Snow Tires -- Please Recommend

[GX2004]

Live in Mass. and need help finding snow tires for my new GX470. I find it very slippery in the snow, especially around corners... doesn't matter if the speed is slow! Don't get me wrong, I love this car (dumped an X5 lemon for it) -- but where I live I think snow tires are necessary. My GX came with Michelins, which are great on dry land.

So, I looked at TireRack, and they don't have anything. Please, anybody with advice?

Also, my husband suggested getting the snow tires mounted on steel rims, rather than risking the regular rims. Lexus says they don't sell them. Neither does TireRack. Anybody seen them anywhere?

I'm new to the forum, thanks for the replies!

(I did see the earlier thread about the GX in the snow... but need more details on exact model and source of snow tires.)

[LC90-120]

What about BF Goodrich ALL TERRAIN T/A KO ?

It is good for snow and ice. Should be easy to buy these american tires in the USA. ;D I have used it for 6 years It has been popular for SUV in Iceland. I bought new ones ALL TERRAIN T/A KO 265/70/17 2 years ago for my Toyota Land Cruiser 90/120 (Prado). It is very similar to the GX470. I use the orginal rims and you could get the GX470 size 265/65/17.

[randy20g]

What about BF Goodrich ALL TERRAIN T/A KO ?

It is good for snow and ice. Should be easy to buy these american tires in the USA. ;D I have used it for 6 years  It has been popular for SUV in Iceland.  I bought new ones ALL TERRAIN T/A KO 265/70/17  2 years ago for my Toyota Land Cruiser 90/120 (Prado).  It is very similar to the GX470. I use the orginal rims and you could get the GX470 size 265/65/17.

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thats the problem....there doesn't seem to be ANY winter tires in the right size.

[strindl]

I just had my first chance to try out my GX in some fairly deep snow. we got about 7 inches here overnight, and I went out this morning at 5:30 am to see how it handled things. The plows had not been through at all yet, in fact, on many roads, I was traversing a virgin snow cover with no tire tracks before mine.

My GX came with the Bridgestone Dueler tires, and they did a great job of getting traction. If I drove conservatively, I never spun a tire. When I came to a complete stop in a deep area of snow, and then took off briskly, I could get some wheel spin and some action from the skid and traction controls, but at all times the GX was completely under control.

I compared the Michelin cross terrains to the Bridgestones on a couple GX'x side by side at the dealer, and the cross terrains appeared to have a more agressive tread pattern then the Duelers.

I'm confident that the tires that came on my GX will serve me well this winter, and don't plan on changing anything. With a set of real snow tires on, this thing could get through anything nature throws at it.

[Jim_Chow]

I spent my New Years holiday in Japan w/ my in-laws and they all use Bridgestone Blizzak's (studless) on their vehicles, both commercial (truck) and on their new Toyota Zero Crown full-time 4wd sedan (like the LS430, but 4wd). With 4wd and true snow tires like the blizzaks, you can corner at amazinginly high speeds, even on a thin layer of snow over ice. I used to live in Central NY (6 winters) and drove a 2wd pickup w/ all season tires, but there's no way I could have taken corners or braked like we did. Even on an older 2wd sedan, we were driving through the mountains near Sapporo and driving down switchbacks. We could go almost 35mph through the turns when the tires started to break traction. The road conditions were freshly compacted snow over ice (the kind from refrozen wet snow that had been driven over zillions of times by cars, not black ice). There's no way all season tires can compare to a dedicated snow tire. If you want to corner and brake faster, get studded snow tires. Just keep in mind that it's unlikely the guy behind you can stop as fast.