Hmmm

I wouldn't being going with them Rims. 17 or 16" will give you more choices, better ride and more rubber between the rim and road. Wider does NOT equal better traction in snow it hydroplanes more and floats more on snow. Size to keep the speed close to the oem tires but not more than two sizes out (bigger) as it will load the engine more.

Also if you really need Snow Traction you need a Winter Certified Tire !!! They have the Mountain/Snowflake symbol and not just M+S which is an all season with a more aggressive side sipe.

 

Thanks for the input. I want to keep the original rims so I don't spend more money. As for wider yes I agree, not good for snow, but going with a 255 55 18 only adds .75 width to the tires and keeps the circumference equal to original, thus not affecting mph or mpg (except for the more aggressive AT tread pattern). So I think its the easiest move for me while not going too wide and not spending more money.

 

Those are open diffs on both ends, so shutting down the ESC with AWD enabled won't have helped. Doing that just assures that it's possible for all the power to be sent to one wheel both front and back with no traction, if that happens to exist.

 

Shutting down ESC allowed me to floor it and spin the wheels to get moving up the sloped driveway and dig down to the pavement. Having it on cut power to the wheels which meant I didn't move very far. When it was on and wheels were spinning to dig down it cut power to them and I couldn't move.

However you look at it, it helped turning it off.

 

It's a rare thing that wheel spin is desirable, but if you're trying to burn your way down to the pavement, then I suppose that would be one of the exceptions. Didn't it take quite a long time to make forward progress that way? How far did you have to go?

 

No it was pretty quick I believe. I had to go up our 400 ft driveway in about 4-5 inches of heavy wet snow which I hadn't removed yet with the blower \ plow.

Note I also turned on the LOCK 4wd button which I believe locks the center transfer case to send equal power 50 50 to front and rear.

 

Well I had an instance this winter backing out of my driveway into a lane with banks of snow plowed on both sides. I did not line up enough to the opening and extra throttle got the front wheel spinning. I did sense any extra push engage nor did I move at all. I was in normal mode and the AWD should have auto engaged but I did not feel that happen. Now how fast the wheels were turning I don't know and if that made the coupling power drop since it doesn't stay after speed increases. I was not happy but was far enough to drive forward and turning the wheel all the way getting out the lane. Having driven many 4x4 and full time AWD (not either of these types). If the rears are also powered to move you its pretty obvious and if you switch manually as in a 4x4 with a transfer case. 2WD to 4WD its also noteworthy as well.

I am not sold on this system and certainly would like to see a lock mode that does NOT disengage the rear at all. My Jeep Compass has such a mode activated by a lever. Also auto engage if not activated. A better system for sure.

 

55 is far to low a profile for me in a Winter tire. You would hit and damage your rims easily if you slide sideways or drive within some frozen ruts. Far too low and not enough rubber between the road and rim for both softer ride as well as getting the rim high enough.

Enjoy never the less.

 

All valid good points but again not wanting to spend any extra in rims wheels was my hard rule. Had I done that I could have opened the door to even more tire options with the 16 and 17 rim sizes, I know

Thanks!

 

I pulled the trigger and went with the Toyo Open Country AT2. So far they look awesome and make the SUV look more aggressive, which to me is a plus. Although the circumference is the same as the original size tires, to me the sidewalls look bigger \ thicker, but I know that must be the aggressive tread sidewall that is adding to it giving it a bigger appearance. Road noise on the highway is a bit louder, I wouldn't say annoying or anything close to it. No rubbing or turning issues during full steering lock. They are only on for a few days now so I will report more as time goes on.

Here are some pics: