First Snow Experience

Thrax8825 · Feb 15, 2021

2020 ST (Rapid Red Metallic. Only mention this due to me hearing the color gives an extra 10hp /s)
21 inch all season Pirelli

It seems to be a little difficult to find info so figured I would share. Currently sitting at about 3 inches of snow and climbing. Took a 30 mile drive on unplowed and half ass plowed roads. Getting in and out of moderately hilly subdivisions that showed little traffic I used the deep snow and mud option. This felt like a half ass 4-low. Extremely different feel then the other driving options I have used. Hard to explain without actually using it. It worked great! Zero slip and no issues climbing the few unplowed hills we had to traverse. Outside of that stuck to the slippery option and again no slipping and sliding outside of a few slow speed sharp turns onto other streets due to the ice that was there prior to the snow falling. I dont feel the vehicle let me down in anyway (coming from a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon). Extremely pleased with the performance with less than ideal tire setup. I felt very safe taking my family across town (except for the ass holes in their trucks trying to power slide every corner).

Bigmark1991 · Feb 20, 2021

I’ve got the same vehicle and color with 20 inch wheels. I do not find the 4wd to be all that great. Coming from a 2018 RAV4 AWD which killed it in the snow.

KNTRDR · Feb 20, 2021

I’m not as impressed as I thought I would be with this truck in the snow. Good traction on takeoff, and the AWD seems fairly decent, but it has trouble braking and steering on thick, heavy, slushy, chunky snow...more than my last car, a straight RWD sedan, did. I suspect it’s because the tires are so wide that they basically float on top of the snow rather than cut down through it.

Mirage · Feb 20, 2021

I've leased many Ford Explorers over the past 20 years, I will say this one is the worst in the snow I've had. I didn't get it for use in the snow, but I did expect it to perform much better than it does. Maybe its the tires, maybe too much torque, whatever the reason I'm not as comfortable in this one as my previous Explorers.

KNTRDR · Feb 20, 2021

Mirage said:

I threw Bridgestone Blizzaks on it and I still have problems. Manageable now that I’m getting used to it, but definitely not what I hoped for.

wayanbros · Feb 20, 2021

I took it out on the stock Pirellis in about 8-10” unplowed powder last week. I loved the oversteer. In the Snow/Mud mode traction control is turned off and gears are low, made for gunning up snow packed hills a breeze. Slippery mode is much more controlled and felt like a RWD bias 4H.

Definitely not a 4Runner by any means. Also, anywhere I truly struggled was icier, and I never feel confident in ice without chains in any vehicle.

I will agree with other posters, the stopping ability of this truck is absurdly bad. I had to give a much bigger lead distance than I normally need for vehicles ahead. Land boat feeling.

Dennis · Feb 20, 2021

wayanbros said:

So our STs on stock 21" Pirellis would have no problems with an occasional trip to a ski resort? Especially with chains as backup?

I am used to a 4Runner with KO2s. It was fine for my 99.8% time on-road and great for my .2% time off road/skiing. But now my ST is awesome on the road and hopefully good enough for skiing and the occasional curb hop!

Dennis.

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SecksE · Feb 20, 2021

Thrax8825 said:

I live in Northern Ontario (Canada) and our winters are harsh. Got 2+ft over night one night- i cant use the all seasons (theyre actually considered "3" season). I have studded winters on mine and i cant do a donut if i try in slippery mode. The pirelli tires are good- but not for winter i found. Car handles well but to be honest- my old 2006 Monte Carlo was a beast in the snow!

wayanbros · Feb 20, 2021

Dennis said:

If you’re okay with a little high RPM spirited driving, I don’t see why not. You got to be comfortable with oversteer/correcting when you do powerslide. Right after the picture above, I pulled out a lowered WRX stuck in deep end of the snow. Though it was much less getting traction on the snow then but grinding until I hit solid ground.

