Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3 or DM-V1?

[donx]

I know, I know. It is a little bit early to shop for winter tires.

Just want to buy them, store them, and swap the tires myself when the weather changes.

Saw tirerack have Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3 on clearance sale now. They have the best snow and ice traction among all the winter tires. It is also rated as the best choice in apa.

Now there is a new model DM-V1, which is claimed to have even better snow and ice traction than DM-Z3.

In addition to snow and ice traction, dry traction is also an important factor to me. The tread pattern of the newer model looks like having more contact area, which might improve dry traction as well...

I could not find any reviews of the new model, maybe it is just too new.

Any suggestion? Thanks in advance.

[Scoobs]

Buy them now, If you wait you might not be able to get your size. You can't go wrong with Blizzaks but I must admit I'm a bit skeptical of the APA ratings as they don't reveal their methodology for testing the various tires. If you read their comments about the different snow tires some tires have similar comments but distinctly different ratings.

You live in TO so you'll be getting icy conditions but you will also be driving a good part of the winter on cold dry pavement. Keep that in mind.

Blizzaks of the past were slightly squirmy on dry pavement and wore out faster than some competitors.

[donx]

Originally posted by Scoobs
Buy them now, If you wait you might not be able to get your size. You can't go wrong with Blizzaks but I must admit I'm a bit skeptical of the APA ratings as they don't reveal their methodology for testing the various tires. If you read their comments about the different snow tires some tires have similar comments but distinctly different ratings.

You live in TO so you'll be getting icy conditions but you will also be driving a good part of the winter on cold dry pavement. Keep that in mind.

Blizzaks of the past were slightly squirmy on dry pavement and wore out faster than some competitors.

Hi Scoobs, thanks for the quick reply. I am actually still using the spare tire you gave us in our last meet as the full size spare tire, will change it to a new tire in a couple of years though.

I did read and compare the ratings in all 3 sites I normally check, apa, tirerack and 1010tires, tjhey all share the same highest rating for Blizzak in terms of snow and ice traction, that really gave me enough confidence. My other new tires I just got last week: Michelin Latitude Tour, I read great reviews from tirerack, but in 1010tires, it was not rated that high (maybe it is too new and the users of 1010tires do not have enough experience using that), but I did more research on other sites and made my own judgment, and bought it. So far I am very happy with the choice, even tough these tires are quite pricey here in Canada.

I am sure 95% of my winter driving will be focused on cold pavement and ice conditions in Toronto, but I might take the boys for skiing during weekends of this winter, so snow traction is also very important.

I have been using the Cooper Discoverer Winter Tires in previous years, they do have aggressive thread pattern that might work well in deep snow. But I found their compound are extremely hard, and the dry traction is very poor on cold road, especially during turns.

So I decided to get rid of them and purchase a best (in all winter conditions) set of winter tires this time. I have certainly narrowed down to these 2 types of Blizzaks, newer set will cost me $100 more, just not sure if it is worthy it. Hopefully the clearance deal of the older set won't be gone while I am hesitating now.

[Scoobs]

Hi Donx,

Let me know what you think of the Latitude Tour once you have some more miles on them. I'm thinking of getting them for my wife's Rav4 when the Yokahama Geolander 91s it has now wear out, which hopefully will be soon

[andyschneider]

My personal view is that most any snow tire will make you happy in the winter, at least as compared to their all-season counterparts. Last winter we ran a set of Cooperer Discoverer M/S tires on the 06 Pilot and they were outstanding. Now, in comparative tests, they fared worse than other brands like Michelin or Bridgestone - but I believe that the difference between those snow tires are small - and the comparative difference between those and all-seasons are significant. Bottom line - find a tire that fits your budget and you'll be more than happy.

Personally, I've run a set of Bridgestone WS-60's on the wife's Freestyle and they're great. And I run a set of Nokian Hakka 2's on the kid's Accord and they're great. And I snagged a set of Michelin Latitude X-Ice ties off of Craigslist for my Montego (were run about 4k miles) and I'm sure they'll be fine for the winter. I've also heard decent things about the (gasp!) Firestone/Bridgestone Winterforce tires - especially at their price point.

In my "younger years" I was a bigot on tires - Michelins for the summer, Nokians for the winter - and never strayed. And as college costs have come into play over the years, I've gotten more "frugal" and found that, at least for the snow tires part of it, that most anything will keep you happy when the white stuff flies!

cheers - andy

[moda_way]

So tempting for my wife's 09 Pilot, but I think I'd rather get a more aggressive Bridgestone road tire like my buddy has on his 4-Runner. Only negative is road noise. Besides, we're in southern Ohio, so we don't see a ton of snow every year, we usually get one or two solid dumps of under a foot, in which case, the wife isn't going to drive in it anyway. Just a great deal for a full set of wheels, winter tires and TPMS for under $1200.

[andyschneider]

Originally posted by moda_way
So tempting for my wife's 09 Pilot, but I think I'd rather get a more aggressive Bridgestone road tire like my buddy has on his 4-Runner. Only negative is road noise. Besides, we're in southern Ohio, so we don't see a ton of snow every year, we usually get one or two solid dumps of under a foot, in which case, the wife isn't going to drive in it anyway. Just a great deal for a full set of wheels, winter tires and TPMS for under $1200.

