Help deciding between winter tires

[Impressive]

I'm looking at getting either a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS70s or Michelin X-Ice Xi2s in 205/55/16 for my car this winter. I've had Bridgestone winter tires before on my old vdub and they performed quite well but I've yet to try either of these models. Price is not an issue and at the moment I'm leaning towards getting the Bridgestones.

Do any of you have any experience using either of these tires in the past or currently? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[PearlM3]

Michelin ftw

[aris]

Tire rack should have reviews on these tires... You should check it out on their

[sip]

APA review but it doesn't mention that Bridgestone becomes regular all season in the last half of the tire's life. Also, I don't think APA actually tested the tires.
(http://www.apa.ca/WinterTires2011-PassengerCars.asp)
Bridgestone Blizzak WS 70 Price: $157

Directional tire, optimized for snow and ice; compared to the X-Ice Xi2, this tire has a somewhat deeper tread and better traction in slush. Very good overall performance; a good choice for severe conditions. Expensive in Canada; Bridgestone sells to retailers for less in the U.S. market. $50 mail-in rebate when you buy four tires.

Michelin X-Ice Xi2 Price: $157

Among Consumer Reports’ preferred tires in testing because of its superior performance on wet and dry roads and ride comfort. Optimized for ice and snow, this tire was among the favorites with tire dealers and experts surveyed. However SEVERAL consumers have reported that adhesion in slush was unimpressive, and that the shallow, conservative tread limits its traction in deep snow. Superior performance on pavement. Expensive. Mail-in rebate of $70 when you buy four tires. Tricky mileage warranty requires the tires to be virtual banana peels before you can collect. Michelin says the tire will be long wearing.

[kevcol74]

Xice Xi2s, our climate in theis area doesn't warrant the deeper tread the blizzaks have IMO. I have Xice on my van and they perform great.

[boyracer]

I have been using the Michelin X-Ice Xi2 as well for the last 2 winters, & I've had no issues at all.

[Souls]

..... Price is not an issue and at the moment I'm leaning towards getting the Bridgestones.

Do any of you have any experience using either of these tires in the past or currently? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!
LOL, you could buy any tire you wanted then!

On my old VR's I used the Cdn Tire Nordics - never got suck - excellent tread for biting thru junk, even with my 'snowplow' Jetta up the Bayview ext'n on 6" fresh powder. On my 3 I bought Sunny Winter Grip, 1 season old $350 with new steelies -from another 3 owner, they are a direct copy of General's Artimax tire. Great tire for the purpose it serves.

Cheap or expensive, it's your comfort level

<beer>

[Default User]

IMHO - I would look into how the tires drive to your driving habits.

I've run Bridgestones on my old T4R and on the wifey's Lancer simply because they were fantastic for the 80/20 highway/city runs.

I used Hakapalittas on my VW because I was running 50/50 Hwy/city

Now running Semperits on my 3 because I plan on using it more on the HWY throughout the winter

[greaves82]

To me it all depends on the roads you drive, I live in the country so I'm mostly driving on unplowed roads or roads with snow drifts. Im running Blizzaks and have no problems

[JaYson]

I have a set of Gislaved tires www.gislaved-tires.com/

they are great in the winter time, and they aren't as expensive as many other more well known brands.

[pacmann33]

+1 to the Gislaved Nordfrost 5's if you venture out of the downtown core at all.

[Felks24]

I have WS-70's on my 2010 RAV4 and they are fantastic tires. My wife drives it, mostly city and I wanted the best of the best for her.

For my MZ3 I went with the Toyo Garit KX's based on Simply Tire's description of the tire in the GB thread and my own research.

[thirdgen3]

Bringing this thread back from the dead...I'm looking into getting Bridgestone Blizzaks...thoughts/experiences from anyone? There is a few posts about them in here but can any elaborate on driving experiences/tire wear with them? Thanks in advance!

