[lhill7]

I looked through the recent thread about winter tires, but there was a lot of information there and I was hoping to simplify it a little bit. Could anyone recommend a good snow tire for the 150 XLT regular wheel base? I live in MN, so we get a decent amount of snow, but I'm in the cities so it does get plowed fairly quickly. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I want to get something that's going to make driving safe. The van I'm (hopefully) buying has the original factory tires on it, so I'm guessing they aren't great (20,000 miles on them already, too). When I looked up the van on Tires Plus, Goodyear, and Discount Tire, the only one that came up with any tires for this van was Tires Plus. The only snow tire option they showed was the Bridgestone Blizzak WS80. Is that a good one?

Thanks!

 

[Moot]

Ya, hey dare buddy. I live in the Cities too, don't ya know. I'm thinking any snow tire will out perform the OEM junk. I run all over the country so for me snow tires aren't an economical option. If I stayed around home I would definitely run snows in the winter. I have a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee we use as a second/backup vehicle. I have four Hankook snows on it. They stay on year round because it only turns about 2500 miles a year.

 

[brownbear]

Nokian. They have the size and rating for our vans. If you are going to switch tires every winter season you should be able to get a nice soft rubber compound. Or if you want a year round tire they also make the all weather tire.

 

[hammerdown]

If you jump up to the old Sprinter T1N size of 225/75/16 (which fit fine), your options increase dramatically. I have Goodyear Wrangler Pro-Grades and they are pretty great in the snow. The limited slip diff is a huge advantage too. As is weight, in the vehicle. My van is a ELB 250 and I keep a lot of weight over the axle, as well as behind it.

 

[brownbear]

The LSD Diff is a good thing. If you live in the snow belt you should seriously get this when you buy. I think it's the biggest advantage for winter traction.

 

[NetDoc]

My best recommendation for winter tires, and I worked at Goodyear for fifteen years is...

FLORIDA!!!

​

 

[lhill7]

Thanks for the recommendations. Are these fairly standard tires that a tire place will carry, or will it be a long wait time for them to come? Where is the best place to get them?

 

[yelnam]

For Nokian, you could check:
https://www.nokiantires.com/where-to-buy/dealer-locator/

In two days I'll get the Cooper Discoverer A/TW. They have the winter snowflake but also decent off-road and can be left on all year. I'm hoping they will be nearly as good as a dedicated snow tire.

 

[bidgoodr]

I've used Nokia Hakkapilitta on my Tacoma double cab for the past nine winters here in northern New Hampshire. They are incredible and 2 of my original 4 are still on my vehicle. I will definitely put them on my Transit once it arrives.

 

[Radioman]

I just was in Discount Tire and they show LT225/75R16 as a secondary tire for the Transit. I ordered a set of Nokian AT+ because they were not in stock at the very busy store. I saw the computer screen and it in fact listed the Nokian brand along with the size and tread pattern. There is just a very few winter tire replacements for the odd 235/65R16 stock tires.

 

[bmet]

As seen in the "Horrible traction in snow" thread (with pics), I just got some nokian WRC studless tires installed at Discount Tire today. They took four days to come into my store, probably because I am in tropical Tennessee. At $175 per tire, plus all the other tack on fees and taxes, they weren't cheap, but I've had a few scary stuck moments with the vanco "three seasons." With road trips planned up into the northern parts, Id rather not mess around with a sled that has no tow hook on the front. I can't always get stuck with my hitch facing the only way out! (and my four kids aren't strong enough yet to push me out of anything)

 

[AndyJack]

I just was in Discount Tire and they show LT225/75R16 as a secondary tire for the Transit. I ordered a set of Nokian AT+ because they were not in stock at the very busy store. I saw the computer screen and it in fact listed the Nokian brand along with the size and tread pattern. There is just a very few winter tire replacements for the odd 235/65R16 stock tires.

The 225's definitely does give more, and better cost effective, options. It is most likely what I'm going to go with. One thing to keep in mind is that the 225/75 tires are going to make your vehicle drive faster that it actually indicates on the speedo. I'd guess around 3-4 mph @ 70 mph.

