Gary - they should rename this the Gary forum.. question
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Gary - they should rename this the Gary forum.. question
I live in Kansas City and drive a 93 S4. winters here can go either way precipitation wise. typically we don't have much heavy precipitation but it can happen. I am considering Blizzaks but it has crossed my mind that they might be overkill for our typical winter. is there another winter tire that you recommend? I am more concerned with packed snow and ice conditions than deep snow.
thanks for all the attention you give the people here.
thanks for all the attention you give the people here.
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Note that there are different types of blizzaks. (more)
The Blizzak WS60 is going to be excellent on the ice and packed snow.
The Blizzak LM25 is a high performance winter tire. It does not have the tube multicell compound like the WS60 does. This compound is what makes the WS60 so good on ice. Because of this, the LM25 isn't anything like the WS60 on ice.
Note that the tube multicell compound on the Q rated Blizzak tires only exists on the outer half (or so) of the tread. This means that once the tire is half worn, your ice traction will be reduced very significantly.
Another thing to consider is the WS60s will perform poorly on dry highways. If you do a lot of highway driving, you'll find they'll feel jello-ish on the dry especially at speed.
Another tire to consider is the Michelin X-Ice. It is also Q rated, but has a harder compound than the WS60. This means it doesn't do quite as well on glare ice, but it doesn't suffer as much on dry pavement. It will do better on the packed snow and ice than the Blizzak LM25, and the LM25 will be better for dry road performance.
The new Yokohama IG20 also looks interesting, but I have no personal experience with this tire yet.
The Blizzak LM25 is a high performance winter tire. It does not have the tube multicell compound like the WS60 does. This compound is what makes the WS60 so good on ice. Because of this, the LM25 isn't anything like the WS60 on ice.
Note that the tube multicell compound on the Q rated Blizzak tires only exists on the outer half (or so) of the tread. This means that once the tire is half worn, your ice traction will be reduced very significantly.
Another thing to consider is the WS60s will perform poorly on dry highways. If you do a lot of highway driving, you'll find they'll feel jello-ish on the dry especially at speed.
Another tire to consider is the Michelin X-Ice. It is also Q rated, but has a harder compound than the WS60. This means it doesn't do quite as well on glare ice, but it doesn't suffer as much on dry pavement. It will do better on the packed snow and ice than the Blizzak LM25, and the LM25 will be better for dry road performance.
The new Yokohama IG20 also looks interesting, but I have no personal experience with this tire yet.
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Re: Gary - they should rename this the Gary forum.. question
JPsaid it all. I'd also add that I just bought a set of WS60's this year as my replacement set for use in our South Bend, IN winters.
Although not sporty by any means, they are more responsive than the past versions of the ice compound Blizzaks. According to Bridgedstone, packed snow and ice traction has been noticeably improved over the WS-50.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR8&url=/winter/index.jsp">winter</a></li></ul>
Although not sporty by any means, they are more responsive than the past versions of the ice compound Blizzaks. According to Bridgedstone, packed snow and ice traction has been noticeably improved over the WS-50.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR8&url=/winter/index.jsp">winter</a></li></ul>
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