover rigs running them. Cooper AT, KO2, etc. are all basically the same. Like ice skates on this wet ice.

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One exception I've seen is that really wide, oversized AT tires can sometimes do well on the wet ice here. Unless the grades are really steep.

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Hard to tell what's going on in the images below, but if you look closely, you can see vehicles pointed in the wrong direction.

Images were taken near Mt. Hood a few years ago. Took the family up there for fun in the snow. My EXO tires were fairly new, and did great earlier in the day. It was above freezing, with some people spinning out at lower elevation. Once up top, we had good traction, but traffic was bad and there were long delays.

While we sat motionless, waiting for traffic to clear, we started sliding. About a foot or so. The road had some camber. Turned around to get away from the yahoos and ensuing cluster to come. Got stuck in traffic again. It was getting dark and the temp started to drop. Again parked motionless, on an off camber stretch of road.

Then, one car slid sideways towards the oncoming lane, and into the snow bank. Then another. Again, nobody was driving. Everyone was parked. All sorts of cars, trucks, AWD, 4x4, AT tires, MT tires, etc.

It was the typical Portland cluster. People trying to drive without the right gear. Cars started sliding into other cars, and people put themselves in-between. I thought for sure that someone was going to get crushed. I've got some video files stored somewhere.

One guy slid sideways, hit the snow bank, then would drive uphill a ways, and slide sideways back into the bank. That was the only way he could go forward. Subarus, 4x4 mini-trucks, fullsize trucks, etc.. All sliding around, or jammed into the snowbanks.

The only vehicles with traction had snow tires, chains, or oversized AT/MT tires.

I chained all 4 tires and peeled out of there.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

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Originally Posted by 4th_point
I think user location and local weather plays a big factor in everyone's experience and opinion, but I don't think that it means that is how it will be everywhere.

When I lived in a colder climate, it was snowing and cold by Thanksgiving and never warmed up until spring. The ice and packed snow was often times hard to walk on, as it was slick, but even all-season tires could get traction. It was really cold, and the ice was dry.

I can tell you that the Toyo M-55, Toyo R/T, Toyo Open Country, and Nitto EXO do not do well on the wet ice here. I think the Duratrac is marginally better, but I have had to recover rigs running them. Cooper AT, KO2, etc. are all basically the same. Like ice skates on this wet ice.


I'm in Eastern ND, we get cold, stay cold, and it's a "dry" cold. Our "ice" is actually very densely packed snow that's then polished by blowing snow and traffic. In those conditions, and on a heavier diesel 3/4-1tn, the Exo's are the best I've used, and I've used quite a few in a bit over 200K Mi between 2 diesel pickups.

We get that "wet-ice" stuff you're talking about every once in a great while. Usually around Thanksgiving or in Apr, comes down as freezing rain w/ground temps just below freezing, it's a mess. Dedicated snow-tires IE Blizzak and the like are about all that stick to that stuff sans chains/studs.


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Horse1 and 4thpoint,
Yah that warm weather "lubricated ice skating rink" kinda stuff will leave unforgettable memories on a person. Staying home, or pure snow tires about the only option there.

Those toyo observe snow tires with the walnut shell in the rubber coumpound, combined with perfect 50/50 weight distribution and 4wd : just enough traction to get out of the way of the bumper car pile ups.

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A friend moved to the Western Virginia area from Minnesota. He asked some of us shortly after getting here how much snow we got and we told him it varied year to year between 10"/year to 60"/year. We mentioned that sleet, freezing rain and wet heavy snow was more common here and it was very hard to drive in going up and down the hills and mountains in the area. He of course said since he was from Minnesota he knew all about driving in it and it would be no problem for him.

First morning of the first snow of the year I found him in the ditch at the first downhill slope he came to out of our little neighborhood and of course I stopped and took him home. He was amazed at how slick it was and of course he had never been up a hill or down a hill steep hills in Minnesota.

I have been to Minnesota in the winter and that super cold dry snow is much easier to drive.

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Originally Posted by horse1
Originally Posted by wytex
Goodyear Duratracs.


Good on 1/2tn, not good on 3/4-1tn.



not true....get the appropriate rated ….ply....tire and you are good......I drive a lot of ice and snow...….bob

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I like the studded Nokian or hankook ipike tires. Blizzacks or one of the other wonder studless winter tires would probably be a good choice, but I’ve not used them.

True winter tires, as previously noted, with a soft winter rubber compound.

I’ve run the cooper M&S studded which are an AT and not a winter rubber, with studs they were not great but better than a standard AT. Not near as good as the Nokian or hankook ipikes.

The Nokians are available factory studded, that’s the way to go. The local shops can’t seem to properly install studs IMO.


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Originally Posted by BobMt
Originally Posted by horse1
Originally Posted by wytex
Goodyear Duratracs.


Good on 1/2tn, not good on 3/4-1tn.



not true....get the appropriate rated ….ply....tire and you are good......I drive a lot of ice and snow...….bob


I had Load E Duratracs on my '06 F250 diesel. They sucked, way squishy on the sidewalls from 65PSI up to 80PSI.


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