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Bridgestone Blizzak WS60
Bridgestone Turanza
EL400-02 (Standard Touring All-Season P215/60R16)
Bridgestone Blizzak WS60
(Studless Ice & Snow 215/60R16)
Michelin X-Ice
(Studless Ice & Snow 215/60R16)
Vehicles used:
2007 Toyota Camry
The Blizzak WS60 w/UNI-T is Bridgestone's Studless Ice & Snow winter tire developed for the drivers of coupes, sedans, minivans & crossover vehicles looking for traction on winter's slushy, snow-covered or icy roads. The Blizzak WS60 represents the third generation of Bridgestone WinterBiter tires designed to deliver wintertime traction & control that inspires driver confidence.
Because Blizzak WS60 tires would not be launched in North America until September 2007 (before snow would fall in South Bend), Bridgestone invited several members of Tire Rack Team to an introductory event in January 2007. The Blizzak WS60 event was held in Steamboat Springs, Colorado at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School.
We drove 2007 Toyota Camry sedans equipped with 268HP front-mounted engines transmitting their power through automatic transmissions & front-wheel drive. While the Camry sedans features an Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), they were not equipped with traction control. We compared the Camry's Original Equipment (O.E.) Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 All-Season Grand Touring tires to the snow & ice capabilities of to the Michelin X-Ice & Blizzak WS60 Studless Winter / Snow tires. All tires were mounted on 16x6.5-inch steel wheels.
The Turanza Grand Touring All-Season tires provided predictable h&ling, but only delivered tolerable snow & ice traction. The Turanza tires had a hard time converting the Camry's 268HP into acceleration because without traction control, the entire responsibility of modulating the power was placed on the driver & self-control was required to avoid spinning the front drive tire. The other area where the compromise of an all-season tire was apparent was when cornering. Again the limited snow & ice traction required patience & dem&ed a very light application of the throttle to avoid wheelspin & understeer coming out of the slower turns that represented typical street corners. Since all four tires & the Camry's Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) contributed to braking, straight-line stopping was the strongest feature of the Turanza All-Season tires in the snow.
The Michelin X-Ice winter / snow tires provided an expected improvement in traction, h&ling & braking, however they had also some difficulty converting the Camry's horsepower into acceleration. The X-Ice also required a bit of patience & dem&ed some throttle application discipline to avoid wheelspin & understeer coming out of the slower turns.
The Blizzak WS60 winter / snow tires provided predictable h&ling & another perceptible increase in traction when braking, cornering or accelerating. While the absence of traction control or a limited slip differential still required judicious control of the gas pedal to control the wheelspin, less restraint was required & the tires provided more acceleration.
While our introductory experience didn't allow us to explore every facet of winter driving, it did show that the Blizzak WS60 Studless Ice & Snow winter tire combines the predictability & traction that can enhance a vehicle's winter capabilities under typical winter driving conditions. We consider the Blizzak WS60 Studless Winter / Snow tires to be worthy of consideration by drivers who will face moderate to deep snow, as well as ice in winter.
