Below are all the data points for the 2010 Auto Express Winter Tire Test, displaying how each tire performed across all test categories. The spider chart below provides a complete overview of performance, where one hundred percent represents the best performance in each category. The larger the area covered by each tire's plot, the better its overall performance.
How to read these charts:
For each test category, data is presented relative to the best performing tire. The direction indicates whether lower or higher values are better - pay close attention to this when interpreting results.
Spider chart cannot be displayed because there are no test categories common to all tires.
I have a Renault master 2009 plate, if I fit winter tires is there any research on loss of MPG? Or advise please?
From the winter tire tests which include MPG, the conclusion is the MPG should be around the same as your summer tires, depending on what summer and winter tires you have.
I am looking at options for changing to winter tires. Please can you explain when it is necessary to replace the wheels also.
People usually change wheels for convenience, or when they're changing to a smaller wheel size for the winter weather.
I need to replace 4 tires on a secondhand car I am buying. as I live in NE Scotland I am considerng fitting winter tires. Could I use these all year round? What would be the drawbacks?
Continental recommend if you're only going to use one set of tires, to use winter tires.
Traditionally the draw backs are poor warm wet weather performance and poor tread wear over the summer months, though modern winter tires designed for our climates (not extreme Northern climates) are much better.
We'd suggest looking at a good all season tire like the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons or the Vredestein Quatrac 3 featured in this article.
http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
Just fitted some Ultra Grip7+. Have only been able to test them on snow and sub-zero so far! (This is December 2010). They have been great - nearly as much control as chains in deep snow. One note of caution - the feeling of control on snow is better than the actual stopping power. Stop distance may be under half that of summer tires, but you are tempted to go much faster because you don't fishtail. So when you hit the brakes, that 18metres feels longer than you expected. Although was able to ABS steer through a small gap when this happened - something summer tires never would have done. (and I learned my lesson!)
Good in thewet too - very good grip on cold wet roads.
Prepare to be really annnoyed how slow everyone else is going though.
It looks as though at least some and possibly all of the tests were undertaken in temperatures above 7 degrees C. Surely not a very helpful test then, since part of the point of winter and all-season tires is that they perform better below 7 degrees than summer tires?
Sorry, clearly not all tests (snow!) but the wet handling test at least seems to have been undertaken in warm conditions...
Agreed. It was noted that the braking test was re-done by Continental at near freezing temperatures to give it cold weather accuracy.
We're pushing for data to show the differences at set temperature intervals, but as I'm sure you can imagine getting that data can be quite tricky!
All of the tested tires are more or less crappy,, If studdless, go for the Continental ContiViking 5. If studds, go for the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7.. Don´t know how cold the winters in GB gets,, but i used the GY UltraGrip 7+ last winter. Totaly useless, really dangerous when the temperature gets below -10 celsius, on ice or in snow. Can´t use tires like that in Sweden...
We've no doubt a Nordic type winter tire is far better for your conditions in Sweeden, however in the UK we need dry and wet performance in temperatures up to 10c over the winter, which is where something like your "useless" Ultragrip 7+ excels.
Snow performance is a small part of the winter tire role in the UK, and all the above tires will out perform a traditional summer tire many times over on snow and ice.
Just put winter tires on my Boxster S. Waiting to see how they cope in the snow due tomorrow! I had lots of trouble getting hold of winter tires here in the UK, ended up buying them online from Germany and getting them shipped over! More info on how easily obtainable they are would be good on next year's test.
Hi Phill,
I hope your winter tires performed well, there's so much positive feedback flying around at the moment it's hard to imagine they didn't but it would be good to hear your experiences!
We'll look at doing something next year regarding availability. For now there's always www.tiresearcher.com where you can filter by winter tires in your size.
Hi Phil,
Sorry to hear you had to import your winter tires from Germany online.
Continental WinterContact TS830
Available now from Kwik Fit at 25% discount.Bargain for top winter tires.
http://www.kwik-fit.com/
Safe winter driving on your winter tires.
Best regards,
Dave
I don't understand the scoring system here...if highest overall number = best performer, then the Conti TS830 is surely the winner?? And the Nokian and Pirelli would also swap positions. Could someone from Tirereviews please clarify? Thanks
Hi,
Auto Express scored on more categories than our database could handle which is why you see variations in the overall score. It's something we're working on in the future.
I hope this clears it up for you.
Jon
It is good to see a winter tire test in the UK. I agree that testing of more tire types would be really helpful, as this just covers the usual suspects that ADAC et al have tested many times. However testing of more tires comes at a cost. The major ommission in this test is the lack of testing on ICE. The give ratings for Dry Wet and Snow, with snow being a rarity in the UK, ICE is much more common and is the most likely situation where a winter tire will make a difference.
For what it's worth, the snow section of the test was conducted on a snow covered lake, so the tire would have been biting into a mix of snow and ice.
I think this test is pretty rubbish. Why didn't they include mid-priced and budget tires too? Instead they have 2 versions of Continental and Vredestein??
Because they are specifically testing winter tires. The only reason the Quatrac and Premium Contact are in is as a control to see how a variety of winter tires compare to an all-season tire and a summer tire.
Great test, nice to see winter tire info in the uk