Blizzak WS90

[irekm]

I guess that I should've be clearer, I assumed that part of his tests is self-explanatory
Meters / feet, sec, dB testing shows which tire is good which isn't, subjective part is just that, completely meaningless. Is just there as his thought

 

[edyvw]

This is subjective part of his test only, everything else is seconds and meters/ feet, noise Lvl in dB, etc

His test of sumer / all season / winter tires in temp below 7c was done in controlled environment.
By far the most comprehensive test, that we ( general public) have access to

Again, problem is aging. Test of new tires is just that, test of new tires. What happens after first winter and tires spending summer in not so controlled storage? Top brands are the ones that are always best bet bcs. that reason.
I had once Hankook,it was by far the worst winter tire I had. True, I didn’t try Kumho, GT Radial and similar brands, so possibly there are worse.
The thing is that tire is the only thing that keeps you on the road. You could have brskes from Porsche GT3, but if tires are mediocre, brakes are too. You could have suspension like BMW M3 CSL but, if tires are mediocre, so is suspension.
For example I just got Bridgestone Blizzak WS90. $164 per tire - $150 discount from Costco, total with installation some $634. Hankook was $97 in Discount tire. After installation etc. price is but above $500. For $120 or something, not worth testing on my own.
WS90 wasn’t my first choice. I was aiming at Michelin, but they didn’t have X-ICE in size I needed, and VC7 was not worth additional $200+ over WS90.
So, I went with WS90 bcs. it is reputable tire and brand (I do have them on wife’s car so I knew what I am getting sort of)

Now, all this being said, any new winter tire is better than no winter tire.

 

[irekm]

True enough that never seen or heard of let's say 5year old winter tire test, it's quite possible that "lower tier" tires might suffer hugely in comparison to top tier ones.

I had dunlop winters on my Lexus sometime ago ( can't remember the model) , and after some time I think that my summer were safer in the snow than those , just freaking horrible.

Now I run Blizzaks on my other car and I like them

 

[krzyss]

The APA should show some actual test data (or test scores) in some graphs or charts. Providing a 3 to 5 sentence summary of the test results for each tire is not that useful. And a more detailed description of their test methodology would also be appreciated.

I found it strange that VC7 is in group B while Toyo something something is in group A.

Krzyś

 

[OVERKILL]

True enough that never seen or heard of let's say 5year old winter tire test, it's quite possible that "lower tier" tires might suffer hugely in comparison to top tier ones.

I had dunlop winters on my Lexus sometime ago ( can't remember the model) , and after some time I think that my summer were safer in the snow than those , just freaking horrible.

Now I run Blizzaks on my other car and I like them

That was what just drove me to get rid of my Hankook iPike's, they were always bad on ice, but they got REALLY bad last year to the point where I didn't feel comfortable running them this year. They still had a ton of tread left, but I needed something with some ice traction.

Interestingly, the guy that bought them showed up in a Ford Flex with bald all-seasons, so they would be a major upgrade for him.

 

[Rand]

I think sometimes we get a little too caught up with arguing.
The bottom line is
Pick a tire on the good tire list and you are good to go.

Slightly smarter try to pick a tire that closely aligns with what you want.

I picked michelin xice snow
because they are rated in the highest bracket for winter conditions
yet still good gas mileage (better than my yokohama g015)
decent tread life.
Feels close to standard touring car tire .
Performance that lasts. I have had tires harden up on me after 2-3 winters.

I'm not getting stuck anywhere in the subaru with these..
I could put hakka 10 studded on....but
I dont need that last tiny bit of winter performance.. at the expense of everything else.

If I lived in alaska and drove on covered roads for 6months I might reconsider.

FWIW: The conti viking contact 7 was on my short list.. absolutely love them on the 2020 elantra.
Blizzak ws-90 was also on the list.. in fact with the deal they had I was very close to buying them with 200$ off.

I liked my ws-50, 60,70.
Not a huge fan of the ws-80 or dm-v2. slush hydroplaning and lateral traction were not top tier.
From what I've heard that is fixed on the ws-90 as well as better treadlife and handling than the predecessor.

I have also experienced more than a dozen sets of winter tires. I bet we are all lightyears ahead of the drivers with baldies who get stuck in front of my house all winter.
Special call out to that nearly new camaro driver that gave up and u turned hitting both his wheels on the curb sliding..( I think it was summer tire issue)

 

[SubLGT]

True enough that never seen or heard of let's say 5year old winter tire test, it's quite possible that "lower tier" tires might suffer hugely in comparison to top tier ones......

in 2015 the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (aka VTI) published a report on ice and snow traction of aged winter tires.

This study has measured ice and snow grip for used and new winter tyres, with the purpose to investigate how the road grip on ice and snow for different types of winter tyres degrade by age and degree of wear. In total, 77 tyres have been tested, of which 27 were completely new while 50 were used. The tyres have been tested on smooth ice and packed snow. The results show that with respect to ice grip, the studded tyres have a larger performance decrease when worn, than the unstudded winter tyres. However, the ice grip of worn studded tyres were still clearly superior to that of worn unstudded tyres. The used unstudded tyres of European type have in general a very poor ice grip, on level with two summer tyres that were also tested. On snow, the unstudded winter tyres of Nordic type in general have a slightly better grip than the studded tyres, while the unstudded tyres of European type performs worse. The snow grip for the used tyres is significantly worse than used tyres of the other two types. The study also shows that the premium tyres in general have better ice and snow performance compared to the budget tyres, for both new and used tyres.

https://www.vti.se/en
The full report, with test data.
http://vti.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:878116/FULLTEXT01.pdf

 

[irekm]

in 2015 the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (aka VTI) published a report on ice and snow traction of aged winter tires.



