Winter tires for '21 Tahoe 4wd?

[TooManyKids]

I have a 2021 LT 4wd with 18" wheels on order. I'm in love with winter tires and live in Midwest.

I am looking into buying an extra set of wheels that have winter tires on them, which I switch out in the fall and spring. (I do this on a full-size Ford Transit we have.)

However, TireRack says they have no winter tire/wheel combos for this vehicle, and my dealer thinks I'm nuts for wanting winter tires on a 4wd. Has anyone done this?

I would be open to increasing size if necessary. Thanks for any ideas.

Cam

 

[18Custom]

I would suggest you go with Goodyear Duratracs. They handle 6" + deep snow with ease. I'm in Northwest Ontario so similar climate to the Midwest. I have the 265/65 R 18 size, same as stock but they measure 32.5", so a bit taller than the highway tires it came with.

 

[Stbentoak]

I would check around with a few dealers and see if they have any alloy or steel wheel takeoffs if they upgrade new incoming vehicles....
I put Blizzaks on my SUV every winter and they are reasonably unstoppable. Just put them on today as a matter of fact. ( Upper midwest...).

The difference between "all season" or "all weather" tires and these is remarkable. Main diff is on Black Ice. Winterized softer rubber compound and thousands of sipe cuts make the difference.... when you have a big dollar vehicle, these tires can easily be the difference between an accident or not....

 

[TooManyKids]

Thanks. Yeah, when someone tells me you don't need winter tires for 4wd, it tells me they've never driven with winter tires.

 

[Fireman591]

Nothing can compete in the winter like dedicated winter tires. They start, stop and corner much better than even the best all season tires. I did a little test with my sons Chevy Cruze that had General Arctic snow tires on them. Even with front wheel drive he blew away our 4wd Pilot and our 4wd Cherokee. In fact the Cherokee had the top rated all season tires on it according to Consumer Reports. It all boils down to rubber compounds. The winter tires stay soft in cold temps while all season tires still get hard as a rock. I will be getting winter tires for our Tahoe in 2021. My buddy manages a tire shop and only charges 10 dollars per tire to swap out the tires. So for 80 bucks a year it makes no sense to purchase rims and TPMS. The only thing you have to watch our for if you run winter tires is be very careful running them on your vehicle with temps above 40 degrees. The compound is very soft above those temps and it will wear out the tire much faster and might cause cupping. On top of that cornering could be a white knuckle ride also. Get the winter tires. They are worth their weight in gold. Just be careful with folks tailgating. If you can stop well they most likely can't without snow tires and they will slam into you. Been their done that with idiots tailgating in the winter.

 

[Jason in DLH]

I would suggest you go with Goodyear Duratracs. They handle 6" + deep snow with ease. I'm in Northwest Ontario so similar climate to the Midwest. I have the 265/65 R 18 size, same as stock but they measure 32.5", so a bit taller than the highway tires it came with.

The Goodyear Duratrac is exactly what I have on my 07Yukon with 17” wheels.

The ‘15 Yukon has Bridgestone Blizzaks on 22” wheels.

I chuckle to myself when going up all the steep hills in my city here in MN during snowstorms when I blow past everyone.

I recommend the Blizzaks as they hold snow in them better I believe. I used to run big lugged mud tires in the snow and didn’t understand why I had no traction. It’s because all the snow would fling out of the treads. Apparently you want snow stuck in the treads.

 

[Jason in DLH]

Did you try Discount Tire?

Customwheeloffset.com also has good selection.

Carid.com is also another option.

 

[Jason in DLH]

I forgot about Nokian winter tires as well...they’re less expensive than the Blizzaks but apparently work well!

 

[TooManyKids]

Thanks Jason, they do have winter tire sets at Discount Tire. Good suggestion!

 

[Swatdoc]

I went with General Grabber AT tires, which are snow rated. 285/55R20's on Sierra Denali 20" replica wheels

 

[Jason in DLH]

Thanks Jason, they do have winter tire sets at Discount Tire. Good suggestion!

Just wondering if you found a set yet and if so what did you get?

 

[TooManyKids]

My dealer quoted me just over $2,500 for 4 factory wheels and Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2. I was still recovering from changing the wheels to my winter wheels on my Ford Transit, so I decided against it for now. I might look again, but boy that was a pain swapping those wheels out. For the last couple of years, my mechanic did it for me and even stored the wheels when not in use, but he closed up shop. I think on really icy days, I'll just take the Transit with the winter tires.

 

[steiny93]

I'm in ND, we have winter for what seems like most of the year. We don't run winter tires on 4x4's, rather we run all terrain tires year round.
Wife's denali and my pickup have BF AT Ko2's, my last pickup did 80k on them. Kid's Grand Cherokee just got a set of Wildpeak atw3's as they are available in a lighter tire (p metric ply) to save on mileage and highway manners.

Duratrac's are crazy aggressive (loud) and worse on ice then either of the above choices.

I wouldn't have 2 sets, just put better tires on for all the months of the year.

 

[crankin]

I'm in nova scotia Canada, I ordered a set of 20" black steel wheels from Costco and will be pairing them with a set of 275/60R20 Michelin X-Ice Snow tires. They are going on my 2022 Yukon XL