Blizzak WS80 Vs DM-V2 Tires

‍Blizzak WS80 Vs DM-V2 Tires

Bridgestone is known to produce some of the highest quality winter tires on the market and both the Blizzak WS80 and Blizzak DM-V2 rank at the top of the list. Both of these tires are studless meaning they work extremely well on ice and thicker, packed snow.

In terms of tread design, both tires have similar designs with cut grooves that help in reducing water from getting through to the tread. Bridgestone uses a different compound mixture for their Blizzak WS80 while Michelin uses a softer compound mixture for their DM-V2.

Bridgestone Blizzak WS80

The Blizzak WS80 is a winter tire that has been designed for all-weather performance and control. It has aggressive side lug patterns and sipes to ensure maximum wet grip on slippery surfaces like ice, snow, and slush.

This winter tire has an optimized compound for cold-weather performance and an optimized internal structure for durability that provides long service life throughout even the harshest winter conditions.

This tire is designed for more light-weight vehicles like sedans and coupes while the DM-V2 is better suited for SUVs, pickups, and crossovers.

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Features

The Blizzak WS80 winter tire has all the features you need to stay safe and comfortable on the road during cold weather. We highly recommend this tire for those looking to upgrade their winter driving experience.

The most notable features include a MultiCell Compound upgrade, zig-zag sipes, and additional block edges to improve winter traction.

MultiCell Compound

The most important feature that Bridgestone includes with this winter tire is the MultiCell compound. The compound emphasizes longevity and performance and includes added grip when driving too.

There are tiny particles found throughout the tire studs that will help you when driving. These particles are due to the MultiCell compound that makes up a majority of the tire’s treadwear.

Zig-Zag Sipes

The zig-zag sipes built into the WS80 do resemble the style of those on the DM-V2 quite a bit, however, they are not as wide. Instead, they focus on eliminating how far the tread blocks can drift during driving.

With these sipes, you get plenty of traction and road grip but they also do a great job in extending the tread life of the tire.

Added Biting Edges

Biting edges are absolutely essential to winter driving, especially on slippery ice. They will create a claw-like grip onto the surface and increase safety and accuracy on the road. This is why a 20% increase in biting edges with the WS80 is so vital to this new upgraded tire and its road performance during the winter.

These biting edges also assist during braking situations and help when trying to brake at shorter distances. Bridgestone created an improvement in this area as well with this new model tire.

Pricing

The Blizzak WS80 is an extremely affordable tire that can be found at Tire Rack with a long list of sizing options available. The pricing ranges between $98 to $216 depending on the rim size needed for your vehicle.

Pros

• Reliable braking on slippery roads and surfaces, especially at shorter distances
• Plenty of ride comfort with lower noise levels than the DM-V2
• Top-notch handling capabilities with a solid performance on dry roads
• 20% more biting edges
• A wide range of sizes are available

Cons

• Cornering ability could use some improvements
• Tire performance drops significantly after the MultiCell feature wears off

Bridgestone DM-V2

The Blizzak DM-V2 is an excellent winter tire designed for snow, ice, and cold temperatures. They are capable of providing traction on snow and ice that other winter tires cannot offer. Unlike the previous Blizzaks, they also perform above average in dry conditions too.

The silica tread ensures more grip across different surfaces both wet and dry making it a more versatile tire choice for those looking for more from their winter tires.

The Blizzak DM-V2 tire offers a balance of performance and cost. It is designed to perform well while maintaining a low rolling resistance.

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Features

The Blizzak DM-V2 winter tire offers an amazing combination of features for drivers who need to go through treacherous snowy conditions.

You can expect superior performance in deep snow, water, or extremely cold weather conditions with its wide grooves that provide excellent traction. Three of the most notable features on this tire include NanoPro Tech, 3-D sipes, and added lug channels.

NanoPro Tech

This NanoPro tech compound uses a hydrophilic coating on the tire design to create more efficiency in the way the tire handles water, snow, ice, and slush. The technology can maintain flexibility as the temperature drops too.

By becoming more flexible, the tire can maintain high levels of performance, unlike other competing tires without the same level of flexibility built into the rubber. This compound uses a sponge-like motion when meeting wet surfaces to enable better handling ability too.

This compound makes up the first 55% of the entire tread depth on the tire. The remaining 45% is a standard winter compound designed by Bridgestone, so you can expect elite levels of tread life and performance during the first 55% of the tread.

3-D Sipes

Sipes are important to any winter tire, but they become even more effective when executed as a 3-D zig-zag sipe design. The grooves become bigger and attach to the surface with more accuracy to provide the best possible road grip.

The cross-hatch design of these sipes not only provides better traction, but it allows braking, handling, and cornering to improve too. The increased driving accuracy improves the overall driving ability with better block stiffness.

In fact, Bridgestone even states that these sipes release 15% more bite particles than the previous version of this tire.  

Optimized Design

The tread design of this tire is directional, including outflowing channels and circumferential grooves that improve driving efficiency on wet roads. This also includes an increase of block edges and a silica compound that makes up a majority of the tread.

The circumferential grooves were improved in this tire design to make them wider and more equipped for winter driving than ever before. They have formed a center multi-z pattern with the tire design that allows the siping technology to work better than before too.

Pricing

This tire is another popular option with plenty of sizes to choose from for a variety of vehicles. The best place to find your perfect fit is at Tire Rack where pricing ranges between $140 to $305 per tire based on the exact size needed.

Pros

• High-end traction in deep snow, ice, and slush
• Comfortable riding on highways and dry pavement
• Handles with precision on dry roads
• Increased tread blocks
• Bridgestone provides top tier warranty policies for winter options

Cons

• Treadwear tends to wear quicker
• Tire gets noisy, especially on rougher surfaces

Which Tire Is Better?

Both of these tires are phenomenal winter options and made for specific reasons. Therefore, it is difficult to call one better than the other because they serve different driver needs.

The Blizzak WS80 is geared for smaller, lightweight vehicles like sedans and coupes. It will significantly improve the winter performance of most of these small vehicles that typically struggle in winter conditions.

Meanwhile, the DM-V2 is for SUVs, crossovers, and pickup trucks with more heavy-duty features for winter driving and difficult terrains. It is made with more durable rubber treads and a unique block design that makes driving with these vehicles even more precise and safe despite the weather conditions.