Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Zach1328]

By now I'm sure there are plenty of professionally written articles that review the new Bridgestone Blizzak WS-80 winter tires. I figured I'd write my own quick review anyways to detail how incredibly awesome these snow/ice tires are!

My car: 2007 e90 335i sport (RWD) - no LSD
Mods: JB4, DCI's and the occasional tank of 40% e85

Tires: Bridgestone Blizzak WS-80 (205-40-17 - all around)
Wheels: Sport Edition 16 (SE-16) from TireRack - 17x7.5
Location: Boulder, Colorado

Overview:
I bought the wheels and tires as a package from TireRack about 4 months ago (didn't purchase TPMS) for just over $1100 out the door. When I picked them up from the TireRack warehouse my first impression of the wheels was very good. The finish looks great and the quality is amazing for a set of wheels less than $500. The fitment of the wheels was perfect too; just enough clearance for the larger sport package brakes, and they fill the wheel wells just right.

Blizzak WS-80 Review:
After installing the wheels it was nice and dry here in Colorado so I took the opportunity to test out the tires in normal driving conditions. My first impressions were very good. The noise level is a little louder than Michelin PSS (surprisingly quiet for winter tires), and the ride comfort is actually better than the PSS. Even with my mods (over 400hp) I was really only losing traction in 1st gear at WOT. As soon as 2nd gear came the straight-line grip of the Blizzaks is phenomenal; still a little slippage from 40-50 mph, yet plenty of grip to put all the power down. After 50mph I didn't have any issues with traction! Obviously, cornering under acceleration is far short of impressive coming from Michelin PSS in the summer. However, cornering stability and turn-in are significantly better than I expected out of winter tires.
Overall Dry Driving: 8/10

Within a few days of installing the wheels and tires we got a nice dumping of 4-5" of snow here in Boulder. I figured this would be the perfect time to test out their capability in powdery/packed powder road conditions. I live on what we call in Boulder "The Hill", which is never plowed or salted. As I drove out of the alley and onto the snowy hill I felt as if the roads were as dry as the were a few days before. I headed up the hill and into the mountain roads after my immediate feeling of security driving on snow with the Blizzaks. Acceleration (up hill too!) proved effortless with anything under ~25% throttle. Too much gas left the tires slipping as expected, however acceleration was still respectably fast considering the lack of traction. Cornering and turn-in without any throttle input is likely better than any AWD car with all-seasons. With a small amount of throttle it is also second to none, but too much gas and the back-end gets overly excited around corners. And last but not least - braking. Holy f------ sh--! I might as well have been driving on dry roads. The ABS hardly ever kicked in and when it did it was very quick to stop.
Powder/Packed Powder: 10/10

Now, for the most dangerous winter driving conditions - nothing but a thick sheet of ice! As I mentioned, the area I live in is on a hill and is rarely plowed, so thick ice layering the roads is common matter during the cold and snowy months. Again, there is not one area that these tires struggle with on icy roads. Turn-in and cornering stability are great, and understeer NEVER happens when driving in an appropriate manner for icy roads. Braking is once again effortless; the ABS definitely kicks-in more as compared with powdery roads, but it stops quickly and without concern. Acceleration is the one area that could stand improvement, but I think this has WAY more to do with having RWD and no LSD. On steep up-hill roads the initial acceleration is a slight struggle. From a complete stop a few times I just had to let it speed up idling and then lightly feather the throttle to get up to 10+ mph. Once it gets up to ~10mph acceleration is very good again. On flat roads I've had no issues with acceleration.
Icy Roads: 9/10

Summary:
These tires are a must buy for any RWD 335i owners looking to maximize traction in treacherous winter driving conditions. My friend has a 2005 Acura RL (AWD) with all-season tires (Michelin pilot hx mxm4), and I feel MUCH safer driving my RWD car in bad winter conditions. Actually, I drove his RL a few days ago - as my car is in the shop - and it DIDN'T stop at a stop sign on "The Hill" in icy conditions. I put the brakes on ~100ft before the stop sign going 20mph and it made it down to ~15mph before I blew through the stop sign. 100ft and I slowed down no more than 7mph...
I've been at the same intersection in my 335i in equally bad conditions and have had absolutely no issues. Not a single one. Nada.
Incredible tires! These will make an AWD with all-seasons look foolish in the winter.

For a decent driver in snowy/icy conditions these tires might even be breaking into that over-kill limit. There is more traction and stability than a good driver even needs. However, why risk your life saving $200 on crappier snow tires when you can pay a little extra for the safety and security of the Blizzak WS-80s?
As a final note: Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 tires are the Michelin PSS' of winter driving!