Complete Winter Tire Test Review

:clap: Nice guy as I am, I translated the latest, yearly mega-comparision of winter tires from Swedish into English. I take it you don't get all that many good reviews over in USA and Canada. You can see some graphs in the review that compare the tires, braking distance, time around a track, driving in circle, all sorts of surfaces. Blue is studded, and red is studless. You better be able to read Swedish for that though. [url]http://www.aftonbladet.se/bil/0310/18/dacktest.pdf[/url] Nokian "Hakkapeliitta 4" (studded) 5/5 Stars The new Hakka-tire has a stable foundation, excellent thread pattern for all surfaces, and the new unique, squared studs give a superior bite on ice. On the winter road the tire is secure. It is also excellent in slush and stable on pavement. + Innovative and best on all winter roads. - Nothing Michelin "Ivalo" (studded) 3/5 Stars Good reputation, high reliability and long lasting lets Michelin stay in the top sales. The tires grip has a long way to go to reach up with the best tires. When it starts skidding it is hard to regain the grip. Fortunately, the tires tell you before it happens and sometimes smoothes over the drivers mistakes. + Snowgrip - Easily loses grip on slush Continental "Winter Viking 1" (studded) 4/5 Stars The Swedish tire-monger Allan Ostrowskis Winter Viking tops the tire tests year after year. It is a well balanced tire for both winter roads and bare-pavement. Perhaps the grip on snow could be a bit better, but the basic-security is still large. + Ice-grip and stability on pavement. - Nothing Kumho "KW 11 Izen Stud" (studded) Disqualified A lousy tire in which the grip suddenly disappears, and not even the most skilled test drivers managed to stop the skids before the cars hit the snow barriers. This judgement unfortunately applies to both ice, snow and pavement! Disqualified from the test. + Noise levels - Grip and performance on all surfaces Goodyear "UG500" (studded) 4/5 Stars Very optimized for winter driving at the cost of stability on direct pavement. The extreme ability on slippery surfaces makes it a bit nervous on tracked pavement (you know, where there are two depressions in the ground from so many cars driving in the same place). Best used on snow and ice. + Grip when slippery - Nervous and somewhat unstable on pavement Pirelli "Winter Carving" (Studded) 4/5 A completely fresh tire from Pirelli. But does anyone recognize the thread pattern? Right! It's an exact copy of Gislaved Nord Frost 3. Brilliant on snow, excellent on ice. A safe choice on any surface. + Top tire in most situations - Somewhat slow reacting Uniroyal "MS Plus Nordic" (studded) 4/5 Stars Another "Allan-Ostrowskis-Tire", the design being a couple of years old, but still in the top. Safe but slightly too long, yet easily controlled, skids on winter roads. Quiet and very stable on pavement. + No weaknesses, low noise. - Nothing Gislaved "Nord Frost 3" (studded) 4/5 Stars Has no particular weakness, the ability to find grip in snow-slush is, for example, still top-rated, but on snow the skids can become a bit long. The tire is no longer manufactured by Gislaved which causes its popularity to drop. + Grip on ice and slush - Nothing Bridgestone "Noranza" (studded) 3/5 Stars Bridgestone creates a brand-image through F1 tires, but nordic winter roads demand more than image. The winter tire is a clear disappointment. It is vague and in certain situations dangerously oversteering (the rear end comes sliding) on ice. On bare-pavement it is uncomfortably unstable. + Grip on ice (despite the occational oversteering) - Snowgrip Michelin "260" (7 years old but unused - studded) Disqualified Many only drive a little in the winter and hardly wear down their tires at all. They drive on year after year and think they have a good grip. Our brand new 7-year old Michelin 260 prove the opposite. It skidded wildly and fell behind in almost all tests. + Grip in slush - Ice and snow grip Michelin "Maxi Ice" (non-studded) 1/5 Stars The dense thread is an exciting attempt to make a good stud-less tire while not sacrificing stability on pavement. It almost succeeds. The pavement performance is brilliant. On snow and ice it barely keeps up. + Pavement - Mobility and braking on ice (very crappy), and poor grip on slush Bridgestone "Blizzak WS-50" (non-studded) Disqualified Dangerous! Blizzak is so dangerous on pavement that it is disqualified from the test. The skids during an avoidance manuever are so difficult to stop that it is an outright traffic danger. Blizzak has been one of the big sellers for many years. The winter-abilities (snow, ice and slush) are mediocre at best. + Grip on Snow and Ice (for a studless tire) - Pavement Bridgestone "Blizzak MZ-01" (7 years old but unused. non-studded) Disqualified Blizzak had a very good grip on ice when it was introduced at the end of the 1980's and became an instant big seller. Since then the tire has been developed in cycles. Our seven year old tire is hard to drive on winter-roads. The skids on ice are hopeless, and snow grip is nervous. + Nothing - Poor grip on all surfaces Pirelli "Icesport" (non-studded) 1/5 Stars Maybe it is time to copy the northern tire-makers to get a reasonable stud-less tire? Icesport is engineered for middle Europe and is a tire you don't want to have on our winter roads. Ice grip is non-existant, and on pavement you can get treacherous skids. + Nothing - Grip on snow and ice Continental "Conti Viking Contact 3" (non-studded) 2/5 Stars Allan Ostrowskis had time to construct two studless winners for Continential before he resigned. On snow the tire goes as if on rails, on ice it is reasonable and the skids, that can come quite unexpectedly, are after all something one can handle. + Snowgrip and noise - Nothing Gislaved "Soft Frost 2" (non-studded) 2/5 Stars Better than Viking Contact on snow and ice. Risk of getting treacherous skids on pavement. On snow the skids are easy to control. On ice, the tire can oversteer but is still easy to control. The best studless tire for those who drive mostly on pavement. + Grip and performance on snow and ice. - Easy skidding on pavement Nokian "Hakkapeliitta Q" (non-studded) 2/5 Stars The ice grip is excellent for a studless tire. On snow the grip is calm and nice, and the skids almost correct themselves. It is very slippery on wet pavement and skids wildly on dry pavement. + Grip on winter surfaces, performance on snow and ice. - Grip and performance on pavement. I did not write this nor did I translate this it was taken from here: [url]http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread/t-26846.html[/url]

