- Avatyre Freeze - domestic development
- Gislaved Nord Frost 100
- Toyo Observe GSi-5
- Hankook Winter I * Pike RS +
On each set of 205/55 R16 tires, before the tests, the pilots drove 500 km to run them in. After that, the organizers checked the protrusion of the studs and the hardness of the rubber.
To assess the longitudinal and lateral grip on ice, the organizers measured the acceleration time, braking distance and lap time on the track. Each kit was tested at least 7-10 times to identify errors in the results. For a more accurate calculation of the lateral grip, a twelve-meter adjustment was used. This maneuver is also called "moose test" - a quick detour of a sudden obstacle (moose on the road).
To avoid the pilot's bias, the same tires were tested by several people. They gave marks for directional stability and handling. Directional stability was tested at a speed of 90-110 km / h. The pilot rotated the steering wheel at small angles and observed the behavior of the car on the tested tires.
Another test tested the permeability in the snow, the ability to overcome snowdrifts, maneuver, get under way and move in reverse. The organizers of the test considered this to be as important for winter tires as all of the above. Goodyear UltraGrip Ice Arctic performed best in this test. According to the organizers, with these tires the front-wheel drive car turned into a real all-terrain vehicle!
Ride and cabin noise were evaluated on different surfaces and at different speeds. After testing the tires on ice and snow, experts evaluated how well the studs were in the tires.
On asphalt, tires were tested for fuel consumption. All tires were tracked in both directions in order to neutralize the influence of a slope in the road or a slight breeze. The braking distances on dry and wet asphalt and directional stability were also evaluated.
And the very last test was the inspection of the tires and the counting of the emitted spikes. Bridgestone tires lost the most - 18 studs. In second place were Toyo tires, which lost 7 studs.
As a result, according to the results of all tests, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 became the winner of the test. In second place, with a margin of only half a percent, were the Continental ContiIceContact 2 tires.
The test results for winter studded tires 205/55 R16 are shown in the tables below.
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Correctly selected tires are an important guarantee of accident-free and safe driving. This is especially true in the winter period, when even the slightest negligence can cost you too much. We bring to your attention the Yokohama IG35 tires, reviews of which are distinguished by a rare variety.
Some drivers are preparing for the fourth season on them (and on one set), while others curse the day they visited the store. Who is right? Let's figure it out!
What it is
Rubber Yokohama Ice Guard 35 is a novelty of the year 2012. The attention of car enthusiasts was immediately riveted to a press conference, at which manufacturers promised almost magical characteristics of their new products. As usual, the reality turned out to be not so rosy.
Manufacturer's complaint
At that time, it was really more or less advanced technology, featuring a directional tread. Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that rubber will be produced at a "purebred" Japanese factory in the best traditions of the quality of the Land of the Rising Sun. The engineers responsibly stated that with these tires the car would confidently keep its course even on snowy, ice-crusty roads.
Here are the main advantages that the tires should have had, they do not confirm them, but that's not what we are talking about):
Unique "multidimensional" sipes, thanks to which confident adhesion is provided with almost all types of road surface, even if it is brought in by ice or snow slurry.
The same technology dramatically improves braking performance even on ice and trampled snow, preventing the main tread elements from losing their rigidity.
Minimization of the cases of the thorns falling out, since there are special retaining lugs near each mounting hole. This is what the tires "distinguished themselves" for, testifying to the fact that they just fall out almost immediately after entering the road.
Specially shaped grooves dramatically improve the process of water and snow removal from the tread, which improves the quality of tire grip. Lateral grooves contribute to normal braking on a snowy and icy track.
The composition of the rubber compound for tires itself is kept secret, as it is the company's know-how: this formula provides increased strength characteristics and prevents tire deformation even near the protruding stud.
The company received all these results on its unique one on which it is possible to simulate almost all types of precipitation possible on this planet. So, its employees had grounds for bright advertising of products. So how good are the Yokohama IG35 tires in practice? Reviews show what happens in different ways.
Why is there so much negativity?
If you talk to many city motorists, then they will probably utter a couple of unprintable words about this particular model. Why did it happen? After all, the Yokohama brand is known all over the world, and the attitude towards the manufacturer is quite good !? In 2013, a team of domestic "naturalists" conducted their own test, the results of which did not please the official representatives of the company. Let's describe it in a little more detail.
Negative operating experience
Then the hatchback Nissan Tiida was tested, which was "shod" in the well-known Yokohama IG35 tires. Reviews about them at that time no longer inspired much delight. On that day, the temperature outside the window was a little less than -15 degrees Celsius, and a dense layer of rolled snow and ice lay on the roads. The car drove perfectly along the main city streets (on which there was no more snow). There were no drawbacks or obvious advantages at that time.
Alas. Snow appeared and everything went down the drain. The Yokohama IG35 tread, as it turned out, instantly loses its rigidity and becomes similar in characteristics to a polished billiard ball. All the grooves we have described for draining water in real life somehow were in no hurry to show themselves: the car prowls dangerously around at the slightest attempt to brake, more or less confidently behaves only when driving at a minimum speed in a straight line.
Acceleration is terrible, braking is even worse. Why did the Yokohama IG35 winter tires (reviews of which we are considering) behave so disgustingly on the road?
What is the reason?
Everything became clear when the researchers took a closer look at the tire itself. It turned out that at least half of the studs are missing on each wheel, and the rest are driven so deep that they cannot have any effect on traction by definition. The front wheels were completely "sad", devoid of almost 70% of the studs. Here we can say that the "scientists" simply took a car with an exorbitant mileage, but not everything is so simple: the tire roll-off was less than 1000 kilometers, and the spikes obviously did not last even half of this period.
In general, this is what made the Yokohama IG35 tires "famous", reviews of which say exactly the same. Many motorists who bought these tires in the hope of a normal winter ride were deeply disappointed in them. And the reviews mainly rest on the frankly scanty life of the studs, from which all other troubles associated with this rubber follow.
Yard drifts on these tires, according to the recollections "from the fields", can even turn into an absolutely insurmountable obstacle. Although practically all passenger cars of similar models, “shod” in more adequate rubber, withstand these tests without any particular problems. It's a shame, the Yokohama IG35 is not a new model. Many Finnish tire models of the same season are still warmly loved by motorists, but the Japanese were very unlucky in this regard.
It’s not so, it’s all anti-advertising!
Oddly enough, similar headlines can be seen in almost the same magazine in which only negative opinions were published a couple of months earlier. Are Yokohama IG35 winter tires bad or not? Reviews about them often resemble obscene verbal ping-pong. Someone praises, and someone - scolds.
The real benefits of Japanese rubber
There is no need to despair: everything is really not so bad. So, some drivers love Yokohama IG35 tires: positive reviews indicate that these tires have the least noise (among winter tires). On a long journey, this characteristic is good news!
Because of the soft rubber, even a rough suspension “swallows” road irregularities much better, which are more than enough in the vastness of our vast Motherland. Until recently, the situation with Japanese tires was pretty good from a financial point of view. How much do Yokohama IG35 tires cost now?
In principle, with this and now everything is pretty decent. A set of rubber will cost you approximately 13-15 thousand rubles. Sheer pennies, if we talk about the proposals of other foreign companies!
Objective reasons for lagging behind
Why does this happen? After all, the Japanese have always been famous for the high quality of all their products, regardless of their type. It's all about the national "mentality": in Japan, winter tires on spikes are generally illegal due to the government's reverent attitude to the state of the roads, so for real tests in the "field" engineers have to be sent to distant countries.
And Yokohama IG35 winter tires (reviews of which we are now analyzing) are not always tested in the conditions of our country. Much more often - in Western Europe, where winter is generally a rather extensible concept. Most likely, in those parts of the tire from the Japanese manufacturer really show really good results.
In addition, these tires are likely to be strongly influenced by the condition of domestic roads. In most cities, the situation is such that even the main streets are often like a washboard. It is not known in what conditions the Yokohama Iceguard Stud IG35 rubber was tested, the reviews of which we are now analyzing, but the engineers hardly prepared their brainchild for this. Most likely, this explains the "passion" of tires for the loss of studs.
In any case, many car enthusiasts note that the rubber on the sides of these tires is too soft. Perhaps the Japanese were nevertheless a little cunning when they talked about the increased resistance of their products to wear.
Precautionary measures
Be that as it may, but (we have already sorted out the reviews) are strongly not recommended by experienced wheel lovers for going to the ice. The owners of such tires warn that in these conditions the car can behave quite inadequately, and one can only dream of more or less normal control.
In general, the Yokohama IG35 (the owners' reviews confirm this in full) perform quite well in urban conditions. But if you constantly spend a lot of time traveling on swept snow and icy country roads, it is advisable to turn your attention to something else. The slightest skid when overtaking in such conditions (even if the speed is not higher than 50 km / h) is fraught with very bad consequences.
As the owners themselves say, without normal ABS with these tires it is generally better not to meddle with these tires on a winter road. Any braking may well end very badly.
Buying tires is a responsible business
Unfortunately, many of our motorists are guided when buying not by the real origin of the product, but only by its price and brand. As a result, a satisfied buyer of "real Japanese rubber" turns out to be the owner of a low-grade fake, which may well contribute to an emergency on the road. In a word, you should not save on this in any case.
Is localization to blame?
It should be noted that the manufacturer has partially acknowledged the problems. So, relatively recently, a warning appeared on the official website that the Philippine tire lots are especially often seen in an effort to scatter most of the studs along the road. By the way, another question arises here: why is the production not Japanese? After all, at the very beginning, the company just promised with an oath that all tires will be Japanese? However, this is no longer so important.
