[fosterjd79]

I ran Nitto Terra Grapplers (265R6517) over the winter in NH and they were horrible. Good thing we had a mild winter. They just don't self clean and before you know it they have caked up about an inch of snow and of course, no traction. Does anyone recommend a good AT/snow tire?

These Terra Grapplers are great on the trails. I would give them a very high rating for offroad work.

[Hitman-JB]

Cooper Discoverer ST. Great tire all around. Had them on my old XJ and loved them. Plus of you only want them for winter they can be studded

[seu83]

The grabber at2 was the best tire I've ever used in the winter. It did awesome on ice, covered roads, and heavy\deep snow. I was plowing through 3.5ft drifts with no problem what so ever.

[Valkyrie0002]

I put Cooper Discoverer HTs on my WJ in 2005 and they worked very well in snow and ice over a typical Buffalo, NY winter. They still worked very well with well worn tread in the Feb. 2010 storm here.

[ChrisHager]

Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac - Carry the snowflake rating. I have them and so far, they are great!

Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor - Also carry the snowflake rating. I was going to say I haven't ever used these but now that I think about it, that tread pattern looks like what is on the fiance's TJ. I can't believe I don't remember what we have on it but I'll be sure to check at lunch since I drove it in today. Anyways, enough rambling from me - these are well recommended tires as well.

Both are an A/T, are rated for snow/ice, and have good reviews. The SilentArmors are available in 265/65R17. The DuraTracs are not available in that particular size but are in 245/70R17, which is about the same size but a little thinner than what you have.

[V8 Grand]

The best I've used on our WJ is the Michelin LTX M/S2. They're even better than the previous set of LTX AT2s I had on it. They look a bit less agressive, but they work better at just about everything.

If you want a real off road tire that also works in the snow and ice, look at the Super Swamper radials. The super soft rubber compound is great in the ice and the big lug tread makes short work of deep snow. They do wear out fast when driven on road, they are noisey and don't ride well but that's what you give up in a serious off road tire.

I've also had good luck on icy snowy roads with BFG MT's with added siping. I would imagine the Goodyear Wrangler MT with some additional siping would work just as well.

[bhicks]

Read the online reviews on light truck snow rated tires and you will find that the Goodyear Duratracs are in the #1 or #2 spot in almost all of them. I was using a neighbors f250 this winter with a snow plow on the front and it had a set of brand new 285/70/17 duratracs and they were amazing. I want them for my WJ but they currently don't make a 305/70/17 yet and that's the size I want. They are a little aggressive for a street only WJ, but if you plan to hit the occassional trail and deep snow you will love them. I guarantee you will not find a better snow/ice tire on the market that can handle extreme offraod as good as it can handle winter conditions.

[billzcat1]

Man we've got recommendations for everything from highway tires to Super Swampers in here.

OP it might be easier to nail down a recommendation based on what kind of driving you do and what kind of tire YOU think is best suited to your needs - dedicated winter, highway, all-terrain, mud-terrain, or crazy badass trail meats. There are great tires in all categories.

[ChrisHager]

Originally Posted by billzcat1

Man we've got recommendations for everything from highway tires to Super Swampers in here.

OP it might be easier to nail down a recommendation based on what kind of driving you do and what kind of tire YOU think is best suited to your needs - dedicated winter, highway, all-terrain, mud-terrain, or crazy badass trail meats. There are great tires in all categories.

Originally Posted by fosterjd79

Does anyone recommend a good AT/snow tire?

I thought the same thing. There are some pretty interesting suggestions in here!

[V8 Grand]

I think one problem is that one persons AT is anothers street tire. Personally the ATs on the market are pretty tame and what many call MTs, I call ATs. My old DD was a lifted 89 wrangler on 36 " swampers. I drove that every day for 3 years.

[billzcat1]

Ah I missed the line "AT/Snow tire".

In that case, Chris's suggestions are spot-on. The Duratracs are more aggressive in the snow but the SilentArmors (which I run) are no slouch and have a tougher Kevlar-reinforced carcass. Additionally they have a very tough tread compound. While less aggressive than the Duratrac they still do very well on the trail with better road manners.

Look for tires that carry the Mountain & Snowflake logo, indicating they are proven performers in severe winter conditions. Usually it takes a combination of tread pattern, tread compound, and siping to earn the rating. It's also notable that Mountain & Snowflake rating is based on actual test data, whereas the old "Mud and Snow" rating is merely a function of void area and the presence of lateral grooves and has no basis on actual performance.

Other Mountain & Snowflake-rated all-terrains: BF-Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO (in certain sizes), General Grabber AT2 (certain sizes), Kumho SAT KL61, Pro Comp All Terrain Radial, Dunlop Radial Rover RXVT. There are probably others but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

All that said, there are good performers that don't carry Mountain/Snowflake ratings too, but a lot of what you'll hear is based on people's limited experiences (my feedback included) and also experience in various snow types. For instance, aggressive MTs do great on loose, deep snow but suffer horribly on packed snow/ice as you'd find on well-traveled roads. Wet, slushy snow needs a tire with good water evacuation, pure ice needs lots of siping and a soft tread compound.

[ChrisHager]

Originally Posted by billzcat1

Other Mountain & Snowflake-rated all-terrains: BF-Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO (in certain sizes)...

For the longest time, I didn't realize these were Mountain/Snowflake rated. Perhaps since it's not quite off subject, do you know why they only made certain sizes that achieve this rating? I would have thought it would make sense to BFG to make all of the tires 'match', regardless of size.

[billzcat1]

It has to do with how the tread pattern gets stretched for width or length (circumference). Since Mountain & Snowflake is based on actual test results, they've found that certain size tires don't get the same snow performance. General Grabber AT2 is the same way, only certain sizes actually get the Mountain/Snowflake.

I sure wish I could abbreviate it M&S but thanks to the Mud & Snow rating I have to spell it out every time. .

[ChrisHager]

Ahh OK. That totally makes sense! Thanks!

[Thomahawk]

For real dedicated snow tires (non AT) i would recomend Continental 4X4 ice contact by first hand expirience.
Next winter i am going for Nokian hakka R SUV.
Awsome tires both of them.