Bridgestone Blizzak 6 adds sporty side to winter

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — While the Blizzak name seems to resonate with consumers — Bridgestone Americas Inc. executives say some consumers use it interchangeably to describe winter tires — the newest product is different than its predecessors in one key way.

The Blizzak 6 was designed to fit premium sports cars, among others, allowing consumers to get that Porsche Macan or Toyota Supra out of the garage and maneuvering on snow- and ice-covered streets.

With a higher speed rating than a traditional winter tire, the Blizzak 6 was designed for a "sporty, responsive" drive in winter conditions.

Todd Chapman, senior manager, product strategy for Bridgestone Americas, told Tire Business that the Blizzak 6 gives a consumer confidence in winter conditions as well as the "ability to go out and drive on drier roads and still have a decent amount of fun at colder temperatures.

"If you want to go out into a parking lot that's got some snow, you can go ahead and have some fun in the snow. That's an exciting part of the product."

Bridgestone debuted the product during a ride-and-drive event in late January at its Winter Test Track, a short drive from Steamboat Springs, a renown ski town that was buzzing with winter enthusiasts.

This story was first featured in the Feb. 10 edition of Tire Business.
Bridgestone hosted about two dozen journalists at the winter track, testing the Blizzak 6, as well as its new Dueler A/T Ascent — which was released last August — in a series of winter driving exercises.

The Blizzak 6 will be available in 38 sizes, designed specifically for sports cars, sporty coupes, performance sedans and SUVs, fitting rim diameters covering 17 to 22 inches. Available for order in May and delivery in August and September, the product replaces and consolidates three other Blizzak models — LM001, LM-32 and the LM-25.

The tires, which were engineered in Europe, will be sold in North America and in Europe and manufactured at Bridgestone plants in Hungary, Italy, Poland and Spain.

According to Bridgestone, the tire is the first in the Blizzak portfolio to feature the company's proprietary Enliten technology, an overall architecture Bridgestone uses to describe a new product that may have a new compound, tread design, construction method and/or sustainability piece that sets the product apart from previous lines.

In addition to providing better control and stopping ability, the Enliten effect benefits consumers in another aspect: it provides longer life (32% longer life than the previous generation). The tire maker estimates that means the Blizzak 6 could give a consumer one more season, depending on the usage.

"There's so many variables to it — where you drive, how you drive, is it snowy all the time, is it dry all the time, temperatures fluctuations," Chapman said. "There's a lot that goes into actual tire life."

Chapman said the Enliten technology also includes a new formula that strengthens the mechanical interaction between the polymer and reinforcing filler and improves asphalt contact with stiffness, dissipation and energy control. It also has an enhanced arrow shape pattern that results in more even shear stresses and slippage along the tread width and improved traction.

And the tread platform between blocks provides more even wear and improved snow trapping.

"Ultimately, we're trying to tie (Enliten) to one centralized concept to show that we're taking the existing tire ... and we're expanding upon its performance capabilities, and trying to also add in others," Chapman said. "The goal is to essentially identify where consumers are looking for the biggest benefit."

For a snow tire, that means performance in snow and ice.

"If you see the Enliten logo on the sidewall," said Davis Adams-Smith, director of public relations for Bridgestone West (Americas and Europe, the Middle East and Asia), "you know it's a new product that we've developed for performance and sustainability."

Bridgestone has plans to update all of its existing passenger and light truck tires integrating the Enliten technology.

Chapman said the winter tire market continues to hold steady, despite fluctuations caused by mild winters of the recent past as well as the introduction of all-weather products. He reiterated that an all-weather tire does not perform as well as a winter tire in many areas.

"So if you live in an environment where you actually get a lot of snow, and the snow is on the ground for a long time and temperatures are cold, the winter tires are still going to give you an advantage over an all- weather," he said.

According to Bridgestone, the industry sells 8 million winter tires in North America each year; and the segment accounts for roughly 40% of replacement passenger tire sales in Canada.

Chapman said the winter tire market has been consistent. If anything, he said, it's shifted to a more dedicated winter tire as opposed to a product less winter-focused.

"We expect that's going to continue," he said, not long after a winter cold snap and significant snowfalls blanketed parts of the South. Some 3 inches fell on Atlanta and Houston, while New Orleans recorded 8 inches.

"Even with the weather this week, there might be additional demand, because there are a lot of areas that are getting weather that they haven't seen in the past. So you never know what might happen with that, right?"

The Blizzak lineup now features four products including the Blizzak WS90, DM-V2 and LT. The Blizzak 6, he said, allows tire dealers to sell low-profile, larger rim diameter, larger width tires that weren't available previously.

"It give you the tool to sell into spaces that you haven't been able to before," he said, noting the product adds 20 new sizes to the Blizzak portfolio. "That's a really important thing for the luxury vehicles, the sports cars."

As long as the tire maker continues to innovate its winter products, it can "be the leader in the space," he said.

"And if we continue to do that, continue to keep our brand presence strong, we're going to see the Blizzak as the standard — the Kleenex of winter tires."