Bridgestone  Blizzak LM001

I freely admit I'm going out on a limb here, but this is a review of a winter tire that has yet to actually be driven in the snow. However, due to a crazy issue of one of the OEM tires for my car not being available after a puncture, I went ahead and mounted my new winter wheels mid-October. So far, I think I made a great choice. Quiet and comfortable on the highway at all speeds. Spectacular in the driving rain as I'd expect any decent winter tire to be. A little drop in grip in the twisties, but quiet and predictable. Blizzaks have been my go to for 23 years and counting, and I don't think these will disappoint.

Wouldn't hesitate to buy these snow tires again. They have surpassed my expectations in the snow and cold road conditions, including rain. They actually feel better in the rain vs. our summer tires, which are very much a rain focused tread.

Obviously in the dry they feel a little mushy with a little lack of response, but for a 3-row SUV, they are fantastic.

I drive frequently from the NYC area to northern VT in the winter, often in snowstorms. That sometimes means going 150 miles in the rain, 100 miles on black ice and 100 miles in snow. These tires are great in each condition. I drive a 2011 WRX and with these tires and AWD, I can confidently pass when the left lane is super sketchy, zoom up hills on mountain roads when other cars are fishtailing around and stuck sideways. Jay Peak got close to 500 inches of snow last winter. If you love skiing in powder, guess what? You got to drive in it too. The Blizzak LM001 tires are beasts for fast long distance driving in variable winter conditions. When you're going 350 miles you can't go 35 MPH all night - these tires will get you up to normal highway speeds in all manner of hairy conditions.

Just purchased 2017 WRX. Had these tires installed. Only ones available in this size that is in the performance ice/snow category. Has been great so far. No squishiness in the dry! Quiet and comfortable similar to an all season tire. Fantastic in the snow and ice. We just received 8.5 inches of snow. Hard a really hard time getting the car to drift around corners. Too much grip! Highly recommended.

Been driving on this tire for a little more than a month now. Behaves like a good all-season tire in wet and dry conditions. You can feel the sidewalls flex a bit in turns, which reduces confidence, but the tire rides comfortably and grips reasonably well. That being said, drove it up to the mountain for snowboarding after 3 feet of snow in a week. Roads were some of the worst I've seen. Tons of unplowed snow, sections of smooth ice, and minimal to no sand use. Car behaved fantastic with only a little bit of lost traction on the icy section where everyone regardless of drivetrain or traction device got sideways trying to get going from a stop. Will absolutely buy again and highly recommend it if you drive in the PNW.

Excellent tire for snow, slush and ice.

I am a cross country skier and end up driving in snow a fair bit, but most of my driving is on dry pavement during the winter. My summer tires are Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 which I get about 20,000 on before they are worn out. Blizzaks LM001 are good in snow and very good (for a dedicated snow tire) dry winter. I had Tire Rack mount them on Alutec wheels which they balanced perfect. Very happy with the package.

I got a set of 235-45VR-17 Blizzak LM001s to replace a set of brand new 225-50HR-17 Pirelli Sottozero 3s. The Pirellis were, for me, a bad choice.

My winter performance tire criteria is that the car be able to perform a quick lane change maneuver (like dodging a deer on a two lane road with oncoming traffic, with a swerve back) in the dry without a lot of squirming, tail wag, or drama. Why in the dry? Because that is where winter performance tires spend 90% of their time. Here in the mountains of Colorado I drive conservatively in the snow. For me, any winter performance tire performs light years better in the snow than any summer or all season performance tire. So for me, it is how the tire handles the remaining 90% of the time (where I drive spiritedly) that is important. And by handling, I primarily mean steering response: does the tire do what I tell it to do without a discernible time lag? Is it precise? Does it tail wag a time or two when I quit steering? Some survey responses may be made by drivers who define steering response some other way, and that's fine. Using my definition under spirited steering input, here is how these two tires handle in the dry:

Neither the LM001 nor the Sottozero 3 are quick tires. Neither have great steering response. The Blizzak is fair to good, the Sottozero 3 is poor. When I make a spirited steering input (not the sort that won't spill the milk coming home from the store), the Sottozero 3s just sit there; then they begin to move. I can actually feel the car accelerate laterally, its that slow. When I turn back, the tire unwinds and deflects in the opposite direction. When I quit steering, the wheels rebound over the tire patch a couple of times producing a tail wag or two. Lots of drama.

