First Snow vs Factory All-Terrain Tires (not a snow test)

[Leo Snow]

A few people who picked up their trucks in Vancouver and needed to drive home asked me how all-terrain tires perform in light snow. Since we just had our first (very minor) snowfall in the city, I decided to take my truck out for a quick ride to see how the tires handle the conditions.

This ISN'T a full snow test; rather, it's more about whether you can drive your truck home without changing tires (it's difficult to sync the delivery and tire change) when faced with similar snowy conditions.

TLDR (Upon Mal's request):
The truck feels pretty controllable in a minor snow, brakes fine and so on (with the stock tires), but more than that I wouldn't and I would get a proper set of winter tires .

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[Mal]

A few people who picked up their trucks in Vancouver and needed to drive home asked me how all-terrain tires perform in light snow. Since we just had our first (very minor) snowfall in the city, I decided to take my truck out for a quick ride to see how the tires handle the conditions.

This ISN'T a full snow test; rather, it's more about whether you can drive your truck home without changing tires (it's difficult to sync the delivery and tire change) when faced with similar snowy conditions.

Leo, I know you want people to watch your video - but a quick summary of your results would be helpful with these postings.

 

[nocyber]

Thanks for the video, and quite honestly this type of slick snow test is more of a snow test than heavy snow is. The reality is on a day to day basis in winter you’re not seeing heavy snow fall - but you may have light precipitation that results in slick wet surfaces with slush and a dusting. In deep snow if you’re going out without snow tires on a heavy vehicle with wide tires you’re just playing with fire already.

 

[Leo Snow]

Leo, I know you want people to watch your video - but a quick summary of your results would be helpful with these postings.

Added ?

 

[nocyber]

Also a quick note that the tires aren’t 3 peak mountain rated. I think the video suggests that they are.

 

[tingmo13]

in 2016, I bought a used 2013 Nissan Leaf to feel the EV experience. Most of my co workers made tons of jokes on the 'golf cart'. My drive was 18+ miles and I drove the 'Poor man's' Tesla all the time. I live in N Colorado and drove the golf cart in 17" of snow with the worst rated tire: Blacklion. While many who made fun of my golf cart couldn't make it. Through the years I found more & more chickens scared of driving AWD EVs on snow. The instant torque makes EV so good in snow.

 

[Leo Snow]

Also a quick note that the tires aren’t 3 peak mountain rated. I think the video suggests that they are.

Hm, are you sure? I double checked this info here: https://www.cybertruckownersclub.co...ain-at-tires-info-pricing-specs-photos.10560/ and also I had another resource confirming, can't find it now, but I can dig up and post it here as well

in 2016, I bought a used 2013 Nissan Leaf to feel the EV experience. Most of my co workers made tons of jokes on the 'golf cart'. My drive was 18+ miles and I drove the 'Poor man's' Tesla all the time. I live in N Colorado and drove the golf cart in 17" of snow with the worst rated tire: Blacklion. While many who made fun of my golf cart couldn't make it. Through the years I found more & more chickens scared of driving AWD EVs on snow. The instant torque makes EV so good in snow.

People are always afraid to accept new things; it's an evolutionary defense mechanism.
PS Tbf talking about being chicken: summer tires + deep snow is a darn scary combination ?

 

[nocyber]

What you referenced was the DuraTrac winter tires that Tesla sells separately (when in stock). Your standard tires the Territory’s are not 3 peak winter rated. They’re the same ones I have as well.

 

[Leo Snow]

I heard pretty much the same statement from the Tesla guy who helped me during the delivery, although I decided to double check it ("rate for some snow", he didn't mention the 3PMS rating). Hm, let's make it official . I requested GoodYear to clarify that, I'll update it here

 

[AlmostHuman]

My understanding is you just have to look for the symbol/label on the tire. If it is not there it is not rated for it.

 

[SentinelOne]

Pretty straight forward - if its marked with the 3 peak symbol = it's rated. The AT tire is not marked and therefore not rated as such.

 

[Leo Snow]

Thanks for the note! I cut it out from the video on YouTube to avoid any further confusion. It should update soon.

 

[HaulingAss]

Thanks for the video, and quite honestly this type of slick snow test is more of a snow test than heavy snow is. The reality is on a day to day basis in winter you’re not seeing heavy snow fall - but you may have light precipitation that results in slick wet surfaces with slush and a dusting. In deep snow if you’re going out without snow tires on a heavy vehicle with wide tires you’re just playing with fire already.

I often see people distinguishing the difficulty of conditions by the depth of the snow or how heavy the snowfall is, but nothing can be more misleading than the depth of the snow.

What really matters is how slippery the surfaces are. You can have a foot of snow on a cold, dry base and it's not even treacherous, or you can have a thin layer of glaze ice that will cause cars to slide off the road when they are not even moving, just from the slight grade caused by the crown of the road (roads are often tilted slightly towards the shoulder for rain drainage).

Half a foot of cold, fresh snow on a dry base is often not a problem, even for all-season radials. But start with rain that turns to a 1/2 inch of snow, and even cars with proper winter tires can start to have issues.

The conditions in the video looked warm enough that an ice layer wasn't forming underneath, so I wouldn't draw ANY conclusions about the OEM tires to handle winter conditions based on that. The thin, spidery tread pattern of the OEM AT tires pretty much already tells us it can handle easy, fresh snow, it's the rubber compound that will determine how well they do when the going gets more slippery, and I don't have high hopes for that, based upon what I've already experienced.

No one tire can be good in all conditions, it's impossible.

 

[MisterTea]

Any worry about snow building up behind the wheel cover and popping it off?

 

[FHWizard]

Got our CT with the all terrains 3 weeks ago and have to make a trip from Oregon over the passes to Sacramento tomorrow. Heavy snow expected. Tempting to try it with the truck but we're taking our trusty lifted Subaru with Blizzaks instead.

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