I have used both the Blizzak and Michelin Arctic Alpines in the Colorado Rockies and NW Montana Mountains. Both seem to work well but have different characteristics.

The Blizzaks are dynamite on ice, and they are called the "ice tire" for good reason. They are also very good in snow because of their knobby block tread. Their weak point is wet weather and warm spells. A warm day in winter will grind the rubber off faster than you can tell about it. Once you wear the tread down to the harder compound below the soft ice compound, well, then you just have knobby all-season tires that aren't really very good in the rain. I have used them on a big V8 Mercury Cougar and also a FWD Toyota. Very solid on ice with both applications.

The Arctic Alpines are also pretty good, not giant killers, but pretty good. They are OK in snow and OK in ice. Better in ice than snow. On balance they are not too bad a selection for the price. The latest model is their X-Ice series which has a more aggressive tread and should be better in snow and wet. The surprise is their durability. I run them year-round in NW Montana and they have lasted 2 1/2 seasons with two very hot summers between the winters. They have held up extremely well and are now about half worn. I'll replace them next fall with something new. They are noisy in the wet, singing a bit at around 50-55 mph. And in the dry weather they rumble with a bunch of tire noise all summer. Also, they seem to wear in a scallop at the outside edge which I believe is the cause of the road noise. But they have been good tires with good quality for the price. Oh, they are on a Subaru, so some of the wear characteristics may be due to the AWD.

The latest MBCA STAR magazine has a very favorable review of the Nokian tires. Ritter indicated very good results on his 320E so I may try them next year.

230/8

Let me add my vote for the Artic Alpine. I got my set at Costco, though I don't remember what I paid, I know it was about the best deal around. I wasn't expecting much from them, as I have a 4x4 for winter driving with All Season Mud & Snow rated tires, and I generally put my 300E away in the winter and only drive it when absolutely necessary in the snow. Well, this season is different, and I drove the benz a lot more when we had snow earlier this month.

The Artic Alpines impressed me with their traction on snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain conditions I've had so far this season. Of course the freezing rain was the worst, and I drive very cautiously, conservatively and slowly whenever the traction is limited.

Mostly the snow tires (on the stock 15" wheels) get put on just before thanksgiving, and off in the spring, with about half to 3/4 the miles put on them on dry or wet pavement and 30-50 degree temperatures. Drove on them down to SOCAL last christmas and was very pleased with their on road manors. They are a pretty good road tire, and handled high-speed highway travel very well. They haven't really worn down much either.

Bottom line is for a 'studless' design, I am very happy with them. In March they will probably come off and my 16" 3-season tires will go back on, but maybe not, as they don't have to come off even after the studded snow tire removal deadline that my state has on April 1st. No hurry.

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On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory, sat down to wait, and waiting -- died

The weather here in Toronto Canada is just as bad.Ive had Blizzaks, and the Alpins. This time I went with the Yokohama Ice-Guards and I love them.
Even at low temps they are soft and have a firm sidewall
I am currently running on my 86 300e P215-60-16 all around.
On the high way you hear a bit of a hum after you go over 124km/hr or if you have the window open and its slightly wet.
Here the weather ranges from black ice to snow to wet to bone dry roads all in one week.
Over all rating in my opinion is: Excellent on ice and snow
: great in the rain(they spit up alot of water)
:good on dry pavement(Ive had the car up to
220KM/hr without tire vibration)and they stick to the road better than alot af the all seasons out there)
Only draw back is that when its snowing your car gets really dirty due to the amount of slush that they displace.

Harry

We have 4 brand new Nokian RSI-their very latest dedicated snows, on our wagon, and older, out-of-production Hakka 1's on the BMW. Both are pretty amazing, and even dry road handling is not that bad, considering. I am a convert.

I have heard that the WS-50s, while quite good for snow, are just plain bad for dry road handling and not recommended for MBs of any kind; very squirley in the dry. I am pretty sure Tirerack Luke at the wheel and tire forum confirmed this at some point.

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1995 MB E320 Wagon
2001 BMW 530i
2007 MINI Cooper S (!)

well...
after all the feedback and reading tons of posts on the internet, I have comme to the conclusion that for dedicated snow tires the Blizzak's are better than the nonkian wr, but if someone wants to compromise the snow/ice handling to get all year tires then wr's are the way to go.
since I'm looking for tires that will perform the best in snow, I will stick to Blizzak's. For other season I have the all season tires that I will put back.
thanks for everyone's replies.

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Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.

updates on the blizzak:
I had them installed from sears, and used them for a week. During snow they were excellent no doubt, but when the snow melted, on dry road they are the "worst" tires I have ever driven with. the car's handling was like a boat. the rear gives out at speeds around 35mph. and the car feels as if you're riding on marbles. The handling is so bad that i have decided to put the allweather wheels back on the car !
So i suggest that whoever buys blizzaks, use them on your spare car that you will not be driving on the dry at all. otherwise, perhaps the Nokian WR would be a better buy. I havent used the nokian, but from the reviews they seem to be better on dry, but not as good on snow. A compromise between the snow and dry perhaps.

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Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.

Hi, I'll repeat what I said earlier, the Nokian RSi is their newest dedicated winter tire, less performance oriented than the WR, but not bad on dry at all, believe me, you can barely tell you have snows on. But man, they grip like crazy.

Two nights ago, we sat waiting in a ski area parking lot while a fully loaded old Volvo 240 tried repeatedly to get a running start up the very icy access road to exit, getting nowhere, backing up ourselves and two other cars. I estimate the slope to be about 12 degrees, and a long way out at that same incline. Not sure if it had snows on or not. All it did was sit and spin that one skinny rear tire over and over. Finally they gave up, coasted back and waited.

From a standing start next to them I proceeded, and zip, up we went, no problem, no hesitation, just the traction control light flaring away, and we were gone.

There you go. The contrast couldn't be plainer, two heavy old rear drive wagons, one with hi-tech snows/electronic traction enhancements, and one without. It was like being in a car magazine controlled testing environment.

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1995 MB E320 Wagon
2001 BMW 530i
2007 MINI Cooper S (!)

We has a set of WS-50's on our Outback Wagon and even on dry roads, they weren't that bad. Are you sure they're inflated properly, installed properly? Lots of people use Blizzaks in my area and while they're no handling demons on dry roads, we're not flying into the ditch by any means.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

According to a test on Winter tires in Consumer Reports back in November, 2002, (the last test) the best performing "H" Rated Snow tires at the time were the Good-Year Ultra Grip GW-2. An "H" rating means that these tires are rated for speeds up-to 130MPH. The retail price at the time was $132

The "Kumho L'zen stud KW-11" were rated best in the "T" Category, and cost $54 each.

A "T" rating means that these tires are rated for speeds up-to 118 MPH. The retail price at the time was $132

Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

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You did install all four, one assumes. Blizzaks on the rear only make a car nearly undriveable. Personal experience.