So maybe you shouldn't brand the Yokohama Iceguard IG35 indiscriminately? Reviews show that in this case, not everything is so simple. The production of these tires is deployed in our country, and domestic motorists are also not happy with their quality. However, here the question is generally subjective: some people like the "Japanese Russian", while others prefer the "Filipinos".
Some conclusions
In general, the situation is rather confusing. So is the IG35 worth recommending for winter travel? Yokohama spikes (reviews around them and revolve) proved to be not very reliable. In principle, this article can be dismissed, but about half of the reviews on the Internet (even positive ones) say that they are often lost unnecessarily.
The tires themselves are comparatively good, the acceleration and braking characteristics are certainly not very good, but there are many types of winter tires that are much worse in this regard. In a word, the problem is precisely in the spikes - if not for them, then the Yokohama Stud IG35 tires, the reviews of which we have almost finished analyzing, would have been a quality "average". It just didn't work out.
If you are not an avid racer and even moderate aggressiveness on the road is unknown to you, and you live in a small town or rural area, then you can recommend the purchase of this rubber. But if all of the above does not apply to you, it is better to choose something more reliable for yourself.
Who is using?
But nevertheless, these tires are still quite popular in the domestic market. What is the reason for such a strange attachment to the Yokohama IG35? Reviews, tests, unfortunately, rarely take into account such a simple circumstance as the price of this product. Where else can you find more or less sane and studded rubber from a decent manufacturer at such a cost? Yes, nowhere.
If there is no money for normal studs, and you really don't want to ride on Velcro (and this is a normal approach), then these tires will not be the worst choice. Rubber is quite high quality, wears out slowly. As an adherent of a quiet ride, you can probably skate at least two or three seasons without losing all the studs.
In general, the owners of these tires give simple advice. They advise when driving to imagine that your wheels are shod with Velcro. So you will not have the urge to unnecessarily recklessness on an icy road. In this case, your impressions of the rubber will probably be quite good. Alas, this is unlikely to help you when "forcing" snow-covered courtyards, which this rubber is clearly not to their liking.
In short, the choice is yours. In the "plus" for these tires, the price and low noise, in the "minus" - everything else.
Winter tires Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 are designed for operation in difficult climatic conditions. They do an excellent job with changing weather. Rubber shows itself excellently on snow, in slush, on icing and on dry frozen asphalt.
The high quality and high demand for tires are confirmed by numerous mostly positive reviews from car owners.
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Description of tires
The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tire was developed by Japanese scientists. They took into account the peculiarities of winter operation on our roads. As a result, the rubber compound and the shape of the tread are selected in such a way as to provide maximum control over the car while driving.
Despite all the efforts of the developers, Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 is not able to withstand a layer of snow. This is especially true for tires that have served the season, when the number of studs becomes much less. Snow pours onto the tires and the wheels begin to slip. In this case, there is no need to talk about any stability in acceleration or braking.
Peculiarities
The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 has a wide center section. It improves handling and stability when driving on ice, as well as on dry and wet asphalt.
The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 is designed with special multi-faceted 3D sipes. They cling to each other during deformation under pressure. This increases the rigidity of the tread. The contact patch of the tire with the road increases and a more stable edge effect appears. Multifaceted 3D sipes improve vehicle behavior on icy or snowy road surfaces.
The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 adopts a 3D design with protective lugs around the cleat. This reduces the risk of premature loss. The edge effect is also increased, which positively affects the performance of the tire.
The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 plus uses abrasion resistant pins. They provide reliable traction on icy road surfaces.
To hold the spikes in the rubber, holes of a new shape are applied. According to the assurances of the developers, they more reliably perform the functions assigned to them. In the new type of holes, the gap between the cleat and the rubber walls has been reduced.
Despite all the efforts of the Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 developers, the owners' reviews indicate that the spikes fly off too quickly. During the season, you can lose 14-20 thorns. For some owners, rubber is completely deprived of all metal elements. Spikes fly out even with measured vehicle operation.
Dimensions
The sizes of the tires produced are selected in such a way as to maximize the coverage of the vehicles for which the Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 is suitable. For the main dimensions, see the table below.
