November 19, 2019
Studless Ice & Snow Winter tires typically feature longer product life cycles than their Summer or All-Season counterparts, so it’s a rare occasion that we have multiple significant new releases to compare head-to-head. For this test, we’re fortunate enough to have new products from three of the biggest names in winter tires. Throw in a proven, existing product in the market as a benchmark, and you have the groundwork for an exciting test.
The Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 utilizes the company’s next generation Multi-Cell compound, which removes the thin layer of water that develops as a tire rolls across packed snow and ice and features bite particles for added traction. The updated compound is molded into a directional pattern with an enlarged contact patch and 15% more block edges than the tire’s predecessor to further improve grip in slippery conditions. Not satisfied simply making improvements in inclement weather, Bridgestone also increased the stiffness of the tread elements to benefit clear-road handling and tire wear life.
Continental’s VikingContact line of Studless Ice & Snow winter tires was previously only available in Europe, but fortunately for U.S. drivers, the manufacturer decided to bring the VikingContact 7 to North America. The tire’s winter-specific compound utilizes canola oil to remain flexible in sub-freezing conditions, and active grip silica improves wet traction. Special solid linkages and interlocked block bridges in the directional pattern help stabilize the tread to provide confident dry-road handling, and the variable-width sipes provide biting edges and help hold snow in the pattern for snow-to-snow traction.
The Yokohama iceGUARD iG53 utilizes its own moisture-wicking compound, with Absorptive Balloons in the tread rubber that help remove the layer of water and allow the tire to come into direct contact with the surface. The directional pattern features 3D triple sipes and micro diagonal sipes to create thousands of biting edges for traction in slippery conditions, whether that be wet, snow, or ice.
How good are these new, technological marvels in the real world, though? To find out if the performance lives up to the hype, we compared them to one of the best existing Studless Ice & Snow winter tires on the market, the Michelin X-Ice Xi3. Our evaluation used 2020 BMW 430i Gran Coupes fitted with new, full tread depth 225/50R17 tires mounted on 17x7.5 wheels.
Our 6.0-mile loop of expressway, state highway and county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city and highway speeds, smooth and coarse concrete, as well as new and patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality and everyday handling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.
Traditionally, on-road comfort and refinement have been a relative weak point for Studless Ice & Snow winter tires, as those objectives are lower on the priority list than ultimate traction in winter’s worst conditions. While traction in severe weather is still top priority, we’re happy to report the tires in our test would all be very livable on the daily drive.
The X-ice Xi3 has earned a reputation for being one of, if not the nicest-driving Studless Ice & Snow winter tires on the market, and it won over our team. The ride damped out small impacts very well, both from a feel and a sound perspective, with just a distant pitter-pat over minor imperfections. By contrast, larger bumps were noticeably stiff, making it somewhat jarring after being lulled into tranquility over the smoother stuff. Even so, that characteristic wasn’t enough to overshadow the positive attributes. Noise quality was also good for the category. A wide variety of low tones were noticeable over smooth surfaces, but the tire was arguably the quietest in the group over anything coarse. The VikingContact 7’s ride was also satisfying. It was never as stiff as the Michelin, but it also didn’t filter out small impacts, resulting in more perceptible motion over broken or undulating pavement. Some audible impact slap also alerted vehicle occupants to the presence of imperfections on the surface. In contrast to the Michelin, the VikingContact 7 was the quietest tire in the group on smooth roads, delivering an impressive level of serenity in the cabin. The flipside, though, is the distinctive pattern interacted very much with any coarse surface, resulting in a moderate-volume, white noise. Fortunately, it was white noise, so there was nothing distinctive that really stood out to the driver. Each generation of Blizzak tire seems to improve on the driving characteristics of its predecessor, and the WS90 continued that trend. The ride was a little stiff, with some minor reverberation following large impacts. Overall it felt controlled and acceptable for the category. Modest impact noise and some high-pitched tones over smooth surfaces combined with a distinct growl over coarse pavement meant the tire’s score for noise comfort was good, though not a leader in the test. The iceGUARD iG53 rode like a softer version of the Bridgestone. It felt lightly sprung, which did a very good job absorbing bumps in the road. There was noticeable motion following impacts, though, so it often didn’t feel as composed as we would like. Noise comfort is one place we wanted a little more from the Yokohama. A wide variety of sounds and tones of varying volumes accompanied changes in road surfaces. While it wasn’t unacceptable, a more peaceful experience would have helped its score.
