Winter Tire effectiveness and tread depth?

[Axe]

At what tread depth, generally, do winter tires lose their effectiveness? I have read that the Blizzak WS70 behaves more like an all season after a certain point.

Have attached picture and would welcome thoughts as to whether you would replace the tires (front and rear respectivley - Blizzak WS70's). They are on a subaru legacy

If you know of some somewhat reliable online resources to point me to that would be great - most of what I have found has been mixed messaging - either no good at/replace at 6/32" or just act like an all season after that point.
edit: based on the toonie measurement, the tires are stated to have approx 50% tread depth (from what I can ascertain online).

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

[Masked Bandit]

I can't reference any official stats but those still look fine to me.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I suspect you're going to get all kinds of information and conflicting opinions...

Blizzaks are gone at 50% tread wear due to the different type compound used in the top vs the bottom, that seems to be common knowledge. I had multiple tire shops tell me the same thing.

Michelin X-Ice Xi3's have been tested shaved down to 4/32 and still perform admirably. They also have a high tread wear (60,000km warranty). I'm not aware of any tire that performs better in the winter even when worn down significantly, but I'm sure the tire shop guys can elaborate on that.

If your Blizzaks are at 50%, I would get getting new tires, and ones that aren't shot at 50%.

[Axe]

yes :). Thanks for the note about the Michelins - was not aware of that.

[italianstylez]

Blizzak has 2 wear bars in the tread the larger bar is when it's considered no longer useful for winter second wear bar is when tire should be replaced period

[benyl]

Go take that toonie and head to canadian tire and add about $3 bucks.

get this to get better idea of your tread depth:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/victor-tire-tread-depth-gauge-0095501p.html

[Axe]

Thank you. Will do!

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Rule of thumb with winters is 50% which is 5-6/32 of 11/32 new.

So many winters are sold used with 5-6/32nd its quite sad that people are purchasing them.

I also go by if you can still see the siping, which you can still see clearly. Once the inside row siping is worn there is little use left.

[msommers]

Originally posted by benyl
Go take that toonie and head to canadian tire and add about $3 bucks.

get this to get better idea of your tread depth:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/victor-tire-tread-depth-gauge-0095501p.html

Good call! I'm gonna grab one too :)

Curious how truck tires change things when the lugs are originally so big like on my Duratracs for example.

[gpomp]

Originally posted by AE92_TreunoSC
Rule of thumb with winters is 50% which is 5-6/32 of 11/32 new.

So many winters are sold used with 5-6/32nd its quite sad that people are purchasing them.

I also go by if you can still see the siping, which you can still see clearly. Once the inside row siping is worn there is little use left.
:werd:

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=163

Tire Rack also recommends that drivers expecting to encounter snow-covered roads consider replacing their tires when they reach approximately 6/32" of remaining tread depth to maintain good mobility.

[tirebob]

OMG!!! I can't still believe that tire people still keep using that bullshit line on people about Blizzak tires... The very first generation of Blizzak tires used that specific dual compounding where it was winter on top and regular on bottom (before many of you were even born!)... It went over like a lead fart and it has not been built that way in many, many, many years. That is something unscrupulous sales people tell you to move you into another product, or simply people that truly do not know what actually happens within the industry.

Bridgestone does have their multicell compound and a regular winter compound as a stabilizing base, but that does not make it an all season tire at half tread. The fact is though, that at half tread you just don't have the tread depth to be as effective in deeper snow (EVERY WINTER TIRE), but that does not mean it is an all season tire. It still has rubber compounding like every other modern winter tire and stay softer and more flexible at colder temps, and combined with the extensive siping it will provide you with enhanced ice traction.

That all said, I personally change (or run them out over summer) my own winter tires around half tread, and maybe down to one third, depending on the majority of conditions or how well the tire is still performing...

Another case of DON'T TRUST THE INTERNET or 9/10th's of the people who are so called tire professionals...

