[pdude]

OK, (ice and snow) Blizzak ws70 and (performance winter) Dunlop Sport 3D. All in 5 days.

I've been thinking about winter tires for about 2 seasons now, after much research and forum scouting, I've decided on Dunlop Sport 3D.
When I went to Belle Tire (outside of Detroit), the guy only had 2 in stock, he did have the Blizzaks available and $70 mail-in-rebate. I thought to myself, I made the trip, need winters, Blizzaks are a good tire (have done my research), let's just get them on.
Cost: $570 - $20coupon - $70rebate = 480, not bad for a premium ice and snow set of winters.
Next day we get snow, the car is amazing, not a single slip; hills, corners, anything you want to do, it's done. The car feels solid, I'm thrilled. Winter tires are for real and are here to stay.
Then I get on the highway, and damn... The car feels like it's gliding, the side wall is in no way enough for this, by far the worst handling experience of my life. I'm thinking, where is my BMW, the car is so unresponsive, it's almost dangerous at high speeds. After the weekend, I go back to Belle Tire, I tell the guy, the tires are great in snow, but highway and handling on dry surface is just plain minivan/f150 like (if even that good). He orders me the Dunlops I originally wanted. He takes the Blizzaks off, no charge, about 300km on them (great customer service btw) and I'm off.
The Dunlops are great, not as tight as my summers but for the winter driving, and after the 5 day experience with Blizzaks, I'm extremely happy with the 3D's.

In conclusion, my first set of winters; I never thought the sidewall and actually tire style/rating could make such a difference in terms of handling.
Blizzaks are great in snow, slightly better than Dunlops, but not enough to be driving them if you do most of your winter travel on salty highways.
Now I feel like I'm driving a BMW, that feeling was completely gone with the Blizzaks.

Sorry for the long write up, but I see a lot of guys here trying to decide on winters, the above is my story. 25/75 c/h driving.
Now we'll see how many seasons they last.

[EVTee]

I have no experience with the Dunlop 3D but I do have the WS70 on my car. However, I don't think that it is terrible at all. Yes, it probably doesn't handle as well as a performance winter tire but it is not horrible on the highways either. Now I'm not sure what the highway condition is like where you live, but it does just fine in Vancouver's horribly paved roads. It is a soft tire, but I've changed my driving attitude for winter driving. The WS70 won't have confidence inspiring handling like a performance tire would, but it is in no way much worse than a non-rft all season tires. The fastest I've went with the Blizzaks is around 120 - 130km/h going down I-5 and its still fine.

Maybe yours wasn't properly inflated?

[pdude]

EVTee, I guess it's possible the tire was under-inflated, but I just wanted to share my experience with my first set of winters. If I lived up North of Toronto, perhaps that would be the tire of choice, but I just find for my needs and style of driving I enjoyed the Dunlops. Both tires are good, I just like the 3DS better.
Nice car btw... I drove a 335d loaner and it kicks butt...

[marcvtec]

Blizzak ws70 - thats the problem (minivan winter tire)
Blizzak LM60 - is the solution (performance winter tire)

[Inzane]

I have Blizzak LM-60s on my 335i. (performance winter, similar to the 3Ds). I'm on my second winter with them now.

To be honest I kind of regret the decision. While they do handle nicely on dry payment, they kinda suck in deep snow (I got stuck twice last year).

My next set of winters probably won't be a "performance" winter tire. I will look at either the WS70s or a Nokian.

[TheMagician]

I only drove 200km on my Dunlop M3 and the tires are amazing on both highway/streets.

[MrZ]

Used to have Gislaved NF 3 (or 5, can't remember). Although their handling wasn't even close to 3Ds (have them now), can't say they felt bad/unstable on the highway. As someone mentioned maybe they were not properly inflated (none of the shops I used inflated the tires to car manufacturer recommendations. They usually do like 35 psi all 4).

Wintersport 3Ds... They are just amazing on dry/wet, the car feels very stable.
But, when I tried them in the snow (2 cm) for the first time, I was very disappointed. From a complete stop the car accelerated (with traction control on) as it would on a clear road if you just release the brake pedal without touching the gas. Maybe worse... Yeah, it sucked that much. With TC disabled slightly better. At that point I regretted not going with the snow tire.

But, today I tried again in an even deeper snow, like 2-3 cm (the only difference between the first time and this time that I can think of is that it was colder today, -15). And it accelerated much, much better with less wheel spin.

I don't know what caused these two different outcomes... I'll see what experiences I'll have in the future.

[MMachines]

I have 3d's and love them.

[DnA Diesel]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Used to have Gislaved NF 3 (or 5, can't remember). Although their handling wasn't even close to 3Ds (have them now), can't say they felt bad/unstable on the highway.

I've got the General-licensed V-rated version of the NF 3 (Artimax) and They're pretty darned good. Just drove up to Petawawa and back, earlier this week during the overall dumping on S.Ontario, and the D crunched through the 4-6" thick slush north of Renfrew like it was butter. My only complaint is that the tire is pretty loud. A good friend has Winter Sport 3D's on his WRX, and they are much quieter than the Artimax/NF3's - I think I'll get the 3D's next time around.

