Blizzak WS-70 One Year Later - Blowout

Last year I bought myself a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70's, detailed here: New Tires.

Friday I had the misfortune of hitting a giant pothole and totally destroying my drivers side front tire.  I knew Costco had roadhazard warranty on their tires so I figured I would bring it in to see what they could do for me.  When I saw the tire I couldn't believe how much the tread was worn on it, it was basically worn out.  I'd say I got less than 20,000 km out of the tire and it had been rotated from the previous winter.  I did put them on a little early in October but still the wear was really severe for a winter and a half.  The other front was also quite worn but the rear tires seemed have a good amount of tread remaining.

I showed up at Costco and the guy told me with only 4/32 left I could only get about a 30% discount towards the new tire but they also provided free installation and balancing.  The tires new were $229.  Although I was disappointed with the wear on the tires the discount made it worth my while to get two new Blizzaks.  I was going to switch to Michelin X-Ice but they didn't have any available.  I'm not sure if I will be keeping the Optima much more than another year so with two new winter tires I should be good through next winter.

Without any discount the two new tires would be about $560 but they gave me almost $80 off per tire (even though I had only ruined one tire) and free installation and balancing.  The total came to just under $340 which I thought was pretty good.  It will take two weeks for them to get in so I am praying for minimal snow between now and then.  On front I have one mostly worn and one decent winter tire with an all season and one decent winter tire on back.... not exactly an optimal tire set up but it beats driving around on a dummy tire.

Winter Tires - Bridgestone Blizzak Update

We had our first snowfall of the year this week so I got to try out my new winter tires.  Although we didn't have a lot of snow, it was enough to test out the tires quite well, about 10 cms.  I found them great on ice and hard packed snow, braking was also very impressive.  I found it better with my traction control off because with it on I would get a bit of wheel spin from a stop when turning out into traffic which is a bit scary when traction control takes over and cuts power to the front wheels.  Nothing like being half way out into an intersection and not able to move!

Just wanted to let you know the tires are great so far, I am very happy with my selection!

Bridgestone Blizzaks - Winter Tires Day 1

Last night I had my winter tires put on, I know it's early but we are going on vacation next week and could very well come back to 25 cm of snow. It's better to be safe than sorry, and with my factory tires I would be VERY sorry if we had snow.

As expected the Costco car guys loved the Optima.  The cashier said how he had a Forte and loved it as well but my car was beautiful.  He mentioned how he had a dog and the salesguy told him that he was covered for any damage the dog did to the material in the car, I didn't have the heart to tell him he probably paid $500 or more for that without even knowing it.  He seemed happy enough about it all so that's all that counts, not everyone is as hard to get along with as I am.

I find the Blizzaks great for driving, they stick to the road and soak up the bumps far better than my original tires.  They look good too in my opinion, I am glad I never went with the black steelie rims and smaller tires.  Once my factory summer tires are toast, which will probably take about one more year, I am really looking forward to getting some good rubber on this car.  

I dropped back to Costco for the recommended re-torque today, a guy popped out and did it in five minutes and I was on my way again.  Can't wait to see how they work in the snow, that's probably not too far down the road.....

Winter Tires - The Saga Continues... and ends

So I had a nice plan to get a set of 16" X-Ice 3's from Costco for $970 on winter rims.... then today I called Kia just to make sure they would be a good fit and not have any warranty issues.  I remember when I bought the car it came with larger brakes which I thought was nice.  The thing I didn't account for is that those larger brakes would mean I needed larger rims to clear the brake callipers.

So they called me back shortly after saying they tried to fit 6" rims on a EX Luxury with no luck and the 17" steel rims would not fit but they had some 17" alloys that would fit..... and cost $210 a piece.  SO for the low price of $1640 + tax and installation I could get some 17" winter tires on alloy rims.  After slowing my increased heart rate I said thanks for the info but NO.  They also mentioned that if I damage my original rims it would cost about $600 to replace one, I guess as a last ditch effort to sell me the 17" wheel/rim package.... thanks but I'll pass.

So on to plan B.... keep my nice rims on all year round and bite the bullet on a set of 18" winter tires.  I wasn't looking forward to ugly black rims anyway so it was partly a blessing.  The unknown factor is how much a set of 18" winter tires would set me back.  I was headed to Costco tonight anyway for a cheap propane fill up (I still can't believe they only charge $12 to fill a tank), so a trip to the tire center was in order.

I gave them the size (225/45/18) and they said it would be a special order but all that meant is I would have to pay up front as opposed to paying when I pick them up, no big deal. They didn't have any X-Ice 3's in my size but they did have some Blizzaks they could order in.  They would be  $218 each as opposed to $140 for the 16"  version so they were more expensive but not prohibitively so and I didn't have to buy rims now.  There was still $70 off a set so all in with $15 installation fee per tire (which includes nitrogen and a 60 month road hazard warranty) the total was just north of $1,000.  I was ready to commit $970 to the X-Ice 3's so I guess that wasn't too bad and my rims won't look like crap for half the year.

In the end I think it all worked out well, can't wait to try them out after our first snowfall of the year!

Winter Tires - Michelin vs Bridgestone

It didn't take me long to figure out to go with either Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70 or Michelin X-Ice Xi3.   They are basically the top rated semi-affordable passenger tires on most sites.  The Xi3 are actually new this year, replacing the Xi2.  They have all kinds of funky technology built into them which you can read about here: http://www.michelin.ca/tire-selector/category/winter/x-ice-xi3/tire-details

There are pros and cons to both tires.  The Blizzak's have a deeper tread which makes them better in deep snow but they also wear quicker than the Xi3 according to most reviews I read.  They wear especially quick if you drive them in above 0 temps, of course around here temperatures fluctuate quite a bit and we don't usually get the consistent deep cold snaps like in other parts of the country.  If the plan is to get Blizzaks you should wait to put them on and get them off as soon as winter is gone, but look like a great winter tire.

The Xi3 may not be as good in deep snow but they come with a 60,000 km warranty which is great for winter tires, most winter tires don't come with any treadwear warranty.  I'm sure there are some catches with that warranty but basically they are saying you will get 60,000 km before they need to be replaced.  That will probably cover 4 to 5 winters for most drivers.  These tires are supposed to be great for icy and packed down snow, which we get a lot of here.

So if both are equally priced I think the Xi3 are the way to go.  Unfortunately they are not equally priced.  Just for the heck of it I went to Crappy Tire to get a quote on 4 installed Xi3 tires on winter rims, they had a $70 rebate on a set of 4 tires.  The grand total came to $1,230...... that seemed like a lot.  I then went to Costco and got a quote on 4 installed Blizzaks on winter rims because they had $70 off a set of Blizzaks.  The grand total on those was $770.   WOW $460 difference, how can that be, the actual tire cost was $168 for the Xi3 vs $138 for the Blizzaks, that only accounts for about $150 of the difference once tax is taken into account.

Could it be that Crappy Tire is fleecing the unsuspecting consumer....... of course they are, detailed results to follow in a day or two!