I've got Duratracs on our Jeep JK. I've had them on for about a year now, and I don't have a single complaint in about 13,000 miles. They were awesome in winter last year, and would have no issues putting them on the Jeep again.

Hammer, I know you have Cepek FC-II's. Do they have the "M+S", snowflake, or mountain on them? I'm sure they are more than capable, but it is law that all vehicles must have one of the three on them during winter months. I don't see why any modern A/T tire would not have the rating on the sidewall, but just want make sure before I drop all that money and have them shipped over here.

 

Thank you everone for your posts! now i know i need a leveling kit, and the 4.5 BS. gotta shop around for tires now

 

i have duratracs on my trail jeep but i agree that they may not be the best truck tire there is a good bit of sidewall flex even on the street on my light jeep. they use a very soft compound in these tires which is why i think they have problems on trucks. it makes them handle really well though.

 

You are kidding, right? The "M+S" or Snowflake rating is a joke. No, my Cepeks don't have the insignia on them, nor does ANY Mickey Thompson/Dick Cepek tire to my knowledge.

The "M+S" or Snowflake in side the mountain insignia is a designation given by the "Rubber Association of Canada" or RAC, based in Quebec, Canada. To achieve this rating, a company doesn't have to submit it's tires, but rather gives their own results of their own "traction tests". A traction score of 110 is required on this fictitious scale to pass. The tire company's reported results are NOT verified or tested by RAC, but rather the company is taken at it's word. Of course, their is a FEE which must be paid by the tire company for "M+S Certification".

Some of the best rated winter tires on the market DO NOT carry the M+S because they have not bothered to pay money to RAC for such certification.

I find it amazing that Germany requires it for winter driving. But the biggest joke IMO are the laws regarding winter tires in Quebec.

In Quebec, Canada, tires used on the road by a taxi or passenger car must bear the following symbol:



Alternate tires not bearing the mountain/snowflake symbol which have one or more of the following terms branded in their tire name or tire size are acceptable: Alaska, Arctic, A/T or AT Blizzard, Ice, LT, Nordic, Snow (but not mud and snow), Stud, Ultratraction or Winter.


So basically, if I make tires and don't want to pay RAC their fee for their lousy symbol, I can make a tire which is a slick, has an outright suicide risk on snow, ice or plain old wet pavement but put the word "Alaska" in their name and I'm good to go!

I didn't think anyone took the whole "winter tire rating" thing as any more than a ruse...

 

Tell me about it...

Didn't know that about how they obtain the rating. AFTER I pass my inspection, I'm going to ask them about that at the autoshop. Then again, they don't make the laws there, they are just doing their job. Still frustrating...

It's all sorts of ridiculous. I believe it was just last year that it went into law here. I do know that if you go for an inspection during winter months, the tires must comply or you will fail. Same tires in summer months are fine. In line with the alcohol policy of "even if the other guy ran a stop sign and hit you, you are at fault, negligent, and pretty much going to hell if you have any alcohol in your system, whatsoever" (which is true), dirty rumor is that even if you are not at fault in a winter collision, you are held liable if you do not have approved tires... and you get cited and fined, as well. I do not know the validity of THAT part of it, but it would not surprise me. Nor do I want to find out the hard way.

Conversely, though, you need DOT tires in the States. I know two people, personally, and my wife knew of quite a few more when she worked the car port on Guam, who had their (sometimes nearly brand new) sidewalls punctured because they shipped their vehicles on tires bought on the economy overseas.

Damn. My choices are being limited, again. Back to the drawing board... Thanks for that info. It really is interesting.

 

It's amazing to me how many people put so much stock in these "certifications".

My mom got cancer not long after my step-dad suffered a stroke and I sold my business to move to Florida to help out. After my step-dad passed and mom was in remission, I decided to go out and try to get a part-time job so I wasn't drawing so much out of savings each month. I walked into a CompUSA store to put in an application for a tech position and while talking to the store manager, he asked me about my certifications.

Now I had 14 years experience as a network analyst, owned my own business and am a CNE and MCSE as well as Unix/Xenix certified. This computer store manager had NO CLUE what I was talking about and told me "I'm sorry, we can't hire you as we require all our techs to be A+ Certified".

Now I don't know if y'all know anything about computer certification, but on a scale of 1-10 in the industry, an MCSE would be a 10 and A+ Certification (that many high school computer classes give for taking the class and passing a simple test) would be about a .01 on the scale.

Most "Certifications" are a joke...

 

due to unforseen circumstances, i have been forced to stick with my stock height and wheels on my pickup. but i still need a new set of tires for this winter, i am thinking about bfg AT KO... the problem is they dont come in a 275/60R20... the closest they have (cause i dont want to go any smaller) is 275/65r20 i was wondering if this would fit a stock pickup/wheel. my calculator said it was the same width 10.83, and a height of 34.07 but the bfg websight says 34.1 height and 11" width on a 8" rim, i have a 9" rim, by the research ive done i think its would be 11.4 on a 9"??? does anyone have and input or especially experience with this set up? i know they are stuffing these stupid 20" wheels every where they can...