Owners most consistently praise the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 for strong wet-road performance, with around half highlighting secure wet grip and only a handful disagreeing. Dry grip is also commonly rated better than expected for a winter tire, while opinion on snow traction is far more mixed, splitting owners almost evenly depending on conditions and expectations. The biggest drawback is durability: around two in five owners report fast wear (often with performance dropping as the tire ages), and roughly three in ten mention noticeable road noise, with a smaller group also finding it weak on ice.
What owners mention most counted across 103 reviews
I've used these tires for about 3 winters and around 9500 miles and a 250hp FWD car.
Let's start with the first winter, they were great, good snow grip, good wet and dry grip. Felt I've made a good choice to handle my limited winter driving for the next couple of years. The second winter they had lost some of their snow grip but nothing too serious and I half expected it so everything was fine. Now we come to this winter which would be their last. No snow grip what so ever. I had trouble taking off in a couple inches of snow and would get constant wheel spin. When they had to do both acceleration and cornering at they same time they were borderline dangerous. Wet and dry grip is still okay.
Considering how little they have been driven on and have been stored correctly in the summer I half expected them to last one more winter. They still have a lot of tread left but the compound has become really hard.
For the price I paid for them I could have spend a little bit more and tried Michelin Alpin 6/7 since they get better reviews for longevity.
Got these tires for my Bmw i4 e40 (RWD). They were test winners and supposedly very good.
My experience is the opposite. For snowy, icy nordic winters. They are horrendous. I initially didn't think they were too bad. When new, they were decent. But having now switched to Conti VikingContacts (7 rear, 8 front, due to supply limitations in my dimensions). I got some awakening perspective.
It felt similar to what I believe F1 drivers feel like when switching to intermediates/wets after staying out for too long in the rain on slicks.
I now had traction, throttle, braking, turning. I could actually drive the car.
Before I could provoke oversteer with the lightest of throttle application, now I really have to do it with intent to get some action.
The Blizzaks were never unpredictable with oversteer or understeer. They were predictably horrible in snow and ice.
Wear was also a big problem. Chewed through a set of rears in about 10000km/6000miles. Twice.
Would not recommend, if you only se slight snow once or twice a year. Maybe, but then you'd be better off with a great all season tire I think.
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I have driven this tire in continental winter conditions - everything except pure ice. Dry grip was excellent, and pushing it was particularly enjoyable as the tire is very predictable and progressive at the limit. In moist and greasy my confidence is limited, but the tire was still predictable, although the grip level gets quite low. I don't recall having any issues in the wet, including standing water.
In the snow (and they have seen proper snow) lateral load in the corners is excellent and grip under braking was good as well, proportionally in all types of snow (dry, wet, compact, slush). Traction is somewhat limited, although still quite good once moving, however setting off from standstill is by far the biggest challenge, without doubt influenced by the lightweight RWD configuration.
Finally, I decided to change them at the age of 5 as performance in the snow dropped off slightly, but still noticeably, with still plenty of tread (5 mm). When the time came I took 1 h at deserted dry tarmac with the goal to finish them off, yet there was barely any sign of wear.
Overall a very rewarding tire in the snow, and solid, although not particularly sporty in other conditions.
P.S. I drove about 30,000 km over 3 seasons. The tires came with the car when I bought it from the previous owner and were used the previous 2 seasons.
I bought 4 Bridgestone LM005 winter tires at the end of 2020. They have been used for 4 winter seasons since then. The pattern is missing in many places on the outer tread. If it were natural wear, the entire outer tread would have been worn, but here only one is missing. I think they are defective in production. I do not recommend them for this reason. Otherwise, there are no other problems.
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While this looks troubling, I believe it is by design. It is advantageous for handling to put non full depth siping on the shoulders, which is why you are seeing the siping disappearing before the full depth siping elsewhere on the tire. They should still be perfectly fine to use, but I suggest sending a photo to Bridgestone just to be safe.
Horrible tire. Dont buy it. I used them 2 winter seasons. They have aprox 20.000 km. Worn out after 2 seasons only. See the photos below how they look like. They have several spots with flat surface. I dont understand how they could reach also the best performance in the wet condition as wet handling was average. If I compare this tires with Polaris 6 (used on 2nd car), this tire is piece of...
They are winner in the shortest lifetime. How this can be a premium tire for such money? Disaster.
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It looks like the flat spots are part of non-full depth sipes, which would be by design, however I suggest you double check with Bridgestone and report back.
Excellent snow and ice tire but a rather bad dry and wet performance. Additionally I expected a longer life but I accept the fact that I usually drive harder than this tire is meant to be driven.
Must buy if expecting heavy snow or ice roads.
I would look somewhere else if expecting dry or mostly wet winter roads.
In my opinion, the tires are great. Bought them new in 2021 and mounted them on a Golf VII Variant. As most of our winters are not exactly ice and snow, but more slush and wet, these tires performed very well. During wet conditions (between -3 and +8 Celsius) car was handling very well, easily controllable, and had no issues whatsoever. However, if the slush gets deep and on a corner, even these tires are not enough to maintain grip, but that is probably expected as these are not Nordic winter tires. Going uphill when snow has been crushed and pretty much become ice can be a struggle if you have to come to a complete stop, which means you will not be sliding backward or anything dangerous like that, but the wheels will spin until they get some traction to slowly start you going. Driving trough a snow storm and maintaining constant speed of around 70kmh is however very easy with these tires, I saw many cars on the side of the road and many needing a push out of a ditch, or as in one case BMW was stuck on a road, so pushed him out so we could continue on our journey, drove on autobahn with them when the road was not yet plowed and there was icy bumps that needed driving over (of course at reasonable speed for the conditions) and 0 issues maintaining control of the car, so overall these are great tires for winter. I probably would not pick these to drive in Finland or Norway, but for me they served great. Lasted about 2-3 seasons, so maybe not the longest longevity, but they do perform well.
I bought 4 new Bridgestone Blizzak L005 tires at an authorized Toyota center in Novi Sad, Serbia, in September 2023 (DOT 1222) on Toyota rims measuring 225/60/18 and after 13,000 km, the first signs of significant wear of the tire sipes on all 4 tires to the level of complete wear were seen, with increased noise, vibrations, significantly longer stopping distances and instability on the road, especially in the wet, not to mention snow and ice. The frame, shock absorbers and brakes were inspected at the official Toyota service center and the findings were in order. I filed a complaint, but it was rejected even though it was within the warranty period. I don't know whether I am more disappointed in Toyota or Bridgestone.
I’ve had the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 fitted on my car for four winters, covering around 15,500 miles in total, and my experience has been excellent.
What stands out the most is their performance on wet roads – grip and braking are very secure even in heavy rain. On snow and cold roads, they also perform remarkably well, offering consistent traction and a very confident driving feel.
In terms of driving sensations, the tires feel stable, precise, and comfortable, with low noise levels and no excessive softness.
They’ve also shown very even wear, which speaks well for their durability as winter tires.
Another point worth mentioning is the price, which I find very reasonable for a premium tire. The Blizzak LM005 manages to stand out from other premium brands by offering top-level performance at a more affordable cost.
Overall, the Blizzak LM005 is a well-balanced tire with excellent grip on wet and snowy roads, great comfort, impressive longevity, and a price that truly sets it apart. Highly recommended for anyone looking for safety, reliability, and great value in winter conditions.
As premium tires, these are not impressive at all. They are good when new, though most tires are, but from mid-life onward, traction on snow and ice becomes quite poor. The wear is terrible.
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