Bad in snow? LC, Tires, or operator error?

[MtnLC]

Where are my experienced snow country LC owners? I’m wondering if anyone else has with lots of winter driving experienced has felt that the LC is are not as good as one might hope in snow?

I’ve been driving in snow in northern New England my whole life (27 years of winter driving experience) but was surprised to get the LC sideways today on a mountain road I have driven many times under the same conditions.

I’m currently running the Wildpeak AT3WS, which I know are not a dedicated snow tire, but are pretty highly rated for snow….

I’d previously been driving a Mazda 3 hatchback with Bridgestone Blizzaks, which is obviously a great winter tire and I’d taken that same corner at the same speed under the same conditions and not nearly ended up in the ditch. Granted the two cars are vastly different in weight.

I was hoping to not have to run a dedicated snow tire, but maybe I’ll have to. Or I should just slow down, but that’s less fun.

 

[NoMe cruiser]

Blizzaks are great, all terrains suck on winter roads. Not even fair to compare wild peaks to blizzaks honestly. Wide tires are also not as good as a narrow tire, I know people don’t want to hear that but it is the truth.

 

[wwoodywood]

The stock Geolanders on 20s would be better than Wildpeaks driving on snowy/slushy roads. Also, the LC has way more power than a Mazda 3, so that could be a factor. I’m still on the stock tires and we’ve had plenty of snow here in Pittsburgh the last few weeks. Zero issues here and it seems more than competent up and down our rolling snow covered hills.

 

[solidbrix]

275 sized KO3's didn't slip once. Highly recommend (3-Peak rated Tire).

Also recommend the MTS, specifically the "Deep Snow" mode.

 

[PurelyAbrasive]

I would also think the LC weighs a little more than the Mazda too.

 

[MtnLC]

275 sized KO3's didn't slip once. Highly recommend (3-Peak rated Tire).

Also recommend the MTS, specifically the "Deep Snow" mode.

View attachment 24024

Yeah AT3Ws are 3 Peak rated too

 

[MtnLC]

I would also think the LC weighs a little more than the Mazda too.

Haha yeah little bit

 

[PACruiser]

Depends on the conditions as dry vs. wet vs ice pack snow are very different. Hard to think of a tool the LC doesn't have so not sure how we can be disappointed in it as a machine.

If you want true blasphemy then you should getting a high revving, light weight, front wheel drive car with studded tires. It perhaps will drive better on snowy roads more than most large 4x4s assuming you don't need to worry about ground clearance.

 

[No15]

I've been happy with the handling of the LC in the snow. Not been in a lot but enough to get an idea.

As an aside I've been pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Continental AT tire. It's not 3 peak rated but they have done admirably in the snow.

 

[TrailWhale]

I took the LC up skiing on a powder day recently, pretty gnarly conditions. AT4W SL tires. Overall it handled the conditions well. Around some steep slick corners I could feel a little rear end slide if gave it too much throttle... it's a pretty heavy truck! Careful with stopping and corners, but otherwise it's pretty capable.

(I drive my RAV4 with Blizzaks for most ski days)

 

[TakaraLC]

Were you on snow or ice (or compacted snow). AT tires perform pretty bad on slick ice or compacted snow.

 

[MtnLC]

Where you on snow or ice (or compacted snow). AT tires perform pretty bad on slick ice or compacted snow.

Yeah the ice was pretty bad

 

[TakaraLC]

Yeah the ice was pretty bad

Yeah this is the likely reason. Since AT tires have wide and deep threads, less rubber is making contact with surface compared to snow or road tires. On slick and smooth surfaces like ice, this causes them to slip and slide. On ice, you would like as much rubber as possible to make contact with the surface, and many slits/cuts on the rubber to grab onto any type of imperfection or roughness on the surface.

 

[nilswalk]

I can provide input - I live in Tahoe and currently have 265/60R18 Blizzaks on my LC. I’ve also got Blizzaks on a smaller/lighter vehicle (Volvo XC60), and run AT4Ws on my Tundra and have had them on other vehicles. The bottom line is: The Wildpeaks are a great tire and decent in the snow but nothing compares to a dedicated snow tire. And the LC is heavy, which also makes a big difference. So my Tundra is fine in the snow (for a pickup, anyway), the LC with Blizzaks is great and the Volvo with Blizzaks is almost invincible unless the snow’s deep enough to high-center it.

TL;DR: Get some Blizzaks

 

[kobyneal]

Also can provide input coming from Canada - it’s 100% the tires. You can put winter tires on a fwd Corolla and have a lot of success in the snow/ice/cold compared to 4wd trucks with any sort of non winter tire (from direct experience).

 

[nilswalk]

Also can provide input coming from Canada - it’s 100% the tires. You can put winter tires on a fwd Corolla and have a lot of success in the snow/ice/cold compared to 4wd trucks with any sort of non winter tire (from direct experience).

Yeah, I’d rather have winter tires on a lightweight FWD than “3-peak snowflake ATs” on something big and heavy with 4WD. Except that they won’t let you through chain control here with the FWD unless you chain up, but a 4WD pickup with no weight on the rear axle and worse tires is fine… go figure

 

[MtnLC]

Thanks for all the feedback. New set of Blizzaks are on their way!

 

[Trailman]

We just experienced a foot of snow this past week which started out as ice.. I've been waiting to see more reviews on available tires before replacing the stock Michelin LTX. I can say, I'm actually a bit impressed with the stock tires traction on ice and snow so far. We had indoor sporting events for our kids when it was icing. On the way home, multiple vehicles off the road and dangerous driving conditions with several highways shut down. The LC never felt out of control and confidently got our family home while other friends reported wrecking their SUV's and sliding off the roads. After the ice, a foot of snow hit and shut KC down for a few days. I took the LC out before the streets were plowed and it handled the deep snow just fine shuffling our girls between friends houses and getting out a bit. We live at the bottom of a steep hill and it never hesitated getting up the hill this past week. The vehicle feels well balanced. Now, if it could only get remotely close to the advertised gas mileage...

 

[chris_in_phx]

ive had blizzaks on suv’s when i lived in oregon and theyre awesome. I live in AZ now so not much use for them on my LC now …but the siping and softer rubber on the blizzaks make them way better for snow and ice than a harder AT tire.

 

[bgeorger]

TFL did a video on the Wildpeaks and they performed poorly in their snow tests. It appears that these are subpar compared to other similar tires.