Blizzaks - which ones are best for CX9

For many years I've mounted Blizzak winter tires on my passenger cars.

This year, I'll be doing the same with our 2010 CX9.

There seem to be several choices - WS60, WS70, DMv-1, etc.
I know the WS series is for cars but it also lists crossovers as an application. The others are for light trucks and SUVs.

FYI, I want a tire for snow, specifically. I do not tow anything or go off road so basically I need a light duty street tire with max traction. Ive had the WS60s on my car and seemed very good. Is this tire appropriate for the larger Cx9 as well?

Thanks for you insights.

Also, what wheel would you prefer? Again, this will be a 18" tire/wheel package from TireRack and will be swapped out for the OEM 20s. I don't need/want an expensive wheel, just something that gets the job done and looks halfway decent.

Thanks

I bought the dmv-1's w/ an 18" wheel/tire package from tirerack for about $1400 last year. Unfortunately I only got to use them in snow once, but was definitely impressed with how the car performed. They obviously handle a lot worse than the stock Dueller 20's that I had on. It was eye opening how much of a difference when I took them off and started driving on the Duellers after 3 or 4 months with the dmv-1's. I think they do make the WS-60's in the 18" that will fit the CX-9, but they were way more expensive. They're supposed to handle a lot better than the DMV-1s though.

If you will drive a lot on dry roads between the snow and ice, get the WS60's. far superior tire for dry than the other Blizzaks, and still has great ice traction.

I have a set of DMV-1 and I've been very satisfied. I drove in a lot of snow and ice last winter and had no problems. Very surefooted. The CX-9 far exceeded my expectations with these tires.

i got the dmv-1 last year as well from tirerack, didn't even get to drive them in snow! hopefully this year!

It looks like the WS60s are not available in the 18" -2 sizing.

I'll most likely get the DMV1 and one of the cheaper wheels for $129 each, total pakage about $1000.

Keep your eye out on ebay for 18" OEM wheels. I got a set of take-off, brand new, CX-9 18" wheels with the OEM duellers and TPMS for $440 shipped. I drove on the duellers from spring till winter, than put on the blizzaks, and even sold the duellers to the tire place since they only have about 8000 miles on them.

Don't forget shipping on those, that cost me about $200. Out to the west coast anyway. I also think my rims were about $140 each.

Hi all,
This was an original post from last winter (’09) that I am finally posting…with our resolution see below.

Okay, it is that time of year and we are finally purchasing our dedicated winter snow tires. I have a 09 GT-AWD with 20" rims. With all of our previous vehicles (Jeep Grand Cherokee, Subuaru, Toyota Truck, we have always had studded tires. We live in Truckee, CA, a mountain/snow community, and I drive a steady 10% grade approx. 3/4 mile long, and other slopes on mountain roads daily. We also get the lowest temperature gradient in the nation, highs to lows, so we go from ice, snow, slush, etc. in a day.

I have finally convinced my husband to go from studded to non-studded tires for the Sexy-9 (he is getting studded tires again for our Cherokee, our last set lasted 5 seasons, and now we removed the studs and use the tires for summer), and our local tire shop convinced him to get 17" rims instead of 18", which is originally what I wanted. Anyhow, the best option for this size rim seems to be the BLIZZAK DM-V1 $130/tire), which are new this year, replacing the DM-Z3. We are going through our local store vs. tirerack.com as they will switch out our tires 2x/year on both cars free of charge.

UPDATE: I absolutely loved the BLIZZAKS! Drove all ’09 winter and felt very secure. Stops quickly and no sliding, skidding at all. The Sexy 9 reacts responsively and handles the 10% grade with no problems. Had them on the car from Nov to April, and don’t see much wear yet. I also loved not having the ‘click-click-click’ of the studded tires. STUDLESS is definitely the way to go if you are on the fence like we were.

By the way, we did not get the TPMS and although the light was on the dash (I got use to it) it didn’t bother me. When we switched back to our standard 20” tires, the TPMS activated right away, light off, no problems. I will post a picture of how it looks with the 17” rims soon.

Hi all,
This was an original post from last winter (09) that I am finally postingwith our resolution see below.

Okay, it is that time of year and we are finally purchasing our dedicated winter snow tires. I have a 09 GT-AWD with 20" rims. With all of our previous vehicles (Jeep Grand Cherokee, Subuaru, Toyota Truck, we have always had studded tires. We live in Truckee, CA, a mountain/snow community, and I drive a steady 10% grade approx. 3/4 mile long, and other slopes on mountain roads daily. We also get the lowest temperature gradient in the nation, highs to lows, so we go from ice, snow, slush, etc. in a day.

I have finally convinced my husband to go from studded to non-studded tires for the Sexy-9 (he is getting studded tires again for our Cherokee, our last set lasted 5 seasons, and now we removed the studs and use the tires for summer), and our local tire shop convinced him to get 17" rims instead of 18", which is originally what I wanted. Anyhow, the best option for this size rim seems to be the BLIZZAK DM-V1 $130/tire), which are new this year, replacing the DM-Z3. We are going through our local store vs. tirerack.com as they will switch out our tires 2x/year on both cars free of charge.

UPDATE: I absolutely loved the BLIZZAKS! Drove all 09 winter and felt very secure. Stops quickly and no sliding, skidding at all. The Sexy 9 reacts responsively and handles the 10% grade with no problems. Had them on the car from Nov to April, and dont see much wear yet. I also loved not having the click-click-click of the studded tires. STUDLESS is definitely the way to go if you are on the fence like we were.

By the way, we did not get the TPMS and although the light was on the dash (I got use to it) it didnt bother me. When we switched back to our standard 20 tires, the TPMS activated right away, light off, no problems. I will post a picture of how it looks with the 17 rims soon.