Tire Guys, Blizzak's or Studs

[crofoot629]

My wife drives a Honda Odyssey.
In the past she was driving a dodge mini van that we Always put studs on in the winter. And it did great in the snow, up to it was so deep it was pushing snow.

Here's the rub. We live in a valley (2000') surrounded by mountains with the passes up to around 5000 feet. There is snow and ice for months at a time on the mountain passes, and we have family to the East in Klamath Falls, and travel there frequently. Also we take county roads, not even state highways much less interstates to get there, and snow plows can be nonexistent at times.

Also I always run studded snows on my F250 diesel crew cab in the winter.

However my wife frequently goes to Klamath in her van without me. She hates driving my truck.

So most of her driving is really on wet or dry pavement, but when she needs traction, she really needs it. It seems to always storm when she needs to go to Klamath.

I’m thinking maybe the Blizzaks are good enough because I’m wondering/hoping that they give her better dry/wet pavement performance, and enhanced safety over studs on pavement, that the Blizzaks would be safer.

Btw we do a lot of snow driving and are not new to bad roads.
So………….what do you think?

Thanks in advance,
Emory

 

[writerinmo]

I would say the Blizzacks if you rarely see ice or heavily packed snow on the roads that is just shy of ice. They are great for loose and packed snow, the only time I feel that studs would be needed would be if you had an ice storm, and if it were me I would just stay put then!

 

[truckemup97]

Tire Rack likes them, but keep in mind they also sell them:
Winter Tech - Bridgestone Blizzak FAQs

Another option is these:
AutoSock

I've talked to guys who have used the Auto Sock on 18 wheelers, and they work better than chains and are much easier to use. They also won't tear up your car if they break.

 

[ErnieDeBord]

studded tires on a EXTRA set of rims is what I use. I keep my the lug-nuts well lubed and a floor jack handy in the winter season, when snow is expected just a quick & easy tire change. I may do this 4-5 times in the winter but it not that big of a chore with the tires on the extra rims

 

[Kanewpadle]

I have never used Blizak tires and don't know much about them.

But it would seem to me that no rubber tire design could possibly be better than a metal stud. I could be wrong though.

I remember many years ago the local police department switched to one of these type of tires. I worked at a gas station at the time. We pulled many of those poor officers out of the ditch.

Hopefully today's design is much better.

In your situation I would think the blizak would be good enough. But I would carry chains and make sure she knows how to put them on. And not to assume that you haven't done so, but I would also carry heavy winter clothes and boots, blankets, food, and maybe a CB radio.

Growing up in Alaska we carried those items and more when we went out of town. And I used to live in central Oregon and am familiar with roads your wife has to drive. They sometimes get a hell of a lot of snow in a very short time frame.

 

[Sven]

They outlawed studs here in MN years ago, so we've had to make due. I've been running Nokian Hakkapeliitta's on both my Jeep Wrangler and the wife's Grand Cherokee for several years. Hakka's are the #1 rated winter tire in Europe and I have been very pleased with ours. As a matter of fact, the Grand Cherokee is due this fall for a new set of Hakka's. Ice is still ice and nothing short of studs or chains will be good on that. But on packed or deep snow, with front or all-wheel drive, I think a good winter tire is your best bet, especially in the situation you describe.

Actually, I have gone to bigger tires on my Wrangler (LT295-75/16s -- a 34" tire) and now run B.F.Goodrich ATs, which are also a great winter tire. My 32" LT265-75/16 Nokian Hakka's (bought locally) are for sale if anyone's interested. . .

 

[Bob R]

Some people over here in Eastern WA get there tires "siped", extra cuts in the rubber to improve traction. When I lived in Northern MT I just made sure I had decent all weather tires and drove accordingly. We would often be on Hiway 2 before the plows. This was in a Chrysler LHS and we never had any issues because of no chains or studs. We would have to go over several passes between the front range and Spokane.

Living in E WA I see no need for studs, all they seem to do is accelerate the wear on the roads, maybe I am wrong but this is the only place I have ever lived where there are tire track ruts in the concrete Interstate!

