quattro digest, Vol 1 #4424 - Snow tire "hardening"

[TM]

Blizzaks (exc. for the LM-22) generally suck after 1/2 the tread is gone
because the multicell compound is worn away and you're left with
basically
a mediocre tire at that point.

I've noticed a significant decrease in performance in the Dunlop
Wintersport
M2s this year (third season) on our A4 (205/55R16). Maybe it's just
because
I'm driving the car a lot more, maybe it's because I'm a lot more
aggressive
in the snow being my fourth season of driving exclusively quattro.

I've yet to drive the NRWs in real nice powder snow, all I can say is
that
they're dicey in deep slush and they're too wide for the car
(225/45R17).

Taka