Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 vs DM-V2 : We have covered the soft compound/studless segment showing how well Blizzak WS90 fared against its arch rival Michelin X-Ice Snow. This time we would like to explore Bridgestone’s Studless products by pairing its own passenger car segment Blizzak WS90 against its SUV segmented Blizzak DM-V2.
This Blizzak WS90 was launched in 2019 replacing the popular WS80 after a 5 year gap. It covers mostly passenger car segment tires with an aspect ratio <= 60. On the other corner, Blizzak DM-V2 is a SUV specific tireline which was developed with SUV type vehicles in mind. These 2 products have a clear differentiation on which vehicle it serves but there are still some tire sizes where they both overlapped. Let’s put them head to head and see who will come out on top !
Table of Contents
Results
Ideally you would like to have a 1 v 1 test results to show its clear performance difference. However this time around as there is clear segmentation, there are no test results which ran these 2 products simultaneously. Lucky for us, consumer report has tested both tires separately and we would be able to use their ratings to judge how well both tires fared. Do note that the consumer report uses a maximum rating of 5 which means that a rating of 5/5 is the best possible achievement.
The graph above shows the comparison between Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 vs DM-V2 based on the relevant performance category. The tire size of interest for Blizzak WS90 is 215/55R17 which is a common tire size for Honda HR-V. The tire size of interest for Blizzak DM-V2 is 265/70R17 which is a common tire size for Toyota 4Runner & FJ Cruiser.
Ice
When comparing the ice performance of the Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 and the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 tires, considering that ice performance is the top priority for snow tires, both models excel equally. Both the WS90 and the DM-V2 have been rated 5/5 for their performance on ice as they were tested from 10 to 0 mph in a skating rink. This suggests that they offer exceptional grip, stability, and handling on icy surfaces, making them reliable choices for winter driving conditions.
Ice Braking :
- WS90 : 5/5
- DM-V2 : 5/5
Snow
After ice, snow would be the 2nd most important requirement for both these products. Snow traction was performed with a medium packed snow and the time taken to accelerate from 5 to 20mph was measured. Based on the results, both Blizzak WS90 & Blizzak DM-V2 scored an impressive 5/5 rating which ranks them the best snow performing tire with not much difference in between them.
Snow Traction :
- WS90 : 5/5
- DM-V2 : 5/5
Wet
As Studless tires are exempted from providing UTQG values, the best way to find out its wet capabilities is through testing. This is the first big clear differentiation as we saw as Blizzak DM-V2 performed 1 level better than Blizzak WS90 braking from 60 mph to 0. Due to the deficit in wet braking, the wet handling performance was also in favor of Blizzak DM-V2 with an overall rating of 3/5 vs 2/5. This was done subjectively at Consumer Report’s own handling circuit which involves maneuvering & steering feel.
Aquaplaning was also the worst for Blizzak WS90 as it was rated 1 point lower than DM-V2. Overall based on the test results, it is clear that Blizzak DM-V2 performs much better in the wet compared to Blizzak WS90.
Wet Braking:
- WS90 : 1/5
- DM-V2 : 2/5
Handling (Wet) :
- WS90 : 2/5
- DM-V2 : 3/5
Hydroplaning :
- WS90 : 3/5
- DM-V2 : 4/5
Dry
Similar to wet, dry performances also favored Blizzak DM-V2 as it scored a 4/5 compared to the 3/5 of Blizzak WS90. Similar to wet braking, dry braking was also tested from a speed of 60 mph down to 0.
Dry Braking :
- WS90 : 3/5
- DM-V2 : 4/5
Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH)
In normal conditions, the softer your compound the better your NVH performance is. Both tires being a soft compound, perform equally good when it comes to ride comfort and noise with a score of 4/5 which is not bad for a Studless tire 🙂
Ride Comfort :
- WS90 : 4/5
- DM-V2 : 4/5
Noise :
- WS90 : 3/5
- DM-V2 : 3/5
Rolling Resistance
When it comes to studless tires, rolling resistance is definitely not at the highest priority as the engineer has to handle the most important winter vs summer target conflict. However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, rolling resistance has been widely used as a competitive marketing tool as it could be easily seen in the label values.
This time around, Blizzak WS90 took the lead by being 1 point better in rolling resistance with an overall score of 4/5 compared to the 3/5 of Blizzak WS90.
Rolling Resistance :
- WS90 : 4/5
- DM-V2 : 3/5
Price
Since both tires are under Bridgestone, it would be interesting to see what is the pricing structure for these 2 products. As the WS90 mostly serves the passenger car tire sizes while DM-V2 caters for the SUV segment, there are not many common sizes shared between them. The size 225/65R17 is one of them and it priced almost the same with DM-V2 being $5 dollars more expensive than WS90.
Tire size: 225/65 R17
Blizzak WS90 : $148
Blizzak DM-V2 : $153
Difference: +3% more expensive for DM-V2.
Summary
Based on the test results, both tires took turns to excel in various performance fields. Blizzak WS90 excels in rolling resistance while Blizzak DM-V2 showed better strengths in dry & wet. However both tires were good in winter performances with maximum rating in ice & snow which is what users of this segment need. Based on the results, if you are one of the lucky tire size owners which can choose either Blizzak WS90 or Blizzak DM-V2, we would highly recommend Blizzak DM-V2 for that extra wet & dry performance. Enjoy!