First Winter Drive...

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gsxr

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Damn, those do look nice.
What is the drawback with leaving them on year 'round? Is it a wear issue? MPG?

I don't typically store an extra set of tires, but I could I guess.
I just bought a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV winter tires for our LR4 a few months ago, mounted on an extra set of LR4 wheels with TPM sensors off eBay (one was bent, as is typical for used wheels from eBay. Sigh.)

Anyway, as with most true snow tires, they are only effective on ice & snow for the first 40-50% of their tread depth. The Nokian R2 have multiple indicators on the tread so you can tell at what point they will lose effectiveness on snow/ice. You don't want to run them year-round as the soft rubber compound is designed for use in temps below freezing. In summer, they would wear rapidly. Ideally, you only mount them when temps are around freezing in the morning (November-ish) and remove them when temps stay above freezing (March/April/May, depending where you live).

Once the snow tires reach the ~50% point where they are no longer effective on ice/snow, they effectively become a 3-season tire and you can run them in spring/summer/fall to burn up the remaining tread.

;)
 

pceresia

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My 2016 LR4 loves our winters in Ottawa Canada but I don’t so it’s going to help me escape to Key West. Margarita I’ll here I come.
 

ktm525

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My 2016 LR4 loves our winters in Ottawa Canada but I don’t so it’s going to help me escape to Key West. Margarita I’ll here I come.
No doubt.

I am currently running Toyo Open Country G-02 Observes and they are decent however it has been an icy winter and I think the next set will be studded Nokians (Hakka 8 or 9).
 

jhartz

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My RRS had no trouble in 11.5" of snow with Firestone A/S Destinations.

Saw a cartoon a couple of days ago: two panel, guy on the East Coast worries about this storm they had yesterday, "we called it a bombcyclone;" second panel, a lady in the MidWest says "we called it Thursday!"
 

gsxr

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LOL... found it via Google. :)

bomb-cyclone.jpg
 

backcountryLR4

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Running BFG KO2s on compos which are much better than the all seasons on my stock 20's, but don't compare to the Blizzak WS80s on my Infiniti G35xS.

Anything less than 8" of snow and I choose the Infiniti, it just handles so amazingly well in snow with those tires. The Land Rover doesn't quite compare unfortunately... Prolly helps that the Infiniti weighs literally a ton less and has a much lower center of gravity(and is built for driving on the road...).

I know the the BFGs are not a true winter tire, but they are triple snow-flake rated and are arguably the best snow traction AT tire available. I am debating getting the Nokians for my OEM 20s, but I hate how those wheels look with their pitiful sidewall ratio. (My black 20's look great as a wheel, but not with rubber IMO)

Also, with 5 mint condition black OEM 20" wheels, I am reluctant to use and abuse them as a winter setup. I have already beat up my compos in less than a year, cause well, I used them off-road...
 

Spyder13

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Frank8, the LR4 with winter tires is the perfect Vermont vehicle. Ours has safely transported our family on weekend ski trips from Boston to Stowe so many times through the worst winter conditions. Snow mode is amazing and adds another layer of safety. Replace the white fog light bulbs with PIAA yellow bulbs. Then in blizzard conditions you can even turn off the blinding xenon headlights and use the fog lights instead.

On one trip, 89 was a sheet of ice with high winds and drifting and blowing snow. The majority of vehicles gave up and pull off into the rest stop near Bethel. Only our LR4 and an Audi A4 continued on, all the way to Stowe.

Loved driving my LR3’s up to Stowe every ski season. Now drive my 2016 LR4 up to Burke in the summer for mountain biking.

FCDF744D-C402-4665-B99F-31BD4D1D5FD7.jpeg
 

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