Snow Tire Time

[stephen newberg]

Well, just back from getting real snow tires put on at my favorite tire place, getting a serious alignment, and spending half an hour testing them out on the back roads. They are Blizzak LM-22s, 225x55x16 on the OEM wheels. The sidewalls are certainly not as stiff as the 50 series Potenzas that just came off, but in general, they are not bad. I am going to have to try playing with the pressures a bit. Anyone else shifted over yet?

pax, smn

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'98, Black
Mod.Porter intake, K&N panel, SARC cutout switch, 4 guage instrumentation cluster, 23mm rear swaybar, 225x55x16 Bridgestone Blizzaks (its winter now )

 

[CMurderSHO]

Can't afford to switch over so I am going to run my 40 series until snow or ice then I will have to drive the honda civic around

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96 silver frost
18" asa js5 wheels
245/40/18 kumho esctas
bullet turbos 3 1/2" tips
open K&N filter
powerslot slotted rotors
asp underdrives
triple guauge pod oil,volt,water
http://cmurdersho.tripod.com

 

[RStalveyARFF]

I haven't switched over either. I'll just wait till the first time it snows, or the day before, and put them on at work. I'm etierh going to go with NTB's housebrand studded tire, or order the Nokian snows.

 

[wuzzzer]

Just had Blizzak WS-50s installed. Unbelievable traction in snow, ice, slush, etc.
I went with 215/60/16 size. Cost $100 less than the stock 225/55/16 size. Since the 215/60 tire is about 1/2" taller than stock, my car actually looks lower now with my Roush springs. I should get some pics posted. I love the look.

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Mark
'97 Pacific Green
http://www.picturetrail.com/wuzzzer
Roush Sport Lowering Springs
Porterized
K&N Filtercharger
Rhino mufflers (909 series)
17" Team Loco #150 wheels/Dunlop SP Sport 4000 tires (spring/summer/fall)
Bridgestone Blizzaks (winter)

 

[SaskSHO]

I'm curious why you chose the LM-22 Stephen?
The LM-22 doesn't have the ice gripping abilities of the MZ-01 and WS-50.
It doesn't matter what air pressure you use they have a soft sidewall and aren't made for high speed dry road cornering.

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Scott
97 SHO Black 30k
UDP
Porterized Intake W/K&N Panel Filter
Trush Turbo Mufflers
Firestone SZ50 EP 225/50/ZR16

 

[stephen newberg]

Hi,

We went over the documentation from Bridgestone on all of their winter tire models, and considering my driving style and what I could tell them of what kind of driving I was likely to be doing this coming winter, the LM-22s were the obvious pick.

I have since had a few days of driving them on bare roads and have actually been very surprised at how well they handle the back road curves, considering they are a snow tire at heart. How well they handle ice and slush is yet to be determined. We got a bit yesterday, but I am not sure as yet how much is still on the roads to do some testing with later today.

"The LM-22 doesn't have the ice gripping abilities of the MZ-01 and WS-50. It doesn't matter what air pressure you use they have a soft sidewall and aren't made for high speed dry road cornering."

Obviously you have been told some different things about these models, though I must admit the above has me confused. If the latter two models have better ice gripping, you would not think that they would also have stiffer sidewalls. Could you tell me what you think are the differences between the three models? The literature we have from Bridgestone very clearly indicates that the LM-22 was designed for the sports sedan / coupe market. I did not keep the material on the others, so cannot comment on them without depending on my often faulty memory.

pax, smn


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'98, Black
Mod.Porter intake, K&N panel, SARC cutout switch, 4 gauge instrumentation cluster, 23mm rear swaybar, 225x55x16 Bridgestone Blizzaks (its winter now )

 

[SaskSHO]

First off, I want to make it clear that I wasn't cutting down the LM-22, they are a great tire. I was merely speculating that there might have been a better choice. That of course would depend on the exact driving conditions you experience in the winter months.

Here is the low down on Blizzaks:

WS-50: Is there "deep snow" tire. Its tread design is made especially for snow traction. It uses what is called the "tube Multicell" compound. This compound has very good ice gripping abilities. It comes in the 60 series and up sizes. Some of the SHO people that have a lot of deep snow have chosen the 225/60/16 or 215/60/16 size. It is Q speed rated.

MZ-01: Is the "ice Gripper" tire. This tire uses the "Link Mutlticell" compound and is the ultimate in ice traction available to the genereal public. This tire does "good" in the snow as well, but in absolutely incredible on ice. You truly have to experience these tires to believe how well they stick to ice.
They are available in 55 to 45 series sizes. And are Q speed rated.

LM-22: Is the low profile snow tire. This tire comes in the low profile sizes. 55-40 series. It is H speed rated (much stiffer sidewall). It use a "silica" based compound. This tire does have the ultimate in tread design, but does not have any of the "Multicell" ice gripping compound. This tire is for all out performance car that require the very low profile sizes with H rated sidewall.

