Tire test group sp answers questions. Big test of winter tires: the choice "Behind the wheel"! Friction tire test

In the cold season, it is better to give preference to winter tires. With the help of new technologies in the production of car tires, interesting characteristics are achieved, allowing car owners to drive with no less confidence than in summer. Many believe that winter tires can be replaced with all-season options. But this is not so - demi-season tires are not a way out of the situation: they are uncomfortable to ride in either summer or winter.

The main feature of winter tires is softness and the ability to tenaciously hold on to the snowy road surface. We bring to your attention the rating of the best winter studded tires 2014-2015.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 - the best offer among winter tires

The leader of most tests in Russia and in other countries was Finnish rubber, produced at one of the most technologically advanced world factories in the world. This Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 is a great driver's assistant in difficult winter conditions.

Tires are able to perfectly deal with any cold surface, provide comfort and safety of the trip. The following unique properties of Nokian winter tires should also be noted:

special technologies and tread pattern protect the driver in any weather;
adhesion to any surface, even with ice, reaches maximum values;
rubber is present in a large assortment of radii and sizes;
this model also has spikes, which are applied according to a new pattern.

Rubber was introduced last year, but to this day it remains the leader in most ratings. If you want real comfort and complete safety in winter, be sure to pay attention to this offer of a Finnish corporation.

Goodyear UltraGrip Ice Arctic - a prototype from the legendary manufacturer

This proposal was one of the few representatives of the 2014-2015 season who managed to make their way to the top positions after three years of success. Goodyear has always been famous for producing premium tires that ensure the safety of winter and summer driving on any vehicle. With the help of new technologies, the corporation managed to create tires with the following advantages:

excellent grip on snow and cold asphalt with the help of an unusual tread and spikes;
nineteen sizes - a choice from 13 to 18 inches for any wheel width;
The ultra-soft parts of the rather hard tread provide grip on any surface;
sliding is minimized due to the special shape of the tread.

The Goodyear UltraGrip Ice Arctic also features stud integration technology developed in 2012. The features of this tire are different from most competitors and allow you to achieve incredible ride parameters. At the moment, the rubber is going through one of the last seasons, after which the manufacturer announced several important updates and a name change.

Michelin X-ICE North XIN3 - last year's leader model

This rubber was also on the list of the most successful purchases for motorists last season. If it's time to get some new winter tires this year, check out this one. Michelin always offers best technology, but X-ICE North really exceeded all customer expectations:

the softness of the car increases significantly;
traction with any soil is noticeably improved;
increases the durability of the rims;
braking distances is reduced by almost two times.

Halving the stopping distance is a rough estimate, which is confirmed by many unofficial test drives. But even in this perspective, this rubber deserves a place in the ranking of the best winter tires in 2014-2015.

Bridgestone Blizzak Spike 01 - another successful series of the concern

The Blizzak series from Bridgestone Corporation is already known to many car owners. A fairly high cost does not stop potential buyers from purchasing this excellent option for winter tires. In the new generation, which will appear on the market at the end of summer 2014, the manufacturer has introduced the following innovations:

the chemical composition of raw materials for the manufacture of rubber was completely changed;
the protector is made of soft material that can withstand temperatures up to -50 degrees without physical changes;
spikes are present, but they are not the main part of the tire;
there is no need to break in the rubber before its full operation.

These characteristics make the Bridgestone Blizzak Spike 01 one of the most technologically advanced offerings in the 2014-2015 Best Winter Tire rankings. Nevertheless, a lot of money will have to be paid for the purchase, so it is too early to talk about the popularity of rubber.

Dunlop Ice Touch - winter tires closing the leaderboard

According to experts, Dunlop tires have every chance of becoming leaders this year. Their cost is perfectly combined with the quality characteristics, which makes the purchase of rubber much more profitable for the driver. Key features and technical advantages Dunlop ice touch appear in the following characteristics:

incredibly different tread pattern from competitors;
the presence of spikes in disordered mode;
high adhesion properties with an icy road surface;
universal application for middle class cars and compact crossovers.

Excellent tires Dunlop Ice Touch offers high quality characteristics and quite interesting features for owners of almost all cars. You can choose suitable size from a huge range and get good protection for your car from the surprises of an icy road.

