I am also from connecticut.

FYI if you're looking for dinner conversation:
In my experience as a snowboarder and inevitably a snow analyst, CT is icier and has heavier snow. The Rockies have fluffier snow that can pack down on mountain roads to emulate crisco. Directly east of the rockies, the snow falls and evaporates in the same millisecond. So if someone says that Boulder has nasty winters, shout "B.S.!!!," for a CT winter > Boulder, CO winter.

Say hi to CT for me.

 

so from what you are saying, my wifes jeep with 235 60 15 BFG A/T tires will do better in the snow on paved roads then my 35x12.50 15 mud tires? should i even be driving my jeep on the road with these tires on?

 

When we get snow in CO, it isn't the snow that makes roads bad, its the snow plows and mag chloride they put down. I have heard that Wrangler Duratracs kick *** in snow, though last winter I never had a problem in snow with my 215/75/15 Firestone destinations. watch out for potholes from plows and wash off the bottom of your Jeep as often as possible, that mag chloride is known to cause cancer (rust)

 

This.

I've used Blizzaks on several vehicles when I lived in the hills of Northwestern CT. They are hands-down the most awesome snow tires out there. (And for as soft as the compound was, they wore fairly well.)

Put them on a 4x4 and you'd probably be able to get through about anything.

 

Firestone Winterforce tires, sized as-recommended for your year/make/model, will give you the best bang for your buck (compared to high-end Blizzaks which are premium winter tires). Obviously, with a name like "Winterforce, they are a winter only tire. They have Uni-directional tread (which is a minor PITA). Restore your "summer tires" as seasonal conditions dictate...

 

For $105, you cant really argue with the blizzaks. Firestones are about $70, but dont compare with the blizzaks, completely worth the extra $35

 

Diesel, No argument here. Blizzaks are hands-down the best choice for winter "gription". The F-Stone Winterforce is choice where every buck matters (5 tires per set X $35 difference is another $175 saved, and that's a good deal of beer and/or lunch money).

 

I forgot to mention it in my previous post but we ran studded tires in the winter on my wife's 03 2wd Liberty. Never had any problems. I don't know if that's something you'd be interested in but just an idea. I don't know the laws where your're going to be but in AK, you could run studded tires from the end of Sep until the end of Apr, IIRC.

 

Studded tires are another option, I just hate the added noise and the way it tears up my driveway when they do slip.

Understood, its a preference thing I guess. Id pay the extra, youd save the extra and get a keg

 

As I'd said, I run an All Terrain Tire for most of the year.

Though good in the snow, due to the deep tread, they don't hold a candle to the Blizzaks in the snow.

ATs are designed to withstand rocks and are constructed from a hard rubber compound which hardens in the cold and doesn't kick out the snow as well due to less flex in the tread blocks.

With the 4 Blizzaks I can actually floor it in the snow with no problems !!

Now, an important point is that, the Blizzaks are a softer compound and once the temps get above 40 or so they WILL wear on pavement.

The also have a soft sidewall, so I don't recommend them for year round driving. Which is why I have mine mounted on my OEM steel wheels.

For all year driving and good snow performance, I'd recommend any tire with a M+S rating. "Mud and Snow".

Michelin also has a $70. rebate going on which helps. We just purchased a 2nd set for my Wife's SUV.
They lasted 7+ years !



That's why I recommend the:

1. Michelin LTX MS - "Mud and Snow Rated All Season"

2. Goodyear Duratracs - " Mud and Snow Rated All Season"

Both of which contain siping as the Blizzaks do, without the warmer weather wear consequences.

 

QUOTE=cherokmysocks;731191]Wow you guys are awesome.

Thanks for the excellent suggestions!!!!


For the record, as there seems to be some confusion, I am female.

haha


THANKS!!!![/QUOTE]

 

That's why I recommend the:

1. Michelin LTX MS/2 - "Mud and Snow Rated All Season"

2. Goodyear Duratracs - " Mud and Snow Rated All Season"

Both of which contain siping as the Blizzaks do, without the warmer weather wear consequences.[/QUOTE]

^^The Duratracs also have the mountain snowflake symbol
You can get them in 235/75 15 which should fit your stock cherokee.

 

The Jeep community seems to like the Wrangler Duratrac.

I am actually planning on replacing my LTX All Terrains with 31x10.5 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac for my own Jeep in the near future.

My Blizzaks are worn out after many years of use.
If the Duratracs perform as well in the snow, I probably won't need to replace them.

The Duratrac is Mud and Snow rated (hence the snowflake) and performs practically as well in snow and ice as the Blizzak due to the siping.

They even have little teeth between the tread blocks for extra bite into the snow.

The more agressive tread pattern of the Duratrac will be slightly noisier than the Michelin.

Since the OP doesn't offroad then the quiet highway ride and the great snow & ice performance of the LTX MS will work fine.

We took the online price from the Tirerack and got the local tire places bidding against one another. We ended up getting a great price AND the $70. rebate. My wife's vehicle is a 16" tire you can't beat $113. per tire especially considering how long they'll last.

My Wife loves her new Tires ! And she has enjoyed using her prepaid $70. Visa Card courtesy of Michelin !!

 

OK, so, I spoke to my father (because as a daughter I am obligated to ask him all car-related questions), and he was RAVING about studded tires being far superior to unstudded. But he was also born way long ago so.....

Not to go against the family winter tire philosophy, but I'm wondering if his loyalty to the studded is due to his living in Connecticut.... whereas I'm trying to outsmart Colorado snow. And I imagine there have been major advancements to studless winter tires in the last 40 years (the period my father has been loyal to only studded.)

I used a majority-rules approach for these posts, and general consensus is that Blizzaks are amazing. I guess my questions are...

1. Are Blizzaks studded or studless (or do they offer both?)
2. For those familiar with CO winters, should I opt for studded or studless?

I will be using the jeep to drive to work about 40 miles round trip per day, highway straight-shot driving and in most cases, there will be little/no snow. The whole reason I want snow tires is so I can tackle the rockies when I go snowboarding on the weekends. Please factor this knowledge into the equation.

My current tires are only eight months old, Goodyear somethings (p235) so I am content with the idea of only using the snow tires for a few months and then switching back to these.

Thanks!!! I really appreciate all the help so far!

 

OK another response from that OLDer generation. I have been working for 13 years in a Sears Auto center and have seen the snow tires change over the years from large open spaces to the tight sniped Blizzak of todays generation.

The WinterForce, WinterMark etc. tires have an aggressive pattern that will bite into deep snow and have the option of running with steel studs or studless. The Winterforce also have snipes to help with icy conditions but not as much as the Blizzaks.

The Blizzaks are a very good tire designed for highway driving in my opion. They are excellent on icy conditions such as highways and moderate to light snow covered roads. Blizzaks are studless tires only.

If you are driving up into the rockies to the ski slopes which I would guess have deep snow covered roads then I would go with the WinterForce.

NOTE: if you decide to have studded tires, have then studded at the time of purchase. Most tire dealers will not stud tires that have been driven on due to dirt and other contamination entering the holes the studs are seated in. If dirt enters these holes then the pressure from the studs on the road could force the stones etc. through the tire and cause leaks or the studs will fall out because they will not be seated properly.

I would also suggest going to your local salvage yard and pick up 4 steel rims to have the snow tires mounted on.
It would cost @$50 to have your summer tires mounted and snows removed come springtime and another $50 the next winter to have the snows mounted again.