Winter Tyre Tests

The European winter tyre test is the largest of the year, covering 28 tyres in 2 different sizes, 225/45 r17 and 185/65 r15.

This year the tests were more stringent than ever. Not only did the 28 tyres have their dry, wet, snow and ice grip tested but they were also scored on their wear, fuel consumption and comfort properties.

Winter tyres are a hot subject at the moment, with new tests being released weekly. Usually winter tyre tests focus on the smaller tyre sizes winter tyres are often used in, meaning if you drive a performance car and are interested in ultra high performance winter tyres you have to hope the tyres tested in the smaller sizes have the same attributes in the larger sizes.

This year the 2010 winter tyre reviews season was opened by Auto Zeitung who put 14 different 195/65 r15 winter tyres on a Ford Focus to the test.

The good news for UK drivers is that this years report included a slush test which rates how the tyres cope with the road surface when the packed snow is melting and it's a mix of snow and standing water.

It might still be August, but after an unusually snowy start to 2010 talk has already turned to winter tyres in the UK.

While we're waiting for the magazines to put together their 2010 winter tyre tests, here's one of the more interesting articles from 2009. This test is particularly good as it uses a powerful RWD car (Mercedes SLK350) which wears relatively wide 225/45 r17 performance tyres.

Each of the 8 tyres were tested in the snow, on wet roads and in the dry with the scoring emphasis bias towards wet weather and snow performance (these are winter tyres after all!)