Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
WatchThe Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 is a premium touring winter tire built around exceptional wet-weather safety, and it consistently delivers some of the shortest wet braking distances and most secure wet handling in both independent tests and real-world use. Drivers commonly describe it as confidence-inspiring in cold rain, standing water and slush, with a sporty, predictable feel for a winter tire. Snow performance is generally good in typical Central/Western European conditions, but it is more variable than the class leaders and can fade noticeably as the tire wears. The main compromise is longevity: rapid wear and rising noise are frequent complaints, making it an expensive tire to run if you cover high mileages.
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View Test ResultsAlternative Tires
| Size | Fuel | Wet | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 inch | |||
| 175/65 R14 82 T | C | A | 71 |
| 185/60 R14 82 T | C | A | 70 |
| 165/70 R14 85 T XL | C | A | 70 |
| 15 inch | |||
| 185/65 R15 92 T XL | C | A | 70 |
| 195/65 R15 95 T XL | C | A | 71 |
| 195/65 R15 91 T | C | A | 71 |
| 195/55 R15 85 H | C | A | 71 |
| 195/65 R15 91 H | C | A | 71 |
| 195/65R15 91 H | C | A | 71 |
| 195/65R15 95 T XL | C | A | 71 |
| 185/65 R15 88 T | C | A | 71 |
| 185/65R15 88 T | C | A | 71 |
| 16 inch | |||
| 205/55 R16 91 H | C | A | 71 |
| 215/70 R16 100 T | C | A | 71 |
| 205/55 R16 91 T | C | A | 71 |
| 205/55 R16 94 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 205/55 R16 94 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 205/60 R16 92 H | C | A | 71 |
| 205/60 R16 96 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 205/60 R16 96 H XL | A | B | 72 |
| 205/60 R16 96 H XL | A | B | 72 |
| 215/70 R16 100 T | C | A | 71 |
| 205/60R16 96 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 205/55R16 91 H | C | A | 71 |
| 215/60 R16 99 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 215/60R16 99 H XL | B | A | 71 |
| 17 inch | |||
| 225/45 R17 91 H | C | A | 71 |
| 225/60 R17 99 H | C | A | 71 |
| 235/65 R17 108 H XL | B | A | 72 |
| 235/65 R17 108 V XL | B | A | 72 |
| 215/45 R17 91 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 205/50 R17 93 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/50 R17 98 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/50 R17 98 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 215/55 R17 98 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/60 R17 103 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/45 R17 94 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 215/55 R17 98 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/50 R17 98 H XL | B | A | 70 |
| 225/50 R17 98 H XL | B | A | 70 |
| 205/50 R17 93 H XL | C | A | 72 |
| 205/50 R17 93 H XL | C | A | 72 |
| 215/45 R17 91 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 215/45 R17 91 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 215/45 R17 91 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/50R17 98 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/45R17 94 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 225/45R17 94 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 265/65R17 116 H XL | B | A | 72 |
| 215/55R17 98 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 215/55R17 98 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 225/60R17 99 H | C | A | 71 |
| 235/65R17 108 V XL | B | A | 72 |
| 225/45 R17 94 V XL | C | A | 71 |
| 265/65 R17 116 H XL | B | A | 73 |
| 215/55R17 94 V | C | B | 71 |
| 215/55R17 94 V | C | B | 71 |
| 18 inch | |||
| 235/60 R18 107 H XL | C | A | 72 |
| 255/35 R18 94 V XL | C | A | 73 |
| 225/40 R18 92 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 245/45 R18 100 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 235/60 R18 107 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 245/40 R18 97 W XL | C | A | 72 |
| 225/40 R18 92 V XL | D | A | 72 |
| 225/40 R18 92 V XL | D | A | 72 |
| 235/60 R18 107 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 225/40R18 92 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 225/40R18 92 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 245/40 R18 97 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 245/45R18 100 V XL | C | A | 72 |
| 235/60R18 107 H XL | C | A | 71 |
| 19 inch | |||
