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Winter tire test: which tires are really recommended?
The AUTO BILD winter tire tests in various tire sizes: Which winter tires are good and which do not have sufficient safety reserves? Here come the results.
R.isiko buying winter tires: More and more brands are flooding the market. Many have significant security deficiencies. Our winter tire tests show which tires are really recommended! For the big one AUTO BILD winter tire test 2020 do we have 51 winter tires Purchased anonymously on the Internet and in tire shops. This time we have that as the tire dimension Format 245/45 R 18 selected – the tire size for thick, luxury-class sleds, such as our 5-series BMW test car. For this vehicle class, we recommend the classic version of winter tires – the increasingly popular all-season tires, on the other hand, are a reliable and safe alternative for lighter vehicles, from small cars to medium-sized cars.
The winter tire test ends prematurely for many tires
AUTO BILD has tested over 50 winter tires. A good third of them were sorted out after the security check.
© Anuscha Sonntag / AUTO BILD
All 51 winter tires first go through the Safety check: when braking on a wet slope (from 80 km / h) they have to show what they’re made of. If you fail, you are thrown out! The remaining ones reach the next stage of qualifying, the braking test on snow (from 50 km / h). In the end, the 20 tires with the shortest total braking distances qualify for the final. Our security check shows: A good third of the winter tires tested are not worth their price. They belong to the scrap metal when they are new because the braking distances are too long.
| Braking distances on snow (from 50 km / h) | |
|---|---|
| Best winter tire | 24.3 m |
| Worst winter tire | 27.0 m |
| Summer tires | 51.2 m |
This is how we tested in the final round
Aquaplaning test: the speed at which the tires lose contact with the road is measured.
© Anuscha Sonntag / AUTO BILD
The winter tires go through in the final round eleven other test disciplines – two of them on the test bench (rolling resistance, mileage). But first, the twenty tires that have qualified for the final round are back on the test track. Here, for example, the braking distances on a dry road (this time from 100 km / h) are measured or the handling in dry, wet and snowy conditions as well as the aquaplaning safety. Only to evaluate the economic viability is the final step on the roller dynamometer. A rolling resistance test provides information about which tires can be driven in a fuel-efficient manner (rule of thumb: five percent rolling resistance saves one percent fuel). An abrasion test is also used to calculate the mileage of the tires up to the minimum tread depth of 1.6 millimeters. If the mileage is set in relation to the purchase price, it is possible to calculate which tire is really the cheapest on the bottom line.
| Price per 1000 km of mileage * | |
|---|---|
| Runenn | 10.41 |
| Giti | 11.12 |
| general | 11.18 |
| Fulda | 11.60 |
| cooper | 11.69 |
| Barum | 11.77 |
| Glue | 12.08 |
| Semperit | 12.08 |
| Apollo | 12.83 |
| BF Goodrich | 12.99 |
| Hankook | 13.33 |
| Goodyear | 13.55 |
| Nokian | 13.80 |
| Vredestein | 14.56 |
| Bridgestone | 14.68 |
| Uniroyal | 14.72 |
| Continental | 14.73 |
| Dunlop | 14.77 |
| Michelin | 15.22 |
| Pirelli | 16.22 |
| *in Euro | |
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 is the test winner
The best overall result was achieved at the end of the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5. It scores with convincing snow suitability, dynamic wet and dry properties and short braking distances. The only weak point is the comparatively high price (over 700 euros per set), which is put into perspective by the very good mileage and good economy of the tire.
* With the same rating in alphabetical order; ** The given grades are the chapter grades in the test chapters “Snow”, “Wet”, “Dry”, “Costs”. Chapter notes from 2 upwards no longer allow “exemplary”; Individual grades (not shown) from 3+ in safety-related disciplines and individual grades from 4+ lead to devaluation.