Summing up

Among the winter tires described above, there are offers from previous years, but many experts believe that this particular rubber deserves to be on the list of the best winter tires in 2014-2015. When choosing tires for the winter, pay special attention to the tires that are right for you. specifications.

Some of the current market offerings are great option for lovers of travel on uncharted routes, others offer optimal modes of urban movement. Also remember that tires differ in speed and load index, which is very important to consider when buying new winter tires.

Are there motorists among our readers who have already bought tires for the 2014-2015 season?

Winter tires with spikes in Russia are very popular due to the peculiarities of the climate and roads. The 2014-2015 season provided many new products, but not everyone managed to pass the tests! The tires that were tested showed the following rating results:

12) Above the Chinese are Nokian Nordman 4 tires made in Russia. Showing nice results in snow tests and the best rolling resistance among all the nominees, these tires failed almost all other tests and received a modest final 7.1 points.

11) Here are the Chinese Jinyu YW53, who were able to collect 7.1 points and climbed higher in the ranking due to better behavior on the ice.

10) This position went to Vredestein tires Arctrac, originally from the Netherlands. These tires feel good on ice and snow, but “lay down” on wet pavement, and even with exchange rate stability there are some problems. The result is 7.5 points.

9) Bridgestone Blizzak Spike-01 studded tires staked out here, scoring 7.7 points due to excellent behavior on ice and snow.

8) who received 7.9 points. Having shown a decent result in all tests, this rubber only failed in the rolling resistance tests.

7) Here, in the winter 2014-2015 winter studded tire rating, there are Polish tires Dunlop Ice Touch, acceleration and braking behavior, which on snow and ice are almost identical to the leaders of this season, except for handling and rolling resistance. The result is 8.0 points.

6) Rubber out South Korea Hankook Winter i*Pike RS W419 scored 8.1 points. With 170 spikes, these tires showed very average braking on ice and one of the worst on dry pavement.

5) German studded tires Gislaved Nord Frost 100 with a total of 8.3 points. In all tests, this rubber was behind the leaders, losing seriously only in braking on dry pavement.

4) Goodyear tires UltraGrip Ice Arctic made in Poland. Their final result is 8.4 points, received for excellent balance in any road conditions, but on ice and snow the leaders still behave more confidently.

2-3) The ranking places were shared by tires of German production - Pirelli Ice Zero and Continental ContiIceContact, who scored 8.6 points each. They showed almost the same performance in all tests, both models were only slightly behind the leader (however, we note that the Continental ContiIceContact has problems with directional stability, and the Pirelli Ice Zero turned out to be the noisiest of all the tested samples).

1) So the winner of the best winter studded tires this season has become, who managed to score 8.8 points. Although there is something to complain about here! There are some problems with braking on wet pavement and noise in the car.

(3 votes, average: 5,00 out of 5)

Do you know what car tires will look like in the near future? According to leading developers in the industry, car tires will be narrow and have a large diameter. In fact, they will resemble the wheels of bygone days, only made using new technologies. And in order to increase energy-saving and environmental properties, and at the same time optimize production, the components of rubber will be radically changed.

Already at present, vegetable oils are used in production, which have replaced traditional components from petroleum products. The result of this was the appearance of silica (i.e. silicon) from rice husks, walnut shells are added to increase the adhesion effect, and experiments are also carried out with rubber extracted from dandelions - the search for new solutions, together with the development of alternative raw materials, is gaining momentum. In addition, the very concept of tires will undergo fundamental changes. For example, technology that maintains the desired tire pressure automatically is already being used with might and main, there are samples universal tires with “studded as needed” and airless tires that do without air (gas) pumping at all, that is, we are returning to the era of pre-pneumatic tires.

Here is that small statistics for 2014, which was mentioned above, for the domestic market, which shows sales in the retail market of winter passenger and light truck tires. Based on this, the article was built: “The Best Winter Tires 2014/2015” and the statistics show what market shares are occupied by foreign brands:

But here you need to make a small reservation, these figures show only a couple of bus segments: A and B - i.e. Premium class and middle class, and segment C is still outside these statistics - which includes economy-class winter tires. It should be noted that C-class products include domestic, Chinese and a number of other foreign tire manufacturers, and account for almost half of the market sales. What will happen next is still unknown, because the situation on the tire market is currently unordinary. Now let's see what Petrovich wrote to us.

