Date:         Mon, 25 Sep 95 19:28:28 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Snow Tires??


in the new, November 1995 issue of Automobile magazine, they have an
article about some snow tires ... and one particularly interesting
tire is the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-15. here's some test results:

tires used:                                      circumference price
BFGoodrich   Touring T/A          205/60R-15 90H   77.5 in.    $60-85
Bridgestone  Blizzak WS-15        205/60R-15 91Q   79.3 in.    $70-140
Continental  Sport Contact TS750  205/60R-15 91H   78.3 in.    $50-220
Michelin     Alpin                205/60R-15 91Q   78.5 in.    $60-110
Nokia        Hakkapeliitta 10     195/65R-15 91T   77.5 in.    $60-85

*** Packed Snow          Avg. braking distance   Acceleration in g's
*** Performance          from 30 mph             from 0 to 30 mph
BFGoodrich
    Touring T/A             86 ft                0.17
Bridgestone
   Blizzak WS-15            75 ft                0.22
Continental
   Sport Contact TS750      91 ft                0.15
Michelin
   Alpin                    81 ft                0.21
Nokia
   Hakkapeliitta 10         83 ft                0.18
BFGoodrich retest           93 ft                0.17
   (done at end of test to ensure that conditions had not changed
   during the test).

*** Polished Ice         Avg. braking distance   Acceleration in g's
*** Performance          from 30 mph             from 0 to 30 mph
BFGoodrich
    Touring T/A            296 ft                0.07
Bridgestone
   Blizzak WS-15           241 ft                0.08
Continental
   Sport Contact TS750     292 ft                0.06
Michelin
   Alpin                   275 ft                0.07
Nokia
   Hakkapeliitta 10        283 ft                0.07
BFGoodrich retest          297 ft                0.06
   (done at end of test to ensure that conditions had not changed
   during the test).

and in the article, they say:
"The Blizzak has few if any faults as a true winter-traction tire.
Its level of grip, whether starting on an icy hill or powering out of
a tight corner, is phenomenal."

ok, so what? well, the only reason all this caught my eye was this:
"Better yet, the Blizzak is newly available this fall in sizes suitable
for many sport-utility vehicles."

and then, a little father on in the magazine, one advertiser has this:
The Tire Rack (800) 428-8355 ad:
"Vans & Minivans. Packages include: (4) Bridgestone Blizzak Tires
                                    (4) NEW STEEL WHEELS
   Volkswagen  Vanagon (Passenger Van)*   $472
               Eurovan (Passenger Van)*   $528

(their non-package price for 185/70QR-14 Blizzak is $62 each ... ??
the package part doesn't say what size the tires are).

ok. so the "passenger van" seems to rule out the campers. maybe.
and the * seems (to me) to mean the tires are black-wall with black
lettering (since there is a reference to "raised white lettering on
the sidewall of the tire (unless otherwise indicated)."

i don't see anything in the article or the ad about the load rating
or max pressure, so i don't really know if the tires in the ad are
"rated" for the buses.

anyway, if you Snowbirds are thinking about winter tires, you now have
something else to think about. :)
joel