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HurricaneHall

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Curious for those of us that live in aggressive winter climates what the winter tire selection would be.

I’m thinking the A/T’s will be my summer tires and then studded Hakkapeliitta for winter driving. Debating getting a second set of rims to make the changeover easier as well.

Is anyone planning to stick to one set of tires and run the supplied ones right through the winter?

I’m in a very snowy mountain town in British Columbia Canada where traction on snow and ice is the name of the game in winter.
 

ECrider

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Hi HurricaneHall. I spent 14mos in Quebec and that taught me all I needed to know re tyres for snow, was a quick learning curve coming from the UK.

The ko2's will work ok for me in occasional UK snow and the odd trip to the alps with snow chains. I would swap them out if I lived where you enjoy a real winter.

Proper winter or studded would be my choice if I found myself back full time in the white stuff. Second set of rims makes life easier. I will do the same between summer/winter here (ko2/km3's).

Also thankful for mechanical handbrake as I remember using that to great effect/enjoyment out your way!
 

WhiteBear

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I used to have the Hakkapelitas in the winter on my Defender for years, but when they were run off did not buy new ones. The Bfg KO2 with snowflake did it in the last 4 years in Austria. So I will try the Bridgestone on the Grenadier. If that is not enough in a real snowy winter I will buy a second set of rims with Hakkas.
But the winter in Austria seems quite different to me than yours in Canada, I would use real winter tires with studs, like they do in Sweden.
 

bemax

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I drive the Hakkapelitas all year and change them every five to six years although there is plenty of profile left. On the Defender you do not have much aktiv or passive security features. So do not want to have harden tyres to make everything worse.
On the Grenadier I will stick to the All season tyres and will renew them early as well
 

emax

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The Bfg KO2 with snowflake did it in the last 4 years in Austria. So I will try the Bridgestone on the Grenadier.
Youe mean BFG's ?
 

bnebenda

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Hi HurricaneHall. I spent 14mos in Quebec and that taught me all I needed to know re tyres for snow, was a quick learning curve coming from the UK.

The ko2's will work ok for me in occasional UK snow and the odd trip to the alps with snow chains. I would swap them out if I lived where you enjoy a real winter.

Proper winter or studded would be my choice if I found myself back full time in the white stuff. Second set of rims makes life easier. I will do the same between summer/winter here (ko2/km3's).

Also thankful for mechanical handbrake as I remember using that to great effect/enjoyment out your way!
Talking about snow chains: Do you have information on how much space there is for snow chains and wether INEOS will approve using snow chains on both axles. Do you have a particular chain brand/model in mind?
 

ECrider

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Talking about snow chains: Do you have information on how much space there is for snow chains and wether INEOS will approve using snow chains on both axles. Do you have a particular chain brand/model in mind?

Hi bnebenda, I don't have any information from them re space or whether can use on both axles. I'll certainly be searching for it when the handbook comes out. If space is a problem then there are various makes that do not cover the inside of the wheels (to damage arms/brake lines etc etc) and sit firmly in the centre of the tread.

Not really for the IG; Also snow socks I've used on my Audi A6 which were great but basically disposable and only to be used on snow/ice as any asphalt shreds them, but they did get me up/down a mountain near Chamonix and saved me extra cost of recovery. They'd be even more vulnerable on something like the IG but better than nothing at all.
 

bemax

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As the Grenadier is a all time 4x4 snow chains should be mounted on both axles. If yo only mount them on one axle you will probably get wheelspin on the axle without the chais. This will cause the center diff to work al lot more than it should in normal circumstances.
That is at least my technical understanding
 

ECrider

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As the Grenadier is a all time 4x4 snow chains should be mounted on both axles. If yo only mount them on one axle you will probably get wheelspin on the axle without the chais. This will cause the center diff to work al lot more than it should in normal circumstances.
That is at least my technical understanding
makes sense to me. However on my D4 the manual states snow chains should a) only be fitted to the front wheels & b) DSC must be disabled.

I would certainly prefer them on all 4 wheels.
 

ChasingOurTrunks

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My plan is to try out the KO2s and see how they do; I've never run them so I can't speak to their winter performance. I'm about a thousand kilometers into a set of Motomaster-brand tires, available exclusively here in Canada at Canadian Tire (it sounds like just a tire shop but it's so much more; kind of a national icon. If you need paper towel, home decor, tools, tires, and food - you can get all of them at a Canadian Tire and they even used to have their own currency that was accepted at other stores across Canada -- but I digress). These Motomasters are made by cooper, so the quality is good, and they are robust 10-ply off road tires like the KO2s, but so far I've been really impressed with their cold weather/ice and snow performance.

But I'll also add, I've never run snow tires at all, and have spent about 25-ish years driving in Canada on ice and snow; I grew up in a place where driving across a lake in winter was the only way to access civilization for some folks, and regularly visit my parents by driving from Alberta/BC to Northern Ontario in December and back in January in addition to daily driving all winter long on both short and long trips; I'd rate my winter driving experience in passenger vehicles as quite high.

