Anyone ever try 245/75R16 tire size?

[v8Toilet]

I want to go to a skinnier tire for better snow traction and fuel economy but I don't want to compromise handling and my speedometer accuracy either. Anyone every try this size and if so what are your thought? I saw a new Chevy Silvorado with this size tire on it.

[DevinSixtySeven]

the idea is a skinnier tire penetrates through the snow cover. this is great if the snow isn't very deep. a larger tire floats more, and with larger lugs will get better traction in the snow. if the snow is fairly wet or compacted, you'll want studs as well for the inevitable ice. there are many competent "snow" tires, there is no such thing as an "ice" tire; a skinny tire is just as good/bad on black ice as a wide tire, and debateably worse in heavy snow over black ice, as the wide tire will float whereas the skinny tire will penetrate and slide sooner.

it all comes down to climate. i grew up in alaska (18+ years there) driving in heavy snow and black ice 6-7 months out of the year, and studded snow tires are a must. in colorado, studded snow tires are rarely necessary unless you spend a great deal of time at high altitude looking for snow.

your handling will not improve...skinny tires "wander" more than wide tires, but will get better fuel economy. 245/70 is what base-model tundras come with anyway, i wouldn't sweat the speedometer.

uh...i guess that was a lotta text, but basically if you're in snow, like deep fluffy fresh snow, you want a wide tire with large lugs (www.arctictrucks.com). if you're on ice, you want anything with studs. little snow with a lotta ice means a/t tires with studs, lotta snow with little ice probably means x/t or m/t tires, studs optional.

-sean

[akauth]

Originally posted by hovisimo
how do skinnier tires give better snow traction? my 285s are way better in the snow than the 265s they replaced. i like the idea of having more rubber in contact with the ground.

Larger tires (with large lugs) are nice in deep snow and *really* deep snow. In light snow they're a little bit of a disadvantage as you might not be touching any gravel on the road (which is going to help you stop), you'll just be floating on top of the road. You can end up sliding around instead of touching the road and hitting gravel or road surface to slow or stop you. You're relying on pushing snow around (which works okay as long as you don't need to stop or turn fast).

New flotation tires with a lot of tread depth are nice in the snow, but wait until they start to wear to half depth or less. Then start to see what happens!

Where large tires are *really*, *really* are awful is when you have a) slushy conditions or even worse b) slushy conditions hidden by 6 inches or more of snow.

You might as well have water skis on. A skinnier tire would cut further into the slush instead of floating on it and let you stop or turn better. With wide tires you're a the mercy of gravity and momentum until you can slow enough to stop floating.

The best tires I ever had in the snow were some 33 x 12.5 x 15 tires with a tread that was a little more open than a BFG AT (XT type tread). Those thing were awesome. They were like snow shoes across 6 to 18+ inches of new snow. I loved to go out in stuff that kept everyone else home. I could drive like a maniac and have great traction.

BUT, if you put them on slush you were taking your life in your hands. They were really bad on light dusting snow and ice too. Not enough pressure on the material to crunch it down and grab something.

The other place that flotation tires are bad is on puddling water at speed. It's really easy to lift off the ground even with most of the tread (well, unless it's an aggressive mud tread and there is still a lot there). That's a LOT less likely to happen on narrower tires.

Wide tires have more rotational mass to turn (and stop) for a given height so they use more gas to run too. Sometimes a LOT more.

The ideal tire general tire for just about any snow and ice that you'll ever encounter on the road is a studded XT tread, but they are going to be loud and there aren't a lot of places you can run studs. Taking the studs out of the equation, unfortunately, means that an XT type tires is going to not be very good on ice (not like a lot of tires are though) so it's big compromise. And you can't get a soft compound XT type tire that would be good on ice, it wouldn't last worth a darn.

Alan

[KLS]

Originally posted by v8Toilet
I want to go to a skinnier tire for better snow traction and fuel economy but I don't want to compromise handling and my speedometer accuracy either. Anyone every try this size and if so what are your thought? I saw a new Chevy Silvorado with this size tire on it.

I have P245/75-16 winter tires...Bridgestone Winter Dueler DM-Z2, and they work very well, both in fresh snow an on ice. The truck is stable on ice that's too slick to walk on.

The O.D. is the same as the stock P265/70-16, so no speedometer issues. These winter tires with soft rubber and deep siping are OK on dry roads...not as steady as a summer tire, but not scary.

One odd thing--the width of the tread in contact with the road on the winter 245s is wider than the width of the tread on the stock 265s.

If you get LT245/75-16 tires that are pretty good in snow, e. g., Michelin LTX M/S, they'll be slightly better than the same tire in 265s. Figure this way--the more pressure the contact patch exerts on the snow (or rainy road) the more traction it'll have. The truck weighs the same, but the skinny tire has less contact area. Same pounds & fewer square inches of contact = more pounds per square inch of pressure.

If you get 245s, check the weight rating vs. the max load you're likely to carry. If you max out the load, you might need Load Range E tires inflated to near 80 psi to carry the load. Check the numbers.

Ken

[DevinSixtySeven]

big-o makes a 245/80/16 studdable m/t, might take a look at that as an option as well. the road noise will be much greater, however.

as alan said, the best combo ive found is a set of studded x/t tires, they've kept me in good shape in some hellacious weather. they do murder your mileage tho, went to about 14-15 from 18-19.

-sean

[v8Toilet]

OK Thanks guys.

[Superkane]

I have studded Nokian Hakka 10's in 245/75 for the snow, they are awesome!!! Last winter I lived in a mountain side condo up in ski country, had probably a 15% grade for a driveway and had no problems going up or down (going down and stopping at the end of the driveway to be more specific). They were very narrow though, a good inch narrower than my stock 265's.

[v8Toilet]

I decided to stay stock and get 265/70 R16 tires. I got Michelin Cross Terrains and they seem like a good tire.

[awesometundra]

Good move, mine came with the 245's and I swapped them for 265's. Much better ride.

[DevinSixtySeven]

hey mang, good to see you didnt disappear . i'll be up in pgh this weekend for certain, btw.
those hakkas are excellent tires, we (my father and i) drove a set of 265/75/16 LTs with studs from salt lake city to anchorage through snow, ice, and dry pavement...they're incredibly nice.

-s