At a glance: All braking values from the preliminary round
| Preliminary round: measurement results of braking distances (in meters) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tires* | wet (80 km / h) | Snow (50 km / h) | total |
| Bridgestone Blizzak LM 005 | 30.3 | 24.5 | 54.8 |
| MichelinPilot Alpin 5 | 31.9 | 24.3 | 56.2 |
| Semperit Speed-Grip 3 | 30.8 | 26 | 56.8 |
| Continental WinterContact TS 850P | 31.8 | 25.2 | 57 |
| Hankook Winter i * cept evo3 | 32.3 | 25th | 57.3 |
| Vredestein Wintrac Pro | 33.2 | 24.9 | 58.1 |
| BF Goodrich g-Force Winter 2 | 34.1 | 24.6 | 58.7 |
| Glue Krisalp HP 3 | 34.4 | 24.6 | 59 |
| Goodyear UltraGrip Performance + | 34.4 | 24.8 | 59.2 |
| Uniroyal MS Plus 77 | 34.2 | 25th | 59.2 |
| Barum Polaris 5 | 35.2 | 24.9 | 60.1 |
| Nokian WR A4 | 34.6 | 25.5 | 60.1 |
| Dunlop Winter Sport 5 | 35.2 | 25th | 60.2 |
| Apollo Aspire XP winter | 35.1 | 25.3 | 60.4 |
| Giti GitiWinter W1 | 35.2 | 25.4 | 60.6 |
| Cooper Weather-Master SA2 + | 34.6 | 26.1 | 60.7 |
| General Altimax Winter 3 | 36 | 24.7 | 60.7 |
| Fulda Kristall Control HP2 | 36.3 | 24.5 | 60.8 |
| Run I Fit Plus | 36.2 | 24.8 | 61 |
| Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 | 35.2 | 25.8 | 61 |
| Sava Eskimo HP2 | 36.3 | 25.1 | 61.4 |
| Yokohama BluEarth-Winter (V905) | 35.4 | 26.1 | 61.5 |
| Fortune FSR901 | 36.3 | 25.3 | 61.6 |
| Nexen Winguard Sport2 | 36.5 | 25.1 | 61.6 |
| Goodride Z507 | 34.7 | 27 | 61.7 |
| Platinum RP-60 winter | 37 | 25.2 | 62.2 |
| Westlake SW608 | 34.2 | 28 | 62.2 |
| Gislaved Euro * Frost 6 | 36.9 | 25.8 | 62.7 |
| Kumho WinterCraft WP71 | 35.7 | 28 | 63.7 |
| Toyo Snowprox S954 | 37 | 26.9 | 63.9 |
| Falken Eurowinter HS01 | 37 | 27 | 64 |
| Riken Snow | 37.1 | – | – |
| Firestone Winterhawk 3 | 37.9 | – | – |
| GT Radial Winter pro HP | 38.3 | – | – |
| Fortuna winter | 38.4 | – | – |
| Zeetex WH 1000 | 38.7 | – | – |
| Infinity Ecozen | 38.9 | – | – |
| Aeolus Snowace 2 HP | 39 | – | – |
| Tomket Snowroad Pro 3 | 39.3 | – | – |
| Atlas Polarbear 2 | 39.6 | – | – |
| Radar Dimax Alpine | 40.5 | – | – |
| Haida HD617 | 40.6 | – | – |
| Mazzini Snow Leopard | 40.6 | – | – |
| Duraturn Mozzo Winter | 40.7 | – | – |
| Nordexx Wintersafe | 41 | – | – |
| Tracmax S210 | 41.1 | – | – |
| Imperial Snow Dragon 3 (S210) | 41.4 | – | – |
| Wanli S 1083 Snow Grip | 41.4 | – | – |
| Momo W2 North Pole | 41.7 | – | – |
| Starmaxx W850 | 42.3 | – | – |
| Petlas W651 | 43.1 | – | – |
| * sorted according to the total length of the braking distances; all tires have a load / speed index of 100 V. | |||
