Bridgestone’s new Blizzak IcePeak tire promises longer life for daily winter driving

• Bridgestone will launch the new Blizzak IcePeak winter tire ahead of the next snow season.
• This general-purpose tire has passed the three-peak mountain snowflake test and features the newer certification for ice grip.
• The aptly named IcePeak will replace the current DM-V2 and WS90 lines.

It hasn’t been a good winter for snow in Colorado. Hot and dry weather changed the calculation of when to switch to winter tires. Normally it’s a wait until it snows decision, while this year I found myself trying to keep my brand new set from frying on days between flurries. But you don’t need snow to need winter tires; If you regularly drive in weather conditions below 40 degrees, it is highly recommended that you get winter gear, no matter how long these conditions last where you are.

Meet the latest Blizzak

When shopping for winter tires, you’ll likely come across Bridgestone’s Blizzak line. We’ve used Blizzaks on countless long-term cars, as well as many of our personal vehicles, and have generally positive things to say about their cold-weather performance. For next winter, Bridgestone is preparing a new Blizzak, the IcePeak, which will eventually replace the WS90 and DM-V2 lines.

This more human-readable name has some meaning. Like all winter tires, the IcePeak meets the Three-peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) standard, which compares snow acceleration with a standard tire. The rubber industry introduced a new certification in 2021 called ‘ice grip’, which tests braking performance on ice. The IcePeak is the first Bridgestone tire to meet both standards, hence the non-alphanumeric name, and the respective symbols are stamped on the sidewall.

Would the DM-V2 and WS90 have passed the ice grip test? A Bridgestone rep probably told us, but the company didn’t do any testing to find out. Both tires were released before the ice grip standard existed, and it wasn’t worth the expense to go through the recertification process or update all the many molds to include the icon, so they waited for the new tire.

Aside from the extra badge of honor, the IcePeaks are an improvement over what they replace, maintaining a competitive advantage. Bridgestone tests show that they are comparable to Nokian’s Hakkapeliitta R5 winter tire, while across the board they are as good or even better than the WS90. The biggest jump is a claimed 23 percent improvement in acceleration performance.

What’s intriguing for the end result is that Bridgestone expects drivers to get an extra season or so to ride out of the IcePeaks, compared to previous Blizzaks. Lower rolling resistance should translate into better mileage. Your bank account and the environment will thank you.

The optimized Blizzak has two new tricks that might be interesting for rubberheads. Added protrusions at the tip or corner of a tread block extend slightly into the grooves of the tread, forming a type of chicane that interrupts the flow of water through it, improving grip on ice. Bridgestone has also added micro-grooves to the tread block surface to draw water from the contact patch; these improve grip on new tires until the tread begins to wear and small bubbles in the rubber become visible and take over that job.

The IcePeak will launch with 107 trims from 14 to 22 inches, which should cover 97 percent of applications in cars, trucks and SUVs. While the new-for-2025 Blizzak 6 is the performance option, the IcePeak is intended for more everyday vehicles.

IcePeak meets (some) snow

And what could be more mundane than a Toyota Camry? I traveled to the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to experience the latest Blizzak offerings. While the skiing at Steamboat isn’t great right now, the Bridgestone facility’s courses have just enough snow cover to be informative and a lot of fun.

The assembled press spent much of the morning driving Toyota Highlanders and 4Runners, shod in DM-V2s, getting to know the circuit and getting reacquainted with driving in the snow. I’ve come across exactly zero snowy parking lots this season where I could practice my skills, and my drive from home in the Denver area to Steamboat Springs was completely free of snow. Then it was time to test some early IcePeaks on the school’s all-wheel-drive Camrys.

It wasn’t an AB comparison because we were running different tires on different vehicles, but the track became less forgiving as the day went on and the snow was polished into ice. Just like their ancestors, the IcePeaks are very progressive and communicate the grip levels to the seat of your pants. They bite aggressively on turn-in and really dig in under hard braking. Their performance is predictable and from this brief introduction it seems like an improvement over the previous tires.

Blizzak IcePeaks will go on sale in May, ahead of the next round of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Since prices are expected to be similar even if they are as good as the tires they replace, the IcePeaks should represent a better value than their predecessors. There’s a good chance a set or two will be released Car and driver future long-term cars in Michigan, and we’ll provide more insight once we take them out on the road – snow-covered or not.

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Ever since David was a little kid Car and driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet of all the vehicles he has driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel park a school bus and once reversed a Lincoln Town Car at 60 mph. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he is back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David isn’t looking for the perfect used car, you can find him with the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition groceries.