Opinions on two sets of wheels

royalkangaroo · July 15, 2020

I keep going back and forth lately on having a summer and winter set of wheels.

I currently have 17” OEM wheels and Duratracs on my Sierra. I’m going to have to replace the tires before winter. I was never blown away by Duratracs snow performance (I do like the looks though). I’m debating putting on a set of actual winter tires and just getting 20” wheel set for the summer. Or my other idea was to run BFG KO2s this time, year round, on my current wheels.

What’re your folks’ opinions?

JimCost2014 · July 15, 2020

8 minutes ago, royalkangaroo said:

I keep going back and forth lately on having a summer and winter set of wheels.

I currently have 17” OEM wheels and Duratracs on my Sierra. I’m going to have to replace the tires before winter. I was never blown away by Duratracs snow performance (I do like the looks though). I’m debating putting on a set of actual winter tires and just getting 20” wheel set for the summer. Or my other idea was to run BFG KO2s this time, year round, on my current wheels.

What’re your folks’ opinions?

How about a picture of your current wheels, and the 20"s you are looking at?

durandetto · July 15, 2020

I would maybe look into the Toyo at2 for a year round tire. Just know that no a/t tire is gonna perform near as good as a snow tire in the snow. Also, snow tires are no good off-road or in mud.

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aseibel · July 15, 2020

I love my Cooper Discoverer AT3 4s tires for all conditions. So I have no interest in storing a spare set year round.

Now if storage space and funds are not an issue for you to sit on an extra $1000 worth of inventory, there are definitely pros to having a dedicated set of winter tires. You can extend the life of both sets of tires if you switch them seasonally. (not to mention protecting your "fancy" set from salt)

How big a deal are the aesthetics for you? How many miles do you put on in good weather? How many days are you driving in snow? Only you can decide how it will affect your situation.

royalkangaroo · July 15, 2020

How about a picture of your current wheels, and the 20"s you are looking at?

This is how she sits today:

This is maybe the style I’d be looking at for 20s. Or even the 20” OEM style snowflakes. Paired with something like a Toyo AT2.

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royalkangaroo · July 15, 2020

I love my Cooper Discoverer AT3 4s tires for all conditions. So I have no interest in storing a spare set year round.

Now if storage space and funds are not an issue for you to sit on an extra $1000 worth of inventory, there are definitely pros to having a dedicated set of winter tires. You can extend the life of both sets of tires if you switch them seasonally. (not to mention protecting your "fancy" set from salt)

How big a deal are the aesthetics for you? How many miles do you put on in good weather? How many days are you driving in snow? Only you can decide how it will affect your situation.

Very well put. I’d say snow conditions 4-5 months out of the year. I went with a snowflake rated AT tire like the Duratrac for that reason. They’re serviceable in the winter but I’d have to think legitimate snow tire would be much better.

I agree though, it’s more about how much I want to spend on a set of “nice wheels.” The voice in the back of my head just says save the money, put a set of quality year round tires on it and forget about it. (Which honestly I’ve done with my past 3 trucks over the last decade)

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JimCost2014 · July 15, 2020

8 minutes ago, royalkangaroo said:

This is how she sits today:

This is maybe the style I’d be looking at for 20s. Or even the 20” OEM style snowflakes. Paired with something like a Toyo AT2.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like the 20" year round idea, with a good all weather tire. That is a good looking wheel.

Salsa De Piña · July 15, 2020

Unless you do long summer road trips, stick with the current rims and go with the KO2s. They look better on smaller rims.

michigan2500hd · July 15, 2020

1 hour ago, royalkangaroo said:

I keep going back and forth lately on having a summer and winter set of wheels.

I currently have 17” OEM wheels and Duratracs on my Sierra. I’m going to have to replace the tires before winter. I was never blown away by Duratracs snow performance (I do like the looks though). I’m debating putting on a set of actual winter tires and just getting 20” wheel set for the summer. Or my other idea was to run BFG KO2s this time, year round, on my current wheels.

What’re your folks’ opinions?

I have a 2015 Silverado NHT and have 285/70/17 Duratracs for the winter and a set of 2020 OEM 18" wheels with 265/65/18 Michelin Primacy LTX tires for the summer. Like you I'm not blown away with the winter performance of the Duratracs ( although they look really nice)and may run my Primacys all year.

Grumpy Bear · July 15, 2020

I owned a 97 Mustang GT 5 speed for some years and for a few years Bridgestone ran all season tires with mixed results. Then one winter we got some real snow and the Mustang almost didn't make it home several times. After spending about 20 minutes spinning and backsliding up a hill I drove straight to the tire store and has four new Blizzak's mounted.

WOW!!!

I can't even describe the difference between an all weather and a dedicated snow tire. Imagine 4WD with Blizzak's. I drove that thing on days my neighbors CJ5 on AT's wouldn't leave the driveway on.

Driving each tire isn't as expensive as first blush either. If you wear out a set of all weathers in four to five years running year around you will go six to eight years putting your winter miles on snow's for even 4 months a year.

dieselfan1 · July 15, 2020

My youngest daughter put her Mazda 3 in the ditch 2 winters ago. Scared the crap out of her.
After what I saw the OEM tires were I got her a set of Blizzaks just for winters. Best $650 I ever spent for my piece of mind.
Night and day difference. Not just the traction to get going but it stops real good too.

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Grumpy Bear · July 15, 2020

3 minutes ago, dieselfan1 said:

My youngest daughter put her Mazda 3 in the ditch 2 winters ago. Scared the crap out of her.
After what I saw the OEM tires were I got her a set of Blizzaks just for winters. Best $650 I ever spent for my piece of mind.
Night and day difference. Not just the traction to get going but it stops real good too.

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You summer wheels last longer too.

royalkangaroo · July 16, 2020

How ironic, guess my tire decisions will be sooner rather than later. Got a flat this evening on the highway.

On a side note, my Duratracs are at 6/32 and my spare is at 11/32. Should I put that spare on the front to help my rear diff or is it not enough of a size difference to bother?

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royalkangaroo · July 16, 2020

How ironic, guess my tire decisions will be sooner rather than later. Got a flat this evening on the highway.

On a side note, my Duratracs are at 6/32 and my spare is at 11/32. Should I put that spare on the front to help my rear diff or is it not enough of a size difference to bother?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Grumpy Bear · July 16, 2020

49 minutes ago, royalkangaroo said:

How ironic, guess my tire decisions will be sooner rather than later. Got a flat this evening on the highway.

On a side note, my Duratracs are at 6/32 and my spare is at 11/32. Should I put that spare on the front to help my rear diff or is it not enough of a size difference to bother?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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