Tire Tests

As always, we keep our coverage of the Auto Express tire tests to a minimum, instead encouraging you to go and see the full article on the Auto Express website (link in comments), but there is one aspect of the test we'd like to mention.

The 2018 Auto Motor und Sport [AMS] winter tire test has tested eleven winter tire patterns in the popular 205/55 R16 winter tire size, using a Seat Ibiza.

For 2018, the German publication Auto Zeitung have tested nine SUV / 4X4 winter tire patterns in 235/60 R18 using an Audi Q5.

The tires on test covered the premium and midrange segments, with a single budget tire included, the Wanli Snowgrip S1083. The Wanli tire was less than half the price of the most expensive tires on test, so it will be interesting to see whether the Chinese manufactured tire can improve on past performances.

The 2018 Auto Bild SUV / 4x4 winter tire test has used an Audi Q5 to test ten 235/60 R18 winter tires, with the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 SUV proving to be the best tire on test thanks to an excellent all-round performance.

Surprisingly Pirelli edged out Continental to second place, with a brilliant result for the Pirelli Scorpion Winter. This tire has been on the market a number of years now, and historically hasn't tested as well as Goodyear or Continental, so there must have been and update for the 2018 winter season.

The Continental Winter Contact TS850P SUV rounded out the top three, with its only real weakness appearing during the important dry braking tests.

Following on from the 27 all season tire braking shootout, Auto Bild have published their excellent 2018 all season tire test. Testing the best ten 195/65 R15 all season tires from the braking test, Auto Bild have done an incredibly thorough job putting all the tire patterns through the usual array or dry, wet and snow testing.

Following on from the 195/65 R15 winter tire test, the excellent German publication Auto Bild have tested ten UHP winter tires in 245/45 R18.

The biggest shock in the test is the winner - it's the brand new Vredestein WinTrac Pro. This new tire from Vredestein proved to have Continental like qualities, displacing the Continental WinterContact TS850 P from it's usual top spot and performing well in the dry, wet and snow tests. The Continental WinterContact TS850 Pl, which has now been replaced by the Continental WinterContact TS860 S, proved that it's still a quality option and finished a very close second place.

The weekly UK publication Auto Express has just published their 2018 winter tire test! This year Auto Express have tested eight winter tire patterns in 205/55 R16 using a VW Golf.

As in 2017, the German club ACE have tested all season and winter tires in exactly the same tests! On test are nine 185/65 R15 winter tire patterns, and three all season tires in the same size, and they used an Opel Corsa as the test vehicle.

All twelve tires were put through identical dry, wet and snow testing, and to further highlight the point that most all season tires are interchangeable with winter tires, the all season tires finished second, fifth and ten places overall.

As with the Auto Bild winter tire test, the excellent German publication have placed a large number of all season tires through wet and dry braking tests in order to find the top ten tires for the full all season tire test, which will include broader wet and dry testing, plus the inclusion of snow running.

In total 27 all season tire patterns were tested in the popular 195/65 R15 size, and the spread of best to worst proved to be worringly large!

Following on from the 51 winter tire braking test, the excellent German publication Auto Bild have promoted the best 20 tires to their full winter test, which covers every aspect of the winter tires performance.

As always, an (unnamed) summer and all season tire have been included as reference, and to make a change from the past few years, it isn’t the remarkable Continental WinterContact TS860 taking the top spot overall…

The 2018 Auto Motor Und Sport all season tire test has tested seven all season tires, and a summer and winter tire through the usual range of dry, wet, snow and environmental tests.

The unique twist this year? For some reason, the summer and winter reference tires are in 205/55 R16, while the seven tested all season tires are in 225/45 R17. Strange.

In spite of the curious size choices, it's an interesting test. The tires chosen for the test, and the final results are very close to the Tire Reviews All Season Tire Video, so be sure to check that out too.

This year the German motoring orginisation ADAC have tested winter tires in 175/65 R14 and 205/55 R16.

Both tests continue Continentals winter dominance, with two win for the Continental WinterContact TS860. 

This year the German motoring orginisation ADAC have tested winter tires in 205/55 R16 and 175/65 R14. 

Both tests continue Continentals winter dominance, with two win for the Continental WinterContact TS860. 

Second and third places were taken by the sisters brand Goodyear and Dunlop, with all three of the leading tires proving to offer an excellent balance of winter performances.

This year AutoBild have placed 51 195/65 R15 winter tires through wet braking tests, with the top thirty tires also being tested for snow braking performance. Only the top twenty have gone through to the full Auto Bild winter tire test!

With the best winter tire on test stopping the VW Golf in 34.3 meters, and the worst tire on test at 49.8 meters, you can see why it's extremely important to judge a winter tires performance as much on wet grip as it is snow grip.

All season tires try to be a tire without compromise, but does such tire exist? In this latest video I take a look at exactly how good all season tires are in 2018, and seven of the best tires in the all season category.

This video does not cover any summer or winter tires options, so if you feel like you might need a different tire setup, check out our "best tire type for winter driving" video first.

If you have any further questions once you’ve watched the video, head on over to the YouTube comment sections, or ask below and I’ll do my best to answer.

EVO are the only publication to put out their summer tire test so late in the season, and while the timing is less than ideal, the content is always excellent.

2018 is no different, with the September EVO issue covering six 235/35 R19 UUHP / max performance tires using a Ford Focus ST (we recently used the same car to test Michelin PS4 vs PS4S vs Cup 2 here)

The test winning Michelin was no surprise, the Pilot Sport 4 S always performs excellently when tested, but it was a surprise to see the Continental Sport Contact 6 bested by the aging Goodyear and Dunlop pairing. Perhaps there was some home advantage as the test was conducted at Goodyear's incredible test facility in Miraval, France.

What's the fastest trackday tire? What's the best track day semi slick tire to use on the road and track? I take 3 very different track day tires and put them on a BMW M2 to see which is best in the dry and wet. The video was shot at MIRA and Cadwell Park in the UK.

The 11th July 2018 issue of Auto Express magazine tested ten 225/45 R17 summer tires, using a VW Golf at the Continental test facility in Uvalde, Texas. The end result was closer than ever, with the worst tire on test just 3.7% overall behind the test winner.

This year the Hungarian publication Auto Navigator have tested fourteen 205/55 R16 summer tires, but also included an all season tire (the Michelin CrossClimate), a full winter tire, and most interestingly worn summer and winter tires.

It's important to note that the worn winter tire used was from last years test, whereas the worn summer tire was 7 years old and had been stored in "sub optimal conditions". While the tread depth of each of the worn tires isn't exactly clear, the worn summer tire was at a huge disadvantage due to age and storage conditions. 

All tests were performed around 15c air temperature. Sadly aquaplaning wasn't tested by the magazine.

Sadly, this years Auto Review tire test is behind a paywall, but given the range of tires they tested, the overall results were worth covering.

They also made a rather interesting youtube video of the test, so if your Russian is up to scratch, follow this link.

The full results are on the AutoReview.Ru website, if you're a paying subscriber.