I have nearly taken the plunge on getting the Hakka 4. You can also source the Gislaved from your Volvo dealer.

I am also on the fence between Nokian Hakka4 and RSi. This review is very interesting, but my tires are going to be studless. The RSi is an evolution of the HakkaQ, and may have performed better in this test. BTW, I have HakkaQ on my Odyssey and I am very satisfied. Had Kakka1 on my WRX and did not like them at all.

I just made a quick search on this site (Nokian North America) : [url]http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tiresub.cfm?cid=1&sid=1[/url] and the Hakka4 do not seem the be available here, only the Hakka2. Maybe my dilemna will be easily solved!

Interesting that the Blizzak WS50 did so poorly in this test. Tirerack promotes the WS50 as being the best non-studded snow/ice tire available in the USA.

This winter tire test didn't seem to help. Maybe for those further north, who drive on constantly packed-snow roads, studded tires might be a good idea. For me, in Iowa, most of the winter, although cold, the streets and highways are usually clear. But one must be prepared for a dusting to a blizzard at almost any moment. Studless tires seem to be the best combo for that, but the above test didn't seem to like studless tires, the highest rating being for the HakkaQ's or the Continental Viking contacts, or the Gislaveds, each with 2 of 5 stars. I know that studless tires will never reach the level of a studded tire, but if they are that different, shouldn't there be a semi-indepenent scale, so that someone considering only studless tires can get some useful info from the comparison? The Contis had no negative comments, but got 2/5, and didn't mention dry pavement behaviour at all. I guess I need more info.

[quote name='IwannaSportSedan']This winter tire test didn't seem to help.........I guess I need more info.[/quote] Someome posted Consumer Reports non-studded snow tire test results at the link previously shown. [url]http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread/t-26846.html[/url] I wonder how many of the tires in the Swedish test are even available in the USA. I have never heard of most of them!

Somewhere in the dim and distant past I read an article about how different tire manufacturers on different continents have different goals for their winter tires, or whats their top priority. Essentially: Japanese - interested in straight line braking performance as everyone there sits in a traffic jam at the lights turning the snow into black ice Europeans- except Scandinavians - high speed driving performance Scandinavians - "lateral " grip - don't slide off the road on a curve on those not so well cleared roads they have

Gadzooks! I just removed the WS-50s from my list. Thanks for posting the link to that information, Outahere. The Dunlops get really good marks, and given that the Nokian RSi is an improvement on the Hakka Q, that's probably also a safe bet. Thanks again. Kevin

I don't know if the WS-50s are THAT bad... but when you're comparing studded tires to non... well, that test was bad. Even if they weren't directly comparing the two, just by running them both in the same test would make the studless tires feel like bad all-seasons in comparison to the studded. (which are more like running on gravel than snow) The RSi's seem nice. But the Blizzaks are not horrendous. The Conti Vikings and the Geezer 2's got good reviews too. I know guys who liked Geezers. Might be worth a shot if they're in our size... Nope... the Vikings are not available here, and the Geezers don't come in sizes compatible with the LGTs. So the RSi might be it.

