Snow Tires - Blizzak versus X-Ice ??

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Paul (archive)

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Hi - I'll be experiencing my first ever true winter this year, as I've never lived this far north before. A lot of people up here swear by the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 (for an Accord) as THE dedicated winter tire of choice to fend off "non-desirable non-directional travel" during ice and snow storms. I see some positive comments about the Blizzak on this board as well. But a salesman at Canadian Tire was trying to sway me on the Michelin X-Ice, which he said is "a vastly superior tire to the Blizzak". So I asked him, "Have you ever driven it?" and he said "Yes". But then I mentioned that the X-Ice is brand new (in Canada, at least), so he admitted that he had HEARD they were better, but didn't know from first-hand experience, and proceeded to fly into a speech about every eighth block of rubber on the tire being specially designed, etc. etc. etc. Has anyone in the States (where the X-Ice has been out for awhile) driven the X-Ice? Online reviews are pretty sparse, but I'd really like to know about this tire versus the Blizzak WS-50. Thanks. - Paul
 
Hi Paul,
Michelin's press release on this tire
(http://www.michelinman.com/difference/releases/pressrelease02132004a.html) indicates it was offered for sale in the US in August of this year, so it doesn't seem likely you will find much experience with it.

Given that it is a much newer tire than the Blizzak, I would expect it to be better, and more expensive. That said, the Blizzak is an excellent tire, although it does wear quickly and won't tolerate being left on in hot weather. Michelin doesn't claim that their tire will wear well (usually a strong point of Michelin's) and in fact, has wear indicators on the tread, so it may be little different from the Blizzak.

If it was me, I don't think I would reward the Canadian Tire salesman for lying to me by buying tires from him though. There are lots of good (usually independent) tire shops around.

It is a good idea to have separate steel rims for your winter tires, and it is imperative to put them on all four wheels.

Dan

(This account is not used for email.)
 
Paul, I'm glad you brought up this topic.

I too was wondering about the X-Ice Michelins but figured I'd go with tried and tested rubber... I don't want to spent $700can for a set of tires that are just OK.

I am shopping for either Blizzaks or Nokian Hakkapeliitta 1 tires for my '04 Accord . I've had a set of Blizzaks on our '98 Chevy Malibu for the past four years and can say from first-hand experience that they (Blizzaks) are amazing.

Rob's Tires on Yonge quoted a price of $125ea for Blizzaks... that'll be around $1200 for my wife's Malibu and my Accord. Seems like a lot until ya figure 4yrs on a set of snows, so 1200/2 cars/4 years=$150/car/yr.
 
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/topics/winter/wtirlise.htm
 
Hi Dan - Thanks for your suggestions - that was very helpful. After all the positive remarks I've seen re: the Blizzak, that will be the way I'll go in the absence of a "track record" (no pun intended) with the x-ice. And yeah, Canadian Tire have kind of disappointed me with their automotive department service (or lack thereof), so a good independent tire center as per your suggestion will definitely be on my agenda. I'll also take your advice on the separate steel rims.
Thanks again! - Paul
 
Hi - Rob's Tires on Yonge? Great - I appreciate the tip, as I'm new to Toronto and still trying to find my bearings. Seems like there are about six or seven (maybe more) "Firestone and Bridgestone" tire shops up in SW Ont area, and Piil's in Hamilton quoted me the following for my accord:

4 - 185/70/14 WS50 installed, balanced, valves & Alignment with taxes at $586.22 CDN Seems like a pretty good deal.

I'll keep pricing this out at a few other places in Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, and Mississauga. Along with Rob's Tires, of course. Thanks for your response. - Paul
 
Hey you wild Canucks,

I was just digging around on the web yesterday looking for a good price on WS50's for our new Accord. I had good luck a few years ago buying Blizzaks from tirerack.com for its predecessor (an old saab
900)...you might look into whether they'll ship to Canada.

I left my notes at home, but I think the price was about 500-600 U.S. for a set of 4, without shipping (they occasionally will offer free ground shipping). That's mounted on steel wheels, and balanced, and incl. some plastic wheelcovers. I just swap 'em myself each spring and fall.

Rob
 
I've decided to get a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi tires.

They even have a neat tread depth gauge built into the tire labled 8-6-4. As the tires wear the numbers wear off from highest to lowest indicating the current tread depth.

Looks neat too.

http://ca.geocities.com//RSi.jpg
 
Rally car drivers in North America use almost exclusively Blizzak's for their superior traction. the tradeoff is of course they wear faster than Michelin Alpine's. I'm not sure how the X-Ice compares. Michelin's tend to sacrifice some traction for longer life but again i'm not sure how the X-Ice's stack up.
 
Hi - Thanks for your input. I went ahead yesterday and got the Blizzaks put on my '92 Accord, though I decided to keep the Michelin HydroEdge on my new '04 Accord. I'm in Toronto, and went out whizzing around on Hiway 401 at rush hour to get a feel for how they handle. The Blizzaks definitely grip the pavement more than any other tire I've ever driven, though an attempt at fast acceleration (if one can even speak of such things with only 125 hp) met with screeching tires and ineffective results. The moral is to slow things down a bit with this tire, but of course I should be doing that anyway in winter driving. Its logical that the Blizzak feels somewhat "bouncy" with all that extra rubber (a bit more sway as well), but I really do feel safer in them. Some parts of the northern GTA got ice last night, and I managed to hit a few good patches this morning with no sliding and no white knuckles. So far so good, though the rest of the winter will ultimately tell the tale. - Paul
 
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