Opinion requst: best winter performance tire.

B

Bimmerbri

Member
 Grosse Pointe, Michigan
I am currently shopping around for some new performance winter tires. I think I have narrowed it down to three choices and wonder if anyone out there has any advice or input that may help me weigh my decision. Here they are.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 RFT
bs_bliz_lm22.jpg

Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 DSST ROF
du_spwintersport_3d_ci2_l.jpg

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW3 EMT
gy_ultra_grip_gw3_emt_ci2_l.jpg


Any comments about rain/snow performance, road noise or dry pavement handling would be appreaciated.

Cheers,
Brian
 
Blizzacks are rated to 140kph. They are great but I would not call them high preformance.... I think the rating is "Q".
 
I have used both the Blizzak LM-22 (non RFT) and the Dunlop Wintersport M3. Loved both of them and wouldn't complain about having them again at all. I had the Blizzaks on an Audi S4 and took them out to play at a winter driving clinic up at a ski resort in the Cascades. Delightful fun doing slalom courses in fresh snow on those tires.

I never took the Dunlop M3s out in the snow because I had those on a Honda S2000 mostly for wet and cold Portland area winter weather. They definitely worked well for those conditions but that car wasn't much of a candidate for driving up to ski resorts.
 
AlanL,

Thanks for the reply and the info. I can imagine the S4 was a blast to drive in any condition, whole different ball game with the all wheel drive. :driving:

What do you intend to use on your Z for the up comming winter months? and how do you think it will compare to the S2000 for winter driving?

I am just curious as to what to expect.
 
My experience has been limited to Blizzak and Michelin Alpine. The Blizzaks were excellent but wore down very quickly. I only got 2 winter seasons as I recall. The Michelins are almost as good as the Blizzak and I am going into my 5th and likely last winter season with them this year.
 
WLH,

I know, you cant go wrong with Michelin. I had a set of Pilot Sport A/S on a WRX STI before the Z and they were great in all conditions. Z rated all season tire with tons of grip on wet and dry pavemen, The AWD helped out a bit as well.

I keep hearing good things about the Dunlops, My uncle has a 350Z convertable with the M3s on there for winter and he says they are great, although I have heard the tread wear goes quickly on those also.

My search continues :wink:
 
Bimmerbri said:
WLH,

I know, you cant go wrong with Michelin. I had a set of Pilot Sport A/S on a WRX STI before the Z and they were great in all conditions. Z rated all season tire with tons of grip on wet and dry pavemen, The AWD helped out a bit as well.

I keep hearing good things about the Dunlops, My uncle has a 350Z convertable with the M3s on there for winter and he says they are great, although I have heard the tread wear goes quickly on those also.

My search continues :wink:
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I am think about trying the Dunlops next year when my Michelin's wear our as I have hear so many good things about them.
 
WLH,

I know BMW uses Dunlops on the new X5 so that must say something :thumbsup: Correction They put Michellins on stock but I spied one at the gym the other day with Dunlop winters on there.
 
enfield,

Who knows what that says? perhaps the added horsepower with the stiffened sidewall of the RFT's combined for a rather unpleasent ride? I know continental makes an RFT so that is the only logical explanation I can come up with 8)
 
I am very suspicious that BMW will use the lowest bidder to supply the tires that meet there minimum specification... :cry:
 
Bimmerbri said:
AlanL,

Thanks for the reply and the info. I can imagine the S4 was a blast to drive in any condition, whole different ball game with the all wheel drive. :driving:
Click to expand...

The Audi's (I've had 2 S4's) were whole bunches of fun in the slippery stuff and I had no issues at all driving my old 2004 S4 Avant on roads that had been covered with over an inch of ice in a freezing rain incident in Vancouver a few years back. I had the streets to myself since pretty much everything had been shut down and everyone was staying home.

What do you intend to use on your Z for the up comming winter months? and how do you think it will compare to the S2000 for winter driving?

I am just curious as to what to expect.
Click to expand...

My Coupe will be my daily driver and I am not really all that concerned about it's ability to stay on the roadway if driven correctly. I lived in Utah for almost 30 years driving all sorts of vehicles in winter conditions and do have a clue how to drive in snow/ice, so given a good set of traction tires and the balance of the BMW I like my odds. The added bonus of the traction control systems leaves me thinking that I shouldn't have any problems getting to work unless we get snow too deep for my ground clearance (quite rare here). If things do get bad I can always swipe my wife's X3 and it has the same winter tires on that I got for my Z4. I would not try to take my Z4 out in pure ice conditions like I did my old Audis because I live on a hill and would very likely run into issues trying to get back home without all wheel drive.
 
Already on - Pirelli Winter 210 Sotozeros:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=Winter+210+Sottozero

I won a set of 4 Pirelli tires in an Audi Club raffle a couple of years ago and grabbed a set of these for my wife's X3. They have worked quite nicely on her car and are remarkably quiet out on the highway with excellent traction in cold/wet conditions which dominate our winter conditions here in the Pacific NW while still offering a very nice bite into ice/snow conditions. Probably not the number one choice for someone who intends to drive to ski resorts several times per week in any conditions, but that's no place for a tire that claims to be suitable for a sports car anyway.

I bought some cheapie painted 17" rims from Tirerack ($105 each) for the occasion so I can do a quick swap in my garage whenever the urge/conditions come up for the summer rubber again.

WinterWheels.jpg
 
Those "cheapies" actually look pretty nice on your car. Nice choice. I think I have decieded on the Dunlop M3, I will let you all know how things turn out.

Thanks for the advice
 
I had the Dunlop M3's on my S2000 and they worked out quite well. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again at all. I even tested them out once at a cold (42 degrees) and wet track day just to see what they could do:

Turn12.jpg

Not too bad although driving the S2000 in traction challenged conditions was always a white knuckle experience.
 
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