I have a new KR that came with 20" Pirreli's and am going to Colorado on ski trip with family. The tread looks really slick and am wondering how they do on ice and snow in 4 wheel drive?

 

I've been using Pirelli for more years than I care to admit to....older members may remember the famous "Cinturatos".

Their tyres have always been renowned for longevity and roadholding but strangely with tread patterns that don't appear to be cut too deep.

I would personally think that you need something more specialized for the conditions you mention.

 

Well, "ski trip to Colorado" doesn't necessarily mean going over the river and through the woods. I-70 takes you to within a handful of miles of many of the more popular destinations. I would bring a set of chains (use is often mandatory when conditions are bad) and not worry too much about it, unless you're planning some intentional 4WD diversions into the back country. There are thousands of Colorado residents who drive their everyday 2WD vehicles with "street" tires for weekend ski breaks all throughout the year.

Advice from someone who lives in Colorado Springs (and who does lots of 4WD stuff in all weather conditions but who, oddly enough, doesn't ski)...

 

Thanks. My only real concern is Raton Pass & Rabbit Ears just outside of Steamboat. I have been on ice over both with Michelin's on a Navigator but this is a first for a KR with slick looking Pirelli's.

 

I didn't connect that you were in Colorado Springs.

I bought my first Corvette that I shipped back to the UK from someone in Houston who moved to Co. Springs....we went to visit them at their new home close to the Broadmoor.
By then he had a Calloway Vette and took me for one of the most frightening rides of my life up a nearby mountain....

 

The Broadmoor has a great bar with a fireplace where I sometimes go to enjoy a cigar and a few drinks in the warmth (in the bar - not the fireplace, necessarily). If I really, really overstay my welcome, I can walk home if I have to. Think our house is more than one but less than two miles away. That is a really, really great old hotel! (and God does my wife love that spa - I jokingly call her an old "Broadmoor B!itch," even though she's just 33 years of age).

The houses directly around the Broadmoor are all in the million$ now, way out of our price range. But dang they're sure pretty to look at...

 

I know Raton quite well, but not Rabbit Ears. Bottom line is that when Raton is bad, chains are a must - tread alone is no help at all (and State Patrol will be there to enforce the chains requirement anyway). When Raton is really bad, it's closed. Simple as that. Just buy the chains before you head out and keep an eye on the long-term weather reports. We get our biggest dumps in the springtime, usually starting about now and lasting through a good part of April...

 

Now there's a thought....A nice Davidof Tubo, Glass of something alcofrolic, and a hairy drive up Pikeys Peaky afterwards.....must come back !!

 

A help on the rear wheel drives, like our trucks, is to add some weight in the bed of the truck. That is what we did so that we could get better traction on the icy roads. Some places in Colorado even sell sandbags for this purpose (you don't want to lug them the entire way unless it is icy up enroute). I used to have two used tires that were filled with concrete and a piece of rebar in them as a handle.

As an alternate route, instead of Raton pass you can continue up 287 through eastern Colorado, which is pretty flat. It intersects with I-70, after a short stint on 40 west, east of Denver. Just don't take the 87 turn off in Dumas and continue north on 287. I used to run between Houston and Colorado Springs on a regular basis when I was stationed at the Air Force Academy. You can also take 94 from 40 to get to the Springs, or 350 to 50 to get to Pueblo.

 

Well, if you chose to stay at the Broadmoor, you'd have a very willing and quite able partner in crime as far as the whole smoking/drinking affair would be concerned (might or might not defer on the Pikes Peak segment of the adventure)! And if you chose to stay in our guest bedroom (which you would very certainly be welcomed to do) all the better! We could walk/stumble home from the old hotel together...

 

Sounds good to me !!

for now !!

 

Thanks guys. Any tips on the best place to get some adequite chains? Or should I just wait until I get to Raton? I don't want to spend alot, we don't need em here in Dallas but once every five years. So they'll probably just sit in the truck.

 

No, definitely don't wait until Raton pass! It's too late at that point (you can pull over and wait with everyone else without chains by that time). They're quite inexpensive - a very, very small fraction of the price of tires with "better" tread. If you can't find them locally (makes sense, given where you're at), you should turn your search online. Can't help you there, though, as I can find chains in just about any 4WD shop I walk into...

 

That is true in Colorado Springs, but they are a bit harder find here in Texas.

 

True so true. But no doubt you can find them online somewhere? Point being that if you wait until you get here (there, actually, I'm in Spain this week), you may be just fine or you may find yourself waiting out a storm on the side of the road somewhere...