Best winter tires for 392 (that perform and don’t look lame)

[BlakeW89]

Hey guys I’ve been riding the stock 35” KO2s and will for the rest of this winter. There’s so much conflicting information online. Do you guys who ride these beastly 392s in winter just rock ATs all year? Or do you guys actually switch to winters? It gets super cold and lots of snow and ice and stuff here in Ontario. -22 Celsius today for example.

The KO2s have actually not been THAT bad. They have surprised me. But everyone is saying to go with Nokian Hakka LT3s for the wrangler.

Just curious what my fellow winter warriors have on their rig during the cold seasons.

I’m torn between just rocking Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs all year OR getting a dedicated winter set. I have seen that people love the Baja Boss in winter as well and I love the look of them.

But I also want max safety in winter cause I have a young family

 

[Earl 392]

Hey guys I’ve been riding the stock 35” KO2s and will for the rest of this winter. There’s so much conflicting information online. Do you guys who ride these beastly 392s in winter just rock ATs all year? Or do you guys actually switch to winters? It gets super cold and lots of snow and ice and stuff here in Ontario. -22 Celsius today for example.

The KO2s have actually not been THAT bad. They have surprised me. But everyone is saying to go with Nokian Hakka LT3s for the wrangler.

Just curious what my fellow winter warriors have on their rig during the cold seasons.

I’m torn between just rocking Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs all year OR getting a dedicated winter set. I have seen that people love the Baja Boss in winter as well and I love the look of them.

But I also want max safety in winter cause I have a young family

 

[prodriquez]

I live in Colorado and I always ran KO2’s on my trucks and I have a few friends that run them on their gladiators. If you stay on the road, it is definitely the tire I would run.

For summer, the KO2’s will handle most trails just fine… but I do have a friend that blew 2 of them, last summer, on easy trails. One was in Moab and one was in the Holy Cross area. He lives in Evergreen, Co, and swapped to a Nitto (non MT). I believe it’s called the ‘Ridge grappler,’ but I’m not positive… but he loves it.

If you have the room and don’t mind swapping tires, I’d swap to a dedicated MT tire if you’re hitting the trails. I wheel almost every weekend and I highly recommend Cooper STT Pro or a Nitto.

 

[CAMEL2R]

I agree with prodriquez, I use KO2's on my 392 and truck all year. I live at ~7000 feet and never had any issues in snow, rain, trails...The 392 doesn't see extreme wheeling more overlanding.

 

[Tbonespop]

I ran my Maxxis Razr ATs today for the first time in the Arizona high country in a decent snow storm along with rain on the way up the mountain going to Flagstaff. I was super impressed with the Maxxis. I normally run Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my other vehicles (I think they are WAY overrated for the price BTW) and Cooper Rugged Treks (very solid tire, last longer than Ridge Grapplers and are better off road). The Maxxis Razrs were excellent in the snow - granted it wasn't super deep snow (about 6"), but no reason they wouldn't perform well in deeper stuff. I only drive in the snow 4-5 times a year now since we live in the Phoenix area and we only get in it going up in the high country. If I was in a northern state and drove in snow 4 months or more out of the year, I would likely run a MT for snow. For safety, I'd carry chains for ice. No tire is worth a crap in bad ice unless you have chains or studs. Back to my original comment, I'm digging the Maxxis Razr ATs.

 

[prodriquez]

We’ve been snow wheeling for years and I’ve been in every condition imaginable.

On a snow packed road, every MT, sucks compared to a KO2. 4-wheel straight is okay… but an MT lacks the lateral grip.

For offroading in the snow, MTs also slide around more unless you run beadlocks and you to drop down to 5 psi.

And for deep snow, a good winch (or 2) works once you’re buried up to your frame.

 

[BlakeW89]

We’ve been snow wheeling for years and I’ve been in every condition imaginable.

On a snow packed road, every MT, sucks compared to a KO2. 4-wheel straight is okay… but an MT lacks the lateral grip.

For offroading in the snow, MTs also slide around more unless you run beadlocks and you to drop down to 5 psi.

And for deep snow, a good winch (or 2) works once you’re buried up to your frame.

Very interesting I’ll check this out thank you. Yeah it’s funny cause chatGPT says KO2s suck in winter but real world folks including myself are saying the opposite.

Has anyone rocked Nokian Hakkapelliitta LT3s or any actual winters during the snowy and icy seasons? Or does everyone here just rock a solid AT year round?

 

[prodriquez]

I know TFL did a review on LT Snow tires a few years back. Head over to YouTube and see if you can find it on one of their channels.

IIRC, any of the dedicated studded show tires will outperform an all season or an AT on snowpacked and icy roads. An MT wouldn’t even need testing because they are built for summer.

So if you’re snowpacked and icy for the majority of winter, I’d recommend a dedicated snow and swap to a MT for the summer season.

I live in the Denver metro area and our roads are dry within a day or two after a storm so I don’t worry about it. ++ we work from home and we have an older GLK for those days we don’t want to take one of our 392’s out.

 

[BlakeW89]

I know TFL did a review on LT Snow tires a few years back. Head over to YouTube and see if you can find it on one of their channels.

IIRC, any of the dedicated studded show tires will outperform an all season or an AT on snowpacked and icy roads. An MT wouldn’t even need testing because they are built for summer.

So if you’re snowpacked and icy for the majority of winter, I’d recommend a dedicated snow and swap to a MT for the summer season.

I live in the Denver metro area and our roads are dry within a day or two after a storm so I don’t worry about it. ++ we work from home and we have an older GLK for those days we don’t want to take one of our 392’s out.

