Blunderbuss Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Just sold my old Defender and looking for something newer, with a few more creature comforts. likely to be a Jap pick up of some , mostly as a shooting truck come weekend toy, but it will occasionally do long motorway runs. We live 600 ft above sea level on an escarpment and if there is any snow about, we get the worst of it and our local minor roads are often untreated. Mrs Blunderbuss who has her own little hatchback will probably use whatever I buy to get to work if the weather is bad. So the question is, how will A/T tyres fair compared to proper winter tyres on untreated back roads with hard packed snow. I had general grabber ATs on the Landy and they seemed pretty good in snow, but they wore so little in year round use, they must be a pretty hard compound which can't be ideal in winter? I've never used dedicated winter tyres but understand they are a softer compound which warms up quicker in low temps. In an ideal world I'd probably have both and a spare set of rims. But without that, how do people think AT tyres like grabbers or BFGs compare to dedicated winter tyres if forced to make that compromise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lees Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I've not used ATs but I've heard they are good on fresh snow but no good on hard packed snow and slush, I've used winter tyres for the last 3 winters and they make a huge difference on fresh/packed snow and slush, as well as when it's just cold and damp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HW682 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) No doubt you will get plenty of replies saying how good certain tyres are, but you try reading a few on line reviews of tyre tests. Generally these are German or Austrian but you can read them with google translate or similar. They will test exactly the same vehicle over the same tracks with different tyres. Winter tyres will beat A/T everytime, in fact A/T are often worse on ice or hard packed snow than ordinary road tyres. As I understand it A/T are designed to keep the treads clear, wheras winter tyres are actually designed to fill the tread (and lots of tiny cuts called sipes) with snow as the friction of snow on snow is higher than rubber on snow. edit to add: also on ice it is the edges that provide all the grip, so again a winter tyre with loads of sipes will provide far more grip than a chunky tyre with far fewer larger tread blocks. Edited January 23, 2013 by HW682 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 One advantage of 4x4 is there are generally lots of sets of wheels about.... a set of steels with thinner winter tyres for winter and alloys with AT for summer you just need to decide when to swap over there are the inbetween but like all inbetweens they are a compromise. cheaper option if you have a garage/space to store is swap between tyres but will need a friendly garage that will swap them and rebalance for minimal cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HW682 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) http://www.oeamtc.at...uv_konzept_2008 This page compares a high performance, a "crossover", an A/T, a M/T and winter tyre on different surfaces. Google translate doesn't seem to work properly on this page - but you can cut and paste the blocks of text to translate if wanted edit: a few more different tests http://www.oeamtc.at...,,1004845,11017 Edited January 24, 2013 by HW682 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelongwayup Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I can give an honest and genuine answer to this as I have used both on my L200. We fitted proper pirelli scorpion snow and ice tyres prior to our trip to the top of Norway. We hit snow just above Stockholm which varied from slush to soft fresh snow to hard packed snow and then ice. The Pirelli's performed excellently with no twitching, sliding or untoward behaviour. We were doing 60mph down a twisty mountain pass with confidence. We were also in 4h mode. They took a few miles to trust them and you still have to alter your driving to suit the conditions. I now have General grabber AT new shape tyres fitted. Offroad they perform very well in shallow mud and soft snow. On hard packed snow though they do twitch and slip a bit and I don't fully trust them in tight corners even in 4h mode. In slush they twitch about a touch too. Dry or wet roads though and they seem to handle really well and even drive quietly. If I could afford a spare set of wheels I would stick some proper snow tyres on steels for winter time. Save the At's for the alloys and summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twitchynik Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Two sets of wheels and tyres. The costs are somewhat offset with longer tyre life or spreading the use out (you're only using one set at a time) and selling the spare wheels and/or tyres when you sell the vehicle. Also worth looking for a used set on eBay. I have winters on the rear wheel drive car at the moment. It's not just about the snow or ice, the tyres are designed to work at the lower temperatures so braking as well as traction when driving is better. You're also reducing the chances of a prang and the costs associated with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 My at2's have the snow flake emblem and I rarely have issues with them, in this country I couldn't justify 2 sets especially when you consider the winter tyres won't be as good in mud and that's what we have most of all winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stayaday Posted March 8, 2019 Report Share Posted March 8, 2019 I have the new bfg.s on my Suzuki vitara. They have snow flake emblem on them never had a problem with them in snow and that. But I did with the old make of bfg.s all terrain. The new make much better. Compound is better. Would buy them again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonm Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 I have Bravo Maxxis ATs on my Disco 3 and they were outstanding in the snow we had a few weeks ago that brought most of the area to a standstill. This was on deep fresh snow out in the downs as well as compacted icy stuff in the town - coupled with the snow and ice mode the grip was phenomenal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Have Coopers on my Landy and could not be happier. They stick like glue on tarmac, even wet and off road have never got me anywhere near feeling vulnerable. Woudn't know if they are rted summer or winter, they just work year round and I am on my third set ...well 2 1/2 sets because I change them two at a time moving front to back as the fronts get about half worn the backs are just above legal. I'm a suspicious old you know what and sometimes think a lot of these things, like sudden reports that we must take certain drugs to survive are caused by lobbyists for the companies concerned. Yes, scientifically they can produce examples where this and that work, but like the winter tyre thing, if we all drove that little bit more carefully AND responsibly then a change would not be necessary . The problem with promises by tyre companies is the ..Oh, I'm safe with these super dooper do it all winter tyres so no need to just slow down a bit and use acceleration sense instead of braking. Followed an idiot in a BMW last week the driver was following a small Skoda and the BMW was so close to the tail, it was like a dog on a hot bitch. No fancy tyres or limited slips was going to prevent that driver ploughing into the rear of that young ladies car in an emergency. So, next time you venture out onto the road remember, all those ******** out there are trying to kill you, stay safe and alert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 The op has probably got some by now it’s a 2013 Thread 😗😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Good grief! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 7 hours ago, Old farrier said: The op has probably got some by now it’s a 2013 Thread 😗😉 Probably into his second set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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