anybody here running blizzak tires as year round tires? I know they are good in the snow and ice,but how would they wear as a year round tire? I need something better in the slick stuff for my DD front wheel drive car. I really don't want to change tires every year. thanks for any ideas/opinions.

 

Winter tires like the Blizzaks use a very soft rubber compound so they will wear very quickly if used all year round. The manufacturer recomends they be removed when the temps get above +10C consistently. I have similar tires on my Subaru and can verify they get really greasy in warm weather, I bet you would almost wear them out in 1 summer. As a result I have mine mounted on a set of steel rims that I change to in the fall.

 

i got my mom a set of blizzaks and summer runin ate'm up pretty quik,better off runin them in the winter and some other tire in the summers

 

I've never run Blizzaks...but I have run Dunlop Graspics. As con and wiz said...they have a very soft rubber compound that will wear very quickly on dry roads. After the aggressive soft rubber is worn off...they handle about as well as all season tires. This is the 4th winter and I will continue to run them through the spring/summer/fall as all seasons. Next winter...new Graspics.

 

I recall the recommendation was about 5,000 miles of driving. After that point all the special soft grippy rubber would be worn out and the rest of the tread was regular tire compound and would work and last like a normal stock tire.

So you won't wear the tires out to no tread, but you will wear out the "winter" part of the tire in about 5,000 miles. And then you have narrow stock looking treads thereafter.

The Blizzaks work OK in snow and ice, but I preferred my studded snow tires over the Blizzaks for slippery roads. But Studs don't work well on rainy or dry roads.

You might also consider SIPPING normal tires. This gives them much better ice handling and a bit better in snow. Sipping is where they cut hundreds of narrow slashes in the tread. Kind of looks like someone took a razor blade to all the tread. This gives normal tread a lot more gripping edges as the tread blocks wiggle around. Tire wear is not a lot greater than normal. Snow performance depends on how "Blocky" the original tread is so it can throw off impacted snow. Costs something like $5 per tire.

It has been about 5 years since I had to worry about mud and snow so prices may be different now.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

I have a set of Blizzaks for my Subaru and only run them in the winter (swap to the Blizzaks when average temperatures are 45 degrees F). The tires have gone through 4 winters so far and work just great.

That Subaru with Blizzaks will drive on ice and snow *far* better than my F-350 could ever do. The only problem is in deep snow because of the low ground clearance of the Subaru.

If there were E rated 18 inch Blizzaks available, I would buy them tomorrow.

They are strictly a winter tire and will wear fast if run through the summer.

Lou Braun

 

cooper weather master's are siped and wear fairly well year round

 

I've run both Blizzaks, and Firestone X-Ice year round on a 98 Pont GP.

The fronts will wear pretty fast, but the rears lasted 2 full seasons.

 

Instead of doing the tire swap twice a year how about you go to tirerack.com buy a set of cheapo steel wheels and mount your snow tires on them. Now you can easily swap your tires at home, or just pay a shop to do it for the price of a tire rotation. By the way the best snow tires are Nokian Hakkapeliitta.

 

speaking of nokian's, where are they made, or maybe i should say who makes them if they are not their own co.?

 

Every independent test I've seen says the Blizzak's are best on Ice, the Nokian's are best on snow. So, I guess it's a trade off on which tire You want to call the best.


I believe the Nokians are made in Norway?

 

Finland, at least thats where the company is located. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokian_Tyres

If you cant afford gas and you need to get to work in the snow try these.....http://www.suomityres.fi/winter.html