Hi guys! i have a tire question. I do not really know much about tires, other than you want good ones on your car. I went to a tire shop today, and the guy there recommended 285/50R20 116S XL Nitto Terra Grappier G2 BW tires. The picture he showed me--they didn't have any in store at the moment--was pretty aggressive looking tire. I'm in Utah, with snow, but I don't do any kind of off roading of any sort, I just want a good year-round tire that will be good for snow and summer. Is this a good tire choice? I like a nice quiet--but want safe, too--ride.

Thanks so much for the help.

 

Call Damon at Tirerack.com. He will give you good advice. I've been buying tires through him nearly 20 years now.

 

In Utah you probably need dedicated winter tires for the winter season. The best all season tires will always be much worse on snow and ice than bad winter tires. Bridgestone BLIZZAK DM-V2 should work fine for you. I would put them on some 18" wheels from Tundra, Sequoia or Land Cruiser.

 

I agree. My Blizzak's are on zero mileage 18" Tundra take-off's...they go back on the truck this week and off in late March-early April. No comparison in winter v. my "good" weather tires.

 

 

Spent 10 winters in Salt Lake City and never needed winter tires on the LX's I owned. Now, that was not true for the Porsches I owned. Maybe if I had lived in Park City, then I would have considered it, but the LX on stock tires is pretty good as is.

 

No pics...just basic Tundra steelies'. I don't need mags that need a toothbrush to detail...the truck gets a 2-day detail in the spring when the oem wheels and ATII's go back on.

I have no complaints going into the fourth winter with DM-V2's.

A quick search on mud shows a ton of snow tire posts...first time I heard of Hakkapelitta snow tires...they get raves a bit beyond the Blizzaks. When my current snow tires need replacement, I may switch to Hakka's with studs. Rural roads here are the last to be plowed. Once you're on ice or black ice, all bets are off.

 

I had DM-V1 for the last 3 years. They were quite good, but Blizzaks WS80 on my LS460 were noticeably better, especially on ice. I hope that the new DM-V2 will be closer to WS80. I consider WS80 the best winter tires ever made.
Studded tires are great for ice. But I hope that I won't need them. The roads here are not so bad and I would have to swap wheels every time I have to drive to Souther California :-) In previous years, I had no problem to get where I needed just on winter tires without studs. And for the worst conditions, I still carry good chains. According my offroad experience, good snow chains can really help. The problem with LX is that there probably is not enough clearance for chains on the front wheels. But in an emergency situation I would not hesitate to risk using them also on the front wheels for a short distance.