Hi there.

I just experienced my first winter with my 2004 disco II. I am having so much trouble driving in the snow. It seems like if there is any snow on the road whatsoever I'm slipping and sliding all over the place.

I just bought the disco II about 6 months ago and it has fairly new tires. The front tires are Falken ziex stz04. The rear tires are Goodyear wrangler hp. The tires are 18" and have plenty tread.

my husband and I also have a mercury mariner with cheap, worn tires and it handles great in the snow. So I'm not sure if tires are the problem or something else I'm not thinking of.

90% of the time will be spent on the highway and a few dirt roads. If tires are the problem should I get winter tires specifically or would all season tires be fine?

Thanks for the help!

 

First of all, get 4 matching tires. Secondly, what size are your tires? The wider the tire the more they will float and be ineffective on snow.

 

The tires are 255/55

 

I had a similar issue when I first got my 2000 D2. It was bad in snow and worse in mud (I expected that though) I think that it had the Goodyear HP tires as well. I got the Goodyear Wrangler Authority A/T (all terrain) and I have hardly any issues now. This tire in particular may be a little over kill for your highway/dirt road scenarios. But I can promise you this.... 85+% of your issue = tires.

 

Well the tires are definitely the problem, not the width.

 

Living in Colorado, we see bit of snow. I was beyond the wear bars on my Toyo Open Country in the stock size and I was hurting through most of the snows that we had in town. I finally, being a broke college student, was able to save up to purchase Treadwright Guard Dogs, 245/75r16.

I must say, this solved about 99% of my slipping issues with my truck, and it rides better, a bit taller, and I have more traction than ever before. Tires make all the difference.

However, it did not help me from getting stuck in a 6ft snow drift while wheeling two days ago. Guess I need that winch/bumper and cdl combo now...

 

Engage your CDL.

 

Well it looks likenew tires it is.

Would I be better off buying snow tires or all season tires?

 

Being you are in Buffalo, I would just get a good set of snows tires. Even AT tires have a different thread compound, and while they might be good in snow, snow tires are meant for it. I have A/T tires, which are a jack of all trades but master of none. I would prefer street tires that are great in the rain, quiet and handle nice for the spring/summer/fall, and then dedicated snow tires for the winter. I do that on my other cars, and just keep separate rims with snows to swap on to avoid the costs of mounting on and off each year.
Additionally, please remember that any vehicle with AWD/4WD will be better than most at not getting stuck. But, even the best system will do nothing to help your braking and for the most part turning. My Audi kicks the Rover's butt in the snow in every category. The only downside is ground clearance. The reason it does so is a better weight distribution, less weight overall and a better braking system. Also, defeatable traction and stability control helps out too. The traction control on the Disco unfortunately control the AWD system, where on the Audi it does not. Also, the Disco has no stability control at all...so if you get loose, it is up to you to control it. Finally, she is a HEAVY truck. While it helps to dig in for traction, it is all that much more to try and stop or change direction when things get slick.

 

BTW...a good choice for your truck would be the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1. Solid snow performance. My friend runs them year round on his Tacoma actually. I buy the Dunlop performance winters for my other rides, but that would be overkill for the Disco I think.