Table - Main dimensions of Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tires.
| Diameter | Standard size | Indexes |
|---|---|---|
| R16 | 185/55 R16 | 83T 487 kg, up to 190 km / h |
| R17 | 225/65 R17 | 102T 850 kg, up to 190 km / h |
| 235/55 R17 | 103T 875 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 235/65 R17 | 108T 1000 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| R18 | 215/55 R18 | 95T 690 kg, up to 190 km / h |
| 225/40 R18 | 92T 630 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 235/60 R18 | 107T 975 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 255/55 R18 | 109T 1030 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 255/60 R18 | 112T 1120 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 285/60 R18 | 116T 1250 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| R19 | 235/55 R19 | 101T 825 kg, up to 190 km / h |
| 245/40 R19 | 98T 750 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 265/50 R19 | 110T 1060 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 275/40 R19 | 105T 925 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| R20 | 235/55 R20 | 102T 850 kg, up to 190 km / h |
| 245/45 R20 | 99T 775 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 245/45 R20 | 100T 800 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 255/45 R20 | 105T 925 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 265/50 R20 | 111T 1090 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 275/45 R20 | 110T 1060 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 275/60 R20 | 115T 1215 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| 285/50 R20 | 112T 1120 kg, up to 190 km / h | |
| R21 | 265/45 R21 | 104T 900 kg, up to 190 km / h |
| R22 | 285/45 R22 | 114T 1180 kg, up to 190 km / h |
Tests
The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 performs poorly on benchmarks. Rubber is better than domestic tires, but falls short of the level of world leaders.
By order of the Yokohama company, the characteristics of the products manufactured by the company were checked. Various winter tires participated, including the Ice Guard IG35. The test results can be found in the table below.
Tested by Yokohama and other independent experts. The tires proved to be average. You can see the test results in the tables below.
Pros and cons
The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 are quite good tires. They have a lot of advantages over competitors, but they are also not without drawbacks. The table below lists the pros and cons of the Yokohama Ice Guard IG35. They are compiled on the basis of expert opinion and feedback from car owners.
Table - Pros and cons of Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tires.
| Dignity | Flaws |
|---|---|
| Good lateral grip on ice | On ice, longitudinal grip is extremely weak |
| Good acceleration in the snow | Poor braking on snow due to constant slippage |
| Clear cornering behavior | The car prowls on a snowy road and tries to change trajectory, risking getting stuck in deep snow |
| Good braking distances on dry asphalt | High noise level |
| No significant increase in fuel consumption | Difficulty driving at high speed on the highway |
| Good security | It is very difficult to slow down the car on wet asphalt |
| Wheels are not buried in snowdrifts due to shoulder tread blocks | Excessive deepening of thorns |
| Rare deformations of rubber during operation | Poor permeability |
Pull, pull!
And you yourself hold it tight, with both hands! Hrrya! It was the pincers that broke off, and Uncle Vanya, cursing, is trying to grasp the thorn more firmly by its "sting".
But we have experience! A long time ago, when in winter we pushed from Finland to Germany in a car "shod" in "spikes", German border guards did not let us in: either leave where you came from, or buy and put on tires without spikes, or ... Then we are not yet knew that in Germany a ban on thorns was introduced! We had to pull out the "nails" from all four wheels, and the wheels were rather big - we had a Land Rover Discovery! Thank God, now the task is different: we need to check how firmly the spikes are in the tread, so with the help of pliers and a dynamometer we will pull out only a couple of spikes from each tire. With other tires we have already easily dealt with, but ContilceContact tires do not want to part with their spikes.
Tested tires list:
- Continental Conti4X4IceContact
- Bridgestone
- Gislaved Nordfrost 5
- Michelin Latitude X Ice North 2
- Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7
- Nokian nordman 4
- Pirelli Winter Carving EDGE
- Yokohama ice Guard Stud IG35
- Kama 515
Stud testing is only part of the 215 / 65R16 crossover winter tire testing program.
There are more and more crossovers. Last year, their share among new cars sold in Russia reached 13%! And they all need winter tires. Which?
In our test - nine sets of tires: Bridgestone Ice Cruiser 7000, Continental ContilceContact 4x4, Gislaved Nord Frost 5, Michelin X-lce North 2, Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7, Nordman 4, Pirelli Winter Carving Edge, Yokohama Ice Guard 35 and domestic Kama-515 ... All studded. And are studded good? To answer this question, we carried out "dynamometric pulling out of thorns". It turned out that the force with which you can pull the stud out of the tread ranges from 3.5 kgf for Michelin tires to 7.0 kgf for Nokian. Except for ContilceContact tires, where a new spike installation technology is applied: they are coated with a special compound that works like glue. When Uncle Vanya pulled out the spike, there were traces of rubber on it, and the dynamometer recorded an effort of 20 and 25 kgf for two spikes. About four times more than the "hospital average"!
And with Nokian tires there was an incident: on one of the tires we found three spikes without carbide inserts. The comment from Nokian experts sounded like this:
This year we changed the supplier of the studs, and, apparently, he made a defect. We'll figure out.
On Tiguan, I wound circles along the handling track, and Uncle Vanya and Andrei Mokhov worked on a Volvo V70: they measured the acceleration time and braking distance on ice. A front wheel drive Volvo with rear brakes disengaged allows measurements by changing only the front wheels, helping to keep the weather out.