The LM001s are much better versus the Sottozero 3s. Not summer tire lightning quick, but much more precise, yielding but half a tail wag when I quit steering.

OBTW, both are awesome - and I mean awesome - on snow and ice.

Just love my new Bridgestone. They work great on both snow and dry roads.Corning is great and the tires are great on dry roads and very quiet. They are as comfortable as my summer tires which are Michelin pilot sport AS. Would highly recommend.

This is my fourth set of Blizzaks I have purchased. All are different, and went on four different company cars. I cannot remember the alpha/numerics for the four different sets but each set had its own characteristics. The LM001 XL I have now must be a latest and greatest. I went to the dealership for the first oil change (5500 miles) and had the set put on. I left, drove about a dozen miles to my next stop and had to get out and look around the car to see if the tire guys actually put the Blizzaks on. I could not tell the difference between the manufacturer All Season OEMs and the Blizzaks. Always I have noticed differences in ride, squirm and especially noise when the Blizzaks went on. Not this time. These even look somewhat more All Season then the ones I have had before.

I have only had a couple of snows. With the first, I tried the tires out on the unplowed side roads. It was slick in general and only an inch or so of snow on the ground. I pushed it to see the limits, starting normally, stopping normally, etc. On the unplowed side road I did not feel invincible. Wheel spin on take off, sliding a few feet further than I wanted on stopping. But I pushed a little. Shifting from lane to lane was not bad, turns either. The worked main roads and the interstate were smooth sailing and at normal speeds once I worked up to it with these first time tires.

I need a little more snow experience with the tires to accurately judge. I go back to not feeling like I could get through anything as I have in the past with different Blizzaks. Perhaps the noise and feel I did not get this time is a tradeoff, I do not know. We will see as the winter progresses. I am glad I have them and I feel better with them on to face the weather doing my work travels. I know they must be better but I need to see it.

After 9 winters the Michelin Pilot Alpins on my 330i zhp were no longer safe in the snow. I only put 5k miles a year on this car. I wanted a performance snow from Michelin but they don't offer one in my size anymore. I went with the LM001 after doing some online research. I'm very happy so far. 95% of my winter driving is on dry or wet roads. Steering feel, noise, and ride comfort are more important than ultimate snow performance. These tires have excellent feel for a winter tire. My wife's X1 has WS80's. They are much softer and noiser. The LM001's are a good match for a sport oriented BMW.

Given the price and very strong recommendation from the salesperson, I expected more. Positives: VERY quiet operation at all speeds for a snow tire; comfortable, non-jarring ride, good cornering stability. Disappointing at this price point: Dry grip doesn't come close to other performance snows I've tried (Sottozero and Dunlop SP Sport); grip on ice (acceleration, deceleration, lateral) not noticeably better than less expensive snow tires. At this price, I expected these to either excel at snow and ice traction, beyond other less expensive tires I've tried, and/or have amazing grip on snow and ice, they didn't. I drive on snow and ice nearly every single day in winter up here in Vermont, so I get to try these in various conditions, temperatures, and try them out often. They work really well up to their limits, but the limits are low, particularly in the dry - exit ramps are no fun compared with other performance snows I tried.. I gave these time to wear in and tried lots of different tire pressures before my evaluation. For highway cruising though, these are competent, quiet and comfortable.

Great tire for heavy rain and snow. They don't wear as well as the summer tires, but that is to be expected.