What a nice surprise. I ordered a set of Blizzak WS60's (215/55-17) mounted on MSW Type 14's (a 5 spoke wheel) from the Tire Rack on Monday morning. I came home earlier this evening and saw my shipment sitting outside the front door. I was honestly thinking it would take longer, but they shipped from Nevada and arrived in Cowtown in less than 5 days. Not bad for UPS Standard.

Installing tomorrow will be fun. It's -24 C outside (-35ish with the windchill) but even with the shelter of the garage it will still be a nice cold time switching out the summer wheels and tires and throwing on the winters. But it'll be great to be back to driving the G!!!

 

Good stuff, BMC, doesn't look like the snow's going away anytime soon.

 

Nice news BMC. G/L with the switchover.

 

The garage was cold, but not being subjected to the wind made it bearable and the switchover was relatively quick.

First impressions on the Blizzak WS60's:

Definitely an improvement over the General Exclaim UHP all-seasons. Makes sense given that the winter tread is designed to help bite into the snow and make for better traction.

Slippy when coming from a standstill and making a turn. The key is just to ease off a bit on the throttle and this will help minimize wheelspin. After all, it's not summer anymore! Same thing when driving on the straights on icy roads - not a wise thing to be hammering on the throttle because on a RWD this will cause the backend to break loose - all easily recoverable but it sure scares the crap out of the drivers beside and behind you.

All in all, the winters have provided noticeably better traction and reduce stopping distances on braking. You still have to drive intelligently given that the G sedan has quite a bit of power and it's a RWD. On dry roads, the handling, as expected is not as responsive as the stock 18 set up - more sidewall on the winter 17's and these are not intended to be high performance tires. Here's a pic. The MSW Type 14's aren't too bad looking for winter tires, are easy to clean and fairly light. The car is grimy and is in sore need of a wash and some TLC.

 

Running a full set of winter tires on my G35x - I think people are blown away by how quick that car can "get off the line" even on icy roads. The only thing I need to watch out for is making sure there's nobody sliding through the intersection on the red light who's going to t-bone me!

 

This is my third winter with Dunlop Winter Sport M3 (215/55x17) on my 2005
6MT sedan. Although it is an excellent winter tire when the roads are dry, wet or a bit slushy, you have to be more careful driving in deep snow (15 cm and up). You need to keep the momentum going in deep snow otherwise you risk getting stuck. There is a compromise between performance and non performance winter tire. I may switch over to non-performance winter tires next winter.
My street seems to be always the last street to be plough.

 

Good idea when you have HP + RWD.
My neighbour, with his new BMW 1 Series Coupé (nice car BTW), has been driving around (or should I say trying to drive around) on his winter sports but he gets stuck in a few inches of snow. He's OK most of the time but like you our road is one of the last to see a snow plough. I have only pushed him a few times...what are neighbours for?

 

Sooo I'm not used to this albertan lifestyle where the residential roads are not plowed lol. running nokian hakka r's on a 17 inch superlite rim. No complaints other than going sideways in low gears which is expected with the hp. Now if only the roads could be plowed so my poor G isnt bottoming out on the snow in the middle lol

 

Hey guys

this is my second year with this set, and it feels like crap first year wasnt doing great as well, car is so slippery, not to mention got stuck in snow few times already, i had dunlop m3 before it works fine, but this set seems really bad does anyone has feedback regarding 3D wintersport? i feel like i'm using all season tires, the traction in snow is really bad.

i have a 07 G35S

 

I'm running Blizzak WS 60 on my 08 G35S, & it's like a tank in the snow.
I'm also carrying some sand in the trunk for a little extra traction.

also...
lots of snow tire info in our "WinterTire Info thread"
check the LINKS stickie at the top.

 

This is my third winter with Dunlop Winter Sport M3 on a '05 G35 6MT sedan. Although it is a very good winter tire for dry/wet roads, I find that is does not perform well in deep snow. This contradicts the raving reviews on Tirerack as an excellent wnter tire which is why I purcahse them.
Next winter tires will be Blizzaks.

 

I have both but I would still prefer Dunlops over Blizzaks. Dunlop corners well and stops nice. Can't say the same for Blizzaks. The Blizzaks aren't performance oriented snow tires in my mind. I think if you want deep snow traction, you may want to look at Nokia's.

 

I have had Nokia Hakkapalettas and a couple sets of Blizzaks. The Nokias worked fantastic but Blizzaks work just as good and the big plus is they are easier to get. There are not too many Nokian Dealers around.

 

If you want deep snow traction, any winter sport tire is not for you..
IMO, I love my Winter sport 3D. However, it is more meant for dry but cold condiitions instead of deep snow...

 

Appreciate that info Godmans. I was thinking I might try the Dunlops next time since they are more performance orientated. I have used Nokians and two sets of Blizzaks and they have been fantastic in snow and ice. I guess I will stay with the Blizzaks again my next time around.