Handling and steering feel/response are important factors that contribute to how much one enjoys the act of driving, and here, the four tires in our test performed admirably once again. The steering feel on the X-ice Xi3 was linear, direct and weighted about as one would expect from a quality touring product. The VikingContact 7, on the other hand, featured fast reflexes that lent an eager, almost sporty feel to the vehicle. It only required light effort to elicit a response, particularly right around center, which divided our team’s opinions. It’s important to consider the tires’ personalities and weigh your preferences, rather than assuming the tire with the higher score is better. The iceGUARD iG53’s light handling was good, though similar to the ride, it felt a little soft. Directly on-center, there wasn’t much feel or responsiveness, and once the driver broke through the dead spot, it didn’t respond in a completely linear or expected fashion. It was something you would quickly get used to, but not ideal. Finally, the Blizzak WS90. We noted some unusual behavior on-center, almost a "stickiness" the driver had to work through for small inputs. Larger or more urgent inputs were met with expected response, but when driving straight ahead, our team found it difficult to ignore the odd, on-center feel.
Aggressive handling maneuvers are far from the intended use of Studless Ice & Snow winter tires. Knowing this, our track testing consisted of objective braking and skid pad testing, combined with some basic observations from our test driver.
In the wet, the Blizzak WS90 set the shortest 50-0mph ABS stopping distance and tied with the VikingContact 7 for highest lateral g-forces around the skid pad. Braking was smooth and confident, and the personality around the skid pad leaned toward gentle understeer. The VikingContact 7 narrowly eked out a shorter stop than the X-ice Xi3, and while the objective figures were some of the best in the test, the personality felt a little tail-happy, both under braking and around the circle. The X-ice Xi3 was close to the leaders in both metrics and felt nicely controlled, and the iceGUARD iG53 was a noticeable step back from the rest, though still acceptable.
Dry objective testing revealed all four tires would be capable in a panic stop or an emergency avoidance maneuver. The Blizzak WS90 again led the way with the shortest stopping distance and a tie with the Michelin for the highest lateral g-forces on the skid pad. In addition to tying for the top lateral figures, the X-ice Xi3 also tied the Continental for the second-shortest stopping distance. The IceGUARD iG53 was just a small percentage behind the rest of the group in both metrics.
Being Studless Ice & Snow winter tires, we had high expectations for the light snow traction provided by our test group, and we weren’t disappointed. All four tires performed very well, and they were all closely grouped.
A mere 1.7 feet separated the 0-12mph acceleration distances across the test, with the Continental requiring the least space to achieve the target speed and the Bridgestone needing the most distance. 25-0mph braking was even closer. The Continental, Michelin, and Yokohama all came to a stop in 49.9 feet, with the Bridgestone requiring less than a foot longer at 50.7 feet. In the world of tire testing, this is a virtual tie among all four products.
Similarly, all the tires felt very good around the handling track. The Continental and Yokohama tied for the highest subjective scores by an incredibly slim margin, with the Bridgestone a tiny step behind and the Michelin another small step back.
As expected, all four tires in the group were strong performers on the ice, far and away better than any all-season tire. The Blizzak WS90 provided the fastest 60’ acceleration time, and it seemed to work best with the vehicle’s traction control system. The VikingContact 7 was less than a tenth behind, also feeling nicely synced with the vehicle’s electronics. The iceGUARD iG53 essentially tied the Continental, though it felt like it slipped a bit more, primarily from a dead stop. As evidenced by its excellent elapsed time, once it hooked up, it made confident forward progress. There’s no getting around it, the X-ice Xi3 is an older design, and the competition has passed it by in ice traction. The figures the tire produced were very good, and the feel was confidence-inspiring, but the stopwatch said it was a small step behind the group.
While it would make sense to think acceleration and braking traction are determined by the same characteristics in a tire, we find time and again that isn’t always the case. Along those lines, there was a switch in the order for 12-0mph braking. Here, the Continental led the way by a narrow margin, followed by a tie between the Bridgestone and the Yokohama, with the Michelin just a couple feet back.
| Tire | 60’ Acceleration (seconds) |
12 - 0 mph Braking (feet) |
|---|---|---|
| Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 | 4.16 | 30.4 |
| Continental VikingContact 7 | 4.23 | 28.7 |
| Michelin X-Ice Xi3 | 4.45 | 32.2 |
| Yokohama iceGUARD iG53 | 4.26 | 30.4 |
Due to the limited number of drivers that performed our on-road evaluation in this test, the sample size was not large enough to provide reliable fuel consumption data.
While on-road manners, handling, and wet and dry objective track testing aren’t the primary reasons for a Studless Ice & Snow winter tire to exist, they’re important factors for any tire from any category. The Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 is acceptable on the road and a step up from our memory of any of its predecessors. The tire’s wet performance leads the test, and it is at or near the top for ice traction with impressive grip in the snow, as well. The Continental VikingContact 7 feels eager and alert on the road, combined with very quiet operation on smooth surfaces and medium-volume white noise when driving on anything coarse. Wet traction is competitive with the best, though the behavior can be a little nervous around turns. On the ice and in the snow, it’s right at the top of the test. The Michelin X-ice Xi3 drives very nicely on the road, and it is strong in the wet and on the ice with light snow traction that is still competitive with the newest in the category. The Yokohama iceGUARD iG53 is a surprising performer offered at a value price. It is just a small step back in refinement on the road and wet traction, but on the ice and in the snow, it is one of the test leaders.
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