hey

i gotta truck thats pretty much stock -79 chevy k10 part time 4wd

livin in sd ive seen a couple bad winters(96-97) and i want to know what things would work good for the winter season

tires- what tires work good in snow and on some ice but i want to be able to have enuf traction i know bigger and wider iz good for floating over snow but ive also heard that skinnier tires plow down to the dirt for tracion . still dont know if ill have a lift on this truck yet this year so max tire height will probably 31 or 32 and the tires have to be able to last at least 30k on the road. for the rims probably something that could fit on the stock rally 15x9 rims.

lockers- should i get a locker for the rear end possibly a limited slip or limited/locking or open/locking selectable (gotta 12 bolt rear axle rite now)

things for the motor(chevy 350)- suggestions on what i could do to prep the motor for winter running any oil suggestions, things to look for or change

is there anything else i should be looking for

suggestions are greatly apreciated

skinny tires have a small contact patch, which puts more weight in a smaller area.  Theories vary.. i run fairly wide tires all year round..  just add weight to the bed during the winter.. and keep your right foot out of the skinny pedal. You may want to double check your wheel size.. it should be a 15x8, maybe not.  a set of studded tires wouldnt hurt either.

if you want a locker, get a selectable locker, with on/off capabilities.. a locker makes winter driving that much more "fun".

no the rim size surprized me too but its 15x9 4x4 rally style wheels

whut is a 31x12.50 tire that works good in the snow.  ive heard that mud terrrain tires work good but havent found many with siping for the snow. how about the super swamper thornbird, truxus sts, truxus mud terrain, radial ssr , bfg all terrain, mt mtx, toyo a/t open country??

An allterrain seems to work the best for snow, and ice. I put a set of swampers on a truck I had, and they worked great on snow off road. They don't have the sipeing to get tracktion on ice. I switched back to the allterrain in the winter unless I planed to go off road.

BFG All-Terrains are tested and rated for "Severe Snow Use" and have a mountain snowflake symbol indicating this rating on the side. (anything with a mountain snowflake would probably be a good choice)

Mud tires are only great (for winter-style driving) in deep soft snow. They suck on clean ice. (no siping usually) Same goes for wider tires generally speaking.

You could probably get by on wide all-terrains. (though skinnier would be a little better) I've heard from a guy in Colorado who had a fullsize Blazer with 33X12.5 BFG A/T's all the time and it worked fine in the snow and ice.

If you want BFG A/T's, you might have to get their 32X11.5-15's since their 31X10.5-15 tires according to their chart are meant for a 7.0-8.5 nch rim.

A great thing to have is a set of matching tire chains for what ever tire size you buy.

I drive a Fwd Grand Caravan in the winter. It used to suck in snow over 6" deep. I bought snow tires and it let me drive through 15" of soft snow without much difficulty when all of my other neighbours were stuck. (one was stuck multiple times in the same day)

The Caravan has no traction aiding equipment; it's front diff is pretty much an "open-diff" and I still had no problem.

If you're trying to be cheap, don't worry about a locker or limited slip; just get some great tires. (and maybe a set of tire chains)

Just as a side note, a 31x12.50 will be terrible on ice and hardpack snow. The wider you go, to worse off your traction will be on ice.

On the other side, the wider the tire will aid in floatation in the loose stuff.

Thik about the maximum depth of snow you plan to drive through, if it is shallow (which i hope it would be on a tire only 31" tall) consider a narrow tire to dig to the ground, if it is going to be too deep to get to the ground, you will need a wider tire to sink less in the snow.

Mud tires have the absolute worst handling I have driven on icey or hardpack snow, all-terrains suit the task much better. 

I live in wyoming and I understand your situation. The truxus Mt is a good all around tire. One of the problems I run into with tires are the rubber compound stiffens up and tire doesn't flex. The Mt has lots of siping and does really good all around in mud snow ice. The snowflake on the tire means the compound is different in the rubber and helps with traction on ice. All my ice tiresI run have this emblem on it. I run Michelin or toyo on ice on my car or small truck. Michelin artic ice or artic X is good ice tire. Forget what toyo's call theirs but and excepional tire also. Had good luck with michelin. I live in sheridan wyoming at the base of the bighornes. I test tires all the time on the hill near me and posi on ice will kill you especially on blackice. I run a limited slip and it can be tricky also. When in doubt add weight.Also boggers do well in cold weather because the rubber doesn't stiffen up like other compounds in winter environment. 10 degrees or colder in the -20 range will really change how a tire compound performs.  

If bustin big drifts in the 4' to 5' range wide is the way to go. I run a 17" wide tire and studded ground hawg. The problem with hawgs is the rubber stiffens up and not to good on ice but change tire pressure to where the studs work better. summer on highway 22psi and winter ice 17psi on highway. Its not uncommon to run 150 to 200 miles of ice in winter to get to where you want in wyoming. Every decent town with good shop is usually 100 plus miles. where I live. So reliability is pretty serious. The 4wheel off road adventure 2008 guys were concerened about if injured where was the nearest hospital it was about 70miles away or further.  Probably a life flight situation if serious.  

On ice you want lots of sipes in tires and not a big blocky tread with no sipes. It is true that ice itself has better traction in extreme cold but this is more a function of temperatures than rubber compounds. When on ice at 10 to 15 degrees and warmer tire surfaces are usually well above freezing from rolling and friction and this can create a small water barrier between tire and ice and make it slicker. (this is where sipes help a lot as they tend to grip wet ice better) When temps get well below zero, tires are usually below freezing most of the time and do not melt ice surface on contact and therefore maintain a better grip. Softer rubber can help a little but tire and surface temps play a bit roll here as does tread design (sipes) Myself I have long run studded tires on my plow trucks in winter and have found them to be without peer in ice short of chains. We get some serious ice here from time to time and I get no "white knuckles" going out of wet ice with them like you can with non studded tires. It is very predictable and stable with no tendency to trade ends for no reason. After you live with them for a while, you never want to do without them in bad ice. It is amazing want those studded can do it times. Granted they are not magic but they do get a thumbs up from me.  

3 year old post... nice... lol  

Yes I know, the part I responded to was not though.  

Hey snoman where do you live? I like studded tires and have chains for my 40" hawgs also if serious.  

I live in Ohio. Some years we can get some serious snow and usually it is the heavy wet stuff. Ice can be a problem too and last winter we had 2 nasty ice storms.I also carry a set of tire chains in trucks but even though I have not needed them last several years because of studs they will be in tool boxes again this winter. I year past when I used chains I would install them before I went out because if you have ever installed them in cold on road you know how much fun they can be to put on sometimes. I pack my chains in a box with a few pairs of Jersey gloves and latex gloves. You put Latex gloves on first then jersey's and it give you a lot more time before your fingers get numb but you still have good tactile control too with this thin glove combo.