Choosing the best winter tires 2014/2015

Since the entire range prepared by manufacturers for the winter period of 2014/2015 is almost impossible to put on the shelves. We decided to highlight the most popular models- novelties of the current and some of the last season, for example, the price of several tire sizes sold on our market is indicated. In addition, for some tire models, the current rating is indicated according to a 10-point scale, compiled from customer reviews. We start with winter tire models of the so-called premium and medium price range (A and B segments).

1. Winter tires Bridgestone presented since last year on our market by an optimized assortment of the Blizzak family. And here the new friction tires of the Blizzak VRX model come first.

The following model is new model studded tire Blizzak Spike-01.

In addition, the company has prepared winter season 2014/2015 new friction model for crossovers/SUVs - Blizzak DM-V2.

2. Winter tires Continental- the company pleased motorists with the release of a new friction model - Conti Viking Contact 6. This model replaced the veteran with the number 5, which we have known since 2008.

Regarding the studded winter tires of this company, let's say that a “lightweight” model called ContiIce Contact HD was manufactured and put on the market. Which fully complies with the new EC requirements, its sales have already started with us. Although, according to motorists, this winter the predecessor will “steer” on cars, i.e. – ContiIce Contact.

3. Dunlop Company last year introduced its new studded tire model - Ice Touch.

It is worth noting another new model of the last winter season, which belongs to the class of friction tires - Winter Maxx WM01 from Dunlop.

4. Gislaved also last season introduced a new generation of studded tires called Nord Frost 100.

It is worth noting here that the number of spikes in this tire fully complies with the new requirements for European countries (i.e. no more than fifty pieces per meter of wheel rolling). What did not prevent this model from showing really excellent results, participating in comparative tests and earn wide popularity among motorists.

5. Last season, another novelty from Good Year Company is a model called Ultra Grip Ice Arctic, which received excellent reviews along with high ratings from car enthusiasts.

By the way, already for this winter season, Good Year has prepared and launched a version of this model on the market, which is positioned as winter tires for crossovers. This is the Ultra Grip Ice Arctic SUV. In addition, the friction model of the Ultra Grip Ice 2 tire was released in a new generation.

6. Again, since last season by Hankook new studded tires of the Winter i-Pike RS W419 model are offered to motorists.

7. We got to Michelin, offering car enthusiasts from the winter 2013/2014 season its new generation X-Ice North 3 model, in which, according to the manufacturer, the sidewalls have become more durable.

This novelty has become a logical addition to the already known to consumers - the third generation of the friction tire model - Michelin X-Ice 3.

8. We'll tell you, of course, and, oh Nokian, which presented its studded tires model - Hakkapeliitta 8. For these tires, the company increased the number of studs by 1.5 times, but at the same time, the tires fully comply with the new EU rules, which talk about limiting the impact of studded rubber on asphalt road surfaces.

In addition, the manufacturer also offers friction tires in the new generation of the model - Hakkapeliitta R2, which received reinforced side parts.

And this season, you can already get acquainted with the version of studded tires for crossovers model - Hakkapeliitta 8 SUV, also with reinforced side parts, plus models of studded tires located in the middle price range - NordMan 5 and NordMan 5 SUV will enter the market.

Note that the NordMan 5 model was created on the Hakkapeliitta 5 “platform”, namely, the developers borrowed the carcass from it along with the tread pattern. But they used a more simplified composition of the rubber compound for the tread, and the tire received not a multifaceted, but a round core. According to the manufacturer, the braking distance on icy surfaces has been reduced by about 7 percent compared to the previous model.

As for the NordMan 5 SUV, these winter tires use the multi-faceted studs and carcass of the Hakkapeliitta 5 SUV, which was removed from the assembly line, although the composition of the rubber compound was left the same.

9. Pirelli Company- here it should be noted that it does not often produce winter tires, especially for the "harsh conditions of the north." But nevertheless, I would like to note the studded tire model called Ice Zero.

10. Toyo Company offers car enthusiasts a studded model of winter tires - Observe G3-Ice, which differs from other representatives in a fairly wide range of sizes - more than 100!

