[jah97701]

I purchased a fully loaded (my first) Titan LT, the dealer had replaced the standard wheels with some really nice chrome wheels with 20" Cooper Discoverer STT R20LT M+S tires.

I live in Oregon and we have been recently getting 5+ inches of snow every day and some ice conditions. I have a lot of experience in snow/ice but I have to tell you, this Titan loves to slide while in 4 wheel drive. I'm going like 10 miles an hour and it slides. It's ridiculous.

I have a pretty average driveway for the area, 20% slope. With 1 inch of snow today, in 4WD, 4-LOW, I tapped the brakes to try and take just a little speed off the decent and the car started to slide down my driveway.

My Acura AWD with stock wheels does better than the Titan with these Cooper Discoverer STT.

Ok, so here is the question. Should I dump these tires and just take the hit or should I try getting them siped? After reading about these tires on Cooper's web site, even though they are rated M+S, it appears they are really designed for rock climbing.

I'm an avid skier and purchased this truck to drive back and forth to Mt. Bachelor every day and the truck as it is equipped right now is so squirly, I just don't feel safe at any speed above 20.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
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Edited, it's STT not SST (sorry), but it does indeed have M+S on the tire.

 

[roy365]

I would say that your Acura might have some sort of barke asist? Or yor Titan is just heavier on the downward transition during inclimate conditions. I doubt tires would do any better given the situation. Maybe I am wrong as i live in Alabama. But i have driven in snow and ice and it depends on the vehicle........AND dont get me wrong the tire selection too. But i think your Acura has an assist feature that the Titan never offered.

 

[Winder]

The SST is an awsome tire, but not for snow and ice. The tires I have had the best luck with for snow and ice were Bridgstones, but they do not come in 20's. BFG ATs are always a safe bet and work very well in snow.

I do not think the SST carries a M+S rating. It is a hard compund tread with not a lot of siping. You want a softer compund and a lot of siping in a winter tire. SST is a great tire for the South & South West.

You Acura AWD will out preform the Titan on icy roads. The Traction Control system and the weight distribution of the Acura are much better than a truck for icy roads. Do not put the Titan in 4W drive unles you stop going forward. In 2 wheel drive if you start to slip the front tires will keep you tracking straight. Like a controled burnout. If you loose traction is 4 wheel drive you loose traction in all directions and loose control.

 

[54warrior]

I say get them siped and see what happens.

 

[jah97701]

Re: Cooper Discoverer STT R20LT and Snow & Ice.

Follow-up...

After getting the STT tires siped I have noticed better handling on packed snow and ice conditions.

Jim

 

[TravisDTD]

Hey Jim, I grew up in Bend and learned to drive on the roads there, in fact I spend christmas in sisters at my folks house this year. Getting your tires siped was a good idea. You also might want to pick up a couple sand bags that you can put in the bed over the rear wheels. This will help the rear get more traction. You still might want to look into another tire option but try that first if you already haven't. The Stt's should be pretty good in the spring, summer, and fall if you plan on any hunting or fishing up there in the cascades.