[pastuch]

I wanted to start a thread that provides reviews for winter tires on the FRS/BRZ/FT86. This car is the daily driver for a lot of us in northern climes so we should discuss the best tire choice.

Tire: Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60 & Michelin Primacy HP
Size: 215/45/17 on stock rims
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
Driver: Spirited driver. I'm no auto cross king but I do have a lot of experience with sports cars in snow. I owned a G35, WRX, and RX8 with a mix of X-Ice 2s, General Exclaim and all seasons. I've driven across Canada and back in a rear wheel drive minivan in the middle of massive snow storms on all seasons without issue. I love to ski so I do a lot of KMs every winter.

Bridgestone LM-60 & BRZ Impressions:

November-December (11th)

The Bridgestones were second hand but have a 9/32 tread depth. A new tire is usually 11 or 10/32 so these are basically new. I have about 1000 kms so far this winter, I haven't had a 30mm snow day yet but so far the Bridgestones are holding up nicely in 10mm+ drops. Slippage is minimal and my TC light comes on about as often as it does in the summer (sharper cornering). I'm quickly becoming more comfortable with when these tires will loose traction because it's a progressive, predictable experience.

I've only run into black ice once but it was on a downhill slope, with no overhead lights and I was going about 50kph. All four tires let go for about two seconds but the cars steering and suspension made it easy to control. My girlfriend gasped, I smiled and everything was fine. In that scenario only studs will prevent traction loss. In mixed ice and snow the Bridgestones are solid so far, no hydroplaning and the transitions between snow surfaces are pretty seamless. Road noise is about the same as the Primacys, maybe a little worse. The Bridgestones have a lot more grip in every situation than the Primacy HPs which is no surprise.

Mid-Winter Update:
We've had gobs of snow this winter, I've done a 3 hour trip to Tremblant in over a foot of fresh snow. It was perilous but the LM-60s did a fine job and got me there in one piece. I didn't see pavement for 3 straight hours, no plows other then my front bumper. I've had many days of 10cm+ snow falls already and the tires and car are solid. The car is so predicable in a slide that driving in deep snow is not impossible but it's also never easy. The steering is hypersensitive so you really need to be paying attention in the deep stuff. Done a lot of donuts and drift practice in empty lots. I've been satisfied with the tires but I don't think they cope with deep snow quite as well as the X-Ices. To be fair, the difference is impossible to quantify with out back to back drives of both tires with the same tread wear. I find the LM-60 quiet, predictable, and good all round.

I'll post an update to this in another couple months after many Tremblant ski trips. For me the benchmark is the X-ICE 2, they were stellar on my WRX and made my G35 bearable.

Michelin Primacy HP & BRZ Impressions:

The Primacy HP has absolutely no business anywhere near snow. My tires are down to a 6/32 tread depth at the back. I used them in around 5 mm of snow and I could barely make it up a 5 degree slope. I turned off TC, but in first or second the tires just kept spinning, even at a crawling speed. I made it up the street with momentum but it was a fish-tailing mess!