SF_TTMT6

For the past few weeks, I have been testing the Contis and Bridgestone Blizzaks.
Went to Tahoe on 24-26th of December, took the Blizzak 205/55/16 on Steel wheels. Don't expect them to peform on dry. I had to drive 150 miles on bare road before reaching any snow.
The drive on the bare felt like driving a Lincoln Navigator, the steering response was really slow. But once it started raining, the tires start to excel.
On the snow, the Blizzaks are unstoppable, I drove around Lake Tahoe with a lot more confidence, driving pass snow plows and spun out SUVs. Part of the road around the lake was closed for avalance control, had to turn around and drive 60 miles back around the lake to get back to my hotel. There were about 3-4 feet of snow reported, maybe more. It was pretty late at night and there were very few cars, my average speed was 40mph, I could have easily hit 70MPH.
Overall, I was really impressed with the snows, tire wear was minimal. When I left SF, there were 10-11/32" of thread left and came back with the same.
The only complaint was the time I had to spend to swap the winter tires.

The Continental ContiExtremeContact tires I bought were 225/45ZR17, mounted them on my stock wheels. I had to replace my stock Michelin Pilots cuz there were only 2/32" of thread left. The Pilots lasted me 30K miles, pretty good for tires rated at 220.
I had no idea what I should expect, there were lots of good reviews for these tires. The dry handling was superb, cannot tell if they have more or less traction, did not have the chance to push them.
The main reason for buyin them was for the snow traction.
I drove these tires to LA from SF via I-80 west and then 395 south, on the Dec 30th. The total journey was about 600 miles. The road was pretty much covered with snow from Truckee to Mammoth Lakes. My average snow speed was 45mph, took them up to 60mph easily.
The Contis were probably peformed very close to the Blizzaks. I can say, 20% worse than the Blizzaks.

I sold my blizzaks the very next day.

Would I buy these tires again? YES. I would like to test drive the Pirelli P Zero M+S, that was one of my choices. I wonder how they do compared to the continentals.

For those who are still looking around for replacement tires, this will be a great choice if you don't have space or time for a seperate set of snows.

Sammy
225TT
Revo SPS3

Audi RSF1

Nice review. At least now you get to keep the steelies off there

Reggie3

comparing performance of 16" tires to 17s is not a good thing. The stiffer side wall of 17s will make a huge difference in the response.

I had 16" Dunlop M-2s and felt the same way as you described about the Blizzaks. Now I have 17"s Blizzak LM-22s and they do not feel like I am driving a "Lincoln Nav".

Gary@Tirerack.com

Accelerating with quattro in the snow or just driving in a relatively straight line won't show a night and day difference between a brand new full tread all season versus an older snow tire that is not at full depth.

Its the braking and cornering that will show more dramatic differences.

Also, had the Blizzaks been at full tread depth <I'm assuming they're not since the MZ-01 tires have not been produced in 2+ years>, you would have noticed a more dramatic difference in snow performance, even in a straight line.

Great review nonetheless, glad to see the Contis are doing well in snowy conditions!