Vince

Thanks, I will have a look. I remember seeing some Coopers in my local tire shop back in England and they were a type that would accept studs.

Legally, I can get away with the stock Bridgestone M+S in Switzerland, but if I am involved in an accident, the courts can decide that I am responsible for the accident if I am the only driver without real winter (Snowflake marked) tires. It's a strange legal system that forces me into a situation where I am buying tires purely on the fact that they have a 'snowflake' mark to avoid legal complications in the event of an accident.

jsmoriss

I sent an e-mail to Toyo Canada asking about the M55s and actually got a reply! I thought I'd post it for others who might be considering the M55s...

"The M55 is the most popular commercial-use winter tire in Western Canada.
Many dealers sipe and stud the M55 for additional traction.
The tire is M&S rated so the compound does stay reasonably soft in winter
conditions.
Depending on the off-road conditions either the Open Country G02+ or the M55
would be good choices.
The M55 is more durable in heavy load more severe off-road applications
while the G02+ is better on ice and wet/dry roads with minimal off-road use.
Talk to an experienced dealer that has sold both tires to ask their opinion
about your specific application success stories.
The M55 has had tremendous success in the oil field and logging applications
as well as RV applications that require off-road durability."

I just placed an order for some studded M55s and will sipe them myself.

js.

Zee

Where did you buy them?

I'm considering the Maxxis Bighorns... but these sound petty good!

jsmoriss

Any local Toyo dealer should be able to get these.

The upside to the M55s are: They can be studded, come in 10 ply E load rating, are good off-road and should be great in deep snow. Once siped they should be ok on wet and dry pavement (probably better than my current Toyo MTs). :-)

The downsides are: They're supposed to be noisy on the road - more than my current Toyo MTs - and that's without studs! The sidewall appears very plain too -- very retro. So, if noise and looks are important, then you probably want to consider other tires. :-)

To compliment the retro look, I'm having them mounted on American Racing Mojave Teflon wheels. I'm just waiting for the wheels now... :-)

BTW, my second choice was the BFG AT T/A KOs. You can get them in a 10 ply E rating also. They're not as good in thick snow and would probably need to be siped. I'm not sure if they can be studded.

js.

Zee

Which size did you get?

I'm calling the toyo dealers right now

Debating whether to get 255/85R16 or 285/75R16 for a 16x8 rim.

Not too concerned about the looks It's all about a safe solid hard working tire!

jsmoriss

I got LT285/75R16, which is a little wide for a winter tire. Many people recommend a thinner tire to get through the soft snow layer to a harder surface. If you go off-road though, you'll probably want to air down to stay above the snow as much as possible. I expect the radial of the M55 will be a little stiff, so I expect to airdown somewhere around 10 psi or so (we'll see). The same people that recommend a thinner tire might also have a less aggressive tread than the M55. I was also thinking of eventually buying some 4 season chains for very deep snow and mud. Having the same size tire in winter and summer then becomes an advantage (only one set of chains). On dry pavement, a wider (and siped) tire would probably give better traction too.

Last week the M55s were in stock at the local regional distributor, but not this week. Looks like there's a run on the M55s accross the country right now. :-) As the Toyo rep. said, the M55s are very popular up north. :-) The dealer just called and gave me an ETA of end of November for my tires. I was expecting the Mojave wheels around that time too, so no big deal for me.

js.

Zee

They want a lot fo money for them, best price I got was $336 for the 285, and $289 for the 255

Must be the 10 ply rating that makes them expensive. Neither dealer that I called was willing to stud them.

armycop

Once I put these on the stock rims, I will be running them this winter. They are reasonably priced and pinned for studs.

jsmoriss

I'm paying $278.95 CDN for the 285s + $16 per tire for the studs.

Your retailers probably don't know they are "pinned for studs". This should make it a no-brainer for them. If they still won't do it, find another garage.

Mine wouldn't sipe 'cause they don't have the machine, so I'll have to sipe them myself. No biggy, except that I had to buy a 'Heated Knife' on eBay. Hand-siping appears to do a better job anyway.

js.

Zee

Bighorns at ~$200CDN each are looking like a good bet.