 

[Thinksnow]

My wife has been dragging her feet about snow tires, "wait until after the holidays"; now that we had our first snow fall mixed with freezing rain, her tune has changed. I was looking into the 225/75 option, there are much more available. I was looking at the Firestone Winterforce LT. They are load range E at 2680 per tire, slightly under the factory tire but should get the job done. They are only $120 per tire versus the $150 per tire for the Nokians, thats an extra $120 that stays in my pocket. Has anyone had any experience with these?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...75R6WFLT&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

[nellborg]

So, some Transit owners are definitely running 225/75's ? My tire guy calculated that they are 1.3 inches taller - which means 0.65" increased diameter if my math is correct. Any problems with fit, or is this size a definite "no problem" size?

I'm going to go with the WR C3 as an all season as suggested by Brown Bear and others. I would think that the heavy weight of the Transit would make the need for softer winter rubber less important than on a passenger car. True?

I'm also thinking that the 1 cm narrower width might make a difference in soft unplowed snow that's only a few inches deep - though the difference is only about 5%, so it probably doesn't really matter....

 

[larry8061]

Yep!

Nokian. They have the size and rating for our vans. If you are going to switch tires every winter season you should be able to get a nice soft rubber compound. Or if you want a year round tire they also make the all weather tire.

Save yourself the time and effort - what he said!

 

[larry8061]

Other consideration(s)

So, some Transit owners are definitely running 225/75's ? My tire guy calculated that they are 1.3 inches taller - which means 0.65" increased diameter if my math is correct. Any problems with fit, or is this size a definite "no problem" size?

I'm going to go with the WR C3 as an all season as suggested by Brown Bear and others. I would think that the heavy weight of the Transit would make the need for softer winter rubber less important than on a passenger car. True?

I'm also thinking that the 1 cm narrower width might make a difference in soft unplowed snow that's only a few inches deep - though the difference is only about 5%, so it probably doesn't really matter....

Another item too keep in mind......do you care about the actual weight rating of the tire? "E" "F" "X" plus a 10 or 12 or 13 "ply rating" still does not tell you what the tire will carry. There are few tires in these sizes that are rated for 3000#+......at least Ford thought that was important - granted you may not.


5% in soft deep snow could actually make a difference.


Good luck folks,


Larry

 

[explou]

coopers

I went with the Cooper Discoverer A/T3s and love them. Decent traction on snow and ice. Way better than what I had.

 

[Thinksnow]

I have Discoverer AT3's on my F250, yes they are great tires. While it is a huge improvement over stock I wouldn't say they are as good as having 4 snow tires, especially in icy conditions.
As to size, I was always taught a taller narrower tire was always best in the snow in order to maximize the PSI of your contact footprint. That being said I would think the 225/75 is the better choice for the snow.

 

[lhill7]

How important is the tire load rating? We put in our specific vehicle on the TiresPlus website and it brought up the Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 as the only option for winter tires. So we brought our van in and they told us that they can't put them on because they have to be at least a range c tire. I called the people at tirerack.com and they said that the Continental Vancowinter 235/65R16C 121/119R E are the right ones for our van. They are $215 each (+tax, shipping, and installation), so that really adds up. Some people on here mentioned that there are more options if we change it to 225/75, but does it not matter that they are taller, like nellborg mentioned? I'm kind of lost here trying to figure out which ones to get. We were happy that we got an appt to get winter tires installed the day before a big snow storm was predicted to hit and now we are stuck driving all around town this weekend with our original tires

 

[CTown Transit]

These are the two tires that meet factory specs. At this time, I have chosen to go with the Nokian brand (mainly because no has the Continentals). I will be looking for a set of black steelies to mount them on and the $200+ savings will help offset that cost.

The main concern I have would be an overly diligent insurance adjuster. If you were to have an accident that was determined to be caused by a tire issue and you don't have the correct tire, they could reject your claim. I've had nearly 3000 lbs of cargo in the van on more than one occasion and don't need to be worrying about the failure of a tire to save a couple bucks.

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