On each set, they do six to eight brakes, the same number of accelerations - for collecting statistics. And periodically they repeat the measurements on the tires, which were the first (we call them basic), in order to then correct the results taking into account the changes in the weather and the state of the ice. On a long and wide track, these conditions do not change so quickly, especially since Uncle Vanya brakes and accelerates every time in a new place, but with me - literally with every lap. Very slippery at first. Soon, a notch from the cleats appears on the trajectory, and the coefficient of traction increases - the circle time improves. Then, in the corners, the amount of ice chipped by the spikes increases, and the time on the "base" tires again becomes worse, that is, it increases ... As a result, taking into account the correction with the base tires in this exercise, the advantage of the Continental ContilceContact 4x4 tires was recorded. But the spikes in these tires protrude from the tread most of all - on average by 1.6 mm, and individual inserts stick out by 1.9 mm. In Finland, this is prohibited - according to the rules aimed at reducing damage to the road surface, the studs should not protrude more than 1.2 mm. We have such standards only in the project - if they are approved, then the item will appear in the technical regulations: "The protrusion of the stud beyond the tread - 1.2 ± 0.3 mm." In the meantime - even if you drive a sporty seven-millimeter spike - no one will say a word. This is what Continental is using. True, it is not clear why others do not use it - they fear deterioration of "asphalt" characteristics?
Shadrichev and Mokhov outweigh the equipment on the Tiguan and again go to the ice track - now in order to simulate an emergency, or rather, an attempt to go around a sudden obstacle using braking. The car accelerates to 30 km / h, Uncle Vanya hits the brake pedal and at the same time turns the steering wheel half a turn. Our measurements have shown that it is easier to avoid an unpleasant collision with a "deer" on Michelin or Continental tires than, say, on Yokohama or Bridgestone tires. How do Nokian tires perform?
After a snowfall, we were able to measure the acceleration dynamics of the car in deep snow - Nokian, Nordman and Yokohama tires "row" better than others.
Representatives of the company work in neighboring boxes and do not interfere with the process of our tests. So I approached the question - and caused considerable surprise:
Is Nokian worse on ice than Continental? Can not be! We have redesigned the Hakkapeliitta 7 tires this year with the advice of Porsche engineers. Outwardly, they are the same, but they have changed something in the design.
The Finns ask if they can come with us. Mika, a local tester, gets behind the wheel, I'm on the right - and we go to the “icy” handling track. First a couple of laps on Continental tires, then on Nokian tires. Mika is perplexed: the results are really not in favor of the Finnish tires.
Now the same exercises, but on packed snow. Here, studs are no longer the determining factor - and the hegemony of Continental tires comes to an end. Michelin tires win on acceleration, Gislaved tires on braking, Pirelli is preferable when avoiding the "deer". And on the handling track, Nokian tires perform better than others: best lap time and maximum score for driving comfort. Eh, still ESP on Tiguan would turn off completely, otherwise you go as if with a strict instructor in a driving school ...
The coverage here also changes, but in a different way: a track is formed. Five or six laps - and I'm going to change tires, and at this time a snowcat with a wide scraper knife drives out onto the track - and the coating is as good as new. Immediately on the handling track, I met live, not virtual, deer. Fortunately, this happened already on the road, when I slowed down - six deer blocked the whole road! If they had entered the track two turns earlier, they would hardly have done without casualties.
It remains to estimate the permeability. The Finns themselves do not carry out such tests, so it turned out to be difficult to find a suitable area with moderately deep snow. Either impassable virgin land, or perfectly cleaned roads. We found a site on the lake with a snow layer of about 30 cm. Even Tiguanu had the most fog lights. We crawl across the virgin soil on each set of tires - with slipping, vnatyag, that is, on the verge of slipping ... There is a shovel in the trunk, and a duty pickup with a cable is in touch. We only needed his help once, when the Tiguan was on Pirelli tires: he could not get back on the track he had just made on the same tires. And this, by the way, is one of the main criteria for evaluating tires from the point of view of cross-country ability: the car is obliged to leave the place where it drove slowly, without preliminary acceleration.
The next day, nature helped us take measurements that we have long dreamed of. After a snowfall, the test roads were covered with an approximately 15 cm layer of snow. And now we can estimate the dynamics of acceleration after a snowfall, when the roads have not yet been cleared. Five or six starts on a Volvo with slipping on each set of tires - and we find out that the car accelerates best on virgin soil on Nokian, Nordman and Yokohama tires. And worse - on Michelin tires.
After testing, we carefully inspect the tires and calculate the spike losses. Of course, minus the two that we ourselves ripped out before the tests. The losses turned out to be small - one or two spikes per set. And the tires Continental, Nokian, Nordman and, what is especially pleasant for us, Kama did not lose a single stud. And only the condition of the Pirelli tires is like thunder in February. On one of the four tires, we counted 21 empty "holes", and there were 32 in total! Should you buy studded tires if they turn into studless tires at the end of winter?
