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[M3NOLA]

I'm about to buy winter tires but I'm not sure whether I need Performance Winter tires (i.e. Dunlop Winter Sport 3D) or Studless Ice and Snow tires (i.e. Blizzak WS70). I plan on driving in the city in Calgary mostly but will also be going up to the mountains to Lake Louise and Sunshine every week or two for skiing. I'm sure the Performance is fine for the city but my concern is that they will not be sufficient for the snow days in the mountains. Since I'm from New Orleans, I've never driven on snow before and would appreciate any guidance.

[bobblehead]

The Dunlop 3d would be my choice as recommended by many reviews. Such as the below review done in 2009.

The German magazine Auto Zeitung tested 205/55 R16 winter/snow tires in this month's issue and the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D came out on top.

This is what they wrote about the Dunlops:
Snow Performance: Best pulling power and short braking. Good steering feel and precision.
Wet Performance: First class steering feel, high level of grip, it loves the wet. Started aqua planning earlier than some others in curves (but good going straight).
Dry Performance: Short braking distances and low noise level. Quick and precise handling, perfect balance.

RESULTS (450 MAX SCORE):
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D: 385
Continental WinterContact TS830: 372
Goodyear UltraGrip 7+: 368
Vredestein Snowtrac 3: 360
Michelin Primacy Alpin 3: 332
Pirelli Sottozero Serie II: 323
Kumho I'zen KW23: 311
Firestone Winterhawk 2: 295 (last place)

Only the top 4 earned the "recommended" caption by the magazine

[Richbot]

Originally Posted by M3NOLA

I'm about to buy winter tires but I'm not sure whether I need Performance Winter tires (i.e. Dunlop Winter Sport 3D) or Studless Ice and Snow tires (i.e. Blizzak WS70). I plan on driving in the city in Calgary mostly but will also be going up to the mountains to Lake Louise and Sunshine every week or two for skiing. I'm sure the Performance is fine for the city but my concern is that they will not be sufficient for the snow days in the mountains. Since I'm from New Orleans, I've never driven on snow before and would appreciate any guidance.

Is there snow on the roads constantly in the winter? If so you might want to go for a more aggressive snow tire, but if not, the Dunlops should be a great compromise between.

If it were me and I wanted to make sure I could get up and down a mountain, I'd go with a more serious snow tire than the Dunlop, which is still a bunch better than any all-season but not totally focused on snow performance.

[M3NOLA]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm told there usually isn't much snow on the roads in the city. If I were just driving in the city it would be a no brainer. My concern is for the mountain/hill driving on snow days. I'm hoping someone who uses their M3 to go skiing can give me some real world experience with a performance snow tire in hairy mountain driving conditions. I'm leaning towards the performance tire but I want to make sure it will be at least capable when I really need it in the mountains.

[bobblehead]

If you go for the studless, tirerack did a test between WS70, Xice2 & Exreme Winter Contact.

Extreme winter contact comes out on top. FYI.

[Teutonic M3]

Originally Posted by bobblehead

The Dunlop 3d would be my choice as recommended by many reviews. Such as the below review done in 2009.

The German magazine Auto Zeitung tested 205/55 R16 winter/snow tires in this month's issue and the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D came out on top.

This is what they wrote about the Dunlops:
Snow Performance: Best pulling power and short braking. Good steering feel and precision.
Wet Performance: First class steering feel, high level of grip, it loves the wet. Started aqua planning earlier than some others in curves (but good going straight).
Dry Performance: Short braking distances and low noise level. Quick and precise handling, perfect balance.

RESULTS (450 MAX SCORE):
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D: 385
Continental WinterContact TS830: 372
Goodyear UltraGrip 7+: 368
Vredestein Snowtrac 3: 360
Michelin Primacy Alpin 3: 332
Pirelli Sottozero Serie II: 323
Kumho I'zen KW23: 311
Firestone Winterhawk 2: 295 (last place)

Only the top 4 earned the "recommended" caption by the magazine

While I respect their testing, I have noticed in the past that the rim/profile size can tremendously affect the results. Last year, the Dunlop 3D came out on top in 16", but Dunlop was "not recommended" for 18" winter tire. The Pirelli won in the 18" size.

Since we don't run 16" tires, this test may be irrelevant unless you have a Golf.

[bobbyd1961]

Originally Posted by M3NOLA

I'm about to buy winter tires but I'm not sure whether I need Performance Winter tires (i.e. Dunlop Winter Sport 3D) or Studless Ice and Snow tires (i.e. Blizzak WS70). I plan on driving in the city in Calgary mostly but will also be going up to the mountains to Lake Louise and Sunshine every week or two for skiing. I'm sure the Performance is fine for the city but my concern is that they will not be sufficient for the snow days in the mountains. Since I'm from New Orleans, I've never driven on snow before and would appreciate any guidance.

i have dunlops. but i did have blizzaks on an old 530 and they were fantastic

[STALKER]

Always had good luck with Dunlop snow tires myself.

[signes]

Same situation here and went aggressive because I take my car skiing here in Colo. Nokians all the way (Hakka R). No comparison to performance winters. I've had the Dunlops mentioned above and they are a great perf winter but not aggressive enough for serious winter driving in mountains. Downside is a seriously soft tire that has much worse dry performance that can wear quickly when roads are dry. I solved for wanting maximum traction in bad conditions - if same for you go aggressive.

Btw, none of the tires in the comparo above where the Dunlop won would be considered a stud less ice and snow tire (best winter traction.)

[ben@tirerack]

It is all a series of tradeoffs. All snow tires have good snow traction, but the studless ice and snow tires have excellent snow traction, and have an especially noticeable advantage on ice and packed snow.

Given that you have a rear wheel drive car, have never driven on snow, and are going to the mountains, the studless ice and snow category is the safest way to go. The tradeoff is that they are not as much fun around town when the roads are clear.

The performance winter tires are more responsive in their handling, and I have found that they do quite well in powdery snow, as well as wet and slushy conditions. You have to be more careful though on ice and packed snow.

It is hard to make a blanket recommendation, but given your particular set of circumstances, I'd go with the studless category, get a little experience on snow and ice, and then if you reach a comfort level in the winter where you feel you can go to a performance winter tire, that could be your next step.l