2017 Autocenter Studded Winter Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Marshal WinterCraft Ice Wi31
Dry Braking	Minerva Eco Stud
Wet Handling	Continental IceContact 2 Goodyear UltraGrip Ice Arctic
Wear	Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9
Rolling Resistance	Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9
Noise	Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 Continental IceContact 2
Straight Aqua	Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9
Snow Handling	Gislaved Nord Frost 200

While studded tyres aren't suitable for the UK climate, they are the best way of staying mobile in extreme winter conditions. Each tyre can have hundreds of studs, which bite into ice with far more grip than a studless friction winter tyre can give. There are of course drawbacks to studded tyres, they're very noisy, and they give up a lot of dry and wet performance when compared to a European winter tyre, but in climates such as Russia and the Nordic countries where you are likely to be driving on ice for weeks at a time, there's little alternative.

The Russian magazine Auto Center have tested ten studded winter tyres in 205/55 R16 across dry, wet, snow and ice testing using a VW Golf. When looking at the final results, it's worth keeping in mind that this is a test for extreme winters, which means ice and snow performance takes 60% of the overall result, with wet taking 20% and dry just 15%.

 

Braking Data

Full Results