11. Not far behind and Yokohama, introducing a new generation of well-known studded tires - Ice Guard IG55. Compared to the previous model, the IG35, the new tire, in addition to shortening the braking distance, also greatly increased the stud integration strength, the company said.

It is worth noting another development of the company, these are friction winter Ice tires Guard IG50, which are presented on the market in a fairly wide range of sizes - more than 90 types!

By tradition, group C (economy class tires) is represented by models domestic manufacturers. It is worth noting that a separate part of them has already closely approached the price of mid-level tires. Among the new developments Russian companies(although you can see where the “tracks” lead from in the tread pattern), you can notice the studded tires of the Cordiant model snow cross. By the way, the company claims that these tires have a shorter stopping distance on an icy surface compared to the “prototype”.

It can be noted on the domestic market that a new brand has appeared, which can be attributed to the budget ones - this is Formula, formed (created) under the "patronage" of the famous Pirelli. So, this company has released the current model of studded tires - Formula Ice.

Talk about economy winter tires and not mention original stamps from the Middle Kingdom, it is simply impossible. New names, and especially new tire models, are released almost regularly, this also applies to the segment winter tires. By the way, here manufacturers declare models that have been tested at the world-famous training ground of the town of Ivalo, located in northern Finland.

New products include winter tires from Aeolus- this manufacturer is better known for the manufacture of tires for special and commercial transport. But starting from 2011, he expanded the range with tires for cars. In the new 2014/2015 season, the company offers motorists studded tires of the Aeolus Ice Challenger model.

In order to have plenty to choose from, we will present you a couple more models from China, the so-called “studded”, in addition, these tires are similar to the tread pattern copied from the once popular tire - Gislaved NF III.

Model Sunny SN-3860

Model Triangle Group TR777

Rating of non-studded and studded winter tires 2014/2015

Among the leaders of winter non-studded and studded tires, it is worth noting Gislaved and Nokian, which confidently promote their models on the market. Not far behind them are such Japanese tire companies as Yokohama and Bridgestone, which are also famous for summer tire models.

But in addition to these eminent manufacturers, it is nice to see domestic companies in the top twenty of the best winter tires, for example, Cordiant, which is deservedly in the TOP, making inexpensive, but high-quality tire models.

So, TOP 20 best winter tires 2014/2015

1. Winter tire model YOKOHAMA IG35— 5.04%

2. Model BRIDGESTONE Blizzak DM-V1— 2.59%

WintertiresBRIDGESTONE Blizzak DM-V1

3. Model DUNLOP SP Winter Sport 3D— 2.02%

WintertiresDUNLOP SP Winter Sport

4. Model MICHELIN X-Ice North 3— 1.89%

Wintertires

5. Model CORDIANT Sno Max— 1.89%

Wintertires

6. Model NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta 7— 1.82%

Winter NOKIAN tires Hakkapeliitta 7

7. Model TOYOobserveG3-Ice— 1.80%

WintertiresTOYO Observe G3 Ice

8. Model BRIDGESTONE ICE Cruiser 7000— 1.79%

Wintertires

9. Model NOKIAN Nordman 4 — 1.68%

Winter tires NOKIAN Nordman 4

10. Model NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta SUV 7— 1.67%

Winter tires NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta SUV 7

11. Model YOKOHAMA Ice Guard F700Z— 1.67%

WintertiresYOKOHAMA Ice Guard F700Z

12. Model BRIDGESTONEBLIZZAKREVO-GZ — 1.67%

Wintertires

13. Model DUNLOPSPWinterIce 01 — 1.48%

WintertiresDUNLOP SP winter ice 01

14. Model NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta 8 — 1.46%

Winter tires NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta 8

15. Model — 1.46%

Wintertires

16. Model ROADSTONE Winguard 231 — 1.39%

Winter tires with studs are developing much more intensively than non-studded options. That is why manufacturers from year to year offer the same models without any special updates. However, in the upcoming season, several leadership positions from previous years will become unavailable to us. Therefore, the rating of winter non-studded tires 2014-2015 has changed slightly.

We have selected the top five, in our opinion, winter tires that are not equipped with studs. It's worth recognizing great technology manufacturers fulfill their task, the rubber becomes more technological and allows you to stay even on ice from a controlled position. Let's look at five of the most interesting offers on the market for non-studded winter tires in the coming season.

