Atomic1

Hello all. I'm kicking around the idea of purchasing a dedicated set of winter tires for my CRV. I live in the midwest and do a lot of interstate driving. As such, the biggest concern is that, while the snow traction is good, I'll be kicking myself if they're unstable in dry conditions at highway speeds.

I have a set of Blizzak LM-25's for my civic and like the way they perform, but they're not available for the CRV. It seems like the Dunlop Graspic DS-3 may be a little more stable than blizzaks but I'm sure it's anyone's guess unless they've actually ridden on the tire. anyone with insight is welcome to comment. Thanks

nsxtasy

The Tire Rack puts winter tires into several categories. Two of these are the primary ones to consider. "Studless Ice and Snow" tires offer the best traction on ice and snow; however, their handling can feel a bit "mushy", especially on days when it's a bit warmer than normal. "Performance Winter" tires trade off a bit of ultimate grip on snow and ice in exchange for better handling on dry pavement, at high speeds, and on warmer days.

Since your preference leans more towards highway handling rather than the ultimate grip in snow/ice, you ought to concentrate on one of the "performance winter tires", such as the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 on your Civic, rather than one of the "studless snow and ice tires", such as the Dunlop Graspic DS-3.

You can look up your size on the Tire Rack website to see which of the performance winter tires are available.

Atomic1

Understanding the handling of a CRV is quite different than a civic, how mushy is mushy? Would you feel unsafe driving 75mph on a dry 50 degree day and making quick lane changes? I guess I'm just looking for some opinions on realhand experience

They dont seem to make the performance winter's for CRV's. So it looks like it's either allseason or studless.

nsxtasy

It's all relative. I wouldn't want to make lane changes too quick at 75 mph with any tires in any weather. But when I'm on the racetrack, it's a different story. The fact is, winter tires and even all-season tires aren't going to feel as crisp as summer tires on a warm day, no matter what you do. OTOH winter tires will give you better grip in snow than all-seasons.

What year is your CRV and what size are your wheels and tires? Maybe they make some performance winter tires in a slightly different size that would fit your car.

GagnarTheUnruly

iTrader: (3)

I've got 205-70-R15 Blizzak WS-50's on steelies for my 99 CR-V and they work great. They definitely improve winter handling and deal equally well with ice, soft snow, and snow berms that form as a result of plowing. As far as instability at highway speed, I have to say I haven't noticed as much of a difference as I do when the Integra is on winter tires. A little extra tire slop gets lost in the overall compliance of the CR-V suspension.

On those tires I drove from Montana to Lawrence, KS and back last winter and it was warm and dry the whole way except for one snowstorm in St. Joseph and kind of bad icy conditions in Wyoming. The tires worked flawlessly under all conditions, taking us down the highway in plenty of comfort in the dry (albeit with a little extra road noise) and getting us safely to an exit when conditions became dangerous in Wyoming.

I'd strongly recommend getting a full set of snows on steelies so you can swap them on in the winter if you're worried about the conditions and off again whenever you don't want or need them. It's better than skimping and losing your car, or worse.

Atomic1

Thank you Gagnar, that's the opinion I was looking for.

Incidentally, during my research I found this link that may be useful for others...
http://legacygt.com/forums/printthread.php?t=3043

It's a translated swedish review. Interesting how they rate the WS-50 blizzaks as:
Bridgestone "Blizzak WS-50" (non-studded)
Disqualified

Dangerous! Blizzak is so dangerous on pavement that it is disqualified from the test. The skids during an avoidance manuever are so difficult to stop that it is an outright traffic danger. Blizzak has been one of the big sellers for many years. The winter-abilities (snow, ice and slush) are mediocre at best.

+ Grip on Snow and Ice (for a studless tire)
- Pavement

nsxtasy

Based on my experience driving on Blizzaks, that is the most ignorant, ridiculous, wrong-headed, STUPID opinion I've ever read about them.

GagnarTheUnruly

iTrader: (3)

^^^^ agree. The CR-V is perfectly safe on pavement with those tires and also far superior in the snow vs all seasons (and probably many winter tires as well). Regardless, they've tweaked the designs on that series and the WS-50 is no longer available. I'd get whatever current tire is getting the best reviews on TireRack (FWIW X-Ice work well on my 'Teg).

People on this forum are always looking for magical upgrades that make their cars perform better. Tires are the only things that can completely change the performance envelope of a particular vehicle. I don't want to talk them up too much, but it's really pretty amazing how well winter tires do their job on all the conditions they need to work in (ice, fresh snow, deep snow, packed snow, wet pavement, dry pavement). They cut stopping distances and turning radii in half, literally, in slick conditions, and the dry handling and treadwear tradeoff is very slight vs all season m+s tires if the air is cool.