With the winter testing done, we paused until spring to continue testing at Nokian Tires' summer training ground.
As a matter of fact, we could carry out "asphalt" tests on the Dmitrovskiy car range, but we went to Tampere mainly because here we can also assess the tendency of tires to slash-surfacing on snow-water slurry. The phenomenon, by the way, is dangerous and widespread. In spring, our road workers often shovel wet snow from the curbs into the middle of the road so that it melts faster under the wheels of cars, and if the layer of such "liquid" snow is only two centimeters, the tires lose contact with the road already at a speed of 37 km / h - the car becomes unmanageable! It would be nice to remember these numbers and road builders.
It is at a speed of 37 km / h that Nokian and Nordman tires float up. And others lose reliable contact with the road even earlier - Yokohama does not allow accelerating to 34 km / h. It would seem that the difference is small, but in real conditions this means that a car on some tires will only slightly slip in a corner, while on others it risks being in the oncoming lane.
We conduct the following exercises mainly for those who winter in large cities, and they drive mainly on asphalt.
Braking from 80 km / h on wet asphalt, from 100 km / h on dry, "rearrangement" - and once again it becomes clear that tires shining on slippery surfaces do not work well on asphalt. Take braking at least: if on summer tires, according to our measurements (AP No. 17, 2008), the Tiguan stops from 100 km / h after 42.3 meters, then on winter tires the braking distance on asphalt increases by an average of ten meters!
And finally, comfort. First, the acoustic one. I maintain the same speed on the "test" sections of the road, and Andrey Mokhov, sitting next to me, is holding a sound level meter. However, even without a sound level meter, it is clear that the louder than other Continental and Nokian tires. But even these "loud" tires are not annoying. And the quietest in the test were Russian tires Kama-515.
And on a track with artificial unevenness (asphalt ledges, buried wells, etc.), we found that Michelin tires provide the best ride, while Pirelli, Kama and Nordman tires are harsh.
The greatest weight in the final assessment belongs to "ice" properties (35%): ice has been and remains the most dangerous surface on a winter road. In second place is snow (25%), followed by individual lines of cross-country ability (10%) and slashplaning (10%), braking properties on wet asphalt (10%), and five percent each we devote to comfort and behavior on dry asphalt. The favorites have been determined, and they have scored an equal number of points. Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7, Continental ContilceContact 4x4 and Gislaved Nord Frost 5 - choose any, you won't go wrong. The Nordman 4 tires, which are noticeably cheaper, but are only slightly inferior to the leaders according to the test results, would be a quite reasonable choice. The Pirelli Winter Carving Edge is a potentially good winter tire, but the stud quality fails them. Japanese tires in another company might have looked better, but against the background of the "giants" they look pale. It is curious that in the final rating both Bridgestone and Yokohama yielded to domestic tires Kama-515.
Or maybe there is no need for these thorns? Maybe an all-wheel drive car, and even with off-road makings, will be enough with winter tires without studs? Or even spend the whole year on all-seasons? You will find answers to these questions in the next issue of Auto Review.
The test results are shown below in tabular and graphical form.
| Place | Tire | Short description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2-3 |
Continental
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 102 (850 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 11,3 | ||
| 10.0 | |||
| 50 | |||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 130/10 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,6 | ||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 22,5 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Germany | ||
|
With such long spikes, no ice is terrible! Their work is felt immediately, without any measuring equipment. Including by ear - "diamond" thorns with a loud crunch bite into the coating, leaving 10 rows of deep "scars" on its surface. The working part of the cleat protrudes above the tread by an average of 1.6 mm, and some "upstarts" - as much as 1.9 mm! When braking from 50 km / h, Continental tires outperform their closest competitors by 3.6 meters - consider the body of a small car! On an ice track, slip control is minimal, control over the car is excellent ... But in the snow, the ContilceContact tires lose their lead, although the car's behavior remains clear and predictable. And the snowdrifts are not an obstacle to these tires - they work well in deep snow. The main losses are on asphalt, especially on dry: when braking suddenly or changing lanes, the tires are literally smeared on the asphalt. It is good at least that the new technology for fixing the studs excludes their loss even after deliberately aggressive driving on dry land. |
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Adhesion properties on ice. |
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| 1-2-3 |
Gislaved
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 102 (850 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 11,8 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 9.9 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 53 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 130/8 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,3 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | 1 | ||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 5.0 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Germany | ||
|
After the Swedish company Gislaved came under the control of the Continental concern, the products under the Gislaved brand were, as expected, assigned to the so-called second line. Slightly simpler, slightly more affordable than Continental tires. But this year, the Gislaved Nord Frost 5 tires were in our ranking on the same level with the leaders of the "first line" -. Yes, there is no glued-on stud technology, and the ice performance is not as impressive as the ContilceContact 4x4 tires. But the main advantage of Gislaved tires. Excellent balance between "winter" and "asphalt" qualities. Slightly inferior to the ContilceContact 4x4 tires on ice - which is not surprising given the more modest studs! - tires Nord Frost 5 provide the minimum braking distance on snow. And on the track, "snowy" handling gives the car an extremely understandable and even gambling character. In deep snow, Gislaved tires perform well on the verge of stalling, but fail as the slip begins. And on the snow-water porridge they emerge earlier than many competitors. On wet asphalt - minimum braking distance! Yes, and on a dry surface, everything is not bad: confident lane change, confident braking. And also these tires are one of the most comfortable - soft and quiet. An excellent option for winter operation in large cities. |
