ZYDECORICH
Member
Lookin to get some for the Subaru this year, I heard Blizzak WS70 and Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice are good for about $85 each. any recommendations?
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Snow Tires
- Thread starter ZYDECORICH
- Start date
maineskier69
New member
We had the Blizzaks for winter tires on the Mrs' car and LOVED them. They gripped in the snow and the tread life was great. We got talked into some Generals once the Blizzaks wore out and they were not nearly as good and after 2 seasons are starting to look like summer tires.
firestone winterforce
I have a pair of firestone winterforce that are excellent. I am putting them on for their third season today. They are excellent in snow and durability is excellent. They are also relatively cheap. I price matched and got them for 69 each in a 16 inch. They won't disappoint. I have them on a front wheel drive Mazda 3 and it feels like I have all wheel drive when they are installed.
I have a pair of firestone winterforce that are excellent. I am putting them on for their third season today. They are excellent in snow and durability is excellent. They are also relatively cheap. I price matched and got them for 69 each in a 16 inch. They won't disappoint. I have them on a front wheel drive Mazda 3 and it feels like I have all wheel drive when they are installed.
Sky
Active member
3rd hand story...so de-rate the credibility....but I heard of a guy who put Blizzaks on a Firebird (V8, RWD etc) and loved them. I saw Tirerack's rating of them. Blizzaks came in third....but a very close competition with the top two. WHen reading the individual ratings...I liked where the Blizzacks scored higher. EX: Road noise? I'll forgo quiet for better grip thank you! :>
I'm scoring Blizzaks for Mrs Sky very soon.
Possibly a better tire....for about twice the price....VRedistein (sp?) (a Dutch tire I think) is amazing. Had those for Mrs Sky for the past few years. Long story...those tires are for higher performance cars and were over-rated for her Sebring...but it was all I cold find back when we bought them. She hated taking them off in the Spring.
I'm scoring Blizzaks for Mrs Sky very soon.
Possibly a better tire....for about twice the price....VRedistein (sp?) (a Dutch tire I think) is amazing. Had those for Mrs Sky for the past few years. Long story...those tires are for higher performance cars and were over-rated for her Sebring...but it was all I cold find back when we bought them. She hated taking them off in the Spring.
riverc0il
New member
I have run Cooper Weathermasters, Michelin X Ice 2s, Dunlops top winter tire, and the Blizzaks and the Blizzaks perform significantly better, IMO.
billski
Active member
We have used WS60's on a minivan for four seasons and a Camry for one season. Very pleased.
soulseller
Member
I loved my Bridgestone Wintersport M3's (since renamed WR). I ran a used set of Blizzaks last year and they were equivalent to all seasons, not a fair review though because I am not sure how many miles were on them.
WWF-VT
Well-known member
Our Outback has Firestone Winterforce tires. Relatively inexpensive and a good winter tire.
What model Subaru do you have? This will give me a better idea of the type of performance you would be looking for.
I've run 2 types of Blizzaks and Dunlop Wintersport M3. Currently running the Wintersports on our Subaru WRX and Legacy. These tires are awesome.
I hated the Blizzak WS50 , the snipes were so large the car handled like crap on dry roads, the Blizzak LM-22 was better but nowhere near as good as the Dunlop Wintersport.
I've run 2 types of Blizzaks and Dunlop Wintersport M3. Currently running the Wintersports on our Subaru WRX and Legacy. These tires are awesome.
I hated the Blizzak WS50 , the snipes were so large the car handled like crap on dry roads, the Blizzak LM-22 was better but nowhere near as good as the Dunlop Wintersport.
I went with the General Altimax Arctic last year and they've been great. I also spend a lot of time on the highway with them and they handle about as good as my all seasons.
http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=68744
http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=68744
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drjeff
Well-known member
Just (as in less than 2 hours ago) had a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT's put on my Rav 4 that the lady who picks my kids up from their school everyday drives (basically 30 highway miles each way). Their 1st 5 or so miles on the dry highway from the tire shop back to my house were quiet, and the under 5 mph trek across my back yard to my basement bulkhead so I could put the all-seasons in the basement yielded impressive performance on the grass and leaves in my backyard 
:lol:
Can't wait to get them into some real winter conditions
to try out what review after review seems to be a great snowtire!
:lol: Can't wait to get them into some real winter conditions
to try out what review after review seems to be a great snowtire!
Geoff
Well-known member
I don't pay much attention to snow tire reviews at Tire Rack. They're based in totally flat Indiana. They are not skiers so they don't use their cars like we do. They're not going to mention any tires they don't carry.
I had Blizzak WS-60's on my VW GTI. They were great for the first 10,000 miles but the grip vanished shortly afterwards even though the tire still had plenty of tread. My last GTI ran Nokian Hakka Q's. I'm now running Hakka R's but they aren't on the car yet so I don't have anything intelligent to say about them. The Q's held up for 25,000+ miles. I'm expecting the same out of my new Nokians
SKIQUATTRO
New member
I had the general artics on the volvo xc70 and the were great.... Just put 17" rims and firestone winterforce on the suburban , we'll see how she handles.... Got to be bettter than running the stock 20" all seasons
Another vote for Firestone Winterforce. Worked great for about 25K miles for me.
darent
Active member
I run theToyo observe winter tire on my 2000 outback,I drove it through the december winter storm coming home from stowe last year. great traction in snow and ice. I am impressed with the dry pavement handling as well, not mushy like a lot of dedicated snow tires
andrec10
Active member
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Michelin X-ice were great on our CRV. Just put them (X-Ice 2)on my Son's WRX and it still handles well. Putting the X-Ice 2's on the Wifes awd Acura on Tuesday. The old X-ice's were awesone in snow and ice and wore well, so I have high hopes for the 2's. Got them from Tirerack for decent prices.
smitty77
New member
Another vote for Blizzaks. I had a set of the old REVO-1s on my wife's PT Cruiser and they handled better on dry and wet pavement than the crappy Goodyear all-seasons from the factory. Snow handling was good, and fantastic on ice. Much quieter than Cooper or Winterforce tires, IMO. I was very skeptical at first because the tread design did not look much like a winter tire - I've seen all-seasons with a more aggressive tread. But I've never had a better snow-handling tire which is proof that a lot of traction is due to the rubber compound. And I got great mileage out of them but that may have been because they didn't have a blocky tread pattern.
I know Sky questioned noise ratings vs. handling, but I look at it this way: If the tires handle the same, I'll spend a few extra bucks so that I don't have to hear that whine/droan for the weekly 82-mile round trip to Grandma's house.
I know Sky questioned noise ratings vs. handling, but I look at it this way: If the tires handle the same, I'll spend a few extra bucks so that I don't have to hear that whine/droan for the weekly 82-mile round trip to Grandma's house.
NYDrew
New member
I just got studded general altimax arctics. only got to play once in icy conditions and they did very well, handle nice dry also. Gas mileage however has taken a very significant 25% drop.
from_the_NEK
Active member
+2
I have these on both my wife's Forester and my Tacoma. Wear well and fairly quiet. A couple of years ago I made it from my house in Lyndonville to Cannon to meet up with Riverc0il in 36 minutes in a driving snowstorm without a single handling issue.
These made a huge difference (over all seasons) on the Forester last year as well.
jaja111
New member
I don't think they're the best out there, but they're a true value. I have a set on my Honda and another on my Outback. No complaints here and I drive 100-300 miles per day for work. I was especially surprised at the tread wear, or rather lack there of.
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