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Blizzacks vs. M3s


moviemadness

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which blizzaks?

 

Most of what i read says the bridgestone is better in snow / ice, where the Dunlops sacrifice some of that snow traction for good dry traction.

 

If you are where it snows non-stop and roads may be snow packed, go blizzaks. If the weather and road conditions are going back and forth from snowy to dry or you do a good commute each day, go dunlop.

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If you purchased the WS-50's they are heaven on snow and ice otherwise an absolute ruin of a performance car on dry/wet roads and above 40F. I hope the Revo's improved this. I am a very :( owner previously who had the WS-50's on a Civic, thankfully the winter tread wore out in 20k miles (another bad quality). The Blizzack LM-xx's are similar to the M3's in that they are a performance winter tire. I use Nokian WR's so no idea on the M3's or other performance winter tires.

 

But if your happy that is all that counts. What does it matter what I think :)?

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I had the Blizzaks WS-50s on a FWD car and over the course of 2 winters my car handled every snow situation that I encountered. As has been said many times before, once the outside temps start to rise, get them off your car ASAP or they'll start to wear quickly. Also, the speed rating on them isn't as high as most other tires, so the overall "feel" is different. They're good if used for their intended purpose.

 

I am now running Goodyear GW3 Ultragrips on my LGT. They are not quite as good as the Blizzaks in the snow, but way better than the RE-92s. The GW3s are V-rated, so they are better (not as squirmy) under normal conditions, but with AWD, I was willing to make that concession.

 

I have no experience with the M3s, but everyone that has them seems to like them. Also, many members speak very highly of the Nokian WS All-Seasons.

:orly:YA RLY!!! Home of +2500 useless posts!!!!
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I run Goodyear F1 GS/D3's from April through November and Blizzak LM-25s from December through March. I live in Connecticut and put 30,000 miles a year on the car (a 2005 LGT Limited), so I need a car that is faultless in snow during the winter but able to make extended winter trips on highways when roads are dry.

 

The LM-25s are quite good, delivering generally good dry road performance and great snow/ice traction. The difference in snow traction between the Blizzaks and the Goodyears is profound (I stupidly took the Blizzak's off the car one storm too early last Spring and slid sideways down Route 95 one afternoon - it's amazing how important tires are in terms of snow performance!).

 

Limitations on the LM-25?

 

1) Tread wears fast, so get the tires off ASAP when the weather turns.

2) High speed stability is not the equal of all weather performance tires. So it is advisable to keep the speed down.

 

I offer no opinion on the merits of the LM-25s versus other dedicated snows, but I'd be willing to buy them again.

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.........The LM-25s are quite good, delivering generally good dry road performance and great snow/ice traction.........

 

I am not impressed with the ice traction of my LM25s. In fairness, none of the performance winters have great ice traction. But they are excellent on snow and dry roads.

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The Blizzak WS-50s are great for snow/ice but are squirmy in dry road conditions even in winter, if your driving thru snow/ice conditions 80% of the time the WS-50s are fine as long as you keep the speed down. I put the 50s to the test when I had them on my WRX (don't do this) I've driven on 1'' thick ice with little to no problems at 65mph, I've also driven down icy hills with minimum braking issues, I usually did this in low traffic areas, as a way to know the limits of the car + tires. The M3s are a great all around performer, you give up some snow/ice performance for high speed handling/stability which is good on those dry days. The tread wear seems to be good, low road noise, tread design looks great on the GT, I'm satisfied with these tires, but I do wish the tread depth was a little deeper and snow/ice grip was a little better. I haven't tried the LM-25 or 22s so I can't comment on those.
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The Blizzak WS-50s are the best studless snows I've driven on. However, take serious notice to all the previous warnings about them wearing down extremely fast. The rubber compound becomes softer as the temperature decreases, which spells diaster with any kind of spirited driving when the temp. warms up.

 

I had the Blizzaks on my 99 Passat, and was never stuck in the snow; around town or up skiing -- packed snow and ice, slush and fresh powder.

 

I haven't had experience with the M3s, but I'd personally choose the Blizzaks again, even knowing about them quickly becoming bald. I'm definitely putting Blizzaks on my OBXT when the time comes for snows.

 

Also, I think the Blizzaks are around $10 cheaper than the M3s.

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a lot of people are stating that the dry traction is slushy and not as good as they expected, and also not as good as the M3s can provide.

are they any better than the dry traction of the stock REs?

 

also. FYI, I ordered the Blizzak LM25s. They should arrive tomorrow.

 

oh, and one more thing,

I won't be driving the car for about a month, and I only have about 3 more days of driving till I get back.

the car will be stored at a long term airport parking lot.

 

Now the question is, should I even put the tires on?

or should I wait till I get back so I don't get any tire warping?

is that even an issue?

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I had a set of M2 (predecessor to the M3) on my Audi. They worked great in the snow and were impressive on dry or wet pavement. They lasted four seasons, but the snow traction was diminished in the fourth season.

I've driven a friend's Impreza with WS-50 Blizzaks. They are as others have described: great in snow and ice, meh on dry pavement. They are perfectly acceptable on dry pavement, but not fun at all.

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a lot of people are stating that the dry traction is slushy and not as good as they expected, and also not as good as the M3s can provide.

are they any better than the dry traction of the stock REs?

 

also. FYI, I ordered the Blizzak LM25s. They should arrive tomorrow.

 

oh, and one more thing,

I won't be driving the car for about a month, and I only have about 3 more days of driving till I get back.

the car will be stored at a long term airport parking lot.

 

Now the question is, should I even put the tires on?

or should I wait till I get back so I don't get any tire warping?

is that even an issue?

 

anyone...??:icon_conf

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I've never used the LM-25s, as for the WS-50s they're Q rated, try the LM-25s out for a while, it takes time for the tire to wear off the first layer and after that handling should be fine. I believe the LMs are rated higher than the WS-50s in terms of speed/handling. As far as letting the car sit for a month with the new tires on is a decision you'll have to make. If your car is unattended theres a small chance the tires will get low or go flat. On the other hand if its not safe to take the chance of driving on the RE92s you can always fill your LMs on the high side to minimize the chances they'll get too low.
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The blizzacks are amazing tires on the snow/ice. Not so great on the pavement.

 

The M3's are excellent dry, wet tires and great snow/ice tires.

I've noticed that if i bump up the pressure to about 38psi the dry handling nears performace summer tires qualities. But make sure you drop the pressure back down to 32psi or you slip slide all the way home in the snow.

 

 

If you never see the pavement again after the first snow, get the blizzacks.

If the storms pass through and melt after a few days, get the M3's

(Updated 8/22/17)

2005 Outback FMT

Running on Electrons

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  • 2 weeks later...
Put the LM-25s on my son's RSX-S and drove it through 4 inches of snow. They were amazing. I'd rather drive his car in the snow than my Legacy GT with P zero nero's. Proof that even very good all season tires can't match winter tires in winter conditions. Next winter, when he's at college, the LM-25's are going on my car.
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