My brother has a 4Runner on KO2s and he goes overlanding in the mountains in the snow. I don’t think I’ll feel comfortable in the 21’ Pirellis to tag along.

I would note that I live in a wetter climate so when the snow eventually changed to slush, I did notice a hydroplane feel in steering. I did go sideways in basic stoplight left turns but I enjoy that. I can see why other’s who want a capable SUV do not. Something I didn’t have to worry about in my X-Drive BMWs.

Dennis · Feb 20, 2021

Exactly the insight I was looking for...

I have been thru like 5 gens of 4wd systems since 1990 with frequent skiing and off road trips. Now that I'm old all the off roading I'm doing is to the range, but I'm still skiing!

Also, I'm probably just jealous of my buddy's Haakapellitas on his Tesla. They stick like glue in the snow!

I'm ok with a little sliding around and I have glided down many an icy road in my Troopers, Commander, and 4Runner. I was just ready to accept the fact that I'm an old Southern California Dad and as my off-road days are far behind me I might as well start enjoying my 99.999% of the time on the road!

Thanks!

Dennis.

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KNTRDR · Feb 21, 2021

Unfortunately with tires as wide as ours, even for those of us who went with narrower-than-stock winter tires, we will always have a tendency to ride on top of the snow rather than cut through it. It’s just the way it is. I will admit I did not try the deep snow mode in the recent snowstorm we had here in my area, but the Slippery mode handled the 3-4” of fairly thick chunky snow fairly well in terms of acceleration & grip. Unfortunately I doubt any mode will do much for steering or braking. The skidding to a stop and the understeer around bend at anything more than 30kph were quite brutal at times.

And pizza cutters would just look/perform ridiculous on these trucks so. Gotta live with it lol

Jarvis · Feb 22, 2021

Drove in snow, slush and rain transitions today around NYC major roadways and bridges, about 2-3 inches over 2 hours. Kept it in Slippery Mode and traction was never a problem. Giving it throttle pulling away from traffic demonstrated prodigious adhesion. Stock tires, 7k miles.

Bucephalus · Mar 4, 2021

KNTRDR said:

I had mine out in the snow (powder on compact) a few weeks ago. It seemed to do fine. I run Bridgestone Blizzaks on 20" rims from November thru March and the factory 21's the rest of the time.

KNTRDR · Mar 4, 2021

Bucephalus said:

I get good traction but steering and braking is not great when in heavy snow. Go figure

zdubyadubya · Mar 4, 2021

KNTRDR said:

Seriously. The understeer exhibited by this vehicle in slushy/icy conditions is ridiculous.

KNTRDR · Mar 4, 2021

zdubyadubya said:

Yeah I already bumped my first curb (lightly) thanks to the understeer. Learned that about 30kph (18ish mph) is about as much speed as I can still do while still being able to corner on any appreciable amount of snow.

swoloschek · Feb 22, 2022

Late to the party on this one... I tow a 21 ft trailer for snowmobiling and the stock Pirellis blow in the snow and had towed several times in snow storms and was white knuckling it.. Debated on whether I should get a separate set of winter tires.. Ending up putting on Michelin Sport Pilot AS4..
Awesome tire, much better in the snow than stock...

Dennis · Mar 2, 2022

swoloschek said:

How do the Michelins compare in the dry?

Thanks!

Dennis.

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Chrisicle · Mar 3, 2022

I agree as far a 4WD goes its not the best car I've drivin in a michigan winter. My 13 Explorer did better but I assume that's because it was an XLT with less power and prioritized the front wheels giving almost no oversteer. I've considered buying a new set of wheels with winter tires but the wheels I'm considering are 18" and I am not sure if they will fit over the calipers on the street pack. I pulled up CAD data and the diameter appears to gave maybe a 0.25" of space between the caliper and the inside of the wheel. I'm just not sure if id need wheel spacers for the outside of the calipers, have any of you looked into this?

Cmaximst · Mar 3, 2022

The stock 20” Michelins are excellent in snow!

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