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2018 AMS Winter Tyre Test

Jonathan Benson
Data analyzed and reviewed by Jonathan Benson
6 min read Updated
Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. Dry
  3. Wet
  4. Snow
  5. Environment
  6. Results
  7. Continental WinterContact TS 860
  8. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
  9. Nokian WR D4
  10. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
  11. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
  12. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
  13. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
  14. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
  15. Giti GitiWinterW1
  16. Toyo Snowprox S953
  17. Kumho Winter Craft WP51

Test Summary
Wet Braking Continental WinterContact TS 860
Dry Braking Continental WinterContact TS 860
Wet Handling Giti GitiWinterW1
Wear Continental WinterContact TS 860
Rolling Resistance Nokian WR D4
Noise Continental WinterContact TS 860
Giti GitiWinterW1
Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Goodyear UltraGrip 9
Snow Handling Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
Pirelli Cinturato Winter
The 2018 Auto Motor und Sport [AMS] winter tyre test has tested eleven winter tyre patterns in the popular 205/55 R16 winter tyre size, using a Seat Ibiza.

As always, the full results and a summary of the data can be found below. Any questions or comments, please feel free to ask at the bottom of the page.

 

Dry

The Continental WinterContact TS860 had a big lead during the braking test, with Vredestein and Toyo in second and third places.

Dry Braking

Spread: 4.10 M (9.8%)|Avg: 44.28 M
Dry braking in meters (Lower is better)
Dry Braking: Safety Impact: Best vs Worst Tyre

Toyo and Continental continued their strong dry performance, finishing second and third during dry handling. This time, Bridgestone took the top spot with the LM001 EVO. The Pirelli Cinturato Winter struggled, finishing last overall.

Dry Handling

Spread: 4.70 Km/H (4%)|Avg: 116.01 Km/H
Dry Handling Average Speed (Higher is better)
  1. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
    117.70 Km/H
  2. Toyo Snowprox S953
    117.30 Km/H
  3. Continental WinterContact TS 860
    117.10 Km/H
  4. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
    117.10 Km/H
  5. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
    116.20 Km/H
  6. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
    116.20 Km/H
  7. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
    116.10 Km/H
  8. Giti GitiWinterW1
    116.00 Km/H
  9. Nokian WR D4
    115.30 Km/H
  10. Kumho Winter Craft WP51
    114.10 Km/H
  11. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
    113.00 Km/H

Wet

The wet testing once again allowed Continental to prove the TS860 is the best Central European winter tyre on the market, winning both wet braking and wet handling. Goodyear placed a strong second in both tests, and Bridgestone rounded out the top three. This time Kumho struggled.

Wet Braking

Spread: 7.60 M (24.2%)|Avg: 34.58 M
Wet braking in meters (Lower is better)
Wet Braking: Safety Impact: Best vs Worst Tyre

Wet Handling

Spread: 7.70 Km/H (10.3%)|Avg: 70.90 Km/H
Wet Handling Average Speed (Higher is better)
  1. Continental WinterContact TS 860
    74.50 Km/H
  2. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
    74.00 Km/H
  3. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
    72.90 Km/H
  4. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
    72.00 Km/H
  5. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
    72.00 Km/H
  6. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
    71.20 Km/H
  7. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
    70.80 Km/H
  8. Nokian WR D4
    70.00 Km/H
  9. Giti GitiWinterW1
    68.70 Km/H
  10. Toyo Snowprox S953
    67.00 Km/H
  11. Kumho Winter Craft WP51
    66.80 Km/H

The Hankook had the best aquaplaning resistance of the test.

Straight Aqua

Spread: 14.60 Km/H (17.4%)|Avg: 76.21 Km/H
Float Speed in Km/H (Higher is better)
  1. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
    83.70 Km/H
  2. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
    80.80 Km/H
  3. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
    80.50 Km/H
  4. Continental WinterContact TS 860
    80.00 Km/H
  5. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
    77.80 Km/H
  6. Nokian WR D4
    76.20 Km/H
  7. Kumho Winter Craft WP51
    76.00 Km/H
  8. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
    72.80 Km/H
  9. Toyo Snowprox S953
    71.00 Km/H
  10. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
    70.40 Km/H
  11. Giti GitiWinterW1
    69.10 Km/H

Snow

The cheapest tyre on test, the Giti Winter W1 dominated the snow testing, beating the establish "snow master", the Nokian WRD4.

Snow Braking

Spread: 3.40 M (13.4%)|Avg: 26.97 M
Snow braking in meters (Lower is better)
Snow Braking: Safety Impact: Best vs Worst Tyre

Snow Handling

Spread: 5.40 Km/H (9.4%)|Avg: 55.30 Km/H
Snow handling average speed (Higher is better)
  1. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
    57.30 Km/H
  2. Giti GitiWinterW1
    57.30 Km/H
  3. Nokian WR D4
    56.60 Km/H
  4. Continental WinterContact TS 860
    55.90 Km/H
  5. Kumho Winter Craft WP51
    55.80 Km/H
  6. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
    55.60 Km/H
  7. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
    54.90 Km/H
  8. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
    54.60 Km/H
  9. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
    54.60 Km/H
  10. Toyo Snowprox S953
    53.80 Km/H
  11. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
    51.90 Km/H

Environment

The Nokian had the lowest rolling resistance on test.

