Winter Tyres or AT's on a 4x4

[MackemPete]

Dont want to get flamed for starting another winter Tyre thread...but there are that many on here its nigh on impossible to find one that compares winter tyres to AT tyres on a 4x4.

My Rangie's set of vredestein wintrac extremes will probably not get me through this years winter, so am i better off replacing them with more of the same (or similar) or going with something like a set of BF goodrich AT's or general grabber AT2's.

[MackemPete]

So ATs while not as good in the ice aren't going to leave me stranded spinning all 4 wheel, Looking like one of those people with a Chelsea tractor on summer tyres

[MackemPete]

BFG TERRANO said:

I found BF Goodrich ATs brilliant ploughing across Salisbury plane and not bad on the road either. Road noise is minimal to, id buy again.

Was this in the snow/ice or just off road?

[MackemPete]

urq20 said:

Performance comparisons with different types of 4WD tyres

Reprinted from the German 4WD magazine AutoBild Alles Allrad 8/2004

This table shows the results of a tyre test comparison on a 4WD using five different 265/70 R16 tyres from the same tyre manufacturer. The tyres tested are winter tyres, mud-terrain tyres, all-season tyres, all-terrain tyres and summer tyres.

The original fitment tyres of many 4WD vehicles that are based at the alpine resorts in Australia have been replaced with all-terrain or mud-terrain tyres because of the poor winter performance limits of the OE all-season and summer tyres. These off-road tyres are not designed by the tyre manufacturer as a severe service tyre for driving in snow and icy conditions either.

You can see from these tests the significant advantage and increased safety that is provided with the use of correct winter tyres over all the other tyre types.

Traction – snow (% difference to the tested winter tyre)
SJ6 - Winter tyre (5170 newtons)
MT2 - Mud-terrain tyre (3116 newtons) -39.7 %
ST1 - All-season tyre (3115 newtons) -39.7 %
AT2 - All-terrain tyre (3064 newtons) -40.7 %
PT1 - Summer tyre (2707 newtons) -47.6 %

Braking from 50 km/h - snow
SJ6 - Winter tyre (32.8 metres)
MT2 - Mud-terrain tyre (44.0 metres) +34.2 %
ST1 - All-season tyre (47.5 metres) +44.8 %
AT2 - All-terrain tyre (48.1 metres) +46.6 %
PT1 - Summer tyre (50.0 metres) +52.4 %

Handling - snow
SJ6 - Winter tyre (53.4 km/h)
MT2 - Mud-terrain tyre (47.7 km/h) -10.7 %
ST1 - All-season tyre (45.1 km/h) -15.5 %
AT2 - All-terrain tyre (42.4 km/h) -20.5 %
PT1 - Summer tyre (42.0 km/h) -21.3 %

The tables show test comparisons on a Mitsubishi Pajero using five different 265/70 R16 tyre types that are available Dunlop for 4WDs. These standardised tests are conducted using a calibrated winch system to measure take off torque (traction), a braking test from 50km/h and a handling or cornering test based on a 25 metre radius test track.

Reprinted from the German 4WD magazine AutoBild Alles Allrad 8/2004

Have to say this is pretty conclusive, considering that most of my requirements are to get around in the snow and ice. Have you got a link to the article? I'm wondering how deep the snow was that they were testing in? We had about a foot last year.

Wonder if there are similar tests showing how winter tyres compare on mud and grass? also has AT tyre technology moved on much in the decade since this report was done?

[MackemPete]

Bill said:

MackemPete said:

Have to say this is pretty conclusive, considering that most of my requirements are to get around in the snow and ice. Have you got a link to the article? I'm wondering how deep the snow was that they were testing in? We had about a foot last year.

Wonder if there are similar tests showing how winter tyres compare on mud and grass? also has AT tyre technology moved on much in the decade since this report was done?

I'm not sure about conclusive, they could have been very good winter tyres but ATs that were poor in snow. Not all tyres are equal, whether they're summers, all-seasons, ATs or winters. And tech will have moved on on all fronts.

If your main concern is getting about in snow then winter tyres are the way forward. Plenty of 4x4 drivers use them year round or depending on your summer off road requirements swap for ATs or summer road tyres.

Conclusive is probably too strong a word. I was making some assumptions, primarily that as the tyres were all from the same manufacture then they would be of similar quality in their respective fields. I know this isn't the case but there is a 30-40% difference in the performance between the snow tyres and the AT's in some tests. When you compare group tests of winter tyres there is often only a few percent covering all the tyres tested, hence i assumed that a good part of this 30-40% difference was down to the type of tyre.

[MackemPete]

Art0ir said:

cptsideways said:

Art0ir said:

Prepare for a noticeable drop in mpg.

Usually the complete & total opposite when compared with open block mud terrain tyres which most people would assume to be good for winter condition (usually wrong) which have the worst MPG's by a long long way.

Fitting a snowflake symbol tyre to a 4x4 which previous ran on M+S open block tyres will probably see the biggest improvement in MPG's the owner will have ever noticed!

Um, that's what I said, non?

The OP was asking about moving from winter tyre to AT/MT.

Yeah i'm considering the move from winters to AT's on my winter set of wheels. Neither set has mud tyres on. Cant imagine they would suit the rangie much

[MackemPete]

creampuff said:

Can anyone clarify with M+S tyres: I thought it was just the coarse tread pattern which gave them the mud and snow rating. Is there any difference to the rubber content which keeps them soft at low temps like snowflaked winter tyres?

or are they required to have sipes to grip the snow?