Much appreciated mate. I’ve been wrestling with it and yeah our streets get cleared quickly but this year has been nasty with freezing rain and tons of snow and lots of hard pack so I’ve been debating but probably for next season. No point now it’s almost February and I think Hakkas are hard to get right now.

Haha I need some extra Jeeps too.

 

[Twisted10]

K02's are a great winter tire, but thats about it imo. Check out Toyo AT3's also.

 

[FrontRange575]

I did a quick write up on the Baja Boss last year:

Finally some time on MT 37s in Snow

Finally spent a good week over the Holidays on the MT Baja Boss A/T tires with 3 feet of snow in the mountains in a week (Not Tahoe or Big Bear dump, but big for Summit County). I drove in every condition from side road axle deep to 3-6 inch on side roads and heavy snow/ slush on main roads. The...

www.jeep392.com

Now a year later, I am happy with this one quiver tire for year round. No hard core rock crawling, but they seem capable on rocky Colorado trails.

We have not had our typical snow yet in the Mountains this year, but a couple recent snows of 4 to 6 inches and now hard packed/ icy in places and the Mickey Thompsons perform well. So I am happy with them still.

 

[Warped]

This week was my first real test of the Baja Boss A/T tires in the snow. I concur with @FrontRange575 assessment. The Baja Boss carries the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certification for snow, as do the KO2 & 3 and other options. If snow is important, shop for a tire that carries this rating.

 

[Turboencabulator]

After 4 winters of driving my 392 everyday I've found the BFG KO2 is a good enough all around AT tire in the snow. I think the BFG KO3 is probably better and I'm planning on upgrading eventually. A true snow tire like a Nokian would be better but unnecessary where I live. The Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) is just a set of standards (which are different in the US vs. EU) and is better than an all season tire in snow but not a true snow tire. Honestly it comes down to driving technique and using the 4WD system effectively. This guy does some good snow testing on his channel:

 

[Bolackey]

I am still running the stock 33” KO2s on my 392, with plans to upgrade to KO3 35s this Spring; with gas on the economy about $7USD/Gallon, I'll postpone any MPG hit as long as I can.

Here in Germany all vehicles are required by law to have the “3 Peak” rated tires installed from “Oktober bis Öster,” or October until Easter. The attached video shows my current driving conditions, and these KO2s with about 22K miles on them are performing very well.

As a side note, when in road conditions as shown in the video, I stay in 4HI, and NOT 4 Auto. The locals are usually very good at plowing the roads, but seemed to be a bit slower at it this year. I avoid the Autobahn until after the snow has been completely cleared. Too many daredevils testing the limits of winter tires in my opinion.

 

[CAMEL2R]

Did you import your 392? I didn't think they sold the 392 Wranglers in Germany. My brother-n-law had both GC SRT & Trackhawk. When visiting my Mother-n-law on a trip to Germany, I filled the Trackhawk up at $180, drove to her and half way back put another $80 in because I didn't think I'd make it home. That said, I did hit 165 MPH! On Sommerreifen.

 

[Bolackey]

Did you import your 392? I didn't think they sold the 392 Wranglers in Germany. My brother-n-law had both GC SRT & Trackhawk. When visiting my Mother-n-law on a trip to Germany, I filled the Trackhawk up at $180, drove to her and half way back put another $80 in because I didn't think I'd make it home. That said, I did hit 165 MPH! On Sommerreifen.

I purchased mine used through Military Auto Sales over here, so it’s US specs and prices. 392s are available through German dealers, but the last one I saw at my local dealer was €110K…quite expensive after the USD conversion.

 

[CAMEL2R]

Got it, I thought you were German. Same like Harleys, way over priced in the German Market.

 

[Bolackey]

Got it, I thought you were German. Same like Harleys, way over priced in the German Market.

Agreed on the local economy prices. Also, I believe some merchants are taking advantage of the new tariffs, much like what happened when the country switched from their Deutsche Mark to the Euro; i.e. unrealistic price increases that took advantage of many U.S. consumers stationed here. The dealer I use is reputable, and they still honor my warranty, which is nice. Apologies for going off on a tangent, but these vehicles are expensive enough to enjoy over here without any added burdens.

 

[Drachenfels]

Agreed on the local economy prices. Also, I believe some merchants are taking advantage of the new tariffs, much like what happened when the country switched from their Deutsche Mark to the Euro; i.e. unrealistic price increases that took advantage of many U.S. consumers stationed here. The dealer I use is reputable, and they still honor my warranty, which is nice. Apologies for going off on a tangent, but these vehicles are expensive enough to enjoy over here without any added burdens.

Just looked - Jeep.de shows a Wrangler Rubicon 4xe (only drivetrain they show available on the webpage), in white (ALL other colors are a $1500 up charge) starts at 83.500 Euros, which at today’s exchange rate (1.2 USD to 1 Euro) - is $100,200 USD, BEFORE you add in the 19% MwsT (Value Added Tax), which is another $19,000 USD, giving you a grand total of just under $120,000 USD… ouch.

When they migrated to the EURO from the Deutschmark (DM) in the mid 90s, the theory was that the rate was going to be 2 DM to 1 Euro. More often than not, the currency denomination changed, but the price didn’t (zb, 2 DM was supposed to become 1 Euro, but it became 2 Euro, go figure). Locals dubbed the new Euro, the Teuro. (Teuer in German means “Expensive”). EVERYTHING got much more expensive… and that’s not changed.