I just purchased an '06 LR3. I live near Spokane, Washington in US. We moved here 6 months ago and heard they got 4 feet of snow in one night last year. It sort of freaked us out so we thought we would go for the best all terrain vehicle and here we are.

So here's the question, I have brand new "Dunlop Grandtrek St 8000 255/60R18 112H" tires on the LR3. If or when the snow starts falling, will I make it to work just fine or will I need studded snow tires? The dealer said I would NOT need studs. Some locals said I would definately need them. What do you think? Please let me know.

Thanks

 

Tires make all the differnce in the world. Regular street tires will work fine on lightly packed or fresh snow, no problems whatsoever.

When it comes to Ice though, regular tires are just about useless, if you plan on having that landrover for a while getting a set of good studded tires is going to make it that much safer and more capable in the winter.

I had to do the Mt. Hood pass about 10 times last year and I am honestly convinced that my studded tires along with the 4wd allowed to me make that pass without trouble on two occasions that the pass should have been closed and chains were required.

On one occasion there was a very large RV parked sideways in the middle of the pass, blocking all lanes of traffic at midnight. When I stopped the ice was so slippery I began to slide towards the guard rail slowly. I did manage to get around everything leaving 15 vehicles behind. If I hadnt had my studded tires I would have been involved in a low speed but wide spread wreck that happened just after I left, or best case scenario I would have been in the guard rail...at midnight...with no help coming for hours.

Love my studded snow tires! and I do carry chains for when the **** really hits the fan, only opened them once to practice putting them on, got a flashlight ready too)