The full report, with test data.
http://vti.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:878116/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Thanks for that link

 

[UG_Passat]

I think sometimes we get a little too caught up with arguing.
The bottom line is
Pick a tire on the good tire list and you are good to go.

Slightly smarter try to pick a tire that closely aligns with what you want.

I picked michelin xice snow
because they are rated in the highest bracket for winter conditions
yet still good gas mileage (better than my yokohama g015)
decent tread life.
Feels close to standard touring car tire .
Performance that lasts. I have had tires harden up on me after 2-3 winters.

I'm not getting stuck anywhere in the subaru with these..
I could put hakka 10 studded on....but
I dont need that last tiny bit of winter performance.. at the expense of everything else.

If I lived in alaska and drove on covered roads for 6months I might reconsider.

FWIW: The conti viking contact 7 was on my short list.. absolutely love them on the 2020 elantra.
Blizzak ws-90 was also on the list.. in fact with the deal they had I was very close to buying them with 200$ off.

I liked my ws-50, 60,70.
Not a huge fan of the ws-80 or dm-v2. slush hydroplaning and lateral traction were not top tier.
From what I've heard that is fixed on the ws-90 as well as better treadlife and handling than the predecessor.

I have also experienced more than a dozen sets of winter tires. I bet we are all lightyears ahead of the drivers with baldies who get stuck in front of my house all winter.
Special call out to that nearly new camaro driver that gave up and u turned hitting both his wheels on the curb sliding..( I think it was summer tire issue)

Slushplaning is a tricky medium to optimize for. One can only get so far with a sharp edge shoulder block, but a tread that doesn't clear liquid too well can have a hard time with slush. Getting the consistent of the slush right for consistent testing is also tricky.

 

[Rand]

Slushplaning is a tricky medium to optimize for. One can only get so far with a sharp edge shoulder block, but a tread that doesn't clear liquid too well can have a hard time with slush. Getting the consistent of the slush right for consistent testing is also tricky.

Well when the tread is packed full of tread you can tell it might be worse than a tire with more void area.
Tire manufacturers were optimizing for max ice traction for about 10 years.. they must have reached some invisible goal of good enough..
and now optimize more for all winter conditions.

WS-80

Conti extreme winter contact

The conti was much directionally stable esp in lateral traction during turns.
Also slushplaning was better*

*had the tires on 2 different cars

I wont attempt to fully explain it.. I just know from owning all these tires.
The dm-v2 esp. were prone to sliding in turns

 

[Sequoiasoon]

In some European countries, on some roads, the use of tyre chains is recommended and even mandatory. You can encounter traffic signs indicating mandatory tyre chains in the steep mountain regions of Austria and Switzerland, for example. In other places, simply having the tyre chains in the car will be sufficient.

Do any of the area's allow studded/pinned winter tires in place of chains? If they call for chains at that time is that the only option when needed?

Are they allowed in other areas with the travel?

 

[UG_Passat]

Bcs. experience of people with their winter stuff.

Tire companies sometimes learn and evolve their products.

 

[edyvw]

Tire companies sometimes learn and evolve their products.

Sure. Agree. But, let other test it.

 

[Rand]

Do any of the area's allow studded/pinned winter tires in place of chains? If they call for chains at that time is that the only option when needed?

Are they allowed in other areas with the travel?

some allow winter tires with AWD/4wd instead of chaining up for certain conditions(chains in car)

no differentiation is made between studless and studded just winter tire.

 

[JimPghPA]

OP, Blizzaks will wear out extremely quick if you run them in warm or hot weather. Leave them on for one summer and you can expect that there will not be enough left of them for the next winter.

Since your storage space is limited, you should get a fantastic all season that is more expensive like Michelin Cross Climate 2 ( do not get the SUV version even if it is for an suv. They are just the same tire with less tread depth and will not last as long.) The suv version was made for european countries and then the europeans did not want them. Now they are unloading them here. At least you will not have to buy a second set of rims.

 

[edyvw]

Well when the tread is packed full of tread you can tell it might be worse than a tire with more void area.
Tire manufacturers were optimizing for max ice traction for about 10 years.. they must have reached some invisible goal of good enough..
and now optimize more for all winter conditions.

WS-80
View attachment 127130
Conti extreme winter contact

View attachment 127131

The conti was much directionally stable esp in lateral traction during turns.
Also slushplaning was better*

*had the tires on 2 different cars

I wont attempt to fully explain it.. I just know from owning all these tires.
The dm-v2 esp. were prone to sliding in turns

It was not the problem per se that they were sliding. The problem was that they were unpredictable. They handle well, and then suddenly, without any progressive slide, they just fall over themselves.

 

[edyvw]

Do any of the area's allow studded/pinned winter tires in place of chains? If they call for chains at that time is that the only option when needed?

Are they allowed in other areas with the travel?

No studded tires. Chains are required for people without 3 peak tires. Many of these places have a lot of tourists from souther parts of Europe, and many don't have snow tires as it does not make sense to buy them bcs. of one trip to the Alps. So, they have chains.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

OP, Blizzaks will wear out extremely quick if you run them in warm or hot weather. Leave them on for one summer and you can expect that there will not be enough left of them for the next winter.

Is this… Is this a legitimate complaint that people have? This is like buying an F350 and complaining that it sucks at the race track.

 

[edyvw]

Is this… Is this a legitimate complaint that people have? This is like buying an F350 and complaining that it sucks at the race track.

Yes. People don’t get it.

 

[JimPghPA]

At least the OP was warned, the very soft rubber that Blizzaks have so they do not get too hard when very cold, gets way too soft in summer temperatures resulting in a lot of tread loss if they are used in summer conditions.


There was something about some BMW owners who put a new set of Blizzaks on each fall and leave them on during the summer, and buy a new set each fall because they are worn away by then.