Astigmatism

I live on the side of a hill near Boston, with a steep driveway, so while snow isn't as bad here as, say, Saskatchewan, I'm worried enough about the upcoming winter that I've decided to invest in a set of good snow tires. TireRack's most recent winter test results ( http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=125 ) and a whole bunch of Google searching have failed to give a definitive answer between Blizzak WS60s and Continental ExtremeWinterContacts. Generally I get the impression that the Blizzaks have a slight edge in snow and ice while the Continentals are much better on dry, and so the question comes down to whether the Blizzaks' snow and ice performance is so much better than the Continentals' that it overcomes the better dry performance by the Continentals. I'm assuming we're all looking at the same info, so does anyone have an opinion as to one over the other? Anyone with either tire who can reassure me that the Blizzaks aren't pigs on pavement, or that the Continentals got them through a harsh winter like champs?

Thanks all.

Bearcat94

Have you seen: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...sp?type=W&VT=C



As far as the test results, it looks to me like the Conti is well balanced overall with the Blizzak being better in actual snow/ice conditions.

IOW, Conti does "OK" everywhere and Blizzak is oriented toward the snow/ice driving.

Which is going to be most critical for you? OK on snow and ice and comfortable elsewhere; or very good on snow and ice, but not as comfortable in other conditions?

BDoggPrelude

I put the Blizzak WS70's on both my Prelude and the TL last winter. They are nice tires. Ice traction is phenomenal for a studless tire. Dry road handling is acceptable as long as you understand the nature of snow tires and, really, tires in general. Everything that makes a tire handle great on dry surfaces makes a tire suck on snow/ice and vice versa. Keep in mind that a T speed rated snow tire with a mushy rubber composition is not going to feel as stable at highway speeds as a performance rated summer, all-season or even winter tire. I had run the Hankook W-409 I-Pikes on the Prelude the season before. In comparison, the Hankooks were better in actual snow and slush conditions. The WS70's were better on packed snow and ice. An aggressive tread design with wide spacing between the tread blocks, (W-409's), will be better in deep stuff. A tighter tread design with more siping, (WS70's), puts down more biting edges per square inch making them better on ice and packed snow.

This year I'm running Hankook W300 IceBears on my newly acquired RL. (I get a new set of snow tires on my personal vehicle every year for free). There's a huge difference in dry road capability with the IceBears. They are a V-rated winter tire and sacrifice a bit of winter traction in favor of better dry road holding and high speed stability. I can't really make a fair comparison in the snow traction department. It hasn't snowed heavily in Denver yet this year and the RL is AWD compared to the FWD Prelude so it's going to have more traction in winter conditions regardless.

I know, long winded post. I wish I could give you a comparison to the Continentals but I've just never driven on them before. What I can tell you for sure is that ANY winter tire is going to absolutely destroy the best all-season tire in snow and ice. That's just what their designed to do. If you're worried about retaining a fair amount of dry road capability I would definitely suggest something like the Blizzak LM-60 or Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3. You're still going to have better snow traction than any all-season tire and most of your lower end off-brand snow tires but won't sacrifice all of your dry road fun. I also put Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3's on my brother's Acura Legend. He had previously run the Hankook W-409 and Yokohama IG20's between his Legend and old Civic. He was amazed at the difference a performance rated winter tire makes in dry road/highway stability.

If you have any questions please feel free to post here or PM me. I have extensive professional knowledge on the subject.

Astigmatism

So I ended up going with the Continentals, which I had mounted on Friday. No snow yet, obviously, but on dry highways they're extremely quiet, a bit cushy, and have substantially less on-center feel (takes quite a bit more concentration to stay in my lane). We'll see how they perform once the weather turns.

On another note, the tire place (Rim & Wheel Works, Waltham, MA) strongly recommended Nokians, which I didn't know were even available in the US. Unfortunately, and as they knew (as they already had my tires from Tire Rack), it was too late to do anything about my current order, but does anyone have any impressions of Nokian winter tires for the next time around? Apparently these guys special-order them from Finland.

Jackass

I had Nokian on one of my prior cars that I got from Tire-Rack. No idea what model...they were cheap. Worked awesome in the snow and ice and were scary as hell on dry pavement. Pretty much assumed that I got what I paid for and should have gotten something more suited to the environment I drove in mostly....which was dry pavement. I had them on a single winter season before I sold them. I went back to standard all-season tires for the winter instead. KC doesn't get enough snow/ice often enough to truly justify full winter tires.

I have seen other reviews elsewhere that completely swear by the quality of them.

BDoggPrelude

How long ago was that? Nokians are far from cheap these days. They are the most expensive snow tires out there. Generally far more expensive than Blizzaks or Michelin Alpins. They're great tires if money grows on a tree in your backyard. If you are like most people and don't have a bottomless bank account, save your money and get Blizzaks or Michelins. They are 99% what Nokians are in snow and ice and cost significantly less.

Jesstzn

I had Nokians on my Cobalt last winter and they were great. Right now they are sitting in the basement still on the Cobalt rims. I sold the Cobalt and got a 2012 Civic.. so my TL wheels with Dunlops Graspics fit it .. both tires are great in the snow.