Performance Overview
This radar chart shows relative performance across all test categories, with 100% representing the best performance in each category. Reference tires may have gaps where data is not available.
Dry Performance Overview
Dry Braking (M)
Dry braking in meters (Lower is better)
Dry Handling (Km/H)
Dry Handling Average Speed (Higher is better)
Wet Performance Overview
Wet Braking (M)
Wet braking in meters (Lower is better)
Wet Handling (Km/H)
Wet Handling Average Speed (Higher is better)
Straight Aqua (Km/H)
Float Speed in Km/H (Higher is better)
Snow Performance Overview
Snow Braking (M)
Snow braking in meters (Lower is better)
Snow Handling (Km/H)
Snow handling average speed (Higher is better)
Comfort Performance Overview
Noise (dB)
External noise in dB (Lower is better)
Value Performance Overview
Wear (KM)
Predicted tread life in KM (Higher is better)
Value (Price/1000)
Euros/1000km based on cost/wear (Lower is better)
Rolling Resistance (kg / t)
Rolling resistance in kg t (Lower is better)
Overall Findings
Based on the weighted scoring from all tests, here are the overall results:
| Position | Tyre | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Continental WinterContact TS 860 | 0% | |
| 2 | Michelin Alpin 5 | 0% |
| 3 | Dunlop Winter Sport 5 | 0% |
| 4 | Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1 | 0% |
| 5 | Semperit Speed Grip 3 | 0% |
| 6 | BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2 | 0% |
| 7 | Fulda Kristall Control HP2 | 0% |
| 8 | Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO | 0% |
| 9 | Kleber Krisalp HP3 | 0% |
| 10 | Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 | 0% |
| 11 | Gislaved EuroFrost 5 | 0% |
| 12 | Kumho WinterCraft WP71 | 0% |
| 13 | Uniroyal MS Plus 77 | 0% |
| 14 | Nokian WR D4 | 0% |
| 15 | Yokohama W drive V905 | 0% |
| 16 | Barum Polaris 3 | 0% |
| 17 | Sava Eskimo HP2 | 0% |
| 18 | Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 | 0% |
| 19 | Firestone Winterhawk 3 | 0% |
| 20 | Hankook Winter i cept evo2 | 0% |
| 21 | Reference Summer | 0% |
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 tyres !
But the speed measurement is a direct metric on how safe the tyre 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.
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.
Do you mean in the dry and wet? A good summer tyre will always beat a winter tyre in the dry, and the wet braking can be very close between the best summer and winter tyres.
The summer tyre behaves as you would expect in the snow!
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...
The winter tyre works in lower / freezing temperatures, and obviously works on snow and ice. But I agree, a winter tyre isn't always the best choice.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
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...
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
The Nokian WRD4 is a European winter, which are studless by default. It's their current leading central european product:
https://www.nokiantyres.com...
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
As with the Nokian question below, it might be this test used an newer version of the tyre with better label scores, or that the Bridgestone tyre is more sensitive to this braking test scenario - things such as temperature, vehicle used and Mu of the road surface all make a difference.
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
The winner of this test would be a good place to start your research :)
If you look at the EU label, Nokian has A grade wet braking performance; however, in this test, it sits behind the tyres 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 tyre has C grade wet braking performace in its EU label, while same tyre 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)
It's normal to have a difference between sizes in the brands, you can even sometimes find the same tyre / 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 tyre with worse label scores, or that the Nokian tyre was more sensitive to this braking test scenario - things such as temperature, vehicle used and Mu of the road surface all make a difference.
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?
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.
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.