So what combination of lift height / wheel - tire size/width do people find gives best performance for getting your trucks and trailers in and out on those sometimes deep snowy/icy forest service roads? Looking forward to hearing recommendations/experiences/and maybe seeing a few pictures and videos of the rigs at work!
Lift kits / wheels / tires for snow/ice performance.
- Thread starter MT rydn
- Start date
gmc sierra. factory alum wheels with 265/75/16 bridgestone revo 2s with a toyup sled deck in the bed. provides the best traction ive found so far 
What would work well to get thru deep snow is a very high lift, very narrow tires.
You want max ground clearance and max axle clearance.
I haven't researched rim diameters and available tire sizes but narrow and tall is my suggestion.
Now is that best for all around driving, probably not.
You want max ground clearance and max axle clearance.
I haven't researched rim diameters and available tire sizes but narrow and tall is my suggestion.
Now is that best for all around driving, probably not.
I've been using stock wheel/tire size w duratracs. No lift. Been wondering what others experience has been when snow gets deeper: if lift helps along with larger tires pulling trailers? Not enough snow for riding snowmobiles yet so makes for interesting discussions until then!
http://youtu.be/pLTAOti86kw
http://youtu.be/Mt6JAbVwv18
http://youtu.be/qN1Mqd5qO-c
http://youtu.be/-xJWBzSNdOo
http://youtu.be/pLTAOti86kw
http://youtu.be/Mt6JAbVwv18
http://youtu.be/qN1Mqd5qO-c
http://youtu.be/-xJWBzSNdOo
i cant not really think of any situation where lifting a truck makes it more advantagious to towing. I guess the ground clearance in deep snow... but if the snow is that deep, i dont think you should be driving in it. A more narrow tire with some good sipping is the best.
I have a 4.5in ICON lift..best lift ive ever had. And have 20 inch wheels with 35" duratraxs...I have been in some deep snow with these tires and they just dig and dig and keep going..still yet to get stuck but for tires I highly reccomend the Goodyear duratrax!
but for tires I highly reccomend the Goodyear duratrax!why is that?
Because it raises your center of gravity for one which is exactly the opposite of what you want. If you want to be able to pull into a snow-covered parking lot, your best bet are chains. Wide tires and a high center of gravity are horrible for towing down the highway, and it only gets worse the bigger the trailer you try and tow. If lift kits made it easier to tow, all trucks would come with them from the factory .... not to mention running bigger tires kills your mileage, and I don't care what diesel porpoise magazine has to say about it
Given, in certain types of snow, having a wider tire with more bite can help, but overall skinnier tires are better for winter travel, especially slick roads.
If you want your truck to tow better put an anti-sway / weight distributing hitch, air bags, and %20 lower gears in it ....
Lift kits look cool but thats it, you aren't gaining a damned thing by putting a lift on your truck as far as usability goes.
I understand the point about tire size but does seem at some point the larger tires may give some extra bite in deeper snow but would agree otherwise with what saying. Have researched this alot and is true it seems narrower is better overall when combined for ice and typical snow depth on roads we usually drive. But couple years ago I was in a parking lot end of a forest service road and sunk down to high center on my frame / axles and tires could not get traction ( hard packed snow but not so much for my tires broke through) So at that point thought if had lift and larger tires / larger wheels may have been able to get out of that. I actually had to dig out around entire frame/under axles to get out of that mess.
i just like to hear the arguments 
I have an 8 inch lift on my chevy tires are 37s it pulls fine but im not doing 90 up the mountain side with it nor trying to look bad a$$ and bust 4 foot drifts with it
as most would say im just compensating for somthing else
I have an 8 inch lift on my chevy tires are 37s it pulls fine but im not doing 90 up the mountain side with it nor trying to look bad a$$ and bust 4 foot drifts with it
as most would say im just compensating for somthing else
Look at it from an economic standpoint. It's going to cost you thousands of dollars in equipment to lift your truck, you will likley wear front end components out quicker, you will get worse mileage running the bigger tires, %99.9 of the time your motor is running you're going to be on pavement, so you're taking about increasing the cost of your pickup to own and operate significantly for the one or two times a year having big tires would let you drive through a parking lot better pulling a small trailer.
