Winter 3PMS Tires or Duratrac’s For Canada Trip

[Gus]

Now they just need to offer in the 285/75-18. I may be in the minority but prefer the “pizza cutters” for ice and off-road. The prior ATZs were one of my favorite AT tires on previous pickups. Looks like the new Baja Boss AT doesn’t disappoint either.

I drove a old 3/4 ton Chevy pickup in 79 that had studded pizza cutters, got to high school and almost nobody was there & busses were stuck all over

Pulled into the shop as truck was running funny, entire engine compartment was packed full of snow and ice & had to chip it out it was so packed

No they did not close school and when it was over took 3 hours to go about 25 miles but never got stuck

 

[Compression-Ignition]

Forget what the tire "looks like", forget any 35 x12.5, and get a true WINTER TIRE for roads like that. ......" I know my truck is in the ditch,,, but my tires look good"

The looks are really unimportant to me personally. I just want to make sure I can do whatever I need to do without any extra work, such as chaining up. If I have to have to, but Id prefer to not.

My custom studded 37/13.5r17 Toyo MT's get around just fine on ice. I can compare these with the 275/65r20 Nokian LT3's on my QX56 and they aren't that far behind in performance even though the MT's lack in siping and have a much harder rubber compound.

The LT3's will get going from a standstill a little faster and they'll get you stopped a little quicker too. Not by much though. But as far as lateral grip goes , I can't tell much of a difference at all.

This is my 2nd set of LT3's. The other set was on my wife's 3.0L Wrangler Diesel. Pretty good tire overall. I had a set of studless Nokian's on a sedan we had and those had quite a bit more siping than the LT3's, but the lack of studs was really felt on ice.

None of this is to say that a modified MT is better than a winter tire, but they'll do. If Nokian offered a good option in a 37/13.5r17 I probably would have gone for it. I just like these Toyo's because of how tough they are. Speaking of tough or a lack thereof maybe, the LT3's that were on the Jeep were 315/70r17's. One of them developed a problem across the tread and into the undertread. Big giant odd gash. Tried to order another and after waiting 6+ months I got Discount Tire to take those tires back and switched to the Toyo's which I then studded.

So what's my point? I don't think there is much of an option to purchase a ready made real winter tire for a heavy pickup. There are some that I have considered, but they are usually too small and or I don't consider them very robust.

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[Gus]

I too prefer the stock size. I don’t want aftermarket rims as I love the look of these factory ford rims, and the fact they don’t fling crap all over my truck because they have the proper offset. I also don’t want to get a different spare tire and reprogram my speedometer. I drive through some nasty seasonal roads during hunting season and this size tire has been fine. My only complaints about the duratrac are the weak sidewalls and they are so loud, my son sits in the back seat and I can’t hear him talk when I’m driving, they sound like a wore out super swaper bogger. I’m dreading my trip to northern Ontario this coming July with these tires, mainly due to the noise.

I’m good with stock sized tires due to lots of freeway traveling

However I hate the factory black rims have a Platinum and they are just ugly and do nothing with the rapid red so they are going away

Don’t think the Duratracs are that noisy but I’ve got lots of hearing loss & upgraded the stereo to hear podcasts

Come on out to Colorado/Wyoming and Montana and I’ll show you nasty roads

 

[Gus]

Pull the trigger on some stock sized falken wildpeak at 3w’s and post a review.

Think I’ve decided to go this route with the 3PMS severe snow rated tires will not need to adjust speedometer

 

[Compression-Ignition]

Sometimes late December will be heading to Montana and then to Edmonton and possibly Ft McMurray across who knows what kind of remote snow and ice covered roads and I’m not exactly feeling the love about non 3PMS winter rated Duratrac’s

Options are sipping the stock Duratrac’s and calling it good

Or

Toyo ATIII’s or MIcky Thompson Baja Boss AT’s both are 3PMS severe weather rated

Going to stay with 35” tires, not upgrading to 37” tires

Been bouncing this around for a while now and the Toyo AT III’s are in the lead

Thoughts?

Just sipe the tires then. Go as deep as they'll let you, dang near all the way across the tread face, and let 'er buck. You'll get a little chunking over time, but no big deal.

