To test this, Auto Bild took six of the sportiest winter tires in 225/40 R18 and put them through the usual selection of tough tests. On test were three tires we recommended in this years winter tire buying guide, two of which had yet to be tested at the time of writing, so we're relived to see them finishing in the top three positions!
The Results
The new performance winter tire from Goodyear, the Goodyear Ultragrip 8 Performance (which replaced the Goodyear Ultragrip Performance 2) narrowly beat the new Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 for the top spot thanks to a broader all round performance, with the mid ranged Nokian WR A3 following closely in third, slightly behind the Michelin on the snow and comfort scores, but with a very strong dry weather performance.Dunlop lost out slightly, ending in fourth place with the WinterSport 4D. This way largely thanks to slightly weaker wet braking than the top three, while Pirelli finished in fifth place due to an average performance in both the dry and wet.
The budget Nankang Snow SV2 was the only tire to be not recommended. While it performed reasonably in the dry, its wet performance suffered with imbalanced handling and a lack of grip, especially during wet braking and the snow tests.
Goodyear UltraGrip 8 Performance
225/40 R18
Exemplary
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 7 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 8 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 9 |
Total: 42
Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
225/40 R18
Exemplary
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 9 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 41
Nokian WR A3
225/40 R18
Exemplary
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 7 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 8 |
| Comfort | 4 |
| Rolling Resistance | 9 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 40
Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D
225/40 R18
Satisfactory
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 7 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 9 |
Total: 42
Pirelli Sottozero Serie II
225/40 R18
Satisfactory
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 5 |
| Snow | 8 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 5 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 34
Nankang SV2
225/40 R18
Not recommended
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 3 |
| Snow | 4 |
| Comfort | 3 |
| Rolling Resistance | 6 |
| Noise | 8 |
Total: 30
here is an issue, accoding to their websites, and several dealers I have now called, your first 2 place contenders are useless to me.
I drive a 2013 Genesis coupe R-spec, although I am running stock OEM 2012 18" rims for the winter.
I need 225/45 18' Front, 245/45 18" Rear.
According to both these brands, they don't make tires that fit my car. What use is a great tire if it doesn't fit anyone with decent tire/rim sizes ? You might want to consider that in your evaluation.
From memory, the Continental TS830P is made in both those sizes, and is an excellent winter tire, might be worth checking out.
As for test sizes, unfortunately the magazines have to go for the most popular sizes. 225/40 R18 is the biggest selling 18" size by a long margin, 225/45 R18 is a relatively small volume tire even in summer sizes, the winter tire market must be tiny!
Interesting how the driven axle changes the performance of a tire, if you compare the Auto Bild performance test against this one.
The Nokian generally scores about the same but the Dunlop & Pirelli fair a lot worse.
Different size and vehicle type are obviously a factor but it's a bit surprising how the first and second place tires in the FWD performance test suddenly become very average in the RWD sports test.
Tire size is another factor, there's 3 auto bild tests now in the 3 major sizes and everyone is slightly different!