Kumho Winter Craft WP52 vs Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
Maxxis counters with notably stronger aquaplaning resistance and a mild edge in some snow metrics. The question is whether Maxxis's water-clearing security and snow braking offset Kumho's repeatedly shorter stopping distances on wet and dry tarmac and its better wear/value performance in key tests.
Test Results
Independent comparison tyre tests are the best source of data to get tyre information from, and the good news is there have been seven tests which compare both tyres directly!
| Tyre | Test Wins | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Kumho Winter Craft WP52 | five | |
| Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 | two |
While it might look like the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 is better than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 purely based on the higher number of test wins, tyres are very complicated objects which means where one tyre is better than the other can be more important in real world use.
Let's look at how the two tyres compare across multiple tyre test categories.
Key Strengths
- Class-leading wet braking across sizes (up to ~18% shorter vs WP6)
- Consistently better dry braking and stable dry/wet handling
- Strong wear and overall value in comparative tests
- Good ice braking performance and low road noise
- Excellent aquaplaning resistance (straight and curved)
- Competitive snow braking and snow slalom in several tests
- Low external noise in some evaluations
- Slightly better abrasion and projected lifespan in select sizes
Dry Braking
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during three dry braking tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 stopped the vehicle in 5.5% less distance than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Dry Braking: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Dry Braking winner was calculated >>
Dry Handling [Km/H]
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during two dry handling [km/h] tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was 1.05% faster around a lap than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Dry Handling [Km/H]: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Dry Handling winner was calculated >>
Wet Braking
Looking at data from seven tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during five wet braking tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 stopped the vehicle in 7.22% less distance than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Wet Braking: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Wet Braking winner was calculated >>
Wet Braking - Concrete
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during one wet braking - concrete tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 stopped the vehicle in 5.15% less distance than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Wet Braking - Concrete: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Wet Braking - Concrete winner was calculated >>
Wet Handling [Km/H]
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during one wet handling [km/h] tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was 0.07% faster around a wet lap than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Wet Handling [Km/H]: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
Wet Circle
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during two wet circle tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was 1.71% faster around a wet circle than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Wet Circle: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Wet Circle winner was calculated >>
Straight Aqua
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during three straight aqua tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 floated at a 6.41% higher speed than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Straight Aqua: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Straight Aqua winner was calculated >>
Curved Aquaplaning
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during three curved aquaplaning tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 slipped out at a 19.5% higher speed than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Curved Aquaplaning: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Curved Aquaplaning winner was calculated >>
Snow Braking
Looking at data from seven tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during seven snow braking tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 stopped the vehicle in 52.39% less distance than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Snow Braking: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Snow Braking winner was calculated >>
Snow Traction
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during one snow traction tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 had 0.57% better snow traction than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Snow Traction: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Snow Traction winner was calculated >>
Snow Handling [Km/H]
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during two snow handling [km/h] tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was 1.28% faster around a lap than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Snow Handling [Km/H]: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Snow Handling winner was calculated >>
Snow Slalom
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during one snow slalom tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was 2.39% faster through a slalom than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Snow Slalom: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Snow Slalom winner was calculated >>
Ice Braking
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during one ice braking tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 stopped the vehicle 7.57% shorter than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Ice Braking: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Ice Braking winner was calculated >>
Noise
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during one noise tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 measured 0.96% quieter than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Noise: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Noise winner was calculated >>
Wear
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during one wear tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 is predicted to cover 13.68% miles before reaching 1.6mm than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Wear: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Wear winner was calculated >>
Value
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during one value tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 proved to have a 28.56% better value based on price/1000km than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Value: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Value winner was calculated >>
Price
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during one price tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 cost 4.35% less than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Price: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Price winner was calculated >>
Rolling Resistance
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 was better during two rolling resistance tests. On average the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 had a 4.39% lower rolling resistance than the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Best In Rolling Resistance: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
See how the Rolling Resistance winner was calculated >>
Abrasion
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 was better during one abrasion tests. On average the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 emitted 9.86% less particle wear matter than the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.
Best In Abrasion: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
See how the Abrasion winner was calculated >>
Real World Driver Reviews
Tyre Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 and Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
In total the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 has been reviewed 8 times and drivers have given the tyre 69% overall.
The Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 has been reviewed 7 times and drivers have given the tyre 80% overall.
This means in real world driving, people prefer the Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.
Conclusion
The Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 suits drivers prioritizing hydroplaning security and occasional snow-focused use. It leads straight and curved aquaplaning consistently and nicks some snow categories, though it suffers from longer wet braking and slower, less precise steering. For most everyday winter driving, Kumho is the safer bet; for frequent standing-water motorways or deeper slush where float speed matters, Maxxis has appeal.
Key Differences
- Wet braking: Kumho decisively shorter in most tests (e.g., 33.5 m vs 41 m; 32.6 m vs 35.6 m).
- Overall placements: Kumho regularly finishes higher (e.g., 4/52 vs 44/52; 2/55 vs 41/55).
- Aquaplaning: Maxxis clearly stronger in straight and curved tests.
- Dry road: Kumho shorter braking and marginally better handling/precision.
- Snow: Mixed-Maxxis often wins snow braking/traction metrics, Kumho edges snow handling in some tests.
- Wear/value: Kumho shows higher mileage and better value in 2022 testing; Maxxis posts lower abrasion in one test.
Overall Winner: Kumho Winter Craft WP52
Based on the tyre test data and user reviews we have in our database, the Kumho Winter Craft WP52 has demonstrated better overall performance in this comparison. However, as you can see from the spider diagram above, each tyre has its own strengths which should be considered in your final tyre buying choice.Similar Comparisons
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Footnote
This page has been developed using tyre industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tyres in the same test.
Why is this important? Tyre testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tyre test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tyre tests performed on different days or at different locations.
As a result you will see other tests on Tyre Reviews which feature both the %s and %s, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.
Lots of other websites do this sort of tyre comparison, Tyre Reviews doesn't.