by "TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
Published 02/25/2017 at 13:49
by "TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
Published 02/25/2017 at 13:49
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Discussion about snow tires on a Mini forum led to my discovery that the Blizzak WS 50 (what I have) was discontinued after the 2007 season. Examining my tires reveals that they were made in the 50th week of 2004. 12 year old tires might explain why this car is so unpredictable in the snow. Time to buy some new snows this spring.
"E92M3" (E46M3)
02/25/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 0
Yeah, they’ve definitely hardened some in that time.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
02/25/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 0
How deep is the tread relative to the wear bars? On my WS80s, there are two sets of wear bars, the first indicates that the tires have reduced snow capability but are still good for other conditions while the second indicates the end of life for the tires. If the WS50s are anything like the WS80s, once they wear down to the first set of bars, they’ll be useless in the snow, even if they aren’t 12 years old.
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
02/25/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 0
Basically brand new. These were fitted in December of 2015 and have maybe 3000 mi on them.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
02/25/2017 at 14:18, STARS: 2
They sold you 9 year old tires? Yikes.
I got about 10K miles out of mine before they hit the first set of wear bars.
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
02/25/2017 at 14:28, STARS: 1
I didn’t buy them. They were fitted by the previous owner (who is actually my mechanic, he will be getting an earful when it goes in for an oil change in about a month) to replace the worn out all seasons that were on the wheels. They were probably just what he had in the shop that would fit on the 15x5.5 rims. Probably just didn’t think to check the date on the sticker set of snows.
It kinda gets offset by the free set of 16 inch Cooper S rims with Hankook Ventus’s I was given when I picked up the car.
"Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll)
02/25/2017 at 14:33, STARS: 0
Be careful with old winter tires. This is what happened when an old one decided it didn’t want to tire anymore on the Autobahn (pic taken after it was towed and the spare put on).
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
02/25/2017 at 14:34, STARS: 0
These tires are not going back on once I switch back over to the summers.
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
02/25/2017 at 16:21, STARS: 0
My snows are from 2008 (old stock). I felt bad already, and last month in the Austrian Alps I had difficulty going up mountains with fresh snow. Thread is still sufficient, but they’ll be retired after this season.