The reason the LM-22 doesn't have the "Multicell" copmound is that they haven't quite mastered how to bond it too a low profile stiff sidewall.

I chose the MZ-01 because they come in the 225/55/16 and I drive on in town icy roads all winter.

I thought I remembered you having alot of extreme winter driving conditions and was curious why you didn't go with one of the other tires. The Q rated tires definately have a mushy ride compared to the H, so if the stiff sidewall is important even in winter then the LM-22 might be the choice.

Let me know what you think.




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Scott
97 SHO Black 30k
UDP
Porterized Intake W/K&N Panel Filter
Trush Turbo Mufflers
Firestone SZ50 EP 225/50/ZR16

 

[stephen newberg]

Hi Scott,

Yes, that is pretty close to the way we got it from the Bridgestone material. I think the reasoning mainly comes from driving conditions here and the way that I drive, plus the fact that we have 2 vehicles, the other being a '98 Explorer.

If things are seriously bad out, the SHO gets parked for a couple of days and we use just the Explorer. That may require an extra trip or three, but is a much safer option.

In Nova Scotia, ice or deep snow are not the main worries. Really, the main one is slush. Downright cold slush, but slush none the less. Our normal winter gets serious temp fluctuations. Because we are also on the coast (it is a bit more stable once you get inland, though Nova Scotia does not have huge amounts of inland

), this flip between cold enough to snow and then switching over to warmer and often rain is very common.

So, the normal road crew result is they plow, do not get it all, and then salt, leaving brine on top, then mainly slush, and then a compacted snow or ice deep under in the cracks and dips. Of course, then it gets sunny and goes up to 10C the next day and the asphalt heats up and turns the lower layer into slush also as the top layer gets pushed around and off the road by cars and melting.

So, ice is really not may main concern, though it does happen. Nor is deep snow, which is actually even more rare. Add to that they know I drive fast on the back roads if they are clear, and they suggested (both Rick and Phil, which is probably 60 years of serious tire knowledge) I would be best off with the LM-22. It is certainly a compromise, but one that fits my driving and the weather situation.

I strongly suspect I would end up with a different model in Saskatoon.

Since you indicate you are on ice most of the winter, the MZ-01 is more likely what I would have out there also.

Speaking of weather, we finally actually had a bit of snow on Sunday. Maybe 4cm. First of the season and only barely worth sweeping off the walks and parking area. Now we are forcast to go up to (you guessed it) 10C or so today, and then rain the day after, so it will be gone. The merchants are seriously not happy. They want it to stay white. Out here they are used to being unhappy about that though.

pax,
smn

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'98, Black
Mod.Porter intake, K&N panel, SARC cutout switch, 4 gauge instrumentation cluster, 23mm rear swaybar, 225x55x16 Bridgestone Blizzaks (its winter now )

 

[SaskSHO]

Sounds like you made the right choice. I was picturing a lot of deep snow on those back roads, but looks like you have it covered.

It didn't start snowing here until a couple of weeks ago. The side streets have snow on them, but its nothing like we used to get. Temps aren't bad either, daytime highs in the -5 to -8 range. All the snow was gone here last year by the end of January. There definately seems to be a shift in the weather taking place, whether it be global warming or a shift in the earths axis, the winters are getting shorter and the summers longer.


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Scott
97 SHO Black 30k
UDP
Porterized Intake W/K&N Panel Filter
Trush Turbo Mufflers
Firestone SZ50 EP 225/50/ZR16

 

[stephen newberg]

Good Morning Scott,

"It didn't start snowing here until a couple of weeks ago. The side streets have snow on them, but its nothing like we used to get. Temps ren't bad either, daytime highs in the -5 to -8 range. All the snow was gone here last year by the end of January. There definately seems to be a shift in the weather taking place, whether it be global warming or a shift in the earths axis, the winters are
getting shorter and the summers longer."

Oh a serious fun daytime high there. No wonder you have snow on the ground all the time.

Our normal high this time of year is about +4C, and since we too are showing very obvious signs of global warming, or some version of the weather changing anyway, we have been running about 3-5 degrees C above normal since last spring. Last winter was actually close to normal temps, but that was the first one since '96, and those two are the only two close to normal winters since the late '80s. In fact, 10 of the last 12 years have set new average high temp records, and each one of those was higher than the last. I do not think there is any doubt that the weather is changing toward shorter and milder winters, longer and hotter summers. If we did it or if it is just part of a normal cycle is another question, but that we are changing is, to my mind, not in doubt.

pax, smn

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'98, Black
Mod.Porter intake, K&N panel, SARC cutout switch, 4 gauge instrumentation cluster, 23mm rear swaybar, 225x55x16 Bridgestone Blizzaks (its winter now )