How can you determine how much long a snow tire will last?

iceracer wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: Surpised to hear about the age thing with Blizzaks. I had a 6-year old set on my Saturn, and it was a night/day difference over 1yr old all seasons. Blizzaks went anywhere I could expect a snow tire to take me, and handled great on snowy surfaces, all seasons sucked as usual. I suppose new Blizzaks would/could be even better, but I would really be surprised if the difference was that great.

The difference probably comes from the amount of tread left on the 6 yr old tires, nothing to do with age. My 5 yr old Blizzaks are just as soft as when I bought them. they show very little wear after app. 12k miles.

My 6 year old tires were still pretty much full tread. Bought them from someone who barely used them.

They are still somewhere in the GRM family (sold to Moxnix before I moved)

it's interesting how they do not hold up on pavement. Here in NJ.. we usually get a big storm or two each year and a few dustings.. I had thought to get Snow Tyres, but in all reality, 99% of the time, they would be on pavement

It varies - I've found that Hankook iPike w409's are not only AWESOME in snow, they last a LONG time, even with hot summer driving. They get noisy, but seem to wear very, very well.

mad_machine wrote: it's interesting how they do not hold up on pavement. Here in NJ.. we usually get a big storm or two each year and a few dustings.. I had thought to get Snow Tyres, but in all reality, 99% of the time, they would be on pavement

Not so different here in lower NY. That's one of the reasons I opted for the Dunlop Wintersport 3Ds for my 525i; they're really quite acceptable on dry pavement, but help with the snow when necessary (and that car can use all the help it can get in these hills).

In reply to Grtechguy:

just a few more parts and you'll have a Bluesmobile. from Firestone's website:

PVS, which stands for Pursuit Vehicle Snow, is specially designed for law enforcement and high-speed emergency use in winter conditions. This V-Speed rated Firehawk tire provides the ideal balance between snow and wet performance with an emphasis on positive steering response. Rely on PVS maneuverability on dry roads too. Look for the snowflake symbol on the sidewall which means it meets the demanding Severe Snow Service criteria.

i have no personal experience with them, but i know from doing some state police and sheriff's department vehicle evaluations back in the day, if it makes it onto cop cars it's probably pretty good.

We had about 4" of snow yesterday and had to go a few places today. I figured out that this is the fifth season for the Blizzaks on our Odyssey, and they're still performing very well on snow/ice. We average about 4-5K per year on them during the winter, so they have at least 16K on them, and I think we'll get another two seasons out of them. I'm sure a new set would perform even better, but they're still light years ahead of all seasons.

Picked up the tires and rims today for $350. I hope to get them mounted on the van tomorrow. They look to be in good shape, and should work better than the all seasons we have on the Sienna now.

Chris

I put a set of blizzaks on my v8 quattro. Not much fun too much traction. Point and shoot went any direction the front wheels were pointed. I couldn't get it to slide at all, no fun.

come on now ... the idea of snow tires isn't to have fun ... it's to get where you're going with a min. of fuss ... if you want fun you leave the bald no seasons on and you'll have all the fun you can handle