Auto Express Winter Tyre Test
Auto Express has reviewed and tested ten of the top tyre manufactures. To make the tests fair they tested the same tyre size and speed rating for all of the tyres. They tested all weather tyres, winter tyres and summer tyres.
All of the tyres had to go through the following tests;
- Snow Braking – this is by far one of the scariest experiences most drivers will face. The test was taking the vehicle from 25 MPH down to 12 MPH and then to standstill.
- Snow Traction – using a track covered in snow Auto Express timed laps to work out which tyre wins in this category.
- Snow Slalom – this test was used to check the lateral force using a G-meter.
- Straight Aquaplaning – this test was done using a rail system and 7ml of water they then measured the speed of the wheel. Once the speed of the tyre in the water was over spinning at a speed 15 per cent higher than that of the dry the test was stopped and the speed recorded.
- Curved Aquaplaning – this was done by flooding a large section of tarmac. The test was then done at speed by driving around in circles measuring the lateral force until traction is lost and the car spins.
- Wet Handling – this was done as a speed test around a track setting a lap time. The temperature recorded was below 7 degrees which would give the winter tyres the advantage.
- Wet Braking – this test was again completed on a cold day with temperatures around 4-5 degrees. The test was to reduce the speed from 50 MPH down to standstill whilst measuring the distances.
- Dry handling – this test was completed to show if the winter tyres would fair as well if they were used all year round.
- Dry braking – the same as test as the wet braking however again this was completed to test winter tyres in the summer. Winter tyres tend to have different block patterns which makes this an interesting test.
- Rolling Resistance – this is a very important test which can have an effect on fuel economy and carbon footprints.
- Price – the last was a comparison of prices. This is obviously a major factor in tyre choices and brands.
All this information was then collated and put together. Each tyre was scored on all of the above tests and the overall scores are as follows;
1 | Continental | 100.0 | Best winter |
2 | Goodyear | 99.3 | |
3 | Pirelli | 98.9 | |
4 | Michelin | 98.7 | |
5 | Hankook | 96.4 | Best all-season |
6 | Vredestein | 95.7 | |
7 | Nankang | 93.5 | |
8 | Kumho | 90.0 | |
NR | Dunlop | 99.1 | |
NR | Summer tyre | 60.1 |
As you can see Continental have won the top spot for the best overall tyres. They also won EVO Magazines tyre of the year. Continental are an established brand and are highly rated but are still really pushing forward with the quality of their tyres.