By Larry D. Walton / ©2008 Editorial Services West
No chains, no studs and no white knuckles. Those are exactly the words contractors and construction workers want to hear about the tires under their pickups when the driving and weather conditions turn frigid.
While these were great benefits of the Bridgestone Blizzak W965, a dedicated snow/ice tires, one might be surprised to find they bring the added bonus of increased wet pavement traction, reduced road noise, and improved ride comfort over other contenders.
The F-250 SuperDuty 4×4 we tested these new treads on was being prepped for a long winter of work in southern Oregon where the elements included a lot of snow and a wide variety of road and off-pavement driving surfaces.
We switched from a 10-ply “all-terrain” tire to the Blizzak. The first thing we noticed was a quieter, smoother ride with the Blizzaks.
With the softer and thicker tread compound between our truck and the road surface, rough roads felt less so; obstacles that normally caused vibrations and harshness in the cab, such as highway expansion joints, pavement cracks, bridge transitions, and the gravel roads were barely perceptible.
With the exception of an occasional rock stuck in the deep treads, things got much quieter as well. The Blizzaks rolled right through a variety of speed ranges without generating noticeable road or tire tread-induced noise.
