The "Autoreview" magazine tested seven models of studded winter tires

The Russian magazine "Autoreview" conducted comparative tests of seven models of studded tires in size 205/55 R16 in the middle and lower price segments, using a Geely Emgrand sedan as the test vehicle.

After the departure of major tire players from Russia, the situation on the local market has changed significantly, and in the premium segment, only Pirelli remains officially, which owns factories in Voronezh and Kirov. Since many car owners want to save money when buying tires, the Formula Ice model from the second-line brand was chosen from the Pirelli range. In the Russian Federation, the Japanese Yokohama also continues to operate, which manufactures, among other things, Yokohama iceGUARD iG65 tires at its Lipetsk plant, which were introduced in 2017 and also added to the list of participants.

Also tested were Kumho WinterCraft ice Wi32 tires, which received modified studs from the Finnish company Scason during their market launch, and the Maxxis Premitra Ice Nord 5 model from the Taiwanese manufacturer. In addition, three tires from Chinese brands were tested: Linglong Green-Max Winter Grip 2, Sailun Ice Blazer WST3, and Triangle IcelynX TI501. While Sailun has a relatively small number of studs, contrary to current trends, Linglong exceeded even Michelin X-Ice North 4 (252 vs 250) in terms of the number of studs, which once set a record for this indicator, and Triangle also has a sufficient number of studs (200), which, however, did not prevent them from failing in the recent UTAC test, where they had an unreasonably long braking distance on ice.

Since there were no premium products in the AR test, this allowed Yokohama tires, which usually occupied places in the middle of the rating, to rise to the first place. The iG65 won due to very good performance on ice (it is noted that the quality of the studs has been improved) and high traction on snow, both on compacted and loose snow. The results on asphalt and the level of comfort are average.

The second place was taken by Linglong tires, whose numerous studs provide good acceleration and braking efficiency on ice, and the directional tread pattern (which is quite similar to the design of Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8) helps the tires to "dig out" of snowdrifts. Traction on asphalt and comfort are also acceptable, and overall, Linglong did not become the best in any discipline, but they also did not have any significant drawbacks, which indicates a good balance of characteristics (in the UTAC test, the tire in the same size took the last place, but there were more serious competitors).

The bronze medal goes to the Formula Ice tire, which was released over ten years ago (its premiere took place in 2013) and, despite the relatively small number of studs by modern standards, still works quite effectively on icy surfaces. On snow, traction is also good, both during acceleration and braking, and when maneuvering, although skidding can start relatively sharply. Formula also has good braking qualities on asphalt, but these are quite noisy tires, which is especially tiring at speeds up to 60 km/h.

Kumho tires performed well in ice and snow tests, although it's not as easy to get out of snowdrifts on them as it might seem from the aggressive tread pattern. Kumho also provides good acoustic comfort, and in the AR test, the reliability of the stud mounting was noted, but the braking distance on wet pavement was the longest among all the tested tires.

The fifth place was shared by Maxxis and Sailun tires, the first of which unpleasantly surprised with extremely weak traction on ice, which was associated with a very small stud protrusion (0.08 mm on one of the tires). On snow, the tires take a long time to restore traction after the start of skidding, while on asphalt, the indicators are excellent, and Maxxis were also the quietest tires in the test. In turn, Sailun works well on ice and quickly stops the car on snow (in the handling test on a snowy track, blurry reactions to steering wheel turns were noted), while the indicators on asphalt are average, and the main claims were related to the "awful hum" at any speed. Thus, the tires are suitable for those who mostly drive on snow and ice in the winter, and for large cities, such noisy tires are not recommended.

The rating is closed by Triangle tires, which performed poorly on both ice and snow, and are much better suited for use on asphalt, where they were even able to stop the car faster than all their competitors on wet pavement. In addition, the tires have a low noise level, and they can be recommended to those who often drive on cleared roads in the winter.

Full test results can be found on the Autoreview website.

Image: 4Legend.com.