Continental ContiVikingContact 3 - the third generation of the permanent leader

For several years in a row, this model of non-studded winter tires has received first place in the ratings. Of course, the technical characteristics are quite inferior to the models with spikes, but there are other advantages that you should definitely talk about.

The fact is that ContiVikingContact tires have good grip even on icy road surfaces. This allows you to get smart control of the car on any surface. The benefits are also expressed as follows:

excellent control of the car on packed snow;
the ability to drive out of almost any traps on a winter road;
high quality tread, sufficient tire life;
resistance to very low temperatures;
universal operating conditions of rubber.

Unfortunately, this rubber has one significant drawback. On wet and cold pavement, the braking distance increases. You just need to get used to this feature of German Continental tires. Otherwise, the tires have no disadvantages and can be used on virtually any car in the winter.

Gislaved Soft Frost 2 - the second generation of great tires

The most expressive advantage of this rubber is an excellent combination of price and quality. With a very low cost Gislaved tires show excellent performance.

Rubber under the Gislaved brand is produced at the same factory that makes the previous tires. German origin and excellent technical properties give tires the following advantages:

excellent grip on ice, packed or fresh snow;
no increased tread wear on asphalt;
normal braking performance on any surface;
resistance to use high temperatures.

Winter sometimes provides us with surprises in the form of abnormally high temperatures. If your car is equipped with Gislaved Soft Frost 2 tires, you will not be afraid of these weather changes, because the tires perform well even at very high ambient temperatures.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi - winter tire classic

The offer of the Finnish manufacturer can really please the owners of any car. These tires are especially popular among drivers of crossovers and compact SUVs. But the dimensions will allow any car to be shod in RSi.

The most noticeable advantages of these tires can be described as follows:

high control of the car in turns;
excellent grip on asphalt and snow;
good slip resistance on ice;
good travel properties at any speed.

The Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi is a tire that is designed for a completely versatile use. The manufacturer positions its offer for harsh winter conditions, but even at positive temperatures, the rubber behaves quite well.

Dunlop Graspic - specialized winter tires

Dunlop Corporation also did not miss the opportunity to get into the ranking of the best winter tires of the 2014-2015 season. Dunlop Graspic rubber outperformed many studded tires in testing.

On the ice, these tires show incredible performance, provide excellent braking distances and accelerate well. But there are also disadvantages:

on fresh snow, the tread is completely clogged;
turns on wet pavement are often uncontrollable;
at too high a speed, the rubber begins to make unpleasant sounds.

These shortcomings prevented Dunlop Graspic from ranking higher. But it is worth recognizing that tires perfectly fulfill their tasks and can become the best offer in their class. True, if the trip on snow and asphalt surfaces is slightly corrected.

Michelin X-Ice - the legend of winter tires

In its offer, the legendary Michelin corporation has a lot of rubber options for each car. Winter Michelin tires X-Ice is often the choice of drivers who do not need a sporty ride on winter roads.

This rubber is capable of providing very high-quality characteristics, but is not expressed by leadership qualities in any of the criteria:

a trip on cold asphalt is the most forte tires;
on snow and ice, tires show some weaknesses;
braking distance is averaged and balanced for any winter road;
the cost of tires is comparable to the presence of some disadvantages.

Michelin has created X-Ice tires for those drivers who value practicality. It is on cold and wet asphalt that we will have to drive most of all in winter. And if it is necessary to overcome ice obstacles, the car can perform this task on these tires.

Summing up

Winter tires already in 2015 will become a necessity in the countries of the Customs Union. That is why every car owner will have to choose tires this year. Pay attention to the top five tire models presented above. Most likely, it is from these options that you can choose the right tires for yourself.

When buying tires for winter use, you should take into account the peculiarities of using the car during this period, as well as the climatic zone in which you live.

In the USA, closer to the north of Detroit (about 300 miles from Detroit) - various winter tests were carried out, popular tires model range 2013-2014. The ship brought 11 pairs of different winter tires - and six of them with spikes, and five without any spikes, Velcro in everyday life. For subsequent testing, a standard Hyundai Sonata was used, the wheel sizes of which are 215/55 R17 (R16 in the factory version). During the tests, the well-known race car driver Richard May, who had previously tested winter tires for SUVs and station wagons, was behind the wheel of this car during the tests.

