4ESTJP said:
Can sipes by cut into BFGoodrich mud terrian for better traction on icy roads? My neighbor was trying to tell me I could get sipes cut into any tire for $6 a piece.
I have always wanted mud terrains, but they are not practical for were I live in the mountains. The roads ice over and the snow gets compacted. I wanted mud terrains because I also go offroad in the mud and snow where my all-terrains don't quite make it.
Chris S.'s analysis is bang on, IMO. I emphasize his caveat that mud-terrain tires, even siped, don't measure up to a quality AT or winter tire for ice traction.
The auto-siping machines have a habit of getting a sipe too close to the edge of the lugs, making them vulnerable to chunking (tearing a piece of the lug off). If you've got the patience (and the hand/wrist strength), get a good exacto or box-knife and do the tires yourself. When you get down to doing the spare tire, your hand will be a bit stiff, so take a break and have a beer before going back to it...
When I did mine, I only did the centre lugs, and also only went 3/4 of the way across the lug, alternating from one edge of the lug to the other with the direction of the cut (so you end up with off-set sipes, perpendicular to the path of travel of the tread, along each centre lug). It's a bit of work, but I think it's preferable to cutting across the whole of the lug - better retention of structural integrity of the lug to reduce chunking when in the rocks.
Here's a site re this - note that the sipes on the BFG MT in the photo are not perpendicular to the path of travel of the tire, and not the way that I did my own tires, but you get the idea.
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/TireSiping.shtml
By the way, I still have a set of BFG AT's on the stock wheels for winter-road driving. With an auto-locker in the rear, I'm much more comfortable with the AT's on packed snow/ice - the MT's can be a little frightening on our mountain passes here in BC. A momentary lack of attention on a snow/ice covered road, a downshift of the auto tranny, and you're off the edge staring at >300 feet of air and wishing for a hellish big bungie cord..... :canada: