New member, Question on winter driving.

[onebadjon]

I'm a new member, just purchased a 2023 ER Lariat. I know winter is a way's off, but I do live in Snow-Country, northern Nevada, south of Carson City near Lake Tahoe. Traded in a 2022 Chevy 1500 RST w/4-wheel drive. This Lighting will be my daily driver each winter, for members that live in Snow-Country, how is the traction of your Lighting in lite snow and some Ice on the roads? Will I need chains at all?
(Winter of 2022-20023 here was 4 months of the most snow in this area in 19 years)
Already have done 2 Mod's. A Gator Truck Bed Cover and a Ronin Short Antenna

Thanks for any information, Glad to be part of this Lighting group.

John

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[Maquis]

Welcome to the forum.
I find the traction at least as good as my 2017 F150 4X4. We don’t get enough snow to need chains here, but my guess is that if you needed chains on your Chevy, you’ll want them on the Lightning.

 

[onebadjon]

Welcome to the forum.
I find the traction at least as good as my 2017 F150 4X4. We don’t get enough snow to need chains here, but my guess is that if you needed chains on your Chevy, you’ll want them on the Lightning.

thanks for the reply, in 19 years never had to use chains, but I did use the 4-wheel low/hi option of the drive when needed. Just never had an "All-Wheel" drive truck before without the shift into part.
I guess I'll find out come December, thanks again.

 

[meow]

I can't answer about the chains but I'd thoroughly recommend - if you have a driveway or garage - a good 32A+ L2 charger, allowing you to charge and precondition your battery and cabin in the mornings. It made a huge difference to range for me last winter.

 

[Pioneer74]

We didn't have much snow last winter, but I feel my Lighting is more capable in the snow than my 2021 and 2018 Lariat 4x4's were. With 4A in the older tucks, I could feel a slight slippage until the transfer case engaged. I don't feel that hesitation in the Lightning.

 

[MillieChliette]

You probably know, but tires matter more than anything. The all seasons it comes with are documented as not being the best in snow and ice. Not the worst, but not excellent. The truck itself, when properly equipped, will be better in snowy conditions than almost anything else on the road. Don't forget it also has a mechanical locking rear diff if you get a bit stuck.

 

[chrislittle]

I got some Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 SUV for my winter driving. no issues at all with good winter tires. Just have to get the correct load rating. @Aminorjourney did a couple of video's on them (see ). as @MillieChliette noted above the factory tires aren't the greatest rated in snow so better to be safe with a nice set of winter IMO.

 

[GarageMahal]

My experience in moderate snow last winter was very good. It performed great on the stock All Terrain tires in moderate snow (6 inches or so). The extra ton of weight really helps and the traction control really works well.

 

[sotek2345]

You probably know, but tires matter more than anything. The all seasons it comes with are documented as not being the best in snow and ice. Not the worst, but not excellent. The truck itself, when properly equipped, will be better in snowy conditions than almost anything else on the road. Don't forget it also has a mechanical locking rear diff if you get a bit stuck.

Definitely this. Truck is great but the tires are marginal at best. Definitely getting some new ones before winter.

 

[mr.Magoo]

With what little snow we had last year I never got around to getting dedicated winters and I have to say that the OEM General tires are, well, terrible....
Now, I've used Nokian Hakkas for a very long time so that's my reference... the generals might be as good as anything else all season, I don't know, but compared to dedicated winters they're pretty bad and it felt like they floated on top of the snow which is quite surprising for an 8500lbs truck.

Needless to say, I will be getting dedicated winters this season and I will go for Nokian once again.

 

[Adventureboy]

I drove through the winter on the Bridgestone Blizzaks from my 2018 that I traded in for my Lightning. The Lightning has fantastic traction on light snow and slippery roads since it has plenty of weight sitting evenly on the tires. Deeper snow was handled very well by my 1/2 time Blizzaks. Good winter tires will serve you well on the Lightning.

 

[spadesaspade]

Good tires will do the trick for you like others have suggested. I live in cold climate with a lot of hills and lightning did just fine with AT tires. Make sure to turn off one pedal drive feature while driving in the snow.

 

[sotek2345]

With what little snow we had last year I never got around to getting dedicated winters and I have to say that the OEM General tires are, well, terrible....
Now, I've used Nokian Hakkas for a very long time so that's my reference... the generals might be as good as anything else all season, I don't know, but compared to dedicated winters they're pretty bad and it felt like they floated on top of the snow which is quite surprising for an 8500lbs truck.

Needless to say, I will be getting dedicated winters this season and I will go for Nokian once again.

The generals are NOT as good as other all seasons - they suck in the snow.

My wife's Mach-e GT has the factory Continentals and is fantastic in the snow, which they made them in the right sizes and load categories for our trucks!

I am going to be looking at a decent A/T snow rated tire this fall. I don't want to have to deal with swapping and storing tires and will just have to eat the range reduction. BFG Trail Terrains are the leading contender right now, but I still have more research to do.

 

[Heliian]

The truck is great in the snow.

Did you know that winter rated tyres will have better traction than ev rated all season tyres?

The grabbers were just fine last winter but now they've got some wear I'll be switching out for the winter with a set of 18" rims and winter tyres.

There is no 1 tyre that can handle it all.

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