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Braking properties on snow and wet asphalt. |
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| 1-2-3 |
Nokian
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 102 (850 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 12.4 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 10.0 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 51 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 130/14 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,4 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | |||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 7.0 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Finland | ||
|
Winter tires Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 in the "crossover" dimension 215/65 R16 did not perform as confidently as in the past. However, this did not prevent them from sharing the first place with Continental and Gislaved tires. On ice, diamond-shaped studs work well in the longitudinal direction, but they lose ground in turns: the slides are stretched and sometimes difficult to control, even despite the support of a non-disconnectable stabilization system. But on the snow - perfect control over the car and as a result - the best time for passing a winding track. And in loose snow, Nokian tires are in their element - the car very confidently makes its way through the virgin soil! The protector copes very well with the removal of snow-water slurry from the contact patch. On wet asphalt, the result is average, but on dry, like Continental tires, problems are already showing. The soft protector "folds", which increases the braking distance and decreases the speed of the "changeover". In terms of comfort, it is also far from the best option. Although the spikes and click a little quieter than the "protruding" spikes of Continental tires, but the passages of seams and joints are accompanied by a more noticeable vibroacoustic accompaniment. However, the spikes hold well even without glue! |
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| 4 |
Nokian
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 102 (850 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 11.5 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 10.0 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 48 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 130/12 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,2 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | |||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 6.9 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Russia | ||
|
The Nordman tires came to the end of the test with a minimal lag from the top three. No surprise: the tread pattern is similar to the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 4 tires, which shone in our tests a few years ago. And Nordman tires are produced on the same equipment. And in some exercises on ice, the Nordman tires even beat Nokian, but in the end they lost all the same - including due to sudden breakdowns in sliding on the handling track. On snow, the car behaves better - quickly and accurately responds to control on the edge and beyond the edge of sliding, although the grip properties are not the highest. Spin acceleration in deep snow is just as effective as with Nokian tires, but pulling requires caution. After stopping, it was not immediately possible to get back on its own track. There are no complaints about resistance to slashplenning. And on asphalt, Nordman tires work well - they were the ones that allowed to perform the "rearrangement" with the best speed. A worthy option for urban winter operation. And relatively affordable. |
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High resistance to slushplaning. |
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| 5 |
Pirelli
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 98 (750 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 11.8 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 10.0 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 50 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 130/12 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,3 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | 32 | ||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 4.2 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Great Britain | ||
|
Yes, yes, after driving on snow and ice - without driving on asphalt! - four Pirelli tires have lost 32 studs! One of the tires, on which we missed twenty spikes, stood out especially! It's a pity, because the tires managed to show good results in driving disciplines. And on the snow, Pirelli is in the lead. True, it was not easy for the expert to achieve a high result on a winding snow track due to early slides. An ordinary driver, and even a car without ESP, will hardly be pleased with such a sweeping "figure skating". We were convinced of the waywardness of Pirelli tires in deep snow - at some point the car stops and not a step back. On the asphalt, the Pirelli winter tires proved to be more flexible. Were it not for the catastrophic loss of studs, we would have classified the Pirelli Winter Carving Edge tires as a sensible purchase. In the meantime, we will wait for changes in studding technology - and a chance to make sure that the result has been achieved. |
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Snow grip. |
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| 6 |
Michelin
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 102 (850 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 10.8 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 10.0 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 50 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 128/12 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,5 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | 1 | ||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 3.5 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Russia | ||
|