Rolling Resistance

Spread: 2.19 kg / t (28.1%)|Avg: 8.82 kg / t
Rolling resistance in kg t (Lower is better)
  1. Nokian WR D4
    7.80 kg / t
  2. Toyo Snowprox S953
    8.00 kg / t
  3. Continental WinterContact TS 860
    8.20 kg / t
  4. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
    8.30 kg / t
  5. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
    8.40 kg / t
  6. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
    8.60 kg / t
  7. Giti GitiWinterW1
    8.80 kg / t
  8. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
    9.50 kg / t
  9. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
    9.60 kg / t
  10. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
    9.80 kg / t
  11. Kumho Winter Craft WP51
    9.99 kg / t
19,000 km
£1.45/L
--
Annual Difference
--
Lifetime Savings
--
Extra Fuel/Energy
--
Extra CO2

Estimates based on typical driving conditions. Rolling resistance accounts for approximately 20% of IC vehicle fuel consumption and 25% of EV energy consumption. Actual savings vary based on driving style, vehicle weight, road conditions, and tyre age. For comparative purposes only. Lifetime savings based on a 40,000km / 25,000 mile tread life.

All eleven tyres were separated by just 2.2 dB during the noise testing.

Noise

Spread: 2.20 dB (3.1%)|Avg: 72.08 dB
External noise in dB (Lower is better)
  1. Kumho Winter Craft WP51
    71.20 dB
  2. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
    71.30 dB
  3. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
    71.50 dB
  4. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
    71.70 dB
  5. Continental WinterContact TS 860
    71.90 dB
  6. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
    71.90 dB
  7. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
    71.90 dB
  8. Nokian WR D4
    72.10 dB
  9. Giti GitiWinterW1
    72.70 dB
  10. Toyo Snowprox S953
    73.30 dB
  11. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
    73.40 dB

The Giti was the cheapest tyre on test by a significant margin, at almost half the price of the test winning Continental.

Price

Spread: 44.00 (66.7%)|Avg: 90.64
Price in local currency (Lower is better)
  1. Giti GitiWinterW1
    66.00
  2. Kumho Winter Craft WP51
    72.00
  3. Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
    73.00
  4. Toyo Snowprox S953
    79.00
  5. Hankook Winter i cept RS2
    91.00
  6. Nokian WR D4
    95.00
  7. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
    97.00
  8. Vredestein Snowtrac 5
    100.00
  9. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
    106.00
  10. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
    108.00
  11. Continental WinterContact TS 860
    110.00

Results

1st

Continental WinterContact TS 860

205/55 R16
Continental WinterContact TS 860
Total: 62.9
Dry 9.1
Wet 9.9
Snow 8.8
Comfort 9
Rolling Resistance 8
Noise 9
Overall 9.1
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
2nd

Goodyear UltraGrip 9

205/55 R16
Goodyear UltraGrip 9
Total: 58.2
Dry 7.8
Wet 9.3
Snow 7.9
Comfort 9
Rolling Resistance 7
Noise 9
Overall 8.2
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
3rd

Nokian WR D4

205/55 R16
Nokian WR D4
Total: 56.8
Dry 7.7
Wet 6.2
Snow 9.8
Comfort 6
Rolling Resistance 10
Noise 9
Overall 8.1
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
4th

Hankook Winter i cept RS2

205/55 R16
Hankook Winter i cept RS2
Total: 54.8
Dry 7.6
Wet 8.3
Snow 8.9
Comfort 8
Rolling Resistance 5
Noise 9
Overall 8
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
5th

Pirelli Cinturato Winter

205/55 R16
Pirelli Cinturato Winter
Total: 54.3
Dry 7.1
Wet 8.2
Snow 9.1
Comfort 7
Rolling Resistance 5
Noise 10
Overall 7.9
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
6th

Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO

205/55 R16
Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
Total: 57.8
Dry 8.2
Wet 8.5
Snow 6.5
Comfort 8
Rolling Resistance 8
Noise 10
Overall 8.6
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
7th

Vredestein Snowtrac 5

205/55 R16
Vredestein Snowtrac 5
Total: 54.1
Dry 8.4
Wet 6.4
Snow 8.6
Comfort 8
Rolling Resistance 8
Noise 7
Overall 7.7
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
8th

Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2

205/55 R16
Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
Total: 50.8
Dry 7.3
Wet 7.1
Snow 8.1
Comfort 8
Rolling Resistance 4
Noise 9
Overall 7.3
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
9th

Giti GitiWinterW1

205/55 R16
Giti GitiWinterW1
Total: 53
Dry 6.6
Wet 5.3
Snow 9.9
Comfort 9
Rolling Resistance 7
Noise 8
Overall 7.2
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
10th

Toyo Snowprox S953

205/55 R16
Toyo Snowprox S953
Total: 52.3
Dry 8.6
Wet 5.2
Snow 7.3
Comfort 7
Rolling Resistance 9
Noise 8
Overall 7.2
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts
11th

Kumho Winter Craft WP51

205/55 R16
Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Total: 47.9
Dry 6.6
Wet 4.6
Snow 8.3
Comfort 9
Rolling Resistance 3
Noise 10
Overall 6.4
Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

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