Update: The final twenty tire shootout can be read here.
Most magazines look to test around ten different tire patterns each test, with some pushing up to fifteen different tires. Auto Bild like to go a step further and this year, have tested test fifty sets of 205/55 R16 winter tires.
First they put all fifty sets through wet braking tests, then take the tires who stopped within 20% of the best through to snow braking breaking, which this year meant testing twenty seven tires on the white stuff. Once those tires have been rated, Auto Bild then take the top twenty through to a full winter tire test to test all aspects of the tires performance, not just wet and snow braking.
Below is the results of part one of the test, the fifty tire shootout. As always, Auto Bild purchased all the tires on the open market to avoid the possibility of any "special" tires being included in the test.
The Results
