New Winter Tires

[Mike McLellan]

Winter rolled into town last night, and settled in for the next seven months. Much to my chagrin, I noticed that my winter tires could not be trusted to safely carry me over the icy roads for another year. I white-knuckled my way over to the tire store, bit the bullet, and bought a new set.

Over the years, I've tried several types of winter tires; studded, all-weather, different tread patterns, etc. The best tires for Alaska winters are Bridgestone "Blizzaks". They're made of good quality real rubber, and they're a lot softer than regular tires so they actually 'suck' the road surface with their tread. Studs are not needed, even on black ice.

There are two problems with Blizzaks. One is; because the rubber is so soft, they wear out faster if you use them on bare pavement, and doubly so if the road is too warm. The other problem is their cost. At $250.00 each, they completely depleted my secret cache of wrinkled one and five dollar bills that I've been hoarding for months with the hope of buying one more old S&W revolver. But NOOOOOOOO!!

The greatest irony of all? Bridgestone Tires is headquartered in El Paso, Texas!

I give up. Excuse my babbling.

 

[patsfan1281]

I had Blizzaks on my G35x which was AWD. It was a tank with those tires. Never even close to gettting stuck or slipping. Now i have a 14 altima with stock 18 inch wheels....blizzaks are now almost 900 for a set for this winter.....this sucks.

I need them even more now that i don't have AWD and FWD only.

 

[snowman]

Mike,

How much tread did you have left on the old ones? I'm mulling over the possibility of replacing my 4x4's tires before winter here. It's a big expense which I can ill-afford right now, but I know from experience what a tremendous difference one's tires make in heavy snow, and my tread is around half to 60% gone.

Regards,
Andy

 

[patsfan1281]

Mike,

How much tread did you have left on the old ones? I'm mulling over the possibility of replacing my 4x4's tires before winter here. It's a big expense which I can ill-afford right now, but I know from experience what a tremendous difference one's tires make in heavy snow, and my tread is around half to 60% gone.

Regards,
Andy

I went from sport tires to snow tires last year...and i didn't thiknk it would make a huge difference...it was night and day. 60% gone may give you some problems

 

[Mydogmax]

After many winters in Minnesota I've found that Blizzak's are definitely the best snow tire. The soft rubber is subject to wear at higher temps and not because of dry pavement.

 

[Mike McLellan]

I went from sport tires to snow tires last year...and i didn't thiknk it would make a huge difference...it was night and day. 60% gone may give you some problems

If my tread wear was only 60% gone, I'd be buying a new (old) gun this week! But alas, it's closer to 80% gone on my front tires.

 

[K-22]

Pressure Sensors

I had Blizzaks on my G35x which was AWD. It was a tank with those tires. Never even close to gettting stuck or slipping. Now i have a 14 altima with stock 18 inch wheels....blizzaks are now almost 900 for a set for this winter.....this sucks.

I need them even more now that i don't have AWD and FWD only.

Don't forget the required tire pressure sensors required on the newer vehicles. That will add another $150-$200 to the tab. (I assume you will have dedicated wheels for your snow tires.)

Best,
Gary

 

[WhitleyStu]

Yesterday I called the local TireBarn and ordered four Goodyear DuraTracs. I wanted a tire that would perform the very best in snow and not an "all weather" tire. Last winter I had to pass up helpings some unfortunate people who were stranded in the ditch as I knew that the tires I had would be useless. DuraTracs were one of the few snow rated tires I could find. I am not so interested in tire wear as I am in performance when the snow is deep and I need to absolutely get some where.