So, personally, I would make sure the tires are good all weather, throw a set of chains in the Honda and call it good. Make sure she has food, blankets, and other essentials and knows how to use them in the Honda on any trips, not just the winter.

Most of the time the most important tool in winter driving is between your ears, not how the car is equipped.

bob

 

[sar4937]

Tire chain on a front drive are kind of scary. Tire chains on AWD go on front and rear, or will burn up the transfer case on a Honda. Studs on a dedicated set on wheels would get the best traction.

 

[MKT]

I spent three years working in Michigan, arrived there in December 2003. I opted on Blizzaks for my car and had them shipped to my station. I really liked them, they were like riding on suction cups. Three winters and I don't recall spinning the tires once on ice or snow. Just be sure to swap them for your summer tires before the temps get above 45 or 50 consistently, the warmer weather will wear them fast.

 

[servmgr64]

I have put Blizzaks on several customers cars with very good results. Be sure to put them on all 4 corners & take them off when the weather warms up as they will not last long during the warm months.

 

[LVSteve]

Does the Odyssey have AWD or just front? I have found that unless you are on sheet ice, a FWD vehicle with snow tyres gets me everywhere I need to go in the winter. The extra traction in a FWD vehicle due to having 60% or more of the weight makes all the difference.

 

[jeepjeepwhat]

I had these on my corolla for two winters and never had any problems at all. I was very impressed. Like MKT said, warm dry road conditions really wore them down, but they were like suction cups in the snow.

Amazon.com: 225/50R17 Hankook W409 Winter i*Pike Tires (Quantity: 1): Automotive

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

Ordered Blizzaks from TireRack.com...delivered in 3 days to my office via UPS. Local garage installed & balanced for $25.

My Chevy Trailblazer loves them!

 

[BarbC]

Charlie used to put dedicated snows on his front wheel drive Contour in NJ and would pass by 4WD vehicles with ease.

We did start off with snows on the Escape here in PA but switched to studded tires (front wheel drive) because there's more ice and hills here. It's a little noisy on the dry pavement/interstate and we just bear in mind that we need the extra braking distance.

We just put the chains back on the WheelHorse for plowing. What a pain in the butt. I wouldn't want to have to climb out of a warm vehicle and put them on in a snow storm.

Here's an older but independent review of Blizzards vs. studs vs. all-season http://www.usroads.com/journals/aruj/9712/ru971202.htm

 

[caseydog]

Not familiar with the wheels on a Honda Odyssey but if you can get a skinnier tire on them it will help tremendously , the lessons of the past have faded away from the tires/wheels we get on our vehicles today. 8.5 to 10 inch wide wheels are commonplace and the corresponding fat tires that go with them makes it like driving a bobsled on the highway, put that same vehicle on a 6.5" wide tire/wheel and it will be unstoppable. Get the skinniest tire that will work with your rim width.

Back when things were simpler we always had snows mounted on skinny wheels and ran the fat factory stuff in the summer , now with the 17"+ wheel sizes it's much tougher to find a wheel in the size and pattern you need that's skinnier than stock.

Ray

 

[mkk41]

Back in the early-mid 90s , we had a really bad winter here in PA. Plus , where I live , roads are terrible and plowing is an iffy proposition. I put a cheap set of studded snow tires on my G/Fs front wheel drive Renault(!) and that thing went like it was running on velcro.

My Pop always put his studded snow tires on at the first hint of snow , and I followed his teachings with my Chevy van and any rear wheel drive vehicle.

Never got stuck.

 

[Ed333]

Blizzaks

I like Blizzaks, haven't used studs in years. I bought four extra wheels, have the snow tires mounted permanently on them, four snow tires all around sure helps on the braking and control issues.

 

[Bend]

I run Blizzaks on 2 sedans and studs on the 4x4 pickup, all on their own rims. I change out the studless in Oct and then whenever the snow stops in the spring. The studs are regulated on when they can be run. Not a problem with studless. I tried Schwab's studless, they do not get the mileage of Blizzaks.