Winter Tire Tests

The European winter tire test is the largest of the year, covering 28 tires in 2 different sizes, 225/45 r17 and 185/65 r15.

This year the tests were more stringent than ever. Not only did the 28 tires have their dry, wet, snow and ice grip tested but they were also scored on their wear, fuel consumption and comfort properties.

Winter tires are a hot subject at the moment, with new tests being released weekly. Usually winter tire tests focus on the smaller tire sizes winter tires are often used in, meaning if you drive a performance car and are interested in ultra high performance winter tires you have to hope the tires tested in the smaller sizes have the same attributes in the larger sizes.

This year the 2010 winter tire reviews season was opened by Auto Zeitung who put 14 different 195/65 r15 winter tires on a Ford Focus to the test.

The good news for UK drivers is that this years report included a slush test which rates how the tires cope with the road surface when the packed snow is melting and it's a mix of snow and standing water.

It might still be August, but after an unusually snowy start to 2010 talk has already turned to winter tires in the UK.

While we're waiting for the magazines to put together their 2010 winter tire tests, here's one of the more interesting articles from 2009. This test is particularly good as it uses a powerful RWD car (Mercedes SLK350) which wears relatively wide 225/45 r17 performance tires.

Each of the 8 tires were tested in the snow, on wet roads and in the dry with the scoring emphasis bias towards wet weather and snow performance (these are winter tires after all!)