Doesn't make sense to me.
My general rule of thumb is, run as big of tires as you can stock, if you have to lift it and it's a multi-purpose daily-driver truck all you're doing is screwing yourself over in the name of looking cool.
stock 265/75/16 10 ply for me with hankook dynapro atms.. if the snow is to deep for me to drive thru, thats why i have a sled, if i wanted to drive everwhere in a heated cabin, i would buy a groomer. honestly, you can pretty easily drive thru any depth of pow with nothing underneath on stock tires, as soon as the bottom is slick, dont care what your in, rubber and ice dont provide good traction no matter the size.
the vehicles i see doing serious work in deep snow is trucks chained up on all 4's with stock size tires. the big lifted trucks wont touch em. and the stockers can afford damn near a new sled with what a set of 35's + on fancy 20+ inch rims cost.. they are absurd!
the vehicles i see doing serious work in deep snow is trucks chained up on all 4's with stock size tires. the big lifted trucks wont touch em. and the stockers can afford damn near a new sled with what a set of 35's + on fancy 20+ inch rims cost.. they are absurd!
J
jfox1995
Active member
Last spring I bought an 06 Dodge mega cab that has a 4 inch lift in it and it had 325/60/20 tires on it. Just this week I bought a narrower rim and went with 275/65/20 tires and my mileage has already increased by 2 or 3 mpg. The truck also drives 100 percent better than before. It still looks good, just not quite as beefy. I couldn't be happier with my decision after a few days of driving it around. I haven't towed my trailer yet, but I suspect it will tow much better with the new tires too.
I keep my lift stock on my '07 F350 and put Hankook DynaPro ATM on there. IMO they are the best snow tires out there, I know tons of people that run them on their plow trucks and love them.
My general rule of thumb is pizza cutters in frozen conditions and wide tires in mud conditions. Just my $0.02!
My general rule of thumb is pizza cutters in frozen conditions and wide tires in mud conditions. Just my $0.02!
W
whittaker727
Well-known member
I like lifted trucks and both of my trucks are lifted. In the summer, one runs 35's and one runs 37's, but come winter, they both get 255/80/17 BFG KM2's. Looks like sh!t with the lift, but they are 33 1/2 tall and only leave about a 7 1/2" foot print. Both are sipped and hold the road very well, but are tall and skinny enough to go through the deep snow very very well. Wide tires on ice make about as much sense as wiping before you poop.
J
Jaynelson
Well-known member
If you honestly want the best winter performance.....no lift and skinny _winter_ tires. It's not really a question. There is nothing about a lift kit and big tires that makes a truck tow or drive better in the winter (or ever), and it only makes loading/unloading a deck more precarious. Guys who tell you a lifted truck on 37" mud tires drives well in the winter are just used to it and nothing more. I'm not preaching because I've done it and currently just have at's on my truck. But if you want the safest winter performance....a stock height truck with skinny-ish true winter tires (not a winter rated all terrain) can't be beat.
On a side note....Watching flatlanders load sled decks on jacked up 1-tons is great entertainment, highly recommended.
On a side note....Watching flatlanders load sled decks on jacked up 1-tons is great entertainment, highly recommended.
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"Wide tires on ice make about as much sense as wiping before you poop." - will be a classic line.
True - my duratracs, 'stock width at 275 on 2011 F350, excellent snow/ice traction and would not go wider for the type of driving we are mostly talking about - snow covered highways-roads / towing trailers / plowing.
"yah/but" - check out the last video. Would like to see the skinny tall tires got up against this truck setup in the snow fields. Probably not if the goal is to stay on top?!
