Hello,

I see the Tirerack presently has both Blizzaks and Pirelli Winter 240 SnowSports instock. For winter I'm thinking I'd like to stick with the runflats so I can get somewhere without having to stop.

I'd like to get snow tires mounted to my S-Lites for winter driving then next spring get a set of summer rims for remount of the summer performance Dunlop tires that came with my Mini.

Given a choice between the 17" Blizzaks and Pirelli's, which are a "better" tire? In my area, we typically see more wet/slushy/icy/snow packed roads than virgin snow fallen roads.

Thank you!

 

golfersmurf, thanks for starting this thread. I too have looked at both of these tires and can not make a decision.

 

well i've been running solid a year now on Dunlop Graspic DS2, honestly, i prefer 15s when i had them because it seems to be much better! that said, nothing i can do now thanks to my bbk...

do keep us posted... as i might switch to the pirellis next season

 

LM25's - are great in wet, slushy and dry. more agressive in these coditions.

Winter 240's are definatley dry road biased - really nice for light snow areas!

Alex

 

Thanks a lot Alex for your quick response here and to my work email!

The Blizzaks sound like the best fit for me! For everyone's benefit Alex also told me the Bridgestone's are good for cold dry conditions, as long as it's below 50*.

So for me that becomes a no brainer, switch to the Blizzaks late October/November timeframe and drive on 'em until next Spring.

 

I've been running snows for quite awhile here in jolly old New England...some thoughts:

1) first, go w/ 15", get some separate wheels, i.e. steel (I got R81s cheap). A smaller tire will give you more room in the wheel well for when the tires get snow buildup.

2) go for the narrower tire, the better to "cut" through the snow.

3) Blizzaks are great tires, NEW. I've seen their performance drop of considerably after a couple of seasons. One reason is that in order to be a great ice tire, their compound is very soft....so when you're driving around on dry winter macadam, it's chewing the tire. So, I never got too many seasons out of my Blizzaks. I have tried the Pirellis and Yokohamas...I finally settled on Nokian Hakkepelittas, since they're the Vermont state tire, LOL. I've been extremely happy with mine on my MINI.

 

Thanks for the feedback...I've been pricing 17-ers for mounting to my S-Lites or going the 15-16" route and getting a cheap winter rim. It's actually cheaper to get 15" tires and rims instead of the 17" blizzaks. :impatient Decisions, decisions!

 

I ordered additional 17" R90s when new and had the dealer swap over my A/S Goodyear RS-As over - been running on these for 5600 miles.

My S-Lites have been in boxes waiting for this fall. I ordered the Dunlop Winter Sport M3s in 215/45-17 size. I figured I could use the extra 1/4" height for the Vermont rallye berm at the end of my driveway- gesh - coming soon! Dunlop has a $50 rebate that lasts until the end of Oct. on set of four tires purchased. The M3 tread pattern is very similar to the Nokain WRs that I've got on my Audi //S6, just deeper .

 

Can you run a 215/45/17 on the S-lites without having any issues? I'm running the stock suspension right now...

 

I'm running 215/45/17 Blizzak WS-50s. They work perfectly fine.

 

They will work fine. See here

here is the photo and quote, "I'm running 215/45/17 Blizzak WS-50s. They work perfectly fine."

 

You beat me to it by a second or two!

 

Got my new shoes from Tirerack (Thanks Alex) and put them on. I ordered these for the mandatory snow tires that are required by the Germany government. Kazera KZ-R with Pirelli 240 RFT. They are much quieter than my OEM Dunlop summers. I never realized how loud that tire actually was.


https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=36039

 

Nice!!!

 

Thanks guys!!