The vehicle gets mostly highway use, with occasional off-roading while hunting. The most common off road environment is deep snow.

Why would you choose the size you voted for?

Question:
What All Terrain tire size would you install on a Yukon XL?

Choices:
P245/75R16
P265/75R16
Doesn't make any difference

 

265-75-16 among the choices given, but 285-75-16s will fit also.

As I have found out numerous times, BF all terrains aren't that good in snow. You're best bet is to go with the 265/75's because they look better than those 245's. You're probably only off-road for about 1-2% of the time right?

The only way to go in snow is with chains. period. So if 285's barely fit and don't leave much room for chains, you'd better stay with the 265's so that the chains will fit and not rub. Gas mileage will also be reduced with the 285's. Just my humble opinion, but I went though all of this with my 4-runner, which comes stock with 265's.

I bought a set of 275/70/16 BF all terrains and got so tired off getting stuck that I pulled them off, bought 285/75/16's in mud terrain and use chains on all four corners. Even that doesn't work that great though, I can go through 2 foot or more of soft snow, but when it's crunchy, hard snow, it's tough going.

A narrow tire will go through deep snow better than a wide tire and it's not even close.

My Daily Driver is an older Ford Ranger which in all honesty has very little of the original truck left, including NONE of the running gear or suspension.. all that is stuff 8-10 years newer than the original truck...

that being said I have a set of BFG's for the truck, car to guess where they are right now?
And where they will be until there is little or no chance of snow?

I'll give you a hint, NOT on the truck.

They are better than most tires in a variety of circumstances
but snow isn't one of those circumstances.

And where I live in PA we expect snow to fall in mid november and not disappear until early march.

See, what REALLY works is not any mystical magical tire, but CHAINS, and frankly I don't like pointlessly screwing up
my $125 (EACH!) BFG's by chaffing the sidewalls with chains

YOUR tires are likely more than that.

I don't know how much the BFG's were that my brother bought for my Sister-in-law's Excursion, but I know they weren't cheap....

AD

quote:

Originally posted by dempsey:
A narrow tire will go through deep snow better than a wide tire and it's not even close.

I agree with dempsey. Narrow tires are way better.
Chains are not an option 99% per cent of the time.

Narrow tires are the way to go.

Yes, narrow tires are better in snow, but the difference between 245s and 265s is only about 20mm. Them skinny tires look funny for the other 50 weeks a year your not hunting.

I never thought of BFs as show tires, they are tough and don't puncture easy, and that is why I like them. Put good chains on them get them real tight and you don't have to worry about it. I'd rather them get a little roughed up than run some cheap korean tire that might blow out and leave me stuck somewhere. I ran over a shed in the snow last year, popped both right side tires, only had one spare. That was the end of me running cheap tires.

Anyway, the only way to get anywhere in snow, regardless of how wide your tires are, is to run good tight chains, or get maxtracks, and since I don't have $20,000 to throw away, I'll be running chains. I can put the back two on by myself in about 10-15 minutes, take them off in 5. Lot better than spending an hour or two stuck, or having funny looking tires in the summer.

quote:

Originally posted by Hokkaido:
Anyway, the only way to get anywhere in snow, regardless of how wide your tires are, is to run good tight chains

Lived in Alaska for 37 years. Driven for 31 years. Never put a set of chains on in my life. Never driven a rig with chains on either. Never been pulled out of the snow. Never run studs.

ALWAYS HAD 4WD though. [not AWD, either!]

I've liked Goodyear Wrangler LT mud/snow tires myself.

Hey There MM,
You are a better man than I. My rig has been stuck in the snow 5 times just in the last 2 months. I see videos on the net of people going through a foot or more of snow with no chains. Maybe you are just better at picking the places you want to go than I am.

What I have come to understand is that, not all snow is the same, and personally, I don't do well without chains here. I live on the coast and the it gets crusty real quick here, hardly ever see powder snow, probably in a few years I'll hardly ever see snow. Then I'll be moving to Alaska and I'll look you up for a few pointers on how to drive. And I should have put my winch on the back of my 4runner. Well, that'll be something for me to do in the summer.

here is some background info, and my decision.

I originally set out to purchase a set of 265/75R16 Goodyear Duratrac tires for my Yukon XL. The dealer made a mistake and installed 245/75R16s instead. He offered to replace the tires, but had to order a set from the central warehouse, giving me a few days to try out the 245/75s. That was when I posted the poll.

Since then, I have decided to go with the 265/75s based on the feedback I got from this poll and other discussions. These are my observations from having driven both tire sizes on my Yukon.

1. The 265/75s ride better on the highway. They exhibit less wander than the 245/75s

2. The 265/75 look better on the vehicle. They just seem visually fill the wheel well better.

3. Due to our endless crappy winter, I have had the opportunity to try out both tire sizes in snow. Both work great. I am prepared to concede that the narrow tires ultimately would be superior in deep snow, but both are superior to the passenger tires I previously had mounted on the vehicle.

Hokkaido is right. The type of snow makes a big difference. In our dry, cold climate snow can be fluffy, compressed or crusty, but is usually quite dry. Most anything can drive through it until you start snowplowing with the front bumper. Vehicle clearance is just as important as tire type. Recently, with spring approaching we had a dump of wet, sloppy snow. I got stuck in my driveway, and when my neighbour came to pull me out, he got stuck as well in only a few inches of snow. The moisture in the snow creates a very slick surface. That was when I decided to upgrade from my old passenger tires.

Thanks for all the comment and feedback

BF Goodrich AT Radials are the best tires I have ever used.

But I live in Texas. I have always heard that thinner tires do better in snow, and also allow for more clerance when using chains.

I have used snow chains in snow and mud, but they rubbed on the "vehicle", and were hard to put on due to minimal clerance.

They are tough tires, and do last a long time.

If I lived in snow country I would try to get smaller, thinner BFG ATR's than the ones that I use now.