Tires tested:

Tests conducted out of competition:

Before testing, all tires were checked and weighed, as well as checking the hardness of the rubber, comparing the speed index and measuring the entire stud offset. We checked the strength and all the seemingly unimportant details of the tires, since the tests are not easy, and some are even very dangerous.

Testing was done on ice as it The best way check and evaluate the braking distance and acceleration dynamics. Eight races had to be driven on each test tire. The best test results, as you might have guessed, showed studded tires! - Everyone expected this and it did not surprise anyone, but the following indicators are truly amazing ...

Surprisingly and shockingly, the Yokohama and Hankook brands, given all the test conditions, showed the worst result. - After that, repeated testing was carried out, which showed that brands should find a place for themselves in back rows test result. - The results leave much to be desired...

Some of the most popular tires in the Far East are Toyo and Dunlop. These tires do not have spikes, which are commonly called Velcro. - However, during testing, they did not show themselves as Velcro, and despite the fact that all the tests were carried out at a temperature of minus 9 degrees, they simply had no chance.

Later, the next day of testing, when the thermometer showed only one degree above zero, and all tests for tires with numb studs - were repeated. The tires slipped... The best result was 34.7 meters, and on the last day of testing, the results reached only 16-19 meters. Acceleration speed increased by 2 times! The reason for such misunderstandings turned out to be water, which on the first day of testing was formed at the point of contact of the tires with ice. Finally, Japanese technologies were able to truly show themselves and an excellent result was obtained - which is really amazing! Dunlop tires showed good results and toyo tires could not show the best result, even after testing was repeated at a temperature of 1 degree below zero.

It is also necessary to separately highlight the Michelin X-lce 2 tires, which showed good results regardless of weather conditions. This is a universal type of tire that is recommended for everyday driving today.

So, the three test leaders who showed the best results: Nokian, Continental, Michelin. Unfortunately, and even to great surprise, the best result of the Michelin X-lce 2 tire was not shown. Many were surprised by this, because they made a big bet. From here the conclusion followed that these tires perform better in the longitudinal direction than in the transverse direction. And the use of Michelin X-lce 2 in the transverse direction is not recommended by many specialists and experts who also did not expect such results from this brand.

The track on which all tests took place was periodically checked and some changes were made. It was easier and simpler to determine the results of snow tire testing. The snow cover was stable, the area was much larger, which is why each brand of tires needed 12-14 races. The best results were shown by Michelin tires, which are considered to be one of the most best tires for snow. When accelerating, the non-studded X-Ice 2 turned out to be the best. When braking, the studded X-lce North tires showed the best results. Testing showed that nothing depends on the spikes at the training ground!

The testers were amazed by the result of the Sonata, which had automatic box programs and showed their results, which already spoke for themselves. It turned out that the tires move freely and quickly in the snow, and at the same time the driver gets great pleasure!

But the Continental ContilceContact and Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 tires proved to be indispensable for traction on icy and slippery roads.

Michelin tires showed what it is the best choice for urban, everyday driving, showing reliable control.

Also, after all the testing, we conducted another test on the loss of spikes. It turned out that not a single brand lost a single one during the entire testing period, which actually amazed many journalists who watched the whole process.

This testing dispelled the myth that studded tires perform worse than non-studded tires on asphalt.

The last test was slashplaning resistance. A special Volkswagen Transporter is involved in this test. The car must drive onto asphalt covered with 3.5 cm thick snow, and accelerate until it loses absolute contact with a generally solid surface. In this test, only the speed was important, and it was considered the speed of the start of the slashpleng. Continental СontiVikingСontaсt 5 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 - showed best result in this testing. No one expected that these two brands would be the most resistant in this test.

All tests were evaluated on a ten-point scale and here they are the test winners:

The best studded tires turned out to be Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7, with a very small gap behind the following tires: Michelin X-lce North 2 and Continental СontilсeContact, which are almost also winners!

The best non-studded tires were tires - ContiVikingContact 5. Then comes the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R, which was only 0.05 points behind the winner - ContiVikingContact 5.