 

[Gus]

The looks are really unimportant to me personally. I just want to make sure I can do whatever I need to do without any extra work, such as chaining up. If I have to have to, but Id prefer to not.

My custom studded 37/13.5r17 Toyo MT's get around just fine on ice. I can compare these with the 275/65r20 Nokian LT3's on my QX56 and they aren't that far behind in performance even though the MT's lack in siping and have a much harder rubber compound.

The LT3's will get going from a standstill a little faster and they'll get you stopped a little quicker too. Not by much though. But as far as lateral grip goes , I can't tell much of a difference at all.

This is my 2nd set of LT3's. The other set was on my wife's 3.0L Wrangler Diesel. Pretty good tire overall. I had a set of studless Nokian's on a sedan we had and those had quite a bit more siping than the LT3's, but the lack of studs was really felt on ice.

None of this is to say that a modified MT is better than a winter tire, but they'll do. If Nokian offered a good option in a 37/13.5r17 I probably would have gone for it. I just like these Toyo's because of how tough they are. Speaking of tough or a lack thereof maybe, the LT3's that were on the Jeep were 315/70r17's. One of them developed a problem across the tread and into the undertread. Big giant odd gash. Tried to order another and after waiting 6+ months I got Discount Tire to take those tires back and switched to the Toyo's which I then studded.

So what's my point? I don't think there is much of an option to purchase a ready made real winter tire for a heavy pickup. There are some that I have considered, but they are usually too small and or I don't consider them very robust.

View attachment 105115


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View attachment 105116

Know 3 people who had problems with Toyo RT and ATIII separating on the freeway running 85+ and they were inflated properly so I’m leery of Toyo even if this is anecdotal and a sample of 3 out of thousands

 

[Gus]

Just sipe the tires then. Go as deep as they'll let you, dang near all the way across the tread face, and let 'er buck. You'll get a little chunking over time, but no big deal.

Talked to discount tires in Billings and they said sipping is ok but and even after I told em I was from out of town they said Toyo or Mickey Thompson 3pms are better when it’s really cold due to different rubber compounds

 

[Compression-Ignition]

Talked to discount tires in Billings and they said sipping is ok but and even after I told em I was from out of town they said Toyo or Mickey Thompson 3pms are better when it’s really cold due to different rubber compounds

Know 3 people who had problems with Toyo RT and ATIII separating on the freeway running 85+ and they were inflated properly so I’m leery of Toyo even if this is anecdotal and a sample of 3 out of thousands

It's all subjective anyway. I haven't run the AT3's, but I hated the AT2's that was a garbage tire to me. I've run quite few sets of Toyo MT's all wore very well, towed great, tough as nails, the whole bit. I told my buddy he should run them and he had one do something funny on his very first and last set. Said he'd never run them again IIRC. LOL. What do you do? I've probably had 30+ Toyo MT's and never had issue one, this guy get's a bad one on the first go around. <shrugs>

Tons of factory siping on a tire that has good reviews is a pretty safe bet.

 

[soulezoo]

Perfect example of the icy roads we have to deal with no snow to speak about but the road is as slick as greased snot

View attachment 105095

That's the one condition where studs really help

 

[soulezoo]

Think I’ve decided to go this route with the 3PMS severe snow rated tires will not need to adjust speedometer

View attachment 105119View attachment 105120

I'll be interested in hearing a follow-up from you and if your experience mirrors mine.

BTW, when you get them, I think you will be surprised by how aggressive they are in person vs the picture. From pictures alone, they may not seem much more than the Toyos or the Falkens. But in person, there's a big difference.

 

[soulezoo]

 

[Gus]

I'll be interested in hearing a follow-up from you and if your experience mirrors mine.

BTW, when you get them, I think you will be surprised by how aggressive they are in person vs the picture. From pictures alone, they may not seem much more than the Toyos or the Falkens. But in person, there's a big difference.