| 235/35 R19 91 W XL | C | A | 72 |
| 20 inch | |||
| 245/35 R20 95 W XL | C | A | 72 |
| 255/45 R20 105 V XL | C | B | 73 |
| 255/45 R20 105 V XL | C | B | 73 |
| 255/45 R20 105 V XL | C | A | 73 |
| 255/45 R20 101 T | C | B | 73 |
| 255/45 R20 101 T | C | B | 73 |
| 255/45 R20 101 T | C | B | 73 |
| 255/45 R20 101 T | C | B | 73 |
| 255/45 R20 105 V XL | C | B | 73 |
| 255/45R20 105 V XL | C | A | 73 |
Questions and Answers for the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
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| Size | Price Range | |
|---|---|---|
| Available in 3 tire sizes - View all. | ||
Review Summary
Based on 96 user reviews
Driver feedback on the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 is polarized, but the dominant theme is very strong wet-road grip and braking, with many high-scoring reviews praising predictable, confidence-inspiring handling in cold rain and slush. Snow performance is often described as good when the tire is new and in typical Central/Western European winters, but a sizeable group report that snow/ice traction drops sharply as the tire ages or wears (often around the 4-5 mm range). The most consistent downside is fast or uneven treadwear/short service life, sometimes accompanied by increasing road noise over time, which makes the LM005 feel expensive to run despite its wet-weather strengths.
Strengths
- Outstanding wet grip and wet braking (including heavy rain/aquaplaning resistance)
- Predictable
- Progressive handling at the limit and stable road manners
- Good dry grip/response for a winter tire
- Generally capable in slush and light-to-moderate snow (especially when new)
- Often described as comfortable/quiet when new (vehicle and size dependent)
Areas for Improvement
- Rapid treadwear/short lifespan and high running cost for the mileage achieved
- Noticeable degradation with age/wear
- Especially loss of snow/ice performance around mid-life
- Weak traction/braking on ice/compacted snow compared with more nordic-oriented winter tires
- Noise can increase over time (humming/whining at certain speeds
- Sometimes very loud on some cars)
Top 3 Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 Reviews
On dry or hot period with rain are very good, but michellin or goodyear are here bit better.
It is so soft and quite, I really like it.
In terms of car handling, it still very good, not as good as my previous Blizzak DM-V2. The feedback after wheel turning is a bit slower. I would not recommend it for a track day )
The dry grip is exceptional for these kind of dimensions on the tire.
The wet grip is pretty good.
I've found that when braking on a thin layer of snow, in -7 degrees, the tires felt mushy, but I guess it is expected, since it is a softer composite vs summer tires.
I'd buy them anytime for any car, especially if the needed dimensions are lower I'd rather spend money on these premium tires than on something budget.
It is a moderately dry climate in which I am in, so no snow or ice grip experiences with this one.
Latest Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 Reviews
The tires work well on wet and dry roads, they offer enough traction to not spin the wheels even under strong acceleration.
In the corners they offer good grip, you can clearly feel the car starting to understeer when getting to the grip limit in corners, there is no sudden loss of traction or snap-oversteer.
The tires seems to wear slowly and evenly.
Neutral:
Snow traction, mainly on a few cm of fresh snow and snow slush, seems good, but is also limited by the car being rear-wheel-drive without a locking differential.
Negative:
With the tires being the Runflat "Driveguard" variant, the ride can be harsh and the noiselevels are subjectively high. There is a loud humming sound between roughly 80 and 90 kmh (50-55 mph) which can be quite annoying. The noise is most noticable at city speeds, on the highway at over 100 kmh (60mph) the noise starts to reduce and is not intrusive anymore.
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.
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.
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.
They are winner in the shortest lifetime. How this can be a premium tire for such money? Disaster.
Must buy if expecting heavy snow or ice roads.
I would look somewhere else if expecting dry or mostly wet winter roads.
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.