Picked up some Blizzak WS80 for $100

[volk06]

I've been wanting to get some winter tires for the focus the last couple of years but just didn't pull the trigger due to cost since the focus isn't driven much during the winter months. I found a set of 4, 3 year old Blizzak WS80 tires 195/65/15 for $100. Have ~ 3/4 tread left, consistent and still nice and soft. I think I did pretty good, now just need to see if I can find some rims at the local junk yard for $20 since the focus takes a strange bolt pattern, If not I'll just pay discount tire to mount and unmount them for the time being.

Anyone have these tires? I've read they are supposed to be fantastic and definitely cheaper than brand new. Even though they are only 3/4 tread, they are much cheaper than purchasing brand new and will work much better than the Continental all seasons.

 

[geeman789]

Used these for a few years, very good in extreme winter conditions. Very average on dry roads, but that's not the reason I bought them.

Do note that the WS80 uses a dual compound. Once past the top 1/2 of the tread, the tires are ok, but not nearly as good as when new. There are " winter ... " tread depth markers with a cross hatch pattern in the tread that show when you are near the regular compound. The one photo seems to show that you still have a few 32's before you hit this point.

And, they do wear fast on dry, warm roads, which was the biggest complaint against this model. It has now been replace with the WS90, which promises longer tread life.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted by geeman789
Used these for a few years, very good in extreme winter conditions. Very average on dry roads, but that's not the reason I bought them.

Do note that the WS80 uses a dual compound. Once past the top 1/2 of the tread, the tires are ok, but not nearly as good as when new. There are " winter ... " tread depth markers with a cross hatch pattern in the tread that show when you are near the regular compound. The one photo seems to show that you still have a few 32's before you hit this point.

And, they do wear fast on dry, warm roads, which was the biggest complaint against this model. It has now been replace with the WS90, which promises longer tread life.



The bottom half is "regular" winter compound.

I had the ws-80's and now the dm-v2. They are pretty good in bad conditions.

 

[bullwinkle]

I have a couple sets of (discontnued) Conti Extreme Winter Contacts (xB & Jeep XJ), I literally wait until snow or freezing rain is in the forecast before I put them on, been making it until; almost Christmas lately. That way they should last almost indefinitely because they'll almost never be used in warm conditions (until the dry rot sets in).

 

[Gebo]

How old are they?

 

[bilibako2]

Perfect, Since 1995 using winter tires,Mid nov. to march use,4 cars with sets,lot ow works in/out/clean/storage but worth it.Putting less than 4k miles a season.
Yes age is the factor not being worn,replace after 8 season's.Never seen dry rot on any one of them.Michelin X3 nice one no road noise.

 

[JimPghPA]

I have used Bridgestone Blizzaks on all 4 tires on my cars for many years now, and have recommended them to other people to use.

They actually have decent traction on glare ice, not as good as studded tires on ice but good enough that if you take it easy you should be OK.

One winter a road going down a hill was covered in glare ice. Two men were stopping all vehicles and telling everyone not to go down the hill because of glare ice and that two vehicles had already gone down that hill and had got stuck. I told them I have Blizzaks on all 4 and will be fine I will just take it easy. I went down the hill and around a bend there were to vehicles that had hit the curb and were stuck. One had a blown out tire because the side of there tire hit the curb too hard. I went around them with complete control.

Another time on a different road there was glare ice and several vehicles were stuck along the metal medium divider because the road sloped towards the left in that lane. I went around them with no problem.

One of my brothers had 4 Blizzaks on his vehicle and he came out of a tunnel and onto a bridge that had a very small turn to the right as you enter the bridge. The road had ice on it and he had no problem. The car behind his was identical to his but did not have Blizzaks on it. It slid on the ice and went into a cement wall.

Blizzak tires are great on ice. They are quiet compared to most other snow tires and are decent in snow. Where they really perform is on ice.

You have to put them on late and take them off early so you do not run them in warm weather, if you want to get several winters out of them. A friend of mine calls the rubber on Blizzaks bubblegum rubber. It is soft and will wear out quickly if you run them in warm weather.

 

[nascarnation]

I have a set of Blizzaks for my Cadillac SRX.
They are superb snow/ice tires. (noisy though)
I have General Altimax Arctics on my Sonoma pickup and they are not nearly as good.

 

[nascarnation]

I have a set of Blizzaks for my Cadillac SRX.
They are superb snow/ice tires. (noisy though)
I have General Altimax Arctics on my Sonoma pickup and they are not nearly as good.

 

[Rolla07]

Good grab, they look good! I could use some for my Corolla..

 

[Pew]

Great in snow, especially deep snow but like others have said, they suck in everything else. They're also extremely squishy.

 

[volk06]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Put on late, take off early to prevent excessive wear. Sounds like I'll be holding off until the temps are routinely below 32.

Is a high temp of ~45f still a little to warm for these tires? Would like to put them on for the frosty roads when the mornings are below 32f but the afternoons can still be 45-50f.

 

[mister_two]

Just bought a set from tirerack for the Sienna, 235/60/17. I need to clean up some old RAV4 rims bought from CL before I mount them. Looking forward to how they will perform this winter. I have a set for the Accord for a couple of winters already, good winter tires.

 

[HangFire]

I think you did well for 100. The challenge is to get rims for a reasonable amount too. I have had better luck with FB Marketplace.

45F is you target high temp for your driving times of the day. Above that you get faster wear. It is OK to be driving a little above that. If you're not driving it won't hurt the tire. It's not the opposite of some summer tires, that can be damaged by mere exposure to cold temps.

 

[Slippery_Bearing]

I have a brand new set ready to go in the garage. They will go on the night before first real snow. I'm pretty excited. I bought mine at Tire Rack about a month ago. They were on clearance to make room for the new WS90. Tire Rack also has a $80 rebate going . Hard to beat that.

 

[va2001ss]

Good find! Ran this set of WS80's last winter on my Malibu, impressive cold weather traction and handling.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted by va2001ss
Good find! Ran this set of WS80's last winter on my Malibu, impressive cold weather traction and handling.

Did you pick up those wheels so you didn't have to play mount unmount games. Were did you get those?

 

[va2001ss]

"Did you pick up those wheels so you didn't have to play mount unmount games. Were did you get those?"

I bought the set mounted and balanced from Tire Rack. And yes, so I don't have to remount and balance each year. Plus it saves the OE wheels from salt corrosion! They are American Racing AR921's.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Well they are great looking wheels better than the OE in my opinion. Ten years from now or less they will have paid for themselves just in remounting and rebalancing fees.

 

[va2001ss]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Well they are great looking wheels better than the OE in my opinion. Ten years from now or less they will have paid for themselves just in remounting and rebalancing fees.

Thanks, looking forward to putting them back on for my Malibu's winter look.