whiskywizard
New member
Long before the snow came, I ordered a set of mounted snows from Tirerack.com. The T4R is a 2011 LE in blizzard pearl. The tires are Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1, 265/70R17, mounted on 17x9 Black Painted Ultra Gauntlet wheels.
This is not the ideal size for winter; too wide. While a minus 3 config is good, I would have preferred a much narrower tire to reduce floatation. The upside of the wider tire is that it looks good. Maybe better than the OEMs.
The Christmas/New year period is the first real snow we've had and hence the first chance to really test the winter setup. I logged a little over 1500km from Kawartha Lakes ON, into the Eastern Townships of Quebec for some skiing, then up into the cottage lakes of Gracefield QC, and back through Renfrew and Bancroft to Kawartha Lakes. The route included a good mix of highway, secondary, municipal, and even private unmaintained roads, ranging from moderate to heavy snow. Temperatures ranged from 0C to -17C.
On the highway, at speeds in the 130km/h range, the Blizzaks growl a bit. They are louder than the OEM all seasons. However, they run smooth and track well, without tramlining. They shed snow and slush very well and are not prone to aqua-planing.
Off-road in the ski areas, they are exceptional. Cornering and braking traction levels are good. Accelerative traction is good to excellent. The aggresive tread of the Blizzaks clears snow easily, even when very wet, near the freezing point. On cold clear ice, traction remains good.
Fuel economy is down about 4-5%, but I suspect that is owing more to the cold temps than to the tires.
Now I need to see how well they hold up over time and distance. I'd like to get 4 winters from them.
This is not the ideal size for winter; too wide. While a minus 3 config is good, I would have preferred a much narrower tire to reduce floatation. The upside of the wider tire is that it looks good. Maybe better than the OEMs.
The Christmas/New year period is the first real snow we've had and hence the first chance to really test the winter setup. I logged a little over 1500km from Kawartha Lakes ON, into the Eastern Townships of Quebec for some skiing, then up into the cottage lakes of Gracefield QC, and back through Renfrew and Bancroft to Kawartha Lakes. The route included a good mix of highway, secondary, municipal, and even private unmaintained roads, ranging from moderate to heavy snow. Temperatures ranged from 0C to -17C.
On the highway, at speeds in the 130km/h range, the Blizzaks growl a bit. They are louder than the OEM all seasons. However, they run smooth and track well, without tramlining. They shed snow and slush very well and are not prone to aqua-planing.
Off-road in the ski areas, they are exceptional. Cornering and braking traction levels are good. Accelerative traction is good to excellent. The aggresive tread of the Blizzaks clears snow easily, even when very wet, near the freezing point. On cold clear ice, traction remains good.
Fuel economy is down about 4-5%, but I suspect that is owing more to the cold temps than to the tires.
Now I need to see how well they hold up over time and distance. I'd like to get 4 winters from them.
