|
BLIZZAK-TION Larry Walton, Editorial Services--West For TruckTestDigest.com No chains, no studs and no white knuckles. This is what we found after swapping out the worn 4x4 Ford F250 Power Stroke’s factory all-season tires to the new Bridgestone Blizzaks—a dedicated snow-ice tire. While these were great benefits of the Bridgestone Blizzak, we were also surprised to have the added bonus of increased wet pavement traction, reduced road noise and improved ride comfort. Tread depth cautions were being circled on the service sheets of our F-250 SuperDuty about the time we were getting ready to gear up for another ski season. So we figured it was good timing for a set of winter tires. For once it would be nice to have tires approved as traction devices for the Oregon mountain passes, so we had our local Bridgestone dealer mount a set of Bridgestone Blizzak W965 tires. The first thing we noticed was a quieter, smoother ride with the Blizzak tires. With the softer and thicker tread compound between our truck and the road surface, rough roads felt less so. Obstacles that normally caused some teeth rattling like highway expansion joints and bridge transitions were barely perceptible. With the exception of an occasional rock stuck in the deep treads, things got much quieter as well. The Blizzaks rolled right through a variety of speed ranges without emitting noticeable road noise. We also experienced a marked improvement in wet pavement traction. Our
F-250 SuperDuty had recently “Directional tires channel water out laterally, but the Blizzak is designed with lots of void to give the water a place to go within the foot print,” according to Bill VandeWater, Bridgestone Consumer Products Manager Sales Engineering. This allows the tread blocks to touch the road surface. NICE ON ICE Our ice driving test for the Blizzak tires took us by surprise as we headed north on I-5 very early one morning. Ground level temperatures were below freezing and it was raining when I noticed something I didn’t like at all – no spray coming off of the tires of the big rigs. Soon after noticing this warning, we saw southbound headlights in the northbound lanes – lots of them – belonging to spun out vehicles. We went around several cars that were stopped, facing the wrong way, against guardrails or on the shoulder. The Blizzaks performed remarkably well in these conditions. The biggest challenge we had was positioning our truck so it was not a target for vehicles with less grip.
SNOW PACK The Blizzaks were right at home on our trips above the snowline in the high Cascades. The voids in the treads stayed clean in fresh snow. This is by design because you want tires to dig into the snow. This is also the reason the Blizzaks have a narrow footprint – to dig in. We found that the Blizzak performed well in both fresh snow and packed snow. While this takes a little of the squirrely fun out of playing in the snow, it adds up to a big increase in security when safety really counts. We got better starts, improved handling and surer stops in both snow and ice. A REAL SOFTY Another feature of a good winter tire is softer tread compounds. “Tread compounds are designed to operate within specific temperature ranges,” says VandeWater. “Above that range, tires tend to get too soft and wear rapidly. Below that range, tires will become too hard and not conform to the road surface.” This latter condition results in reduced traction. The soft tread compound that helps make the Blizzak so superior as a winter tire also means it wears quickly in summer conditions. The Blizzak is not an all season tire. Not that you would want to use this tire in warm, dry conditions. We found the dry pavement handling to be a bit squishy. In fact, we kept checking the tire inflation levels until we got use to the less responsive feel of the Blizzak on dry pavement. CONCLUSION As we expected, the Bridgestone Blizzak tires delivered outstanding performance in winter driving conditions. The comfort, quiet ride, and most of all for the confidence that comes with having the right tire for the worst the winter can dish out are great benefits.—Larry Walton, Editorial Services--West SpecsTire: Bridgestone Blizzak W965 with UNI-T Size: LT265/75R16 Type: radial Load range: E Max load (lb @ psi) Sidewall: 2 ply polyester Tread: 2 ply polyester, 2 ply steel cord and 1 ply nylon Approved rim width (in.): 7.0-8.0 Tread depth (in.): 18/32 Section width (in.): 10.5 Overall diameter (in.): 31.9 Static loaded radius (in.): 14.8 Revs per mile: 653 Weight (lb.): 46 Test vehicle: Ford F-250 SuperDuty 4x4 extra cab 7.3 PowerStroke diesel
|
received some diesel performance upgrades that frequently generated wheel
spin on wet pavement in two wheel drive, even with light throttle input.
When shod with the Blizzaks the big torque was manageable even in the
wettest conditions.
The siping in the
Blizzak tread design improves ice traction dramatically. From a distance
the tread blocks look solid but upon close examination there are
separations or slots much like a pre-sliced loaf of bread. As tread
blocks put pressure on the ice, a thin layer of water forms which is the
primary reason gripping on ice is so difficult. The Blizzak tread block
sipes open to give this water a place to go, which allows the rubber to
grip the ice. At the same time, these individual slices of tread block
provide more edges to increase grip.