Do you think TireRack would be brave enough to test some Blizzak tires vs some Nokian tires, and post the results on their site? My understanding is that one downside to studded tires is that they have longer stopping distances on dry roads.

Oh, I was looking more at the Consumer Reports test posted in the link, with the performance evaluations that compared the WS-50 to a lot of other tires. That stuff was scary. Kevin

I see... but what was scary? I must've missed it. Anyway, what stood out -- surprisingly -- in both those tests were the high ratings from the Goodyears. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they're capable of building a good tire, but I'd have put the Hakka's and B-stones ahead of them, along with others with a better "rep" for snow. Might be worth checking out.

[quote name='racerdave']I see... but what was scary? I must've missed it. Anyway, what stood out -- surprisingly -- in both those tests were the high ratings from the Goodyears. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they're capable of building a good tire, but I'd have put the Hakka's and B-stones ahead of them, along with others with a better "rep" for snow. Might be worth checking out.[/quote] (And these are all non-studded tires the WS-50 is compared to.) Full ABS braking on smooth ice. From 50km/h to stop. 1st place - Goodyear UG500 Distance - 38,5 meters. 16th place - Blizzak WS-50 Distance - 61 meters. Acceleration on smooth ice. From 5-30km/h, full throttle, letting the traction control deal with the slippage. 1st place - Nokian Hakka 4. Time - 8,9 seconds. 15th place - Blizzak WS-50. Time - 13,5 seconds. A circle with 60 meters in diameter, with rough ice, driving as fast as one can (like a skidpad). 1st place - Goodyear UG500 Laptime - 20,1 seconds. 15th place - Blizzak WS-50 Laptime - 23,4 seconds. Ice-circuit, different turns and straights, going as fast as the tires allow. 1st place - Nokian Hakka 4. Laptime - 80,1 seconds. 13th place - Blizzak WS-50. Laptime - 91,5 seconds. ABS-braking on snow. Unspecified. 1st - Pirelli UG500. Distance - 49,5 meters. 6th place - Blizzak WS-50. Distance - 53,5 meters. ABS-braking from 60km/h on wet pavement. 1st place - Michelin 240 (the old one!) Distance - 21,5 meters. 12t place - Blizzak WS-50 Distance - 23,5 meters. Acceleration on snow. 5-30km/h. 1st place - Pirelli Icesport. Time - 4,1 seconds. 8th place - Blizzak WS-50. Time - 4,4 seconds. Snow-circuit, with compact snow. 1st place - Gislaved Soft Frost 2. Time - 84,5 seconds. 9th place - Blizzak WS-50. Time - 86,2 seconds. Slushplanning. Paved road covered with slush. Measures speed when it starts to slushplan. 1st place - Gislaved Nord Frost 3. Speed - 50km/h 12th place - Blizzak WS-50 Speed - 48km/h In the point scoring, Blizzak fell most short on ice and scored the entire tests worst score on "Stability on pavement" - the elk test, with a 4/10. The test winner Nokian Hakka 4, scored 7 in the elk test. The difference is that the Blizzaks don't seem to have much stability and lateral grip on pavement compared to any new or old tire. Even the 7 year old blizzaks performed better - with a 5/10, on the elk test.

I don't have a particularly broad experience base with snow tires. But, I've used Blizzaks in the past and won't use them again as they are too soft and unpredictable on dry pavement. Good abilty to stick to ice though (not surprisingly). I used Pirelli Snowsports on my WRX which I would classify as superb in the dry (even in warm weather they are the equal of a high performance all-season tire...they are V rated), very good on snowpacked highways and new snow of 6" or less and good in very heavy snow. I enjoy the fact that Subarus are like little tractors in the winter but I don't like giving up dry road handling performance. I'm undecided on tires at this point. Tom

I love how good my car is on snow too. I'd have to agree how the Blizzaks rate on tarmac - i don't like them on normal roads either. Truly hopeless. But if you are on snow and ice all winter, for a studless tyre they seem to be pretty darned good. Michelin have released a new tyre this year in Japan that is supposed to add great ice grip to their decent all round ability of the Drice. However, they are only being sold here, prolly coz a 215/45-17 is in the range of 240 bux :o [url]http://www.michelin.co.jp/local/winter/p120.htm[/url] (sorry, no English that I can find). I like the Pirellis Ice Sports I have, but admitedly they are squirrely on ice, so i may have to find a reason to get some of the above michelins prior to burying myself tits up in a ditch... Just my 5c worth. Safe winter driving to all :)

