2018 AMS Winter Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet BrakingContinental WinterContact TS 860
Dry BrakingContinental WinterContact TS 860
Wet HandlingGiti GitiWinterW1
WearContinental WinterContact TS 860
Rolling ResistanceNokian WR D4
NoiseContinental WinterContact TS 860
Giti GitiWinterW1
Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Goodyear UltraGrip 9
Snow HandlingKumho 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.

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.

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.

The Hankook had the best aquaplaning resistance of the test.

Snow

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

Environment

The Nokian had the lowest rolling resistance on test.

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

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

Results

1st: Continental WinterContact TS 860

Continental WinterContact TS 860
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 62.9
  2. Dry: 9.1
  3. Wet: 9.9
  4. Snow: 8.8
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 8
  7. Noise: 9
  8. Overall: 9.1
Good on snow, outstanding in the wet, safe in the dry.
Slight understeer on snow.
Test winner.

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2nd: Goodyear UltraGrip 9

Goodyear UltraGrip 9
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 58.2
  2. Dry: 7.8
  3. Wet: 9.3
  4. Snow: 7.9
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 9
  8. Overall: 8.2
Good in snow, precise steering and good grip in dry and wet.
A little unbalanced during snow handling.
Highly recommended.

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3rd: Nokian WR D4

Nokian WR D4
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 56.8
  2. Dry: 7.7
  3. Wet: 6.2
  4. Snow: 9.8
  5. Comfort: 6
  6. Rolling Resistance: 10
  7. Noise: 9
  8. Overall: 8.1
Best performance on snow, good balance in the dry, lowest rolling resistance.
Average in the wet, a bit noisy.
Highly recommended.

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4th: Hankook Winter i cept RS2

Hankook Winter i cept RS2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 54.8
  2. Dry: 7.6
  3. Wet: 8.3
  4. Snow: 8.9
  5. Comfort: 8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 9
  8. Overall: 8
Excellent snow grip and handling, safe balance in the wet and dry.
Relatively long dry braking, high rolling resistance.
Highly recommended.

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5th: Pirelli Cinturato Winter

Pirelli Cinturato Winter
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 54.3
  2. Dry: 7.1
  3. Wet: 8.2
  4. Snow: 9.1
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 10
  8. Overall: 7.9
Safe balance on snow, good comfort.
Average dry performance, high rolling resistance.
Recommended.

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6th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO

Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 57.8
  2. Dry: 8.2
  3. Wet: 8.5
  4. Snow: 6.5
  5. Comfort: 8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 8
  7. Noise: 10
  8. Overall: 8.6
Good in the dry.
Poor snow cornering.
Recommended.

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7th: Vredestein Snowtrac 5

Vredestein Snowtrac 5
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 54.1
  2. Dry: 8.4
  3. Wet: 6.4
  4. Snow: 8.6
  5. Comfort: 8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 8
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Overall: 7.7
Good winter traction, excellent snow braking, good dry performance.
Poor wet braking.
Recommended.

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8th: Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2

Nexen Winguard Snow G WH2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 50.8
  2. Dry: 7.3
  3. Wet: 7.1
  4. Snow: 8.1
  5. Comfort: 8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 4
  7. Noise: 9
  8. Overall: 7.3
Good in the snow, good wet braking.
Unbalanced during wet handling, poor aquaplaning resistance, high rolling resistance.
Recommended.

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9th: Giti GitiWinterW1

Giti GitiWinterW1
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 53
  2. Dry: 6.6
  3. Wet: 5.3
  4. Snow: 9.9
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 8
  8. Overall: 7.2
Outstanding snow performance.
Poor aquaplaning resistance, poor balance in the wet, poor steering feel.
Recommended.

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10th: Toyo Snowprox S953

Toyo Snowprox S953
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 52.3
  2. Dry: 8.6
  3. Wet: 5.2
  4. Snow: 7.3
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 9
  7. Noise: 8
  8. Overall: 7.2
Good dry cornering.
Average snow grip, very poor wet braking, oversteer during wet handling.
Recommended.

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11th: Kumho Winter Craft WP51

Kumho Winter Craft WP51
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 47.9
  2. Dry: 6.6
  3. Wet: 4.6
  4. Snow: 8.3
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 3
  7. Noise: 10
  8. Overall: 6.4
Ok in snow.
Weak in dry and wet, very high rolling resistance.
Conditionally recommended.

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