Bridgestone SUV Tires

Initial Review, 250 Miles on Tires
November 09, 2011

This is my initial impression of the Blizzak DM-V1's after driving through some nasty wintry snow mix this morning here in central Wisconsin. Let me put it this way, the cost of the 4 tires, $650, has been THE single most positive investment that I've ever made with such immediate return. There were two cars, an SUV, and a pickup that had run off into a ditch on this lonesome country road that has a steep descent and sudden ascent. Well I was the only vehicle to make it pass the pile-up and up and over the hill. I am sold on these Blizzaks for life! Let me point out that our SUV is 2WD and has NO nanny control, oh I mean traction control. So these tires, to me at least, are worth their weight in gold. Oh and one tip: Allow the first 100 miles or so to break-in the Blizzak DM-V1's to wear down the mold release rubber "spikes". After that expect ultimate winter traction in all conditions. Thanks to Blake & Tire Rack and especially the engineers at Bridgestone!

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
January 15, 2012

I've had both Blizzaks and Continental Winter Procontact tires on my 85 Porsche and was unsatisfied with the Blizzaks feel on dry roads (where you spend most of your time). Both were great on snow. I'm pleased to say that these are obviously a much improved version of my old Blizzaks, they have great road feel none of that steering a cow delay of the old days, VERY quiet, and so far in the ice and what snow we have had they are like the grip tires on the Mach 5 (speed Racer) they just stick to the road. The cornering is good considering the softness of the tread lugs but that is to be expected on a snow tire, just slightly less cornering stability in tight turns than a regular street tire. I'm very pleased with these tires. Most people would not think to put snow tires on a 4WD vehicle figuring that they would be fine getting around, and probably that's true for the most part. Imagine yourself on the off ramp on the Highway and in front of you as you come around you see a vehicle on the one side of the road, one in the guard rail, another on the other side, and the car in front of you starting to slide. THAT is why I buy snow tires, at this point you either panic or you control the vehicle, Blizzaks will stick you to that road and you won't become another statistic of winter driving crashes. Peace of mind! Additionally you WILL be able to get through ANYTHING when it comes to snow. I drove my 85 Porsche 944 back from Vermont to Philadelphia with Blizzaks during the worst Noreaster we have had in recent history and literally watched (through a tiny un-iced hole in the windshield) SUV's tumbling along on the side of the road. I not only made it but was able to plow through more than a foot of snow for about the last 2 miles to my house and we are talking a rear wheel drive light sports car very very low to the ground. Do yourself a favor and get some for your truck you will thank me later.

Initial Review, 52000 Miles on Tires
January 04, 2012

Got about 50,000 miles on these tires over about 4 years. Very good tire overall. I thought they performed very well in snow, as they got me through long drives in two of the worst snowstorms in recent history here in the Philadelphia area. Performed pretty well in rain as well. Lasted a decent amount of time and delivered a smooth and quiet ride.
My only complaint was that towards the end, when I probably still had about 8,000 miles left of wear on them, they developed a bad wobble in the tires. The steering wheel would shimmy back and forth, left to right, at speeds under 30 mph. I had them rebalanced and the alignment checked, but both were fine. For some reason the tires developed this problem late in their life. It was annoying and made for a very unpleasant feel while driving.
I replaced them a bit earlier than I wanted,originally with the Bridgestone Alenza's, and then with the Michelin Primacy MXV4s, and the wobble went away. Beside this problem towards the end of their life, I was happy with them. I would have replaced with the same Cross Terrains, but since they are being discontinued, I chose not to.

Initial Review, 9800 Miles on Tires
December 27, 2011

The Duelers were on my Highlander when I bought it in March. When one tire was punctured by a screw during the summer, I considered replacing the entire set due to the very poor reviews for winter handling, but decided to wait until I could actually test its performance in snow.
This morning (late December)we had rain, turning to light snow. I took the Highlander out onto level streets with only a quarter inch of snow on top of wet/icy pavement. The handling was scarily bad. Even at 10, 15 and 20 mph, the SUV would continue sledding straight ahead for when I braked. I did not feel safe driving over 25 mph even in light snow with these tires, which is unacceptable in this part of Michigan.
I immediately ordered a set of Michelin Latitudes Tour's. I hate spending $1000 on new tires with less than 10,000 miles on the original set, but I feel I am unreasonably risking wrecking a $40,000 vehicle this winter if I continue using the Duelers, which are definitely NOT All-Season tires.

Initial Review, 5000 Miles on Tires
December 07, 2011

Well the snow has fallen and so has my impression of these Goodyear WRT Ultra Grip Ice tires. I originally reviewed them after only a few hundred miles (before winter) and was not too impressed with the road noise. Tirerack quickly and professionally replaced on the the tires that was out of round and I had my fingures crossed that this would fix the road noise. Not so. These are possibly the noisiest winter tires I have owned. And the noise is that annoying "thrumming" kind that gets on your nerves (but fortunately for me, scares the deer and elk off the road). Despite a rebalance with the roadforce machine, the tires remain shaky at high speed (over 70 mph/120 kph). Snow traction seems OK. Ice performance is a different matter. I don't find these tires particularly grippy on polished snow or ice. I can't say I have much confidence approaching intersections. So overall, I feel a bit foolish for believing the few sparse Goodyear-backed magazine reviews about how the tires performed on some skating rink in Florida, and not heeding the absense of consumer reviews. Looking back at the range and variety of dedicated winter tires produced by industry biggies like Bridgestone and Pirelli, and comparing that to the relatively new and narrow winter product line of Goodyear, I should have recognized the low probability of Goodyear getting it right this early in their development cycle. Oh well, now you have my review to inform your decision. My advice...give Goodyear a couple more years to refine their winter product and in the mean time go with a well known and widely reviewed product from a vendor that has more history with dedicated winter tires. Your ears and your butt will thank you.

