4Runner in the snow

[yota96]

just curious how you guys would compare your yota truck or 4Runner to other SUV's and pick ups....I'm a huge yota fan.....had a 4x4 truck in college, a solara, and now a 4runner BUT its sucks in the snow! The back end is all over the place even in 4wheel drive. I almost feel like something is wrong with the truck cuz I'm getting past by kias in the snow! The tires are ok but not great, still have plenty of tread life left on em'

I also had a Range Rover which was like driving a tank(LOVED IT) so compared to that the 4Runner ain't even close.

Any input would be great guys and gals

Gregg

[Vato Loco]

What kind of tires do you have?

[yota96]

Michelins......still some good life left to them......

the truck just seems very light, not sure on the actual weight though

[EKam]

"Handling will suck even if you have the greatest handling car but don't have a decent set of tires."

[alex]

my 4runner kicks ass in snow even in 2wd.....so its gonna be your tires, i have never been stuck...and it only fishtales when i floor it going around a turn.......lol

[yota96]

So what type of tires do you guys use?

I've actually never gotten stuck but the rear end moves around like a slut on prom night

[alltrac165]

I run BFG All-Terrain T/A's on my truck and Yokohama Geolander A/T's on my Runner. Both do just great in the snow and mud. Many street tires that say they are "rated" mud and snow aren't really very good in either. I think my Runner had Michelins on it when we got it and it slid all over with those tires. I live on a fairly steep dirt road that gets pretty muddy in the winter and also go to the snow and with the Yoko's I rarely even need to use 4WD.

[Mr.Spock]

Be sure to have m+s(mud+snow) tire.I have Dunlop Qualifier m+s and it's goes well in snow.

[Darren]

No complaints with mine in the white stuff. It works quite nice.

[Xenon]

I agree with everyone about the tires... You car could be the best 4x4 ever made and you will be going nowhere whith bad tires..

I have Bridgestone Blizzak tires and I love them, I laugh at some SUV's sometimes while passing them in the snow..

For weather in Canada, I definitly think you should have two sets of tires and wheel: Summer (or all-season) and Winters

[Butterfingers]

I think the lack of an LSD or any diffrential biasing device causes the runner to be less stable in snow. I too have a 1996 4runner and it gets antsy from time to time.

I used to have a 2002 Subaru WRX with a factory center viscous coupling and LSD's. As long as the snow didnt go higher than the bodywork It would literally EMBARRASS my 4runner in the snow.

A little vid some of my buds put together...

http://www.uvm.edu/~cbalduin/clips/cartrouble2.wmv

[hertzman]

I had an 88 4x4 in college and ran Bridgestone and that little truck would go anywhere. Mud, Snow or Ice, it never slid. I agree with the BFG or Yoko, tires mean everything even if you are not doing serious off-roading. I now have an 87 4x4 that a relative gave me and it has cheap tires on it. I can really tell.
Good Luck.

[toyman9]

I have a '94 Runner with BFG mud terrains on it. It kicks a** in the snow!! At first I thought it was fun to go out during a good snowfall because I could without any problems. Almost as easy as dry roads. Now its more fun in 2wd because I can slide a bit better when I want and have a little fun. It's heavy enough that I have little problems anyway. Plus with the large tread pattern on these I expected some noise on the roads from them. They hardly produce any. You can bet my next set will be the same. And they look great.