Snow Tires

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

Thanks Zach for helping explode the Blizzak myth. Blizzaks are an ice tire, 
not a snow tire, though Bridgestone now markets snow tires under the 
Blizzak name which are supposed to be better as snow tires than the 
originals. Also, the much vaunted multi cell compound wears like India 
rubber erasers, doesn't grip dry road all that well, and reveals a regular 
no season compound at half tread depth. What is the point of an ice tire 
that goes away for more than half of its life?

I too have found the Nokian Hakkepellita brand to be exceptional in snow or 
on ice. However, dry road handling can best be described as exciting. 
Pirelli can't match the Hakkas for grip but do handle dry and wet roads 
(what we call "bare" roads) exceptionally well. In fact, given that pushing 
to the limit in winter is not advisable anyway on the off chance that the 
NEXT corner might be icy, the Pirellis are outstanding on bare road. Let's 
not forget the other Scandinavian Brand: Gislaved. Nokian and Gislaved swap 
bragging rights in Scandinavia for best snow tire...


Michael Smith
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
91 Alfa 164L, White, original owner

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