Tire: Winterforce LT
Category: Light Truck/SUV Studdable Winter / Snow
UTQG (treadwear): Not rated
The Winterforce LT is a light truck and SUV winter tire developed by Firestone to provide traction in all winter weather conditions including ice and snow. This is one of the more heavy-duty tires on the market in this category and is available in Load Range E, which is a 10-ply size, in other words...beefy tire sizes. These utilize an aggressive directional siped tread that can be studded if necessary. And if you are in the market for tires like these, you know how vital those studs can be. The tread is designed to have outstanding traction on hard-packed ice and snow. Due to their unique traction abilities, you should only install these tires in sets of four. If you are wondering, the studs need to be of the TSMI #15 blue metallic variety.
Drivers that run these tires have generally come away very impressed with the traction they provide. I know drivers of heavy duty trucks, crossovers, and even larger sedans (think Chevy Caprice) that have run the Winterforce LT tire with great results -even without using studs. It's a very versatile tire and holds up well under abuse. I've found that many people have been able to get 70,000 miles out of a set, which is very good compared to other tires in the category. You'll want to rotate these tires more often than you might with others, just due to how they wear. Make sure it's every 5,000 - 10,000 miles, which means you might have to do it a couple times during the winter season. Overall this is just a great tire for the winter time. It won't provide you with great performance traction in the corners...so no Autobahn driving. But if you need top notch winter traction, I think you won't be disappointed.
