Does anybody have experience with siping MT tires for better packed snow traction performance?
Last winter I swore I wouldn't go through another with my BFG KM2s, but I don't really want to buy a new set or sit there for 8 hrs with a box cutter. Are the commonly sold electric tire groovers OK for accomplishing this?
I had two sets of BFG Mud Terrain tires machine siped at an America's Tire store and for the second set Discount Tires years ago, I liked the results. I had to call a lot of tire stores before I found any that could do it. It was shocking how few even knew what siping was. Several asked why I thought cutting slices in the tread was a good idea and essentially called me crazy. They were clueless what siping was
There's not enough siping on that tire for it to have helped significantly. In that photo I see just one actual sipe which is an actual cut, the rest are kerfs. True sipes are cut, kerfs are molded and aren't as effective.
I siped my KO's myself by hand. Took a bit to do (less then an hour a tire), just rolled em off one by one into the basement while I watched tv. Made a big difference on the KO's which sucked badly before I did them and are somewhat reasonable now fwiw...
Had my Goodyear Kevlars siped (just the inner lugs), and am truly pleased with the results on and off the road. Up here in Idaho its a bit chilly in the winter resulting in the many forms of frozen h20. I have to do quite a bit of wheeling in the snow and ice through the foot hills of the Snake River to get to where I duck and goose hunt and I've been through some crap I wouldn't of thought was possible thanks to the siping.
I siped the mud tires on my truck and am very pleased with the results. Here's a snippet of a post from my J-10's build thread. Though they're completely different animals, my J-10 does better in 2WD (rear) in snow than my WJ did in 2WD (rear). My J-10 has siped knockoff Maxxis Bighorns. The WJ had DuraTracs.
Also, for those who are curious, I snapped a few pictures of the siping I had done last fall. The front and rear were done the same. I think the rears show more wear as they're the drive tires. I probably should rotate them to keep everything even.
I siped the mud tires on my truck and am very pleased with the results. Here's a snippet of a post from my J-10's build thread. Though they're completely different animals, my J-10 does better in 2WD (rear) in snow than my WJ did in 2WD (rear). My J-10 has siped knockoff Maxxis Bighorns. The WJ had DuraTracs.
Also, for those who are curious, I snapped a few pictures of the siping I had done last fall. The front and rear were done the same. I think the rears show more wear as they're the drive tires. I probably should rotate them to keep everything even.
X2, it's just the inner tread blocks that should be siped. The outer tread blocks see so much more stress that they need to be kept as the factory made them.
Fill up the gas tank, grab a snickers, and drive further north. It's well worth the drive!
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