Tires BRIDGESTONE or GENERAL TIRE

I have General Grabber AT2 on my XC70 ...I also recommend going with 16s, more sidewall means less likely to bend a wheel.

For a budget snow tire I have been using these now for 2 years and love them:

Found a guy on graigslist selling barely used bridgstone blizzaks, I mounted them on my 17" stock wheels. Went through last winter here in the northeast and I def recommend these!

I got a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-80 P195/65/r15 tires from costco and I am very happy with them.

I love my General Grabbers and AT2's. They are a little rough on the street but an awesome tire off-road. The AT2's get stuck in the mud very easily though. I've had the AT2's on my daily for 4 years now with little wear and I drive an average of 14,000 miles a year.

See also: reddit.com/r/mazda3 - they seem to recommend the Bridgestone Blizzaks.

Bridgestone blizzak ws80 or Michelin X-ice3.

I live in Maine... as you can expect we get plenty of snow/ice. Never needed studded tires unless I was driving on a giant sheet of ice i.e. frozen lake. I run General Altimax Arctics on my 4Motion Passat, about $80/tire in 16" sizes.

2015 MK7-R purchased June 2015, now has 6900 miles with Bridgestone (130 Treadwear-RIDICULOUS), rotated at 6500 at Discount tire, 7/32 in front and 8/32 in the rear. Mostly city driving, only 4.5 miles to work.

my buddy just picked up ws70's for his 2011 wrx. yesterday we went for a ride up the mountains and both of us where dissapointed in the ws70's. There was no snow or ice, but we did hit wet/damp roads and the ws70's where very squirmy in the corners. they sort of understeer then snap and oversteer. I wouldnt suggest them if she does any sort of spirited driving.