Initial Review, 16000 Miles on Tires
December 29, 2011

Looked at some of the limited reviews (at the time) and decided to replace my Pirelli Scorpions with these and I couldnt be happier. They returned the luxury to my SUV some how they quieted my truck so much that my wife and I thought it shut off! Liked them so much I bought a set for my 06 Denali XL (although I didnt get the same result) But on either vehicle I have full confidence in these tires in ANY situation Wet, Dry, Snow, Rain even some limited off road.

Initial Review, 7000 Miles on Tires
December 15, 2011

Put these on my Land Rover Disco 2003. I was expecting road noise with an A/T tire, but was very impressed hearing almost nothing. The ride was better than the Bridgestone tires made for the highway that were previously on the Disco. We have taken several 1000 mile trips on these tires through the worst of conditions and they have never failed me. We were sticking to the road like glue driving through heavy rain passing other trucks and SUV's like they were standing still. Very little hydroplaning if any. Great on road tire and is wearing evenly. Smooth sailing and comfortable on long trips. Now I like to take my Disco off road too unlike many LR owners. These tires have performed beyond my expectations. They have been through deep mud, deep snow and deep sand. They never wavered. My father-in-law was with me on a trail with a steep 100yrd incline that had been rain soaked for a full week. I don't think one could even make it up this incline walking. The first words out of his mouth were, "We're gonna get stuck." I said, “Psssh” calmly drove straight up the incline. The tires held their grip more than I thought they would. No problem. He then asked, "What kind of tires do you have on this thing?"
Destination A/T. Great tire for the money and versatility.

Initial Review, 62000 Miles on Tires
November 23, 2011

Just purchased 4 Destination LE's after putting 62K on the previous set. Could not have been happier with my last set. Owned Michelin LTX M/S and Bridgestones previously on other SUV's and overall I prefer the LE's. Looked at everything out there again this time and considered the Dueler H/L Alenzas but I did not like the look of the tire and they were $200 more for the set. I would spend the money for the Bridgestones or Michelins if I thought they were better. Highly recommend this tire.

Initial Review, 45000 Miles on Tires
November 19, 2011

These are the OEM tires on my 2006 Pontiac Torrent SUV. They are ready to be replaced at 45k miles; the advertising says they should last 60k, though in fairness it has been 5 years. Over the last few months the tires will occasionally slip when I accelerate from a full stop; it's worse in wet conditions, as you'd expect, but it happens in dry conditions sometimes too. I haven't been the most fastidious driver when it comes to keeping them at exactly the right pressure, so that might reduce the expected lifetime somewhat, but I would have hoped to get a bit more out of them. All in all, they haven't been bad, but I'm not chomping at the bit to buy new ones.

I don't have much experience with different tires on different cars, but after reading the reviews here on TireRack.com I'm going with the Goodyear Assurance CS tires. I'm curious to find out whether there's a noticeable difference in ride, noise, etc.

Initial Review, 40 Miles on Tires
November 28, 2011

I installed the tires today. It was immediately noticeable that cornering was easier - just driving in the parking lot. This is subjective but the SUV seems to roll easier. Braking seems more responsive. The ride is funny in that it seems smooth but I think I feel road defects through the steering wheel more than before. I drove 40 miles, mostly highway, and I noticed a good improvement in mileage according to the computer. I usually get around 23 on the highway and today it was showing over 26. Road noise was less than before. My previous tires were Bridgestone Dueler 400 H/L and I had 45,000 miles on them.

Initial Review, 20000 Miles on Tires
November 28, 2011

This is my second set of this brand and model of tires and I thought my first set (OEM tires were from a bad batch. It wasn't the batch, but two sets now have wore very quickly)ly. My SUV has a total of 46000 miles and I will be putting a new set (the third set since purchase) of tires on it in the next month. These tires are good for about 25K miles and in my opinion, that's not good enough considering this is a passenger car and not a sports car.

Initial Review, 15000 Miles on Tires
December 06, 2011

Excellent tire. I bought this for my Lincoln Zephyr which is a kind of sports sedan. The original tires that came on the vehicle (Michelins) are outstanding on dry road but terrible, I mean terrible, with a smidgen of snow on the ground. I went off the road with a dusting of snow and know I needed snows. I had heard great things about Tire rack so I ordered these tires by recommendation of their site. They came quickly mounted on steel rims which I ordered. When I put them on, I could not believe how well the car handled after that. After a little confidence with them, I regularly pass SUV's on the highway on the way to work. OK, I'm done rambling now. The tires are simply stupid good.

Thanks,
Mark