Snow mode, traction control off, and let ‘er eat.

 

I'm late to the party. @Dogpilot always has a good tip. I'll remember that one. I'll join the "Tires" group for another vote. All-Terrain tires are the "middle ground" for most everything but as mentioned, master of none. Most folks with serious winter seasons have a spare set of winter/snow tires. THEY are worth the investment. Since moving to Texas, any time it snows - I just wait a few hours and PRESTO: gone. I would LOVE to be up there. If you don't have proper tires, momentum is your best friend. Until of course, it becomes your worst enemy. In those conditions, it helps you go thru the parts where you have no traction and then you have great velocity with no traction.... Be careful and good luck!

 

I don’t think I would consider a driveway as “off-road”. Don’t blame the vehicle. It’s more than capable. It comes down to experience driving in the snow. Practice somewhere out of view of the neighbors to avoid the shaming. That does not seem like a ‘steep’ challenge to get up. Based on that, you’ll have to stay home whenever it snows. And big chunky tires, as suggested, won’t matter when the snow is 1/4” deep. There’s nothing for them to bite into anyway. Had those same tires on my Evoque and drove hours in snow to the mountains for snowboarding without a problem. And drove past macho Jeep owners with big boy tires stuck in the sand on the Outer Banks when my tires were only aired down to 20-25 lbs so I wouldn’t t have to inflate them for the drive back to the rental house. And most of them claim to air down to 10-12 lbs. Practice and technique is the secret. All those stuck big boy Jeep tires got into trouble by thinking the harder they pressed the gas the better. Ain’t happening. They just dug themselves in deeper.

 

Defiantly don't run out and get big "warty" tires. Mostly useless in the snow. It is fun to watch, mildly terrifying at times, folks with their cartoon jeeps coming up to the mountains from Phoenix. They seem to delight going through intersection sideways, backwards or gracefully spinning around . They all have oversize, "Hot Wheels" looking tires mounted. Actually good snow tires do not look aggressive at all. They have some open space, but more importantly, they are soft rubber and have "sipes" grooved into them. If it is steep and somewhat icy, then only studs or chains will solve your problem. I have a very steep curving driveway. There is no un-studed tire in the world today that will work on it if there is snow laying over it. If there is snow on it, we park at the top and clear it. If we are in the garage, we clear it first, then drive out. The actual best tire for your driveway is a snow shovel, or in my case a snowblower with tank treads. If you drive over the snow before you clear it, you have just made ice that will last the season. Which coincidently will ultimately cause you concrete to spall after a few seasons. Snow season is a 4-5 month exercise in digging up here, we get 100" on average, in 3-6" at a time, twice a week. It was 10° this morning, while I had cleared the driveway last evening, the snow plow came by in the middle of the night and left me a nice berm. So I was out with the handy Honda snow blower first thing this morning. Last year, gads! I was sooooo tired of moving snow around (second snowiest winter on record up here since 1857). I even have to get it off my roof. Which turns to snowcrete when it hits the ground.

 

Late to the party here, but I saw a few suggestions about airing down to 20psi or below - don't even think of trying this with the stock Wranglers, which have an especially weak sidewall. You'll end up with a pinch flat. I know OP mentioned switching tires, so more of a general statement - if you fit BFG's or Wildpeaks (in my case) you can definitely air down a bit.

 

bro, it’s his driveway, not the Rubicon. He’s not gonna pinch flat…

 

"Bro", they normally want to run at 50PSI, and 34 for "light load". Take then down to 12 as was suggested further up and you're going to risk a very sad time, even if you're not on the Rubicon.

 

@D-Fens what do you run your Wildpeaks at when off-road (yes, I know, sand vs rock vs... matters). I just switched to Wildpeaks AT3W and am looking for insights. Thanks!

 

I was out in mine today after a snowfall in my factory supplied road tires on 18s and didn't have any issues. We have two roads here that are 15 degrees. Drove right up one hill, and then down the other. Smooth like a limo driver probably helps. I am a little baffled that you couldn't get up that driveway. Maybe if you stopped at the bottom and didn't have any forward momentum at all, then did the mash the gas technique you wouldn't get very far. Not being there to see it makes it tough to solve. Snow can be a challenge and depends on a lot of factors when you are out in it.

 

I'm probably a bad example for this. I've only dropped down to 23psi-ish. I don't rock crawl, and I've not been anywhere with a lot of sand or standing water and mud where I'd consider going lower. The 23psi was for some mud concerns (it didn't end up being too bad). The majority of my off-roading is on forest-road type things with small rocks and dirt, some with good ruts and potholes, and washboard stuff (Which, frankly, I hate - probably should try lower pressure to see if it smooths things out...).

I've seen other people drop them below 20 without issues and I wouldn't hesitate if needed.