When it comes to the worst and coldest time of the year, you need to equip your car with dedicated winter tires. Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT vs Blizzak WS80 are two popular and much praised winter tires, loved and relied upon by winter drivers of sedans, coupes, and minivans. Below, we will help you understand how Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT and Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 compare to each other and determine the best winter tire for your car.
Key points of the comparison include:
- An overview of the design, structure, and features of Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT and Bridgestone Blizzak WS80
- The comparison of their performance on snow and ice
- Which tire that is generally quieter and more comfortable to ride
- The performance of Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT vs Blizzak WS80 on the highway
- The fuel consumption comparison between Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT and Bridgestone Blizzak WS80
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT vs Blizzak WS80: Design and Features
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT boasts the company’s latest Winter Reactive Technology, which is designed to ensure optimum traction in the ever-changing winter conditions. The tire is meant for sedans, coupes, minivans, as well as pickup trucks and crossover vehicles. Unlike the all-season tires Goodyear Wrangler SR A vs Michelin LTX M S2, this tire specializes in cold, icy, snowy conditions. Read also: Goodyear Wrangler SR A vs Michelin LTX M S2.
The secret behind Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT’s winter capabilities is the special ice tread compound, which provides enhanced traction on snow and ice. It is combined with the 3D TredLock blades on the shoulder to ensure a confident grip when turning, and the two-dimensional blades in the center for starting and stopping power. The directional tread pattern effectively evacuates water and snow out during the warmer winter days.
Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is now one of the most popular and most recommended snow tires in the market. It can help you deal with snow and ice confidently, even in the most difficult winter times, thanks to the Advanced Multicell Compound with Nano Pro-Tech that keeps the tire pliable in very low temperatures. In addition, the Hydrophilic Coating helps to resist water and increase grip and stopping power.
On the tread pattern of Bridgestone Blizzak WS80, there is a special cavity shape that ensures even pressure distribution across the contact area. This greatly helps to promote even wear. Meanwhile, the 3D Zigzag Sipes are designed in such a way that creates plenty of biting edges, while also being effective in evacuating water and maintaining block stiffness.
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT vs Blizzak WS80: Ice & Snow Traction
Unpredictable is one of the most notorious characteristics of winter. Weather and road conditions can change rapidly, so you have to stay alert and ready for all kinds of challenges. For example, polished ice surfaces and packed snow are often encountered at busy turns and intersections.
This is one of the most difficult challenges in winter months, as such surfaces can be very slick and cause your car to behave erratically if fitted with bad tires. Fortunately, both Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT and Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 can tackle this challenge well.
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT is very good in terms of handling. The tires remain accurate and responsive to your steering, even if the road is covered by ice. The traction is not the very best, but still good enough to allow safe driving.
Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is an exceptional winter tire. It provides solid grip and traction, no matter if you are driving through light snow or frozen roads with ice layers. The handling performance is also very good. This is a great choice for facing the harshest winter conditions.
Trudging through thick snow is another difficult, yet quite different challenge. Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT generally works just fine in this regard, though it may struggle a bit sometimes. It may feel as if it is slipping when the snow is thick but starting to turn into slush. Bridgestone Blizzak WS80, on the other hand, performs solidly, with excellent grip, acceleration, and braking in thick snow. The tires always seem to manage in finding grip, while remaining responsive to steering.
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT vs Blizzak WS80: Ride Comfort
Winter tires are often noisy due to having a lot of biting edges and wide sipes. Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT also suffers from the same issue. You can hear it working when driving on packed snow or ice. You can also feel the vibrations from the tires.
As expected, Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT produces even more vibrations and tread noise when driving on a dry pavement. This is something to consider if you want to set up your tires in early winter, when there is not yet much snow.
Meanwhile, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is generally a silent tire. It is very comfortable to ride in peak winter. You won’t notice much noise or vibration as you trudge through snow or turn on an icy intersection.
Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 does produce a bit of noise on dry roads. Not as much as its competitor here, but still noticeable and still pretty tolerable. That said, it is not really recommended for driving on dry roads, due to the following reason.
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT vs Blizzak WS80: On Dry Roads
Sometimes, you may want to ride on winter tires when driving on dry roads. Perhaps it is the beginning of the season, and you want to install your specialized tires in advance. Or it is one of those weird times in winter, where you encounter different weather conditions as you speed through the highway.
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT is arguably the better tire for driving on dry roads. Although it is not very quiet, it provides solid traction and great handling. The tires follow your steering easily, so that highway driving won’t be an issue. Another nice thing about Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT is the low fuel consumption; it has an MPG rating of 33.4, so the total fuel consumption per year would be around 179 gallons.
Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is great for snow and ice, but it is not very good for the highway. It has way too much traction and resistance. Steering on a dry road becomes too heavy and difficult. Compared to the competitors, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 tends to consume a little bit more fuel with an MPG rating of 33.1 and an annual fuel consumption of about 181 gallons.
| Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WR | Blizzak WS80 |
|---|---|
| - Generally good performance in winter, may struggle a bit in thick snow | - Excellent traction on snow and ice, great handling |
| - Can be a bit noisy | - Fairly quiet and comfortable |
| - Decent dry-road performance | - Difficult handling on dry roads |
| - Relatively low fuel consumption | - Slightly higher fuel consumption |
| - Good if you often ride on the highway | - Highly recommended as a dedicated snow tire |
Conclusion
As a dedicated winter tire, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is better and more recommended. It has plenty of traction for all kinds of winter challenges, and it also offers excellent, responsive handling. In addition, the ride on Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 tires is quiet and comfortable.
