Studs or Blizzak Tires or??

LBuchser

WKR
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
So I'm getting my wife new tires for her Subaru Forester. We live in Noth Idaho and I can't decide between studs or a tire like the Blizzaks that use nee compounds and tech to get an effective snow and ice tire. Any suggestions?
 
Man, we’ve gone back and forth on this but we settled on studs. Depending on how the snow goes, I will switch them back and forth in the garage. This is for a Highlander.

I drove from Seattle to Boise during that massive Presidents’ Day storm a few years ago and felt 100% safe on the studs. My wife likes the studs.
 
I prefer studs but blizack worksbb can like champ. Just don’t forget to get them off or the will be ground to nothin bu August
 
Honestly there are times we'd not even get up our driveway without studs here in North ID.

Blizzak, Nokian, Hankook and others make some fantastic winter tires, but stud them! ~ Once you try to climb a hill that's pure ice you'll rue the day you didn't. Studs are mandatory here unless you live in the city and rarely drive.

Been there done that.
 
Back in the 80s when there were few front wheel drive cars, my Dad always put studded snow tires on the back of our sedans and sand in the trunk. worked like a charm on icy Iowa roads.

Fast forward to now, and 4wd still doesn't help if your on ice. I'd say go for the studs and be safe in the mountains unless you can get chains for the Subaru.
 
I run studs. I like the fact that if I'm on ice or snowpack and need to welsh on the brakes, I'm not going to slide sideways. I run the Goodyear Duratracs, they are a damn good tire on their own. With studs added, they are incredible.
 
I hate the noise and reduced road feel of driving with studded tires, plus you trade inferior grip in every other situation for only one (clear wet ice) where they’re superior. Plus there’s no warning of impending loss of traction; the lack of feedback before sliding sucks.

I much prefer running high-quality winter tires and carrying a set of chains in case of an unlikely condition where they don’t grip enough. Haven’t had to use them yet in a snowy and steep climate, though. Modern studless snow tires are awesome.
 
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Blizzacks with studs are the best of both worlds. It turned my Mom, who was a severe white knuckle driver, into a confident driver. Steamboat Springs doesn’t have a lot of ice but it is a very snowy place.
 
Lots of info out there on how studs are outdated due to modern rubber compounds, but, on ice, they perform very well. I’ve read that they actually reduce your rubber contact when driving in snow, but I still find them to perform in clutch situations.
 
Blizzaks. I wear out a set of snow tires every winter driving for work and I've ran multiple brands of studded tires, non- studded as well. Blizzaks are the clear winner. Only ones I haven't tried are the Nokia Hakkapeliittas, but I've heard good things about them as well. Less noise going non-studded, and if you want to finish them off you can keep running them instead of having to take them off like you do with studs.

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