Will see what the availability is, when I was checking into wheels the KMC’s I wanted are on national back order so looking at Method 301’s in machine finish and the Mickey Thompson AT’s were about a month out

But the Toyo ATIII were in the regional warehouse & available 1-2 days after ordering

 

[Gus]

View attachment 105125
View attachment 105126

Those tires really do look beefy & hopefully once I get new wheels with a 18+ offset instead of the factory +40 they will have a wider more Raptor ish bulldog kind of stance

 

[TxTremor]

How are you guys liking the MT tires? I am considering these too but in the 295/70/18 size. Its between these, toyo, or falken.

 

[Gus]

How are you guys liking the MT tires? I am considering these too but in the 295/70/18 size. Its between these, toyo, or falken.

So far I really like them over the stock tires

 

[Mlc998s]

I’m from Canada and frequently travel in rural areas w snow and ice. The DuraTracs are good enough, and definitely better than anything non-snow rated. Drive light on the gas in 4WD, carry MaxTraXX or equivalent erickson boards, a shovel, a kinetic tow strap and you should be good. Pressure down the tires to 50/55lbs depending on how much highway driving you’re doing. Have/Pack plenty of fuel, an emergency kit, x-tra gloves, snow pants, hat, boots, blanket, water, some cheese/energy bars.
You should be good. Have fun, it’s definitely a different winter driving experience in the remote north.

 

[Gus]

I’m from Canada and frequently travel in rural areas w snow and ice. The DuraTracs are good enough, and definitely better than anything non-snow rated. Drive light on the gas in 4WD, carry MaxTraXX or equivalent erickson boards, a shovel, a kinetic tow strap and you should be good. Pressure down the tires to 50/55lbs depending on how much highway driving you’re doing. Have/Pack plenty of fuel, an emergency kit, x-tra gloves, snow pants, hat, boots, blanket, water, some cheese/energy bars.
You should be good. Have fun, it’s definitely a different winter driving experience in the remote north.

Not all Duratrac’s are 3PMS rated, it depends on when you’re tremor was built and Ford’s supply of tires

We ran into freezing rain in Saskatchewan that turned the roads into glare ice and they were not plowing or sanding, it was a wonderful treat lol

 

[SchillerM]

Sorry if already been covered. Did the Duratrac change and therefore dropped the 3PMS rating or was it determined not to meet standard anymore?

 

[ccw]

Sorry if already been covered. Did the Duratrac change and therefore dropped the 3PMS rating or was it determined not to meet standard anymore?

This thread has all the background you could want:

Duratracs mountain snowflake rated?

I've read multiple times that the factory duratracs are snowflake rated but I can't find the symbol on the tire sidewall. Am I missing something? 285/75/18 126Q 2022 tremor fyi

www.fordtremor.com

Summary: starting with 22MY the DuraTracs in the Tremor’s factory size (285/75R18) no longer carry the 3 peak mountain snowflake rating.

While we don’t have explicit confirmation, anecdotal evidence is that they don’t perform nearly as well in snow/ice as the previous 3 peak rated ones.

It’s been confirmed with GoodYear and Tire Rack that in that size the 3 peak variant has been entirely discontinued.

Other sizes are not affected.

 

[Wapitispokes]

Nokian tires are a Finnish company and they had an R&D facility in Russia where they developed state of the art winter tires

Who knows if they still have that facility or not given world events

I know it's been a year since you posted...but this might help others.

I'm looking for true winter tires for my SD Tremor, in a size close to OEM (ideally 34 inches to 35 inches). There appears to be almost ZERO options in a true "Winter" tire, vs an all season style "3PMS" rated tire.

Nokian offers only one option the Nokia LT3. In that model there is a 33.2 inch tire (275/70/18) ...which is smaller than some of us want on our SD Tremors, or in a 17 inch wheel you have a 34.4 inch tire (315.70/17) but then you have a 12.5 inch wide tire and you need to buy 17 inch wheels.

Next, Nokian lost its Russian tire plant and as a result are very short on inventory and production this year. There are ZERO unstudied LT3's available and a very small inventory of studded versions. They are trying to boost production in the USA plant but that probably won't help for winter 23-24.

Nokian does claim that the studded LT3's don't damage roads...based on their actual scientific testing and based on one Scandinavian country apparently agreeing with them and allowing their studded tires to be used in lieu of unstudied (but apparently not other types of studded tires).