2012 Auto Bild 42 Winter Tire Braking Test

By their very nature, cold weather, or winter tires have more of a compromise built in than another other type of tire on the market, due to the wide range of conditions they need to perform in.

Developing a tire to perform well in snow conditions is actually relative easy for the tire manufacturers. Lots of edges, a nice wide tread pattern and you have a reasonable snow performance. It's the balance between snow and wet performance which is extremely important to a lot of European countries, where the cold wet conditions far out weigh the snowy or icy driving conditions, and where a lot of cheaper winter tires fail.

The Big Test

The average budget winter tires sacrifices too much wet performance to be considered a sensible option for the UK climate.
To highlight this, Auto Bild have taken 42 sets of winter tires, from premium to budget, and put them through a wet and snow braking "shoot out", to see which 15 tires go through to their group tests.

Also included in the test is a summer and all season tire to give a balance to the market overview.

As you'd expect the summer tire stops the shortest in the wet from 80kph, taking just 39.2 meters to stop. The best winter tire, the Semperit, is less than a meter behind in 40.1. While the gap between braking in the wet is extremely close, the results are somewhat different on snow. Where the Semperit takes 34 meters to stop from 50kph on snow, the summer tire which enjoyed a 0.9 meters advantage in the wet, skids up in 69.5 meters - a huge 35.5 meters longer than the winter tire!

This test also highlights the poor performance of budget winter tires in the wet. Using the Semperit as our benchmark, the worst winter tire took 56 meters in wet braking, stopping 15.9 meters, or 52 foot after the Semperit tire had stopped the car.

The all season tire, a Goodyear Vector 4Seasons kept honest to its name by winning neither test, but doing well in both disciplines, stopping the car in 46.4 meters in the wet and 38.4 meters in the snow, which would have the tire placed around 20th in the overall results.

Auto Bild will be taking the top 15 tires through to the shoot out due next month, conditionally recommend places 16 to 26, and do not recommend places 27 to 42, something we completely agree with.

The average budget winter tires sacrifices too much wet performance to be considered a sensible option for the UK climate.

The Braking Results

Please note: Auto Bild considered places 27-42 so dangerous they did not test them in the snow. Our results show 1 meter for formatting reasons

1st: Continental WinterContact TS 850

Continental WinterContact TS 850
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 72.2
  2. Wet: 41.2
  3. Snow: 31
Read Reviews

2nd: Semperit Speed Grip 2

Semperit Speed Grip 2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 74.1
  2. Wet: 40.1
  3. Snow: 34
Read Reviews

3rd: Bridgestone Blizzak LM32

Bridgestone Blizzak LM32
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 74.6
  2. Wet: 41.8
  3. Snow: 32.8
Read Reviews

4th: Pirelli Winter Snow Control Series 3

Pirelli Winter Snow Control Series 3
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 76
  2. Wet: 42.3
  3. Snow: 33.7
Read Reviews

5th: Falken Eurowinter HS449

Falken Eurowinter HS449
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 76.8
  2. Wet: 40.2
  3. Snow: 36.6
Read Reviews    Buy from £121.99

6th: Goodyear UltraGrip 8

Goodyear UltraGrip 8
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 76.9
  2. Wet: 43.2
  3. Snow: 33.7
Read Reviews

7th: Michelin Alpin A4

Michelin Alpin A4
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 76.9
  2. Wet: 42.4
  3. Snow: 34.5
Read Reviews

8th: Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D

Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 77
  2. Wet: 43.4
  3. Snow: 33.6
Read Reviews    Buy from £109.48

9th: Hankook Winter i cept RS

Hankook Winter i cept RS
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 77.2
  2. Wet: 44.7
  3. Snow: 32.5
Read Reviews

10th: Uniroyal MS plus 66

Uniroyal MS plus 66
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 77.4
  2. Wet: 43
  3. Snow: 34.4
Read Reviews

11th: Fulda Kristall Control HP

Fulda Kristall Control HP
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 77.8
  2. Wet: 45.3
  3. Snow: 32.5
Read Reviews

12th: Firestone Winterhawk 2 EVO

Firestone Winterhawk 2 EVO
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 78.8
  2. Wet: 46.2
  3. Snow: 32.6
Read Reviews

