Blizzak WS90

That tread pattern has me wondering what would be the ptopper orientation for the placement of each of those tires on all four wheels. I mean look at it, the way the sipes on the side with the narrow strip are angled there can only be one direction of installation to get water to leave the tire. And if you want to make it symmetrical so that the narrow strip is on the inside of both sides, or on the outside of both sides, there's no way you could mount that so that water would be leaving the tire properly for all four tires.

It is an asymmetrical tread design, very common nowadays. The direction of rotation doesn't matter, the tire has an inside and an outside.
 
At one of Continental's winter tire press events they mentioned that their testing revealed that asymmetric tread winter tires are superior to directional tread winter tires. But the marketing department had the final word on the tread design, and selected directional because customers prefer the appearance of a directional tread in a winter tire, making them easier to sell.
 
I miss the old Blizzak WS 50. They have gone downhill ever since trying to make everyone happy. Had them on a 96 Impala SS, downsizing from 17's to 15's. That car was the most amazing car in the snow., like driving a dirt circle track car. Didn't care about dry handling, or tread life. It was so much fun, and they didn't wear at all in the snow. They flew at 70mph in 5 inches of powder once,
 
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At one of Continental's winter tire press events they mentioned that their testing revealed that asymmetric tread winter tires are superior to directional tread winter tires. But the marketing department had the final word on the tread design, and selected directional because customers prefer the appearance of a directional tread in a winter tire, making them easier to sell.
Directional design has its benefits in snow. There is more to it.
 
I was tempted to try some Sailun WSL2's as they are still available under $100/tire in Focus size atleast. They test well in Europe and seem to be quite committed to the N.A. market. My WS80's are still in the swisscheese compound except for the very inner edge on the rears so I'm going to run them out. I did drive my buddies car with new all-seasons yesterday in the snow and 6-7/32 WS80's still are better than those atleast.
1-2 of the recent threads with links put the Sailun way down on the list iirc. Might want to recheck that.
 
1-2 of the recent threads with links put the Sailun way down on the list iirc. Might want to recheck that.
Yeah, this is an older test too. I do like the wet grip and snow ratings though. If your winter driving profile is mostly wet or snow, for half the price of an Xice snows, they might do the trick. Also Sailun is kind of a 1.5 tier manufacturer, so the tires should be round, etc.
 
The tests are 7+ years old and the Sailun is not shining.
I do not think that its ratings improved over time.


2015 - 40 out of 51
2013 ADAC - 15 out of 15

Best of luck.

Krzyś
 
As some of you know, I was screwed by Southwest over Xmass. Ended up doing 2,800 mile road trip: Colorado Springs-Las Vegas-San Diego-LA-LV-COS.
Did it in wife’s Tiguan which has WS90 with maybe 3,000 miles on them.

Tires saw everything in this trip. We left with 50 degrees weather, entered blizzard around Vail, lasted 3hrs, than snow and slush until mid Utah, snow again, rain, 60f in Las Vegas, ridiculous amount if rain throughout CA, and around 60 again in Vegas.

It was perfect opportunity to kid of measure performance considering varying conditions.

The excellent part:

Wet!
It is actually surprising how well these tires perform in wet considering how well they perform on ice. They never lose grip in wet conditions. Obviously bcs. design and depth, they perform good in deep water, so they don’t hydroplan easily. But, I am talking grip. Handling, braking, they always hold road. I would give them grade up over Continental VikingContact 7 here.

The really good part:

Snow and ice are definitely name of the game. I know WS80 and DM-V2 had lateral issues in ice handling, but that is resolved here. Excellent grip, on par VikingContact7, Nokian R2.

The so so part:
Noise is evident and they are bit “heavy” on wheels.

Bad:
Dry handling. It is not as obvious as on my BMW, but one can still feel that they are loose. On BMW it is obvious, as suspension is more potent from get go and on my particular BMW it is modified for track too, so tire weakness show up fast.
They are definitely not VikinContact 7 in dry, and probably Michelin X-Ice Snow is better than both in dry. I don’t think it is as major issue as I had in wet with Nokian R2, but something to consider.

I think currently, considering price, these are best bang for a buck in premium segment. I would say VikingContact 7 is still favorite to me, but price difference is BIG! I think considering price, WS90 are definitely better buy than VC7. Now, I have not tried X-Ice Snow, so cant say anything definitive about them.
 
Now, I have not tried X-Ice Snow, so cant say anything definitive about them.
You're missing out!

I'll never get another winter tire if I can help it. Though, I've read good things about the VC7. I'm going to stay away from the Blizzaks because my research tells me this tire will feel like a bus for 90% of winter driving, since the typical American winter experience really only consists of a few bad driving days before everything is cleared up by DOT.
 
I am running the Falken Eurowinter 449 on my BMW. More comfortable than the run-flats that came with the car. Sadly, will have to revert to them when the weather warms-up until they need replacing.
 
You're missing out!

I'll never get another winter tire if I can help it. Though, I've read good things about the VC7. I'm going to stay away from the Blizzaks because my research tells me this tire will feel like a bus for 90% of winter driving, since the typical American winter experience really only consists of a few bad driving days before everything is cleared up by DOT.
They didn’t have in my tire sizes this season. I think it is due to supply chain issues, so they just doing most popular sizes.
 
They didn’t have in my tire sizes this season. I think it is due to supply chain issues, so they just doing most popular sizes.
I'm in the same boat with my other vehicle. So, I'm stuck with 10-year old winters on it for now. I only drive it in a pinch this time of year, anyway.
 
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