Winter tyres can be a problem in the UK. Mainland Europe are very good at putting smaller wheels and tyres on, but in the UK where even the most modest town hatchback is being fitted with 17 or 18 inch wheels as standard, and performance car now being fitted with 19 or even 20 inch wheels, finding a test covering larger winter wheel sizes can be difficult.
Fortunately Auto Bild Sportscars is there to offer us some guidance for the 2014 season, and have tested 235/35 R19 winter tyres on a BMW M135i. Sadly, they only managed to find six patterns to test, compared to fifty in their 205/55 R16 tests, but it gives us a good indication of what winter tyres are like in larger sizes.
The Results
As usual, Auto Bild have weighted snow as the most important performance quality of the winter tyre, but for the UK climate this isn't always the case. For example, the fifth place Nokian is the best tyre in the dry, excellent wet performance and will still be many times better than any summer tyre in the snow, which makes it particularly well suited to the UK. As always, it's best to read the full results, rather than just looking at the overall positions.
Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
235/35 R19
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 7 |
| Snow | 9 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 8 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 41
Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
235/35 R19
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 7 |
| Snow | 8 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 5 |
Total: 39
Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
235/35 R19
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 8 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 38
Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
235/35 R19
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 7 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 36
Nokian WR A3
235/35 R19
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 7 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 4 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 6 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 34
Star Performer SPTS AS
235/35 R19
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 4 |
| Wet | 2 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Comfort | 3 |
| Rolling Resistance | 4 |
| Noise | 7 |
Total: 26
First time I've seen a bad review on the Nokian WR A3 in snow... They won German winter tyre of the year in 2012!
The WR D3 has always been the Nokian tyre for snow, the A3 moves the balance towards dry and wet handling, which is no bad thing for climates like the UK!
after had driven conti 830P for two seasons I decided to try the Michelin PA4 last winter and honestly I had experienced PA4 being far behind the Conti in heavier conditions..I couldn't wait to replace it for the new Conti 850P. I am looking forward to try the new Conti and honestly I can't imagine PA4 being better in snow than Conti LOL. If my prediction would happen I wouldn't know if I can trust this test again. Gonna see though
P.S sorry for poor English :)
Can you please also publish more details from the new UK tyre test with 16 performance challenges for 8 winter tyres 205/55R16 from Auto Express test a strong endorsement for winter tyres?
Thank you.
We will soon, but you can also get the full results on their own website!
http://www.autoexpress.co.u...