# Winter tire sticky for 2009-2010 season



## [email protected] (Jun 10, 2003)

*--The basics :*

Get snow tires appropriate to your climate and driving style. If you don't see much snow during the winter, and you like to drive/corner fast on cold, dry roads then look into the H-rated or V-rated high performance snow tires like the Bridgestone Blizzak LM25/LM60 or the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D.

If your area gets heavier snow, you are often driving on packed snow and ice, or if you are just willing to give up some dry grip and steering response for maximum safe winter traction then look into a more aggressive snow tire like the Blizzak WS-60 or Michelin XIce XI2. Winter tires like these will offer the best in snow and ice traction, but will give up some dry road responsiveness over an H/V rated snow tires to get it.

Choosing between these two categories may be difficult and is mostly a personal preference choice for the tradeoff between snow traction versus dry road handling. However it is important to keep in mind what your worst conditions will be as that is the time when you'll need the traction the most! Driving on a dry road is pretty easy, its when the weather gets rough that things get more challenging.

*--New/Updated this season and reminders from last season *:

The Blizzak WS-60 which is the 3rd generation of the original Blizzak tire for maximum winter traction continues on and has replaced the WS-50. Compared to the old WS-50, the new WS-60 is a marginal improvement in snow traction, a more noticeable step up in ice traction, and is also more stable in dry handling than the WS-50. The dry handling and cornering stability has been improved to the point that even the speed rating has been upgraded from a Q to an R. Wear should be slightly improved by the more stable tread blocks on the tread. They will still feel pretty soft/spongy compared to higher performance H and V rated snows (especially at full tread depth!) but are among the best for maximum ice and snow traction of any winter tire we carry.

Dunlop has replaced their old DS-2 winter tires with the DS-3 for improved and replaced by the DS3 for better dry road handling (a common complaint on the old DS2 version). It looks to be a good entry-level option for those wanting good snow traction on a tight budget.

The big news this season for those on this forum is the replacement of the Blizzak LM25 with the new Blizzak LM60 In the past the LM25 and Dunlop 3D tires were considered pretty equal to each other in snow traction and in dry road handling/cornering and were the tires of choice for most in this category. The redesigned LM60 is moving the balance closer to the snow traction side of the equation by using the more aggressive tread pattern of the WS60 but with a compound and construction of a high performance snow tire like the LM25/3D. The end result will be noticeably improved snow and ice traction over the LM25/3D with only a small sacrifice in steering response and dry cornering. This tire will be an great choice for someone having trouble deciding between the high performance snow tires that sacrifice a lot of snow traction and the Q/R rated snow tires that trade off too much in handling and dry grip. I feel the LM60 ideally suits many drivers needs for an ideal balance of snow/ice traction while still keeping acceptable dry handling and grip for the non-snowy days.

*--A final word of advice *: Don't wait too long. Ordering early when most products are still available lets you choose what you want to buy rather than being forced to settle for what is left over. Best to be ready with products in hand before it snows so that you can put them on when you are ready rather than waiting for a shipment to arrive after the first snow. We should have most inventory available in early October. Tires and wheels purchased together are mounted and balanced at no charge to make changeover easy.

*Here is a direct link to the winter tires area* :

_http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/winter/index.jsp_

*Don't forget to refer to 'Gary/Bimmerfest when you order online so that I can look over the order and get the forum credit for the sale. *

:thumbsup:


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