Winter Studded Tires Size Question

[TransCanadaTom]

Hey team,

I am wanting to put some studded winter tires on the Grenadier and the tire I’ve always liked and appreciated was the Nokian Haakapelitta LT# Studded. Unfortunately they don’t make it in the 255/70/R18 but they do make it in a 275/65/R18. Does anybody know if that tire would fit without any rubbing? Are there any other issues that might come up using that size tire? Thanks in advance for any information you could provide.

 

[C-Mack]

You should not have any issues with the 275/65 18” as they are the same diameter 32.1” as your 255s. You could even go with 275/70 18” (33.2” diameter) as shown on the image below. This is the size I’m going to replace my 255s with when they wear out. 255s are 10” wide 275s are 10.8” wide approx.

 

[TransCanadaTom]

Thank you thank you very much for the advice. I was able to find them in the size that you recommended. I’m just torn now between studded and non studded.

 

[Glen]

Thank you thank you very much for the advice. I was able to find them in the size that you recommended. I’m just torn now between studded and non studded.

I lived in Alaska for 45 years driving lots of different vehicles. In the U.S. the only type of road-legal studs are round carbide studs that come in typically aluminum (but sometimes steel if not prohibited by legislation) holders. If you drive on dry pavement for more than 60 miles, these type of studs are immediately worn down flush with the tread where the carbide is completely surrounded by the holder metal. From there, they can provide some extra grip, but only when there is enough traction to deform the tread and expose them. And at that point, it’s really the relatively soft holder metal - which quickly rounds off - that is doing any work.

When this type of stud is new, the only appreciable benefit I noticed was a very minor increase in traction on water-over-ice. Maybe a 5% reduction in braking and a similar improvement in acceleration distances. But once they’re worn down flush, they provide almost no benefit over non-studded tires. Sometimes our roads would stay ice covered for months and the studs would be noticeable for a while. Other times, we’d immediately luck into a spell of bare pavement and the cost of studding ended up being a waste.

One benefit of no studs is you don’t have to worry about swapping tires out before a legal deadline. In Alaska, studs weren’t legal after May 15, and it wasn’t unheard of to need snow tires as late as June 1. So with non-studded tires, I didn’t have to worry about getting caught out.

Here in the Colorado Rockies, I’m driving my Grenny on studless LT Bridgestone Blizzaks. They work great on snow and ice. The Nokians are great tires too.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

I lived in Alaska for 45 years driving lots of different vehicles. In the U.S. the only type of road-legal studs are round carbide studs that come in typically aluminum (but sometimes steel if not prohibited by legislation) holders. If you drive on dry pavement for more than 60 miles, these type of studs are immediately worn down flush with the tread where the carbide is completely surrounded by the holder metal. From there, they can provide some extra grip, but only when there is enough traction to deform the tread and expose them. And at that point, it’s really the relatively soft holder metal - which quickly rounds off - that is doing any work.

When this type of stud is new, the only appreciable benefit I noticed was a very minor increase in traction on water-over-ice. Maybe a 5% reduction in braking and a similar improvement in acceleration distances. But once they’re worn down flush, they provide almost no benefit over non-studded tires. Sometimes our roads would stay ice covered for months and the studs would be noticeable for a while. Other times, we’d immediately luck into a spell of bare pavement and the cost of studding ended up being a waste.

One benefit of no studs is you don’t have to worry about swapping tires out before a legal deadline. In Alaska, studs weren’t legal after May 15, and it wasn’t unheard of to need snow tires as late as June 1. So with non-studded tires, I didn’t have to worry about getting caught out.

Here in the Colorado Rockies, I’m driving my Grenny on studless LT Bridgestone Blizzaks. They work great on snow and ice. The Nokians are great tires too.

And the Blizzak’s are made in Quebec ;o)

 

[MileHigh]

I put Nokians with studs on it since the truck was going to mainly for going up and down to the mountains, but then it didn’t snow this year in Colorado, yet. The studs seem to be holding up pretty well. Do I remember right that the Nokian studs can be replaced?

For my sons 4Runnner, I did stud less and those are a world a difference than the stock Toyota tires on a ‘23 Offroad Premium.

I had KO3s on, and I thought those are pretty good, but if I was going to put anything on it, I might as well max it out. This year at least, so far, the KO3s would be more than enough.

[td]

LT265 /70 R17 121Q E1 BSW

[td]NOKIAN[/td] [td]NOK HAKKAPELIITTA LT3 STUDDED[/td]

[/td]