[Axe]

Thanks for providing additional clarity around the issue tirebob!

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Xtrema]

Tirebob, how about age, isn't age a factor too?

[tirebob]

Originally posted by Xtrema
Tirebob, how about age, isn't age a factor too? Of course age can be a factor, but it isn't cut and dry like the media makes it out to be. A tire sitting in a cool warehouse in racks properly stored are not going to degrade near as fast a tire that is laying in the back of your farmhouse in a field under the beating sun all day encased in ice all winter etc. Obviously that is an extreme, but you get the idea. Back in the old days (I can say that as I have been doing this since 87 OMG!!!), they would produce way more tires than they do today because they didn't care if they sold in 1, 2 or even 5 years! People just didn't think about it because it never really caused an issue anyone noticed. Get a few jack asses that sue over anything and have the ability to argue in court until they get their way and everything changes.

Truthfully though, now there are some considerations with specialty rubber compounds that were not something that was even used in days past, that are more affected by time than others, but in all reality, you should never have any issue with a street tire sold within 3 years of production and accounting for around 5 more years of "regular" use. If the products are abused (think running ice compounds through 40 degree summers or super abusive driving etc) then that can absolutely affect things as well. Specialty race tire compounds are more affected by age as well...

Basically, store your tires right, treat them well, and keep them away from oils and other stuff like that as you won't notice the age issues as much as people who abuse the carp out of their stuff.

[ExtraSlow]

I'm one of those cheap bastards that used to buy used winter tires. I can say for sure, age is a factor. I have no idea how old the tires were that I bought, but they were brutal, worst than all-seasons, cracked to hell, and inflexible.

Always better to have tires that are a reasonable age, and if possible, buy brand new. Now that I know Bob, I don't have these problems.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
I'm one of those cheap bastards that used to buy used winter tires. I can say for sure, age is a factor. I have no idea how old the tires were that I bought, but they were brutal, worst than all-seasons, cracked to hell, and inflexible.


I did this too, back in my student years, not wise. I bought a good set of Hakas out of sheer luck, but the "New" (new, but 5+ year old stock) Michelin Actic Alpins were brutal, absolutely brutal from the get go.

[That.Guy.S30]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
I suspect you're going to get all kinds of information and conflicting opinions...

Blizzaks are gone at 50% tread wear due to the different type compound used in the top vs the bottom, that seems to be common knowledge. I had multiple tire shops tell me the same thing.

Michelin X-Ice Xi3's have been tested shaved down to 4/32 and still perform admirably. They also have a high tread wear (60,000km warranty). I'm not aware of any tire that performs better in the winter even when worn down significantly, but I'm sure the tire shop guys can elaborate on that.

If your Blizzaks are at 50%, I would get getting new tires, and ones that aren't shot at 50%.

We have Michelin x-ice Xi3 on my wife's car and I must say they suck. Brand new and they are much worse than my 3 year old nokian Hakka 7.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Neil4Speed


I did this too, back in my student years, not wise. I bought a good set of Hakas out of sheer luck, but the "New" (new, but 5+ year old stock) Michelin Actic Alpins were brutal, absolutely brutal from the get go. Well the Arctic Alpins are a H rated performance winter tire so they are gonna be brutal compare to a soft Q/R/S rated dedicated snow tire like the Blizzak WS

[sneek]

Originally posted by That.Guy.S30


We have Michelin x-ice Xi3 on my wife's car and I must say they suck. Brand new and they are much worse than my 3 year old nokian Hakka 7.

I switched to XI3's this year from Pilot Alpin 4s. The PA4's are an awful tire for Calgary weather. They are decent on ice but they struggle with fresh or deep snow. The XI3s feel amazing to me. I have WS80's on another vehicle and I feel like they might be slightly better on ice but the WS80 is a noisy tire compared to the XI3.

[msommers]

Factory studded Hakks > everything else :D