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2017 Auto Bild Winter Tire Test

Jonathan Benson
Data analyzed and reviewed by Jonathan Benson
10 min read Updated
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Discussion

18 comments
  1. Mickey archived

    If you ditch the handling tests because the difference in speed is close to irrelevant, you can see that there is no way that Continental can be the best, mainly because high price and poor wear. Be sure on what surface you drive the most, it may be snowing but if the road is clear it is wet surface etc. I would suggest that you redo the results of the tes without the speed tests because they don't matter, safety comes first on winter tires !

    #3856
    1. Dataminer with PhD Mickey archived

      But the speed measurement is a direct metric on how safe the tire is. For example the higher the aquaplaning speed is the safer it is to drive in a wet condition if the speed is below that measurement.

      #5045
  2. Riccardo archived

    Hi Jonathan, I cannot understand the meaning of Dry and Wet Braking for Reference Summer. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't summer tires stop after winter tires during the bad season? Thanks for the clarification.

    #3099
    1. TireReviews Riccardo archived

      Do you mean in the dry and wet? A good summer tire will always beat a winter tire in the dry, and the wet braking can be very close between the best summer and winter tires.

      The summer tire behaves as you would expect in the snow!

      #3100
      1. Riccardo TireReviews archived

        So what is the utility of winter tires if the summer ones stop first in the wet???
        I am talking about my climate, very rainy but almost never snowy in Fall/Winter...

        #3101
        1. TireReviews Riccardo archived

          The winter tire works in lower / freezing temperatures, and obviously works on snow and ice. But I agree, a winter tire isn't always the best choice.

          https://www.youtube.com/wat...

          #3102
          1. Riccardo TireReviews archived

            Anyway, one morning of the last week my Goodyear Ultragrip Performance Gen-1 saved me from a crash. It was cold and it was raining, so they did their job very well...

            #3103
  3. Richard DuBois archived

    Unable to find Nokian WRD4 on their website. Is this an old model ?
    Also cannot find anywhere in this test a statement as to whether any of these tires are studded or non-studded.
    Best current studded tire I know of is Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9

    #2985
  4. Ursu Bogdan archived

    The Bridgestone Blizzak LM 001 has class C for wet braking
    How is possible in your test to be no 3 before Continental, Michelin, etc, which has B class?

    Thank you for your answer

    #2978
    1. TireReviews Ursu Bogdan archived

      As with the Nokian question below, it might be this test used an newer version of the tire with better label scores, or that the Bridgestone tire is more sensitive to this braking test scenario - things such as temperature, vehicle used and Mu of the road surface all make a difference.

      #2979
      1. Ursu Bogdan TireReviews archived

        Thank you for answer.
        May you recommend me a tire model for a weather more wet than snow ?
        Also ice from time to time.
        Thank you

        #2980
        1. TireReviews Ursu Bogdan archived

          The winner of this test would be a good place to start your research :)

          #2981
  5. Ufuk AKKAŞOĞLU archived

    If you look at the EU label, Nokian has A grade wet braking performance; however, in this test, it sits behind the tires who has B grade wet braking performance in EU label.
    How is this possible? Which one is wrong: EU label or the test :)
    Another question: 205/55 R17 95V Goodyear winter tire tire has C grade wet braking performace in its EU label, while same tire has B grade performance in 215/55 R17 98V. Is it normal to have that difference? To be honest, I would expact better performance in 205 than 215, since width is smaller (only in wet and snow, in dry roads it's vice versa)

    #2971
    1. TireReviews Ufuk AKKAŞOĞLU archived

      It's normal to have a difference between sizes in the brands, you can even sometimes find the same tire / size on sale with different label scores if a more recent manufacturer date has had a compound update to improve the label score.

      As for the Nokian being an A, there's no way a company like Nokian would lie on the EU label test. It might be this test used an older version of the tire with worse label scores, or that the Nokian tire was more sensitive to this braking test scenario - things such as temperature, vehicle used and Mu of the road surface all make a difference.

      #2975
  6. UK winter archived

    So basically the almost last tire in this test(am looking at you Pirelli),is actually the best "winter" tire for our mild(less snowy) winters?

    #2966
    1. TireReviews UK winter archived

      It certainly wouldn't be that low in a UK based test, though if you're more concerned about dry and wet performance (which is good for the UK) I'd suggest something like the Michelin CrossClimate.

      #2967
      1. UK winter TireReviews archived

        Good suggestion,but in my size(205/50 r17) they are prohibitively expensive.
        And the all-season test only confirm that there isn't much else to choose from.So I guess my old(2010) wintersport 3d will have to hold on for a one more winter trough.

        #2968