The problem

On Monday of this past week, most of New England was hit with 6-10 inches of snow, which was at its worst during the morning commute. To make a long story short, my normal 35 minute drive took about 1 hr 40 mins, and I almost slid off the road (despite very low speeds) and almost got stuck on several hills along the way. I became determined that this was the last time I was going to be caught out in the snow with improper equipment.

The solution

That same day I ordered up a set of 4 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's from the Tire Rack. Had them mounted today, and bid a happy goodbye to the stock tires. I went with the stock size of 215/50-17 and had them mounted on my OEM rims.

Driving impressions

First of all, I have the Comptech RSB and Comptech front tower bar, so I am used to crisp handling, sharp turn-in, and generally strong and positive cornering. I was not prepared for the dramtic decline in dry weather handling feel and performance that dedicated snow tires offer. I have never had a set, so honestly I shouldn't have really known what to expect I guess. All of the sharp turn-in that (even a stock) TSX has is completely GONE with these tires. There is none. The car more or less floats through corners. Maybe this will improve a bit as I accumulate some more miles, but I'm not expecting much. Anyway I didn't buy these for dry weather performance. I made up my mind that this is a small price to pay for my safety and peace of mind during the winter months.

Conclusion and photos

Haven't had a chance to use the tires in the snow yet as I just got them on today, and Massachusetts is about 50 and sunny today. Supposed to get some snow next week and frankly I can't wait. I will post my impressions of how they work with the TSX in the snow when I get a chance to try some.

Here's some pics:





And the 18" OZs with P-Zero Neros wait patiently for spring:

 

Congradulations. I respect that.

 

I have them and you will shyt your pants in the snow. I agree, they suck in dry weather, but you will love them in the snow. The sacrifice is worth it. Longevity will be another issue, but that is another story.

 

I got nokians becasue they would last longer, and had good dry traction and quietness.

oddly in buffalo it hasn't snowed much// but I was going with blizzaks but i'd have to deal with changing the tires and i drive 140 miles a week aleast for pb practice in rochester.

 

nice - these are very good snow tires. it conquers the upstate NY and VT snow without any issues on my car!

 

Had to go return an overdue DVD tonight, so finally got a chance to try these on actual snow. Simply put, they are fantastic. For anyone who wants real honest to goodness winter traction and safety, these are a great choice. My confidence in the snow has gone up 200% with these tires. Did a couple of panic stops from about 30 mph on hard packed powdery snow and the traction and bite was amazing. ABS kicked in towards the end of the stop but I was really pushing it. Where I used to slide sideways when starting from a dead stop in slippery conditions - that doesn't happen anymore at all - and it takes quite a bit of poking at the throttle to get the VSA to come on. Took the car into an empty parking lot that was covered with snow and tried to get the car to go around into a spin - it really didn't want to. Always wanted to straighten back out....very nice feeling.

As an aside, I know there are other good alternatives when it comes to snow tires for the TSX but personally I trusted the Bridgestone name and their reputation when it comes to this line of snow tires. Needless to say I'm very happy with my purchase.

 

I had the WS-50's and those things are incredible. You are right, they are horrible in the dry. I switched over to a performance winter, Bridgestone has them in the Blizzak series. I had the WS-50's on from November to April because snow seems to be the worst the 1st of November and the last day in March. I just got tired of creeping around corners for 6 months out of every year. Next time you are in the market for snow tires, check out the performance Blizzaks.