[Dean]

Since Debbie now lives within spitting distance of the summit of Peavine, and has some pretty steep curvy roads to get down to civilization, we were looking at what the ultimate in ice/snow tires are. Please note this has nothing to do with dry performance, only pure snow and sheet ice...

By combining Consumers Reports, and Tirerack data, with a little extrapolation and reading between the lines, here are the results.

There are 3 main contenders that we actually have some useful data on.

Bridgestone Blizzak REVO 1
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50
Michelin X-Ice

Subaru Sizes:
205/55-16 - All
225/60-16 - Revo, X-Ice
225/45-17 - Revo, and WS-50

From a sheet ice perspective, they are almost indistinguishable, but if we had to sort them, according to TR it would be Revo, WS-50, X-Ice. According to CR, it would be X-Ice, WS-50, and no info on the Revo. (Cr did braking, TR did acceleration and cornering)

From a snow perspective, the X-Ice wins, followed by the WS-50, and we have no real data on the Revo, but assume it is in the ballpark.

None of these are spectacular in the wet or dry, scoring only fair in wet and dry braking, with the Revo being the worst in wet braking. Handling is good for all 3 with the X-Ice apparently on top.

From a price perspective, they are all within a couple bucks of each other per tire, and are in the neighborhood of $100 + or - depending on size. the 225/60-16s are cheapest at $96-$97 for no apparent reason, followed by the 205/55-16s at $100-$106, and he 17s are the most expensive at $135.

By the way, the Nokian Hakkapelittas long known for there snow/ice performance are quite a bit behind these 3...

So from a bottom line perspective, you can't go Wong with any of the 3, so pick one that is in stock in the size you want. Maybe Khail can tell us what the "discount price" is for them in each choice.

There are some good choices that are still rated good and very good in either snow and/or ice, (The 3 listed are rated excellent, 1-2 grades higher) and have better wet/dry performance. One stand out is the Viking Snowtech which is rated good in snow and ice, and very good in wet/dry/handling, hydroplaning, etc... The Mastercraft Glacier Grip II is excellent in snow, and good in all other areas. The Toyo 800 ultra, a M&S, not pure snow tire also did very good in snow and ice, but had the same issue of only doing fair in wet and dry.

Sorry, none of the "performance" snows made the cut as far as I can tell. At least on ice, they appear to fall into the performance range of the last generation Blizzak LM-22s which can't touch the new bread.