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MtnGoat
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MtnGoat
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PostThu Dec 28, 2017 1:07 pm 
Thought I'd check back in after a pretty good workout for the studded Coopers I posted about. Since my post, in the last week I've done Seattle, Umatilla, and Portland round trips in the current winter driving weather. This is about 800 miles total. Road conditions: glare ice, black ice, freezing rain, mixed snow and ice, packed snow, some slush. I haven't had full on melt/slush conditions under them yet. So far I'm very impressed. They perform at least as well as my Hankook's did in most conditions and are noticeably harder to break free. I got some time in on some lonely back roads and used that time to experiment...hard stops from speed, hard jinking to induce a slide, etc. They are super tough to break lose on packed, I was swerving hard enough to worry about a really bad skid and they still stuck. The trip to PDX was the worst for ice, stretches were pure skating rink from Cascade Locks to Troutdale, just a grey frozen sheet of ice with little snow. I maintained a cautious to slightly ambitious speed once I got a feel for them and didn't slip once even in the worst stretches with other drivers fishtailing merely trying to go straight. two thumbs up. Con: The open blocky nature of the tread loves to pick up debris and throw it. Glad I have mud flaps and it's super loud in the wheel wells if the road has been graveled with that red pumice.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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blendergasket
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PostThu Dec 28, 2017 1:33 pm 
Thanks for the info Gregory, this is what I decided on. I worry it's gonna effect my fuel economy, but I want to make sure I'm confident in all conditions and deep in the woods. This seems like the best all around solution.

"He who would understand the Book of Nature must walk its pages with his feet" ~Paracelsus
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Schenk
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PostThu Dec 28, 2017 1:41 pm 
I have the Firestone Winterforce on one vehicle, and Hankook Dynapro on the other. I have experienced great performance in snow and slush with both of them. Wet roads too. I think the nod goes to the Winterforce, but I do notice (I am on my second set) they will wear fast if you don't take them off for the Summer. For when it is really dangerously icy, during the rare conditions when some vehicles will actually slide off the crown of the road, I carry chains.

Nature exists with a stark indifference to humans' situation.
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mike
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PostThu Dec 28, 2017 2:35 pm 
4 of these are being mounted and balanced right now. Getting an alignment next week.
Michelin Defender LTX M/S  215 R7515
Michelin Defender LTX M/S 215 R7515

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DIYSteve
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PostThu Dec 28, 2017 2:40 pm 
mike wrote:
4 of these are being mounted and balanced right now. Getting an alignment next week.
Michelin Defender LTX M/S  215 R7515
Michelin Defender LTX M/S 215 R7515
Great west o' crest winter tire and pretty good on ice too. We had 'em on our truck/camper rig when we lived in Seattle. My bud has 'em on his Sprinter-based RV.

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Randito
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PostThu Dec 28, 2017 9:54 pm 
FWIW: My first set of Blizzaks DM-V2 got a nice little test today. Parked at Stevens and received 6-8 inches of new snow during the day. Walking through the lot , saw lots of cars -- including Subarus struggling to extract themselves from their parking spots. Some people managed with a group pushing their car -- I saw an AWD minivan putting on chains. I put my AWD Honda CRV in reverse, made sure my wheels were straight and backed out and drove off without any trouble. Passed a long line of cars creeping down the right lane between the pass and the tunnel creek elbow. Feeling pretty good about my $600 investment so far.

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Gregory
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PostFri Dec 29, 2017 6:20 am 
mike wrote:
4 of these are being mounted and balanced right now. Getting an alignment next week.
Michelin Defender LTX M/S  215 R7515
Michelin Defender LTX M/S 215 R7515
My favorite all season for sure.I almost get these every time the truck gets new shoes,like yesterday.I was in Costco with a 275/65/18 BF all terrain in my left hand and the same size defender in the right.They are proud of the warranty but great tires.My father's goto for his f350.I stuck once again with the ko2.I guess I am stuck on the Tonka truck look, or I have more confidence dragging a drift boat around the Hoh River with all terrains.

