Bridgestone Blizzak: Snow Tires Built for Alaskan Blizzards!
Written: Oct 29 '01 (Updated Jul 24 '09)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Handling and Control: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Great traction & handling. Very quiet on the road.
Cons: None. Worth the price.
The Bottom Line: After being skeptical that the Blizzak Tires would perform "as well or better" than studded snow tires, I am now a believer!
|
|
|
| elzora's Full Review: Bridgestone Blizzak Passenger/Performance Tire |
I live in Alaska, and snow comes early up here. Last month while our families in Colorado were enjoying a warm fall day, we were already out shopping for snow tires!
It's a good thing we did our shopping early, because this past weekend we got 14 inches of snow dumped on us!
After living in Alaska for 25 years, I have been exposed to all kinds of winter driving conditions, and my husband has never put anything other than studded snow tires on our vehicles! Imagine my shock when we were told there were no studded snow tires that would fit our new 2001 Nissan Maxima! I couldn't believe it! We went to four different tire dealers, and they all told us the same thing ... the ONLY tires that would fit our car were the Bridgestone Blizzaks. The what? I asked! I learned a lot about winter tires, a lot more than I ever wanted to know. Here's why Blizzak's are great winter tires for driving in snow and ice!
Bridgestone Blizzak Quality
I learned that the Blizzak tires have what they call a Multi-Cell Rubber Compound that actually grips and sticks to the snow and ice, giving extraordinary performance!
Yes, these are performance tires, and you often see them on expensive cars. The softer rubber actually remains pliable during the cold winter months to give you better traction. Unfortunately, this same feature (soft rubber) also means that when these babies are driven on dry pavement, they are going to wear down faster than other snow tires. (When the tread is worn down, they then become regular summer tires.)
Sipes
The buzz word when shopping for snow tires was sipes. Now, you guys probably know all about these things (my hubby did), but I didn't have a clue! Because I was very skeptical about the Blizzak's ability to perform as well as other studded winter tires, I listened intently to the sales manager as he explained what sipes are.
All tires have the regular tread grooves in them, but the sipes are the tiny grooves ... (the Blizzak has thousands of ziz-zag sipes), and they allow the tire to grip the ice and snow and allow for drainage of water from the road.
Performance
Now that you know all about the Blizzak tires, I am here to tell you that these snow tires are everything they claim to be and more! The sales people told us that once their customers purchase Blizzak's, they never go back to studded tires again. I believe them!
While driving in our recent winter storm, our car handled extremely well. I could get a real feel for the road, almost like summer driving! While others were getting stuck on hills, I drove right up them with no problems at all. Corners were no problem. Stopping on black ice was a breeze. Getting out of our driveway filled in with 5 inches of heavy snow was not even a concern. I love these tires!
They Are Quiet!
One nice benefit to Blizzak snow tires is they are extremely quiet! I always hated the noise that studded tires made on the highway, and now I don't have to listen to the clackity clack of the studs!
Quality - For A Price!
We were sticker shocked when we saw the price tag attached to the Blizzak tires! We waited for an extra week because the tire warehouse where we purchased our tires said they were having a big winter tire sale coming up. Well, guess what? ALL of their tires were on sale except the Blizzak's. They rang in at $150 each! Luckily, my daughter had picked up a coupon at the Alaska State Fair for 10% off any tire and rim purchase, and we redeemed this for a savings of $80.00. We also had the tires put on rims to save on the cost of changing over our tires every year. All in all we spent $720.00 for tires and rims.
Care of Your Tires
To get the most our of our expensive investment in Bridgestone Blizzak's, we follow these simple rules:
1) We regularly check our tire pressure. Tires can lose one pound per pressure every month. In the winter, especially, it's important to monitor this as tires can also lose one psi for every 10 degree drop in temperature! The tire warehouse was giving away free tire guages with each purchase! (The manufacturers recommendation for your tires should be on your car door jamb. Check your tires when they are "cold".)
2) Rotate your tires! They should be rotated from front to back every 5000 miles! (See why we had them put on rims?)
3) Check the tread. I am amazed by the condition of tires I see on the roads these days. Some people are driving around in nearly bald tires! A simple way to check your tread for wear is to put a penny into the groove of your tire tread. You should not be able to see the top of President Lincoln's head - if you do, then you need to replace your tires!
Final Thoughts
If you live in a winter climate and deal with a lot of snow and ice, you can't go wrong with Blizzak's. But, if you are living in an area where you don't have to deal with a lot of the white stuff, you are probably wasting your money ... the soft tread of these tires will wear down on you, and you'll be throwing your money away!
For me, I am extremely happy with my Blizzak tires.
PS - We did find one tire that we could have studded and it would fit our Maxima - but we chose to try the Blizzak's. We haven't regretted it yet.
Blizzak tires made by: Bridgestone Tire Company
A big THANK YOU to all other reviewer's of these wonderful snow tires for giving me the courage to purchase them!
UPDATES:
Tonight we had freezing rain and the roads and parking lots were solid, glare ice. Our car handled perfectly with the Blizzak Tires, we had absolutely NO problems! We continue to be impressed and pleased with this purchase!
On a trip to Fairbanks, the road was like an ice highway, and hubby was speeding. A State Trooper pulled him over to warn him about the icy roads and accidents. The first thing he asked us was "are you running Blizzak's on this car"? We told him yes. He said "they are worth their weight in gold, I wish I could afford them for my wifes car". That is a pretty good testament to the quality and name that the Blizzak's have made for themselves.
UPDATE 12/15/05:
With the soft rubber on these tires I was skeptical about how long they would last. I read that the tread wears down quickly. I am happy to tell you this is our 4th winter and they are performing great!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 600
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.