In your situation, I'd seriously look at a set of Michelin LTX M/S (or even the new "2" variant). I've run these tires on both Pilots we've owned, and they went decently through the winters until they started getting a little thin. The reason we went with snows on the 06 Pilot was because it was coming off of lease in 6 months and I needed bullet-proof traction for the college kid staying at home for a co-op job and needing to commute 80 miles round trip each day thru the winter. So I slapped a set of snows on for the winter, then the Michelins went back on (with 30k miles on 'em) in the spring and that's what I turned it in with - then sold the Coopers to a local Pilot owner and used the proceeds to buy and install the 4 snows for my Montego (the Michelin's from Craigslist).

Overall, being in Southern OH (and having lived in Springfield for about 5 years as a kid) the snow you get there would be just fine with a good set of LTX's - the road noise is very low and they do very good in all conditions. I'd fear that a more agressive tire would have negative impacts on noise and MPG's during the rest of the year.

andy

[donx]

Thanks everybody for the reply, I have contacted a local tire shop and asked them to order dm-v1 for me, will wait until Oct though.

[donx]

Originally posted by andyschneider
My personal view is that most any snow tire will make you happy in the winter, at least as compared to their all-season counterparts. Last winter we ran a set of Cooperer Discoverer M/S tires on the 06 Pilot and they were outstanding. Now, in comparative tests, they fared worse than other brands like Michelin or Bridgestone - but I believe that the difference between those snow tires are small - and the comparative difference between those and all-seasons are significant. Bottom line - find a tire that fits your budget and you'll be more than happy.

Personally, I've run a set of Bridgestone WS-60's on the wife's Freestyle and they're great. And I run a set of Nokian Hakka 2's on the kid's Accord and they're great. And I snagged a set of Michelin Latitude X-Ice ties off of Craigslist for my Montego (were run about 4k miles) and I'm sure they'll be fine for the winter. I've also heard decent things about the (gasp!) Firestone/Bridgestone Winterforce tires - especially at their price point.

In my "younger years" I was a bigot on tires - Michelins for the summer, Nokians for the winter - and never strayed. And as college costs have come into play over the years, I've gotten more "frugal" and found that, at least for the snow tires part of it, that most anything will keep you happy when the white stuff flies!

cheers - andy

Wow, you got all the hands on experience with all the brands. I am glad you had good experience with Cooperer Discoverer M/S, maybe you got a new set. I bought it second hand, and when I check the DOT, I found it was made in 2002. Maybe that explained why they are so hard. I don't drive much, especially during winter, so it is better for me to buy a best quality and new one to last in the next 5-6 years.

[donx]

Originally posted by Scoobs
Hi Donx,

Let me know what you think of the Latitude Tour once you have some more miles on them. I'm thinking of getting them for my wife's Rav4 when the Yokahama Geolander 91s it has now wear out, which hopefully will be soon

I did some comparison before I bought the Michelin Latitude tour. It was the most expensive one (Oakville Honda quoted me $860), and Goodyear Fortera TripleTred is actually much cheaper as $760. The TT has the half decent winter capability, but I got a set of Chrome RIMS for the tires, and did not expect winter salt to ruin the Chome Rims, so they are dedicated mostly for summer usage, Tour has better ride, less noise and longer thread life, which is perfect for that.

What I like the Michelin Tour is its highway performance, it makes highway driving stable and secure (I had to hold 2 hands on the steering wheel when riding on Dueler, now I feel safe even with only one hand, I felt the difference immediately after I installed the new tires). Ride is also great on highway, a little bumpy on local road, I guess it is because I put 38 psi, will drop it to 35 psi to see how it works. Breaking is also great, I feel like 2 times shorter distance than the Dueler I replaced. The Dueler still had 5/32 thread left, but the inner edge of the shoulder almost worn, probably due to the 8000 km cross Canada trip I did in August (there are a little bit negative Chamber in the alignment I did last summer, which is good for some turns, but not for long distance straight line driving), so I had to get rid of the Dueler, and I am happy I did it. Michelin Tour is superior to it in every single aspect, and made me feel how important a nice set of shoes can be, and that prompted me to also choose a better winter tires as well.

[Scoobs]

Thanks for the info Donx.

For the other people who mentioned Bridgetsone REVOs ( I know that is what you meant when you mentioned 4Rs) you'll be interested to know that there is a new REVO with closer tread blocks but more sipes. Would probably be a good choice for light winter driving if dedicated snows are not required.

[andyschneider]

Originally posted by donx


Wow, you got all the hands on experience with all the brands. I am glad you had good experience with Cooperer Discoverer M/S, maybe you got a new set. I bought it second hand, and when I check the DOT, I found it was made in 2002. Maybe that explained why they are so hard. I don't drive much, especially during winter, so it is better for me to buy a best quality and new one to last in the next 5-6 years.

Age for winter tires is definitely a factor, as the rubber needs to be as flexibile as possible in the colder temps to grip like it should. The discoverers we had were new and had very flexible tread, and did great.

The X-ices I bought for my Montego were made in 2006, so there' a bit older than I'd have liked - but they were measured at 10/32" and I got the set of 4 for under $200, so I couldn't pass 'em up. Gotta be better than the Pirelli P6's that are on there now!!!

andy

[donx]

Originally posted by donx
Thanks everybody for the reply, I have contacted a local tire shop and asked them to order dm-v1 for me, will wait until Oct though.

The tire shop still hasn't put order for them yet (quoted me $166 for each tire for size of 225/70/16, 235 will be like $5 more, with tax and installation, I will be paying >$820 to get them installed).

My friend in NY volunteered to buy dm-z3 for me from tirerack, only $90 per tire. With shipping the total is like only $411. Converted to C$, it is like around $450. He will bring them to me in his next trip to Toronto! He will be getting $50 reward card by ordering them online from tirerack. It is win-win purchase for both of us.