i’m wondering are blizzak tires much better than regular winter tires?
we just had a pretty slippery snowfall in toronto and my car was slippin and slidin.
the ground was covered slightly(1cm) of snow that was slightly wet. even buses were slipping around.
would winter tires help in those conditions?
I live in an area where I use 4 wheel drive every day 6 months out of the year. Yes, snow tires make a difference. Snow tires are of a softer rubber and will give you better traction than highway, or all season tires.
Gotta consider the cost. In my situation I run snow tires year round. I don’t know much about Toronto, but I suspect you have your days of ‘slippery slopes’.
The wet snow that you described can be the worst. A dry cold snow will typically give you better traction.
It can be a crap shoot. In bad weather you have two things to count on. The most important is your driving skill and experience. The second is your traction.
I don’t know much about the Blizzak brand so I can’t answer that specifically. I have had good luck with Noki winter tires
What does your community put on its police cars in the winter? That may be a choice. They need good performance and value.
Artic Alpins.
Michelins.
The face is “siped” thin cuts across the tred. This helps improve traction in wet slushey conditions. Do they ever hook up!! Think about not only starting off but stopping. Spend the bucks and get four tires.
Hey rookie523, fellow Torontoian here. Blizzaks rock.
The WS-50s are the lower performance tire and the LM-22 are what I have (higher performance, slightly less traction). You can save yourself a few bucks with the WS-50s (about $130 each).
Blizzaks are excellent for what we’re getting tonight. It’s like night and day when you drive with them. They won’t work very well on ice (of course) but snow is absolutely no problem anymore.
If you’re strapped for cash, you can also look at the Michelin Artic Alpines or the Pilot(?) Alpines. I saw a set at Green and Ross, with 16" rims, for $899.
Thanks everyone!
I will talk to the wife and see what we should get.
Nokia Hakkapalliittas, excellent snow tires.
I wholeheartedly agree. They’re the best snow tires I’ve used. My buddy who convinced me to get the Hakkapalliittas uses them on his road racing car, so I assume they’re about the highest performance tire commonly available.
[hijack]
Why does the name ‘Blizzaks’ remind me of a Snoop Doggy Dog song?
use the blizzaks in the snizzow,
it’s the shizznit, hizzo!
[/hijack]
I’ve used Blizzak WS-50s, Nokian Hakkepellitas, as well as Nokian NRWs (Nokia renamed their tire division to Nokian to avoid confusion with their cell phone business)
Snow tires generally fall into two categories: max snow traction and high performance. The max traction ones (WS-50 and most Nokians fall into this actegory) are made of softer rubber and have more aggressive tread blocks for best winter traction. As a result, they have a much shorter life and inferior traction when used on dry pavement. The high performance winter tires are more of a compromise, with better tread life and dry traction in place of snow performance.
You pick the best type for you based on where you live and you driving habits. If it snows a lot and you really need to be able to drive in it, then go for an all out snow tire like the WS-50. If on the other hand you want to maintain higher dry road performance throughout the winter, go with something like the Michelins, the NRW, or the LM-22s.
No matter what you pick you will be WAY better off than trying to stick with all-season or summer tires. When you pick a winter tire, be sure to get the narrowest one that will fit your car.
Living in Minnesota, my family and I have had snow tires on the cars every winter for years. Pirelli Winter tires. Winter 190s on the VW and the Saab and Winter 210s on the Mercedes and the Audi. They’ve always been excellent.
I’ve had Blizzaks on my car for several winters now, and they are great tires. I’m in Hamilton, but I’m from Quebec, where the winters get quite a bit more snowfall and are generally nastier driving conditions. Having learned to drive over there, I can’t imagine surviving a winter without snow tires, and although it’s easier here, you still get the occasional bad weather. Despite the name, “4-season” tires are NOT suitable for winters around here or in Quebec. The rubber is just too hard, and you have absoultely no grip. It’s amazing how many cars I see fishtailing and going into ditches around here because they think 4-seasons are good enough, all while I’m not having a bit of trouble with my Blizzaks.
Last year, when I had my winter tires put on, the guy at the garage (in Guelph) said that he’d bought himself a set for the first time ever, and that he couldn’t believe how much safer he felt, and was amazed that he’d gone so long with 4-seasons.
Winter tires last a few years if you’re nice to them. I tend to get them put on mid-November/early December, and take them off usually sometime in April, depending on the weather. Back home, of course, they go on mid-October, though! They are really worthwhile to get.
Do you usually get a 2nd set of rims or have them swapped onto the regular rims then back again in the spring?
I couldn’t agree more. I got those on my car a few years ago. The morning after I had to drive 40 miles on rural roads after an 8" snowstorm. They hadn’t plowed. It was like going to 4-wheel drive. Amazing. My boss where I was working said the same thing about his Nokians. It was almost a religious experience. And I’m not saying this because I own stock in the company!
Personally, I like the idea of 2 sets of rims. I never have to wait in line to get my winter tires on if the weather turns bad. On the down side, I then have to do the work of switching over the rims, but that’s not so bad. I thought the Blizzaks were very good snow tires. I’ve also had good experience with Dunlop Winter Sport SP2s.
I also live in Canada and use snow tires. This year I purchased the Bridgestone Winter Duellers. They have been great so far in both slushy & cold dry conditions. I keep them on separate rims (just get the steel rims for winter use - much cheaper).
The only con is I have noticed that my gas mileage has decreased by 15-20% since I installed the snows.
I don’t have a separate set of rims. I just have the garage transfer them on, but its somewhat easy for me since there is a great shuttle service where I go, and I can just leave the car at the garage and have them drive me to school, and pick me up at the end of the day - no waiting around. As for waiting in line…don’t wait until the first storm hits. Just put them on early in the season and take them off when the snows are basically gone. Just get an appointment, get it done, and then you don’t have to wait in line.
I have Blizzaks and they are great. I can’t believe it took me so long to buy snow tires, but buying a rear-wheel drive car and the first snow storm convinced me to make the purchase. It’s night and day.
I bought mine from tirerack.com with 4 steel rims, and the whole thing cost me less than 500 bucks.