13th: Nokian WR D3

Nokian WR D3
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 79.3
  2. Wet: 45
  3. Snow: 34.3
Read Reviews

14th: Kleber Krisalp HP2

Kleber Krisalp HP2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 80
  2. Wet: 45.3
  3. Snow: 34.7
Read Reviews

15th: Maxxis MA PW Presa Snow

Maxxis MA PW Presa Snow
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 80.1
  2. Wet: 47.8
  3. Snow: 32.3
Read Reviews

16th: Yokohama W Drive

Yokohama W Drive
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 80.2
  2. Wet: 44.9
  3. Snow: 35.3
Read Reviews

17th: Toyo Snowprox S953

Toyo Snowprox S953
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 80.7
  2. Wet: 46.5
  3. Snow: 34.2
Read Reviews

18th: BFGoodrich gForce Winter

BFGoodrich gForce Winter
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 80.8
  2. Wet: 45.9
  3. Snow: 34.9
Read Reviews

18th: BFGoodrich gForce Winter

BFGoodrich gForce Winter
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 80.8
  2. Wet: 45.9
  3. Snow: 34.9
Read Reviews

19th: Marshal i Zen MW15

Marshal i Zen MW15
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 80.9
  2. Wet: 47.8
  3. Snow: 33.1
Read Reviews

20th: Avon Ice Touring ST

Avon Ice Touring ST
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 81.4
  2. Wet: 41.7
  3. Snow: 39.7
Read Reviews

21st: Vredestein Snowtrac 3

Vredestein Snowtrac 3
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 81.6
  2. Wet: 47.1
  3. Snow: 34.5
Read Reviews

22nd: GT Radial Champiro Winterpro

GT-Radial Champiro Winterpro
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 84.9
  2. Wet: 47.4
  3. Snow: 37.5
Read Reviews

23rd: Marangoni Meteo HP

Marangoni Meteo HP
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 85.2
  2. Wet: 47.8
  3. Snow: 37.4
Read Reviews

24th: Goodride SW601

Goodride SW601
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 86.2
  2. Wet: 46.4
  3. Snow: 39.8
Read Reviews

25th: Apollo Acelere Winter

Apollo Acelere Winter
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 87.4
  2. Wet: 47.6
  3. Snow: 39.8
Read Reviews

26th: Westlake SW 608

Westlake SW 608
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 87.7
  2. Wet: 47.1
  3. Snow: 40.6
Read Reviews

27th: Kumho IZen KW23

Kumho IZen KW23
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 49.5
  2. Wet: 48.5
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

28th: Roadstone EuroWin 549

Roadstone EuroWin 549
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 49.8
  2. Wet: 48.8
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

29th: Nankang SV2

Nankang SV2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 49.9
  2. Wet: 48.9
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

30th: Ceat Formula Winter

Ceat Formula Winter
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 50
  2. Wet: 49
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

31st: Kenda Polar Trax

Kenda Polar Trax
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 51.3
  2. Wet: 50.3
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

32nd: Evergreen Winter EW62

Evergreen Winter EW62
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 52.2
  2. Wet: 51.2
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

33rd: Nexen WinGuard

Nexen WinGuard
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 52.9
  2. Wet: 51.9
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

34th: Runway RWT I

Runway RWT I
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 53.1
  2. Wet: 52.1
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

35th: Kormoran Snowpro B2

Kormoran Snowpro B2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 53.6
  2. Wet: 52.6
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

36th: Infinity INF 049

Infinity INF 049
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 53.8
  2. Wet: 52.8
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

37th: Linglong Winter Hero Radial 650

Linglong Winter Hero Radial 650
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 55.8
  2. Wet: 54.8
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

38th: Riken Snowtime B2

Riken Snowtime B2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 55.8
  2. Wet: 54.8
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

39th: Rockstone Eco Snow

Rockstone Eco Snow
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 56.1
  2. Wet: 55.1
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

40th: Federal Himalaya WS1 Winter

Federal Himalaya WS1 Winter
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 56.2
  2. Wet: 55.2
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

41st: Sunny SN3830

Sunny SN3830
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 56.4
  2. Wet: 55.4
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews

42nd: Wanli Snowgrip S1083

Wanli Snowgrip S1083
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 57
  2. Wet: 56
  3. Snow: 1
Read Reviews


Discussion:

comments powered by Disqus