Topic: Mazda6 winter tires: Blizzak REVO or Michelin X-Ice?

[maarp]

I want to downsize my Mazda6 from 17" to 16" (205/60R16) for the winter.  These two tires look like they're about the best bet for that car.  The biggest difference I can see is price, since Michelin is offering a $50 gift card if you buy four of their tires.  Are these two tires pretty much the same as far as snow, ice, and dry road drivability?

I appreciate any input you can offer. 

[msian]

Check out the tire comparison test done by TireRack

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/bs_blizzak_revo1.jsp

Looks like the new Blizzak could be better in icy situations...

[morty]

Both are very good tires...cant really go wrong either way. Might be able to help you more if you give me an idea where in the country you are located and where you drive.

[redsun_ty]

Both are very good tires...cant really go wrong either way. Might be able to help you more if you give me an idea where in the country you are located and where you drive.

Are the treadwear for these any good?  or u prefer the Winter performance tires!

[morty]

Tread wear is claimed to be improved, but winters are not notoriously long in the tooth. If you want a little better longevity consider a performance winter tire (H-rated ot better).

[maarp]

Both are very good tires...cant really go wrong either way. Might be able to help you more if you give me an idea where in the country you are located and where you drive.

I'm in a small village northwest of Waterloo, almost in the snow belt in Southern Ontario.  We get much more snow than Waterloo, but not as much as, say, Owen Sound.  Hope that helps. 

[safristi]

St Yacobs......?.......wrap yer BRATWURST in schmenge..before venturing OUT in November...!!!!!....(don't know what the hell that means but it is phonetically pleasin'...!!!! 

[maarp]

Nope.  You gotta go farther than that.   

[safristi]

 wrappin' my Brartwurst in Schmenge .....IS as FAR as I WILL GO....!!!!!

[johngenx]

Given the close performance of the tires (Revo One with the edge on ice) I'd buy the Bridgestones because I trust the brand more than Michelin.

[maarp]

I don't normally have a whole lot of faith in what CR has to say.  Nevertheless, as reported on CandianDriver.com this morning: 

"In a separate series of winter tires, Consumer Reports rated the Michelin X-Ice best among twelve models of winter tires on the market. The Viking Snow Tech placed second, and the Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice came in third."

Anyone have the whole list?

[johngenx]

Nope, but The TireRack's tests are usually dead-on.  They might seem biased as they sell tires, but I think they're straight shooters when it comes to their tests.

The thing is, if you put ANY winter tire on, you'll be miles ahead of using three-season (in FLORIDA they are all-season) tires on your vehicle.

Personally, I have had a warranty issue with one set of Bridgestone tires (an RE940 tire some time ago) and Bridgestone (the tire had "defects only" warranty) hopped up and gave me great service.  I got a generous amount towards a new tire and they were quick and the retailer had it done in no time.  I had a problem with some Michelin tires (more than one!) and Michelin just gave me the finger asking me to "prove" that the problems were a manufacturing defect.  My retailer got nowhere with them, and I ened up tossing nearly-new tires.

So, while the X-Ice is highly rated, the Blizzak WS-50 and Revo 1 match or beat it, and I don't have to deal with Michelin if something goes wrong.  That's why our garage has a set of new WS-50's for the Subaru and a set of Revo 1's for the Mercedes, ready for me to break out the floor jack.

Costco sells the X-Ice, and they have VERY aggressive pricing.  Costco is also pretty good about standing behind what they sell, and I believe that Costco actually warranties the tires, not Michelin.  However, my local Costco won't warranty the tires unless they install them.  They don't have a GSP9700 balancer or anything like it and they have baboons with monster impacts hammering on your bolts/nuts.

[davidy]

I don't normally have a whole lot of faith in what CR has to say.  Nevertheless, as reported on CandianDriver.com this morning: 

"In a separate series of winter tires, Consumer Reports rated the Michelin X-Ice best among twelve models of winter tires on the market. The Viking Snow Tech placed second, and the Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice came in third."

Anyone have the whole list?

Here's an article from CR:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203953&page=6&pp=15

Dave

[maarp]

One more question - Do I need to keep an H-rated tire on the car in the winter, or is Q okay?

[msian]

One more question - Do I need to keep an H-rated tire on the car in the winter, or is Q okay?

I guess it depends on your driving needs. If you do a lot of driving where the roads are mostly clear of snow and ice, the H-rated tires will give you a bit more stability. The Q-rated tires wold not feel as good in those situations.

However, IMHO the Q-rated tires are definitely better in snowy, icy conditions. I have had Q-rated, T-rated and H-rated winter tires and in wintery conditions, the H-rated tires are generally not as good...however, maybe the newer H-rated tires are much better now.

[quadzilla]

Thanks for posting the link to the entire article.  Redflagdeals is a great site.

Personally I find the article missing (or did I miss it) all the stats.  Where are the stopping distances for each tire on snow/ice?  This leaves only circles to help you decide which tire is best?  The second place (in thier opinion) tire could have stopped just inches behind the first place tire in every catagory but we can't tell that. 

I've heard that Hakka's and Gislaved's are much better tires than the X-Ice but looking at this article they are not as good at all.

The Mastercraft only got 'good' for ice compared to 'excellent' for the X-Ice but had higher marks in most of the other catagories.  Yet it came fourth?

I think I'll just move to AZ for the winters now. 

[msian]

That's why I like the TireRack tests...some objective numbers to look at. Too bad they don't compare the Nokian tires (because they don't sell those).

[maarp]

One more question - Do I need to keep an H-rated tire on the car in the winter, or is Q okay?

I guess it depends on your driving needs. If you do a lot of driving where the roads are mostly clear of snow and ice, the H-rated tires will give you a bit more stability. The Q-rated tires wold not feel as good in those situations.

However, IMHO the Q-rated tires are definitely better in snowy, icy conditions. I have had Q-rated, T-rated and H-rated winter tires and in wintery conditions, the H-rated tires are generally not as good...however, maybe the newer H-rated tires are much better now.

I ask because a guy at a tire retailer yesterday told me that by law he couldn't sell me less than an H-rated tire for my car.     I kind of figured he was full of it. 

[quadzilla]

So in the Tire-Rack test the Blizzak beat the X-Ice in almost every test. 

Who do you believe?

I'm getting neither so I have no idea where I stand anymore.

 

[msian]

I ask because a guy at a tire retailer yesterday told me that by law he couldn't sell me less than an H-rated tire for my car.     I kind of figured he was full of it. 

I have heard about this "law" before...which is kinda crazy.

Imagine a car came with W or higher-rated tires and the owner wants to equip it with some winter tires...it would be quite difficult to find some good W-rated winter tires out there. Perhaps the high-performance cars with W-rated tires ought to hibernate during the winter months but that's not the point. The STI, for example, would be a lot of fun with good winter tires in the snow.