Cheers
D

[marcvtec]

don't do the dunlop 3D
Had them for 2 seasons and the blizzaks LM 60 is better IMO
with the dunlop 1st gear traction sucked vs the blizzacks

[OwnAge]

Dunlop 3d are awesome. I've been driving from jay peak to tramblant and other places ... Crazy places... And never a single difficulty. Btw I'm not awd ... I dunno bot blizzaks but my tires are sick

[Rambler]

I have the 3ds and have never gotten stuck anywhere with them in NE snow and ice, on my 135 or 335d. Also, they probably handle better than the stock run-flats!

[Hedges]

I currently have Sottozeros 240's and they are garbage second they have some kind of snow! However when they plow the snow , these things are amazing!

[ryanful]

I'm running the WS70 and concur with the original post. I love the WS70's whenever it's slippery out, they have phenomenal grip in icy conditions; but in the dry, they are almost slick feeling. Stand on it in a tight corner, and the stability control is working HARD to keep the car going on the intended path.

But it's my wife's car, and not getting stuck in the ice and snow trumps dry handling for the winter. (But I'm counting the days until the summer rubber goes back on .)

[Eye8Pussies]

Originally Posted by Hedges

I currently have Sottozeros 240's and they are garbage second they have some kind of snow! However when they plow the snow , these things are amazing!

I had these on my supercharged camry and they were incredible on cold/dry, but sucked balls once there was snow on the ground...


I've got the gislaved NF5s on my 330i and they are very squirmy on the highway at 140kph+, but I chose them knowing they had soft sidewalls. I was uncertain about my decision due to their lack of dry performance until the snow started falling, and now it's all worth it. It drives as though there isn't any snow on the ground.

I chose them for their snow performance because I regularly go up to the Lindsay area and they def don't plow like we do in Toronto.


From my experience with winter tires, I've found that the alpine PA3s are a very good tire for all-around, but are just extremely expensive. Amazing in both dry and deep snow. Had them on my supercharged solara (16") and wish that I could afford to put them on my 330 with the 17s

[gboop]

I finally got the V rated 3D's mounted a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed with cold/dry/slush traction so far. Can't comment on deep snow.. yet....

The tires were Hunter Road Force balanced and are quiet, smooth, with absolutely no vibration at very high speeds. Stability feels almost on par with the summer runflats. The car actually feels more composed because some of the runflat harshness has been smoothed out. Definitely the best perf winter tire I've ever had.

BTW OP - the 3D's qualify for an $80 mail-in rebate. Don't miss it.

[bdardashti]

I've got a set of the 3Ds on my car for about a week now, and have gone through one snowfall (2-3cm) with them plus plenty of parking lot fun. The tires, in my opinion, are excellent. Good snow traction (perfect steering and acceleration, but the braking isn't perfect - I guess nothing substitutes for dry ground). It's also got excellent wet/dry driving feel. I've got a set of Brigestone Potenza RFT summers that came with the car, and honestly, these tires are better than those in every aspect except hard cornering traction. Much more comfortable, much less noise, just much nicer overall driving feel.

From what I've experienced so far, highly recommended.

[bdardashti]

Originally Posted by gboop

I finally got the V rated 3D's mounted a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed with cold/dry/slush traction so far. Can't comment on deep snow.. yet....

The tires were Hunter Road Force balanced and are quiet, smooth, with absolutely no vibration at very high speeds. Stability feels almost on par with the summer runflats. The car actually feels more composed because some of the runflat harshness has been smoothed out. Definitely the best perf winter tire I've ever had.

BTW OP - the 3D's qualify for an $80 mail-in rebate. Don't miss it.

Since I also bought a set of the 3Ds recently, I looked at the coupon on Dunlop's site, and it says it has to be purchased from a Canadian retailer who operates a physical store in Canada. I got it from Tire Rack...do you think it would still work?

[slenfe]

Originally Posted by Hedges

I currently have Sottozeros 240's and they are garbage second they have some kind of snow! However when they plow the snow , these things are amazing!

First congratulations pdude it's about time you got winter tires for your ride, I have Sottozeros 240's as well they do OK in light snow some slip but nothing dangerous though my feeling is that in deep snow "never tested" they will be stuck. I am not sure how different this will be compared to other Performance winter? I am assuming it's almost identical.

[323Guy]

First of all, great thread. Thanks for kickstarting this.

As for winters, i too have the Dunlops and love the traction. The one thing is that I just find them way to loud. I havent seen anyone mention this so maybe it's to be expected. This is my first set of winters so I dont really know.

[Slalom]

I too have the Dunlops. They are very good on both snow and dry pavement. As the poster above mentions they are a bit noisy, but less than the all seasons that came with my car (Bridgestone Turanzas).

[bdardashti]

Originally Posted by Slalom

I too have the Dunlops. They are very good on both snow and dry pavement. As the poster above mentions they are a bit noisy, but less than the all seasons that came with my car (Bridgestone Turanzas).

I thought they were amazingly quiet, but that's probably because of the horrendous Potenza RFT summers that came with the car. Can't wait to get rid of those.