Michelin tires are not yet transitioning to faceted studs. It seems in vain. On ice, they work perfectly in the transverse direction: driving a car along the handling track is easy and pleasant, and when avoiding an obstacle - and even the best result! But they do not adhere well to the ice during acceleration and braking, giving way to the Russian Kama tires with their primitive four-row studding! On snow, the situation is better, but this is only true for rolled snow. When its layer reaches 15 cm, the situation changes dramatically - when accelerating with slipping, Michelin already loses to competitors. And on the asphalt - "confusion and swaying": on a wet surface - the maximum braking distance, and on dry the situation is much better. But the handling is already letting down - the car performs the "rearrangement" with laziness. But with comfort, everything is unambiguous - the tires are quiet and very soft. As a result - not the most stable, but very comfortable tires. And the spikes, unlike the Pirelli tires, are not scattered, although we pulled them out with a little effort. |
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Ice handling. |
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| 7 |
Kama
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | Q (160 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 102 (850 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 12.3 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 9.3 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 58 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 128/4 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,2 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | |||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 5.1 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Russia | ||
|
The tires are not the first freshness, and we did not expect any revelations. And they took them because they simply did not find more modern Russian models of dimension 215/65 R16. The rubber is tougher than that of imported competitors, and the steel housings of the studs were covered with a yellow coating of rust by the beginning of the tests. But the very first trip to the ice - and Kama tires "go around" Bridgestone when braking. And when overclocked - also Michelin! On the ice circle - the third result in the "absolute"! The tires also behaved well on the handling track. Here are some rusty thorns. When accelerating and braking on the snow, the Kama tires are again ahead of the "Japanese". It was only on the handling track that the car began to skid too abruptly. In loose snow, the Kama tires do not work very confidently in tension, but slipping helps. Another surprise is the good resistance to slashplanning. Better only Nokian and Nordman. And the results are good on asphalt. On the "rearrangement" the car reacts more sharply to the first impulse - as if it were on summer tires, but with the start of sliding, the grip on the asphalt deteriorates too sharply. Kama tires, as expected, were among the toughest. And, unexpectedly, the quietest. At least in the opinion of our sound level meter, although by ear they "sing" no quieter than Michelin or Bridgestone. with a higher voice. The tires are quite affordable, and judging by our test, this is not the case when the mean pays twice. |
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Transverse grip on ice. |
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| 8 |
Yokohama
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 102 (850 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 12.2 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 9.9 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 53 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 128/12 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,3 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | 2 | ||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 4.8 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Philippines | ||
|
The Yokohama IG35 tires were introduced last year and, frankly, we expected more from them. Alas: mediocre grip on ice in the longitudinal direction and frankly low - in the transverse direction. The car reluctantly reacts to steering turns, so in a critical situation on an icy road, the driver will have a hard time. And on the icy track of handling, the tires endow the car with such understeer that even after a sudden release of gas, it continues to slip outward treacherously. In the snow. on the contrary, the tires do not hold well in the longitudinal direction, and work better in the lateral direction. In deep snow, Yokohama "row" confidently - both with slipping and pulling. On a snow-water slurry, the tires blundered, although with such a spreading “tree” of the tread, we expected it to be more efficiently removed from the contact patch. On the asphalt, Japanese tires are in their element - they are especially good when braking on dry surfaces: from a speed of 100 km / h they reduce the braking distance by as much as five meters when compared with Continental tires. Comfort is average, and in general, mediocre tires with a balance of characteristics biased towards the asphalt. |
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Adhesion properties on asphalt. |
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| 9 |
Bridgestone
|
Dimension | 215 / 65R16 |
| Speed index | T (190 km / h) | ||
| Lifting capacity index | 98 (750 kg) | ||
| Weight, kg | 12.6 | ||
| Tread depth, mm | 10.0 | ||
| Shore hardness of tread rubber, unit | 56 | ||
| Number of studs / studding lines | 130/16 | ||
| Spike protrusion, mm | 1,3 | ||
| Losses of studs after winter tests, pcs. | 1 | ||
| Effort of pulling out a thorn, kgf | 5.7 | ||
| Manufacturer country | Japan | ||
|
The Bridgestone Ice Cruiser 7000 tires seem to be made specifically for Russia: in the Scandinavian countries, Bridgestone offers another model, the Noranza, which Nokian Tires produces at its Finnish plant under an off-take agreement. And if Noranza tires in tests carried out by our European colleagues confidently compete with Nokian and Continental tires, IceCruiser 7000 can only compete with Russian tires. Acceleration and braking on ice - the worst results. Not everything is smooth on the handling track either: slides start early, and you don't know what to expect: front axle drift or rear skid. And in the snow, Bridgestone is lagging behind. On the handling track it is very difficult to control sliding - and, even in spite of the ESP insurance, a couple of times I still had to “lean” on a snowdrift. Bridgestone tires perform well in deep snow, but they are not on friendly terms with slip. The tires do well with wet snow. But they perform even better on asphalt, both dry and wet. The car slows down well and avoids obstacles with confidence. Despite the last place in the final protocol, there is no need to talk about the complete uselessness of the Bridgestone Ice Cruiser 7000 tires. This is another option for winter tires for large cities, but when you find yourself on ice or snow, you need to be extremely careful! |
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Adhesion properties on dry and wet asphalt. | |||