[quote name='apexjapan2']I love how good my car is on snow too. I'd have to agree how the Blizzaks rate on tarmac - i don't like them on normal roads either. Truly hopeless. But if you are on snow and ice all winter, for a studless tyre they seem to be pretty darned good. Michelin have released a new tyre this year in Japan that is supposed to add great ice grip to their decent all round ability of the Drice. However, they are only being sold here, prolly coz a 215/45-17 is in the range of 240 bux :o [url]http://www.michelin.co.jp/local/winter/p120.htm[/url] (sorry, no English that I can find). I like the Pirellis Ice Sports I have, but admitedly they are squirrely on ice, so i may have to find a reason to get some of the above michelins prior to burying myself tits up in a ditch... Just my 5c worth. Safe winter driving to all :)[/quote] The Michelin X-Ice tire you are referrring to is indeed available in the USA, but not in 215/45x17. [url]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice[/url]

Thanks outahere - good to hear you are getting them, but it is a shame they don't make it there in Leggy size. Perhaps some of the earlier Leggy crowd could try them out for the board :) For those prices I'd have to seriously think about getting a set :wink:

I've used several different models of Blizzaks, and all performed exceptionally well in cold ice and snowy conditions. The Extra-soft Blizzaks do NOT work well in warmer temperatures, and the great-on-ice multi-cell top compound wears extremely fast. Usually, one can expect one or two winters out of them MAX if the tires are used ONLY in the colder months. Last year I used Blizzak's LM-22 high silica compound tires on my Miata, and today they show almost NO wear even though I had put them back on earlier than usual this year. I have a fresh set of Dunlop Wintersport M3s awaiting the wheels I'd ordered for the new Legacy. These are rated very highly by Tirerack's consumers and have a significantly longer life; possibly three winters. The M3 is another high-silica compound tire. Last evening and this morning I installed Michelin X-ICE tires on my niece's Saturn, replacing Blizzak WS-50s which had worn to the wear bars and were downright slippery! I also installed Blizzak WS-965 truck tires on a sister's Toyota Takoma (impressively deep lugs and soft compound), and early next week I'll install another set of M3s on my other sister's Chevy MC. One NEEDS true winter tires if one expects to face ice and snow and can't stay home. The extra margin of safety you get with winter tires on all four wheels is truly necessary. Winter tires allow you to go, turn, and STOP when you want to in some seriously bad weather conditions. You think AWD is great? Couple AWD with true winter tires and you have the closest thing to a tank that you can get for driving on public roads. I seriously recommend winter tires on all four wheels if you drive where you get snow or ice. There is NO comparison between winter tires and so-called "all-season" tires.

Hmmmmm where are the Dunlap SP Winter Sport M3 Tires in this test????? I went with them and are one of the best snow tires i have tried so far, and i have tried almost all of them. [url]http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/dunlop/du_winter_sport_m3_ci2_l.jpg[/url] [url]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/BigPic.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Winter+Sport+M3&sidewall=Blackwall[/url]

Here are the Tirerack.com photos: [url="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Winter+Sport+M3"]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Winter+Sport+M3[/url] If this link doesn't work, just go to [url="http://www.tirerack.com"]www.tirerack.com[/url], select tires, select brand, then select winter, and choose the Dunlop Winter Sport M3.

Tirerack pushes Bridgestone, but Bridgestone does make some good tires, depending on the model. The Bizzak W965S tires I put on the truck proved their worth today. In about 6 inches of fresh, unplowed snow I had no difficulty moving down the road, turning, or stopping. The truck is NOT a 4WD, either, and had no additional weight in the bed. There were cars spun out and sitting in ditches... Not me! No problems if you take it easy and use Winter tires. I haven't tried the Legacy in the snow on it's stock RE-92 tires yet, and I really don't want to! I KNOW the Winter tires I'll put on the car will perform well. I do wish the wheels I'd ordered had been delivered already; it would have been fun to have the Winter tires on the car and then try it out on the snowy roads.

I can tell you that the stock tires SUK in the snow, you slide all over the place, no traction whatsoever. Try stooping with these tires......... Even with the M3 its easy for me to spin with the 2.5L turbo. With the stocks i had to roll for a while till i can touch the pedal.

I had my Dunlop Winter Sport M3 tires mounted on the stock Legacy alloys I bought off Ebay. The wheels arrived boxed and in great shape, and are exactly the same as the stock alloys that came on my 2005 Legacy. I put them on the car last night and drove to work (55 miles each direction) with them today. The roads were cold, but they'd been plowed fairly clean. Don't know how they'll do in snowy conditions yet (although they leave DEEP tracks in the snow in my driveway), but for a winter tire they handle and feel really good! I've noticed a slight "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." sound with them. I think that's the air whirring as its forced out through the deep water channels.

I have re-read this thread from a year ago, and it is one of the better threads on winter tires, and it deserves a resurrection. :) The links to other websites also provided some very interesting reading.