Winter Tires are, undoubtedly, safer. My choice to never run them has more to do with financial priorities then anything else; I treat that investment as "discretionary spending" and I use my discretionary income in other ways, but I will be the first to state this is a stupid way to do it -- winter tires are WAY better than all-seasons in the snow and ice. If a person lives in winter conditions they should not be looked upon as optional, and the easiest way to use them (and get longevity out of the tires) is to toss them on a second set of steel rims. As Hurricane and other BC folks will know, there are some highways here that you legally aren't allowed to drive on without snow tires and/or chains, so in some cases it's not optional, and it's not "Big Tire" lobbyists influencing the government negatively -- it truly is that much safer and better. Someday I will listen to myself and invest - sooner rather than later now that there's a little one on my trips with me.

All that being said, there's an expression about driving a 4x4 -- When you do the math, it means you will get 16x further into the mudpit before you get stuck as compared to a 2-wheel drive vehicle. The sentiment is that sometimes mechanical advantages like 4x4, winter tires, etc. results in overconfidence. Studded tires and winter tires in general can REALLY do this. They allow you to drive much more "normally" in adverse conditions, and what that means is your vehicle is travelling with a lot more speed -- energy -- because of your improved traction. But even winter and studs have a limit, and when you hit that limit at those higher speeds in an unrecoverable way, you are in even more trouble. My point here is -- regardless of the rubber, snow and ice and winter driving means one thing above all else: Slow down.
 

painter

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Curious for those of us that live in aggressive winter climates what the winter tire selection would be.

I’m thinking the A/T’s will be my summer tires and then studded Hakkapeliitta for winter driving. Debating getting a second set of rims to make the changeover easier as well.

Is anyone planning to stick to one set of tires and run the supplied ones right through the winter?

I’m in a very snowy mountain town in British Columbia Canada where traction on snow and ice is the name of the game in winter.
I'm thinking same as you, probably Halkas but maybe not studded (?). Would get a second set of rims for sure.

If you can swing dedicated snow tire then I think that's the best way to go.

I'm a believer in snow tires. Many years ago a fast oncoming car crossed the centre line and hit the car beside me. I was in the direct path but I had snow tires on and stopped in time, the car beside me didn't. They suffered injuries, the driver of the oncoming car died - can still invoke that scene in my mind ...

That was a big lesson about speed and stopping for a new driver, I was around 17 yo.

That said I haven't run snow tires for a long time. Tire tech has come a long way, road clearing is much better and winters in Metro Vancouver are much milder.

But the Gren will be a special vehicle - no accidents allowed. And snow tires should help with avoiding other drivers, which is no small thing around here.
 

LODGE-WAGON

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Curious for those of us that live in aggressive winter climates what the winter tire selection would be.

I’m thinking the A/T’s will be my summer tires and then studded Hakkapeliitta for winter driving. Debating getting a second set of rims to make the changeover easier as well.

Is anyone planning to stick to one set of tires and run the supplied ones right through the winter?

I’m in a very snowy mountain town in British Columbia Canada where traction on snow and ice is the name of the game in winter.
I too am deep in snow thru the winter. I had hoped to have an extra set of wheels with studded tires for easy swap over - but not so thrilled with the dual colored alloy look. I may just have two sets of steel wheels..
 
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I live in northern Quebec - snow on the ground from November to May, -20 for days on end, and ice and snow is a feature not a bug. 15 years ago, no question would have chosen studded. Rubber compounds and tires are so much better now that I would only take studded if I was predominantly on unmaintained roads at relatively low speeds. If it is that bad outside, stay home or put on chains.
 

DaveB

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I live in northern Quebec - snow on the ground from November to May, -20 for days on end, and ice and snow is a feature not a bug. 15 years ago, no question would have chosen studded. Rubber compounds and tires are so much better now that I would only take studded if I was predominantly on unmaintained roads at relatively low speeds. If it is that bad outside, stay home or put on chains.
Or move to a warm sunny place
 

ECrider

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My girlfriend's parents left for Florida every winter. I stayed and had fun at Le Massif, Mt Saint-Ann and the other one. Sorry a bit hazy after seeing poor game at Twickers yest
 

HurricaneHall

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I live in northern Quebec - snow on the ground from November to May, -20 for days on end, and ice and snow is a feature not a bug. 15 years ago, no question would have chosen studded. Rubber compounds and tires are so much better now that I would only take studded if I was predominantly on unmaintained roads at relatively low speeds. If it is that bad outside, stay home or put on chains.
I’ve never actually used studded tires. Are you suggesting they are inferior to non-studded winter tires on maintained roads?

Where I live in BC they don’t use salt, only sand so the road stays frozen over and sandy compact snow for most of the winter.
 

emax

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They are extremely good on snow and ice. On dry roads, they make some noise and are of course not like regular tires, but still very good for any kind of driving. I consider them the optimal winter solution.

Sadly they were forbidden in Germany in 1975. I was just 18 in that year but I remember driving with them when I made my driving license.

The ban was one of the typical German authority measures: Because spikes (as we call the studs) supposedly damage roads, they were simply banned. But the cost of winter accidents and injuried or killed people increased significantly. So once again the costs were imposed on the population, while the state does not care about the general welfare.

And today our roads are also ruined without spikes, because they are simply not kept for decades in order. With a regular road maintenance interval Spikes would have made no difference there.
 

rovie

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I have always used snow chains with studs. They are really good. And unlike the tyres, they were not forbidden.
 
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