Winter Driving and tires

[StealthShady]

I drive my ‘18 w stock tires quite often in winter storms and white out conditions. Usually there’s a 1-2” sheet of ice and/or snow on the road, or the road is just turning over from rain to snow/ice. Never a slip.

 

[Zubin Kothawala]

I too am on my 2nd Raptor and I live in Calgary Alberta where we get that supper cold temps that create ice on the roads from blowing snow. We get it all here in the recent years.
I went to a winter 20" rim with Narrow Nokian Studded 275/65/20 on my first Raptor and now I went with the Toyo Open Country 35" 12.5" 20s studded. I should have stuck to my skinny tires as these Toyos freeze up in the extreme cold temps.
My 2 cents.

 

[lnferno]

I live in Colorado - I think the K02s do quite well in light and deep snow. Ice - not so much.

 

[loboloco]

I am on my second raptor. I love the truck, but the one thing I do not like about the truck is winter driving on snow and ice. I grew up on the east coast, so I am very used to driving on snow. But I am going to say that these bf Goodrich KO2'S suck in the snow ! You feel like your doing 180 mph at Atlanta motor speedway with a death grip on the wheel. I was going to buy a set of Nokia studded snow tires in January and I held off because where I live we get storms that turn to rain half way thru the storm, but now we are getting real snow storms.

I was wondering how other raptor owners feel about the stock tires on snow ?

Like you I find that these KO2 are not all that great on snow and ice. I have lived in ND for the past 9 years and have gotten used to driving in snow and icy conditions, but I ended up in the fence on my property, just trying to get to the highway. My driveway is exactly 1/2 mile long and getting to the main road is an adventure every winter. The tires simply ride on top of the packed snow due to their width, almost like skis. Finnster's explanation was absolutely correct.

Given the often icy road conditions I have my tire pressure at about 35 PSI right now, but have gone as low as 32 PSI in the winter. I also carry 300 lbs of shavings in the bed of my truck every winter, which seems to keep the back-end a little more planted. I had a 2017 Raptor, which I just traded for a 2019 last week. The profile pic is of my old Raptor. Before that I drove F-150s and 350s.

 

[guenette0976]

I'm in Ottawa, Canada. On my second Raptor (2018) and have faced severe snow, ice and rain this year. Highly recommend Nokian Hakkapeliitta snow

 

[tmanker]

You cannot beat dedicated snows. I've owned my truck for 1.5 weeks and I already think these KO2's are much better than the ridge grapplers I had on previous truck. It could be placebo, it could be the lower COG (was in 2018 F350 previously), could be the wider stance. I likely won't run the ridge grappler again, but I did like the aggressive sidewall and E rating.

 

[Brandin10]

I too am on my 2nd Raptor and I live in Calgary Alberta where we get that supper cold temps that create ice on the roads from blowing snow. We get it all here in the recent years.
I went to a winter 20" rim with Narrow Nokian Studded 275/65/20 on my first Raptor and now I went with the Toyo Open Country 35" 12.5" 20s studded. I should have stuck to my skinny tires as these Toyos freeze up in the extreme cold temps.
My 2 cents.

In Edmonton here. I too decided to go with studded Hakkapalitas. Got them in 315/70/R17. Only way to go if you live in winter 6 months of the year!

 

[Kraftei]

In Edmonton here. I too decided to go with studded Hakkapalitas. Got them in 315/70/R17. Only way to go if you live in winter 6 months of the year!

What is it like with the factory tires in the Edmonton area ? My Raptor is on order so I am curious. I thought studded might be overkill vs winter tires. Whats your thoughts?

 

[Kraftei]

I too am on my 2nd Raptor and I live in Calgary Alberta where we get that supper cold temps that create ice on the roads from blowing snow. We get it all here in the recent years.
I went to a winter 20" rim with Narrow Nokian Studded 275/65/20 on my first Raptor and now I went with the Toyo Open Country 35" 12.5" 20s studded. I should have stuck to my skinny tires as these Toyos freeze up in the extreme cold temps.
My 2 cents.

What is it like with the factory tires in Calgary ? I am Edmonton area so slightly worse then you. Lots of freezing rain lately, we never used to get rain in the winter. I actually carry lock de-icer in my truck for house keypads that are iced up.. My Raptor is on order so I am curious. I thought studded might be overkill vs winter tires. Whats your thoughts?

 

[Cropdoc]

I went with Cooper Disco S/T MAXX LT255/80R17 (32.8") and am very happy. Tall and skinny for snow and slush. For summer I run Nitto Dura Grappler 305/70R18. (35.28") Really happy with those !!!! The BFG's are just for looks.... but useless...