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DIYSteve
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PostFri Dec 29, 2017 12:48 pm 
RandyHiker wrote:
FWIW: My first set of Blizzaks DM-V2 got a nice little test today.
Second winter on DM-V2s on our Tundra. Luv 'em ETA: CR gives the DM-V2 a very good hydroplaning rating

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Kat
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PostSat Dec 30, 2017 4:58 am 
MtnGoat wrote:
They perform at least as well as my Hankook's did in most conditions and are noticeably harder to break free.
Interesting comparison on the ipikes vs Cooper Discoverer, thanks. Just picked up a set of studded ipikes for my Tundra - they've done pretty good on the Suburban so I decided to just go for the same thing. Your post would have made the decision much harder!

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MtnGoat
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PostSat Dec 30, 2017 8:58 am 
The ipikes were no slouches to begin with. these modern snows are so much better than the old school ones the differences are down to pissing match status in many cases, IMO One thing I do notice...for a long time siping carried with it sort of a pseudo status where some swore by it and still others said it was all a hoax carried out by tire places to make an extra bit per tire, by siping any new tire you wanted on the machine in back. Look at the modern snows in this thread...nearly every one is heavily and deeply siped

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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MtnGoat
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PostSat Dec 30, 2017 9:13 am 
A decent thorough test of 5 tires Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT OWL SL (P-metric) Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 SL (P-metric) Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT LT (E load range) BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 RWL LT (C load range) Firestone Destination MT LT (E load range)

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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Malachai Constant
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PostSat Dec 30, 2017 9:32 am 
Got a chance last week to drive a Ford Fiesta rental car in a blizzard from Boulder to DEN with Conti Contacts. POS car with POS tyres. Luckily all survived eek.gif

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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boot up
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PostSat Dec 30, 2017 10:53 am 
Malachai Constant wrote:
Got a chance last week to drive a Ford Fiesta rental car in a blizzard from Boulder to DEN with Conti Contacts. POS car with POS tyres. Luckily all survived eek.gif
My bro-in-law just bought an Audi TTT with Conti Contacts. After a week of driving in Central Oregon he was desperate to get rid of the Conti POS tires. But he wanted a "year round" tire that he could drive from here in Winter to warmer climes, such as S Cal desert or Arizona. After years of avoiding my favorite all-around snowflake rated tire, he bought a set of Nokian WRG3's for his car and absolutely loves them on the TTT. That was a relief to me, because he rarely takes my suggestions and I was worried if he would like them. He still runs non-studded Blizzaks on their Audi SUV and they are just fine for him in Winter in Central Oregon. He learned to drive in Vermont winters so really knows winter driving and tires. I am still happy with studded Hakkas on my ski/snowshoe car. They definitely would be overkill for Western WA though. And with the mild winter we are having here, they are probably overkill this year period, although its nice to know my lead-foot wife can drive them like a normal car when we have iced-over mornings.

friluftsliv
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Gregory
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PostTue Jan 02, 2018 8:17 am 
MtnGoat wrote:
A decent thorough test of 5 tires Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT OWL SL (P-metric) Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 SL (P-metric) Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT LT (E load range) BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 RWL LT (C load range) Firestone Destination MT LT (E load range)
The Ko2 came in third behind two dedicated snow tires.The results do not surprise me.The KO2 tread does like to hold mud and snow at lower speeds.Interesting perspective concerning the braking. I hate to say it though this will be my first and last set of the new all terrains.I can not stand the mudder look to them.I showed them to the wife and remarked that the truck got new shoes.She laughed and said those are not shoes those are boots!.It will probably be defenders in 2024.I do not drive the truck in the snow I have an all wheel drive with tires full of walnut shells for that.

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DIYSteve
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PostTue Jan 02, 2018 12:37 pm 
MtnGoat wrote:
A decent thorough test of 5 tires
Not surprised that Blizzak DM-V2 was #1 in all tests, #1 ice acceleration, #1 ice braking and #1 winter road course, better than studded Goodyear Ultra Grip. Throw in Blizzak's excellent performance on cold dry pavement and it aint a fair fight for interior west winter tire of those tested. I would have like to see Hakkas and X-Ice included in the test. We encountered lots of slush and standing water on our truck/camper ski trip to northern ID for New Years: New Blizzak tread pattern big improvement in wet conditions, no hydroplaning noted.

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