[Wes08M3]

^ Blizzaks are a great tire no doubt. But based on tests/reviews I've been reading they don't perform nearly as well once they start wearing out. If I remember correctly, around 6/32nds of tread remaining they loose a lot of traction and at 4/32nds they were getting to be useless.

This is what made me choose the new Michelin X-Ice Xi3 instead. It's the ONLY winter tire with an actual tread wear warranty (60,000km which doesn't sound like much but it's a lot for a winter tire). Based on the tests, the X-Ice performs almost as well as brand new all the way throughout its tread life.

Never actually had any personal driving experience with the Blizzaks but I have used the original X-Ice tires and they were great. Smooth, quiet, excellent grip, and long lasting. Just something to think about...

[thirdgen3]

^ Blizzaks are a great tire no doubt. But based on tests/reviews I've been reading they don't perform nearly as well once they start wearing out. If I remember correctly, around 6/32nds of tread remaining they loose a lot of traction and at 4/32nds they were getting to be useless.

This is what made me choose the new Michelin X-Ice Xi3 instead. It's the ONLY winter tire with an actual tread wear warranty (60,000km which doesn't sound like much but it's a lot for a winter tire). Based on the tests, the X-Ice performs almost as well as brand new all the way throughout its tread life.

Never actually had any personal driving experience with the Blizzaks but I have used the original X-Ice tires and they were great. Smooth, quiet, excellent grip, and long lasting. Just something to think about...

Hmmm...I was looking at a set on steel rims with 90+% tread left...for $380. Good deal. Would you suggest it, or no? Now I'm thinking against it....

[kenghk]

the blizzaks are a snow tire, the Michelins are a winter tire. if you get lots of snow the Blizzaks are the way to go, otherwise the Michelins are great for ice, highway and cold conditions. As for the nordics mentioned in this thread, they are great in pretty much every condition but they're very loud.

[Wes08M3]

Hmmm...I was looking at a set on steel rims with 90+% tread left...for $380. Good deal. Would you suggest it, or no? Now I'm thinking against it....

For $380 with rims that's a fantastic deal. I'd go for it. Which Blizzaks are they? WS-50, WS-60, or the new WS-70. The WS-50's are pretty old now. Not exactly current technology and probably past their shelf life. This is just being picky though.

I would only consider buying the Michelin's if you were purchasing brand new.

[Wes08M3]

the blizzaks are a snow tire, the Michelins are a winter tire. if you get lots of snow the Blizzaks are the way to go, otherwise the Michelins are great for ice, highway and cold conditions. As for the nordics mentioned in this thread, they are great in pretty much every condition but they're very loud.

The Blizzak's are only marginally better in deep snow. But like you said, the X-Ice are superior on ice and have much better tread life.

The Goodyear Nordic's are not even in the same league when it comes to tire technology. In fact, the Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice (which are supposed to be better than the Nordic's) were horribly bad compared to the X-Ice and Blizzak.

[thirdgen3]

For $380 with rims that's a fantastic deal. I'd go for it. Which Blizzaks are they? WS-50, WS-60, or the new WS-70. The WS-50's are pretty old now. Not exactly current technology and probably past their shelf life. This is just being picky though.

I would only consider buying the Michelin's if you were purchasing brand new.

They are the 70's...I'm not sure now with what's been said...are they good on highway? And if we don't get much snow this year...or no?

[Wes08M3]

They are still a very good tire. They would be my second choice instead of the X-Ice, followed closely by the Toyo Observe.

The main downfall to the Blizzak's is that they don't perform as well for as long but they still do have a lot of good technology. They are still good on the highway, again, they will just wear out faster than the X-Ice. Remember, this is all just my opinion from what experience I have from dealing with winter tires, others may have a totally different opinion.

For only $380 especially for the WS-70's it's worth it because even if you don't get as much life out of them you paid less than half of what they cost brand new.

[Impressive]

They are the 70's...I'm not sure now with what's been said...are they good on highway? And if we don't get much snow this year...or no?

I run WS-70s and they're amazing. Cooper tire can s my d however.

Trust me, I paid almost double what you did, so jump on that deal asap.