The Blizzak 6s have sipes cut throughout the tread depth in a zig-zag pattern that help the tread’s blocks to both spread and compress.Courtesy of manufacturer
In the winter, on a road covered with snow, ice or both, your vehicle needs all the help it can get. Tires designed for winter use are an obvious advantage – and often you get what you pay for.
Bridgestone’s line of Blizzak winter tires are considered a premium tire – and they’re not cheap – but few drivers would quibble about price when their cars and trucks are sliding on a frozen highway toward potential disaster.
Prices vary widely, but premium tires for a 2025 Toyota RAV4 will cost about $200 to $250 each before taxes and installation. Competitive tires include Michelin X-Ice, Nokian Hakkapelitta, and Pirelli P Zero.
Blizzaks have been manufactured for almost 40 years. They’ve been through many different iterations. Later this year, Bridgestone will release the Blizzak 6, a more sustainably produced winter performance tire designed for sporty vehicles and made in Europe that can be driven for longer and stops on ice a little more quickly.
Tire names can be confusing, but the Blizzak 6 replaces the LM line-up of Bridgestone Blizzak tires. There are also Blizzak WS90 tires designed for regular sedans and minivans and Blizzak DM-V2 tires designed for SUVs and light trucks, both of which will continue to be sold in more than 50 sizes each. There are also Blizzak LTs for light and commercial trucks.
Enliten technology is a suite of different technology including polymers and monomers and commits to 25 per cent of the tire being made of recycled and reuseable materials.Courtesy of manufacturer
Bridgestone claims to make one in five of the world’s tires, including Firestone Winterforce, which are generally less expensive than Blizzaks, and Dueller intended for year-round, off-road use.
The Blizzak 6 features what Bridgestone calls “Enliten” technology, where 25 per cent of the tire is made with recycled and reuseable materials.
“It’s a suite of different [technology] we can include in our products,” says Davis Adams-Smith, director of public relations for Bridgestone West. “In some cases, that might be how we make them; cut new tools that we use in our factories or new levels of research and development, new polymers, new monomers. It’s not like all rubber is the same and we purposely develop certain blends to enable the tread pattern to do what you want to do.”
Bridgestone also says its new rubber features improved technology that removes the thin layer of slippery water from the ice it’s driving over.
It includes “essentially little pockets that are formed inside the compound of the tire, which suck up water off of ice,” says Todd Chapman, Bridgestone’s senior manager for product strategy. “The intent there is to get the initial surface of water pulled up to where you get a rubber-on-ice contact for additional grip.”
This new rubber is found throughout the depth of the tread, unlike the WS90s and DM-V2s that use a Multicell compound in only the first 55 per cent of the tread depth. On those tires, the remaining 45 per cent of tread features a standard winter tire compound. When they’re approximately 50-per-cent worn, the company says there’s a “depth indicator moulded into the tread design that lets the driver know that the remaining tread is reaching the end of its ability to provide beneficial snow traction.”
After all, a winter tire must have a deeper amount of tread to effectively remove snow from between its blocks compared to an all-season tire, which can be worn to a shallower depth and still be effective in dissipating water. Tire technicians often suggest using the worn-down Blizzaks through the summer after their final use in snow, which is generally after about three seasons. The Blizzak 6s should be good for four seasons in the snow, Chapman says, because the rubber compound has a wear life that’s more than 30 per cent improved over the LM series.
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Winter tires use rubber that stays soft and pliable in colder temperatures to provide a better grip on frigid asphalt. The Blizzak 6s have sipes cut throughout the tread depth in a zig-zag pattern that helps them spread and compress.
”In a dry environment,” Chapman says, “if you want to push a corner a bit, those sipes kind of contact each other to lock down the tread block, and you still have good performance for roads where you need a little additional grip.”
There are many winter tire choices from dozens of reputable manufacturers, each claiming some form of unique design or compound for different uses. Drivers should compare tires from independent test organizations and websites to determine which ones are most appropriate for their use and offer the best value.
It’s important, though, to also consider the environmental impact of the tires you choose, from cradle to grave.
“If you’re going to remember anything about Enliten technology, it’s maximum performance and maximum sustainability and how we do it in a way that’s better for the world,” says Adams-Smith. “We’re looking to turn the clock back a little bit on our own carbon footprint so that ultimately, the people who own our products are living with smaller footprints for themselves.”
The writer was a guest of Bridgestone. Content was not subject to approval.