Consumer Reports: 2012 Winter Tire test results

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Looks like CR has released their 2012 winter tire test results online, for subscribers only. I'm not a subscriber, so don't know the details. But I am curious how the new Michelin X-Ice Xi3 stacked up.

These tires were tested, I believe:

BF Goodrich Winter Slalom KSI
Bridgestone Blizzak WS70
Continental ExtremeWinterContact
Dunlop Graspic DS-3
Falken Espia EPZ
Firestone Winterforce
General Altimax Arctic
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT
Hankook Winter i*Pike
Hankook I*Cept Evo
Michelin X-Ice Xi2
Michelin X-Ice Xi3
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R
Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7
Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero Serie II
Pirelli Winter Ice
Unifoyal Tiger Paw Ice & Snow II
Yokohama iceGuard ig20

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/...gs-overview.htm
 
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Originally Posted By: kkreit01
If one subscribes to the mailed magazine, is the online version free? I have not received that issue yet.


Not free, $20 per year
 
x ice 3 and 2 were top two although wet and dry braking are poor. Hankook i cept evo was 3rd. Blizzak Ws 70 was 6th and the fan favorite on here, the general altimax Arctic was 11 out of 16. All of the tires tested did well in the snow but handling,
and braking left much to be desired.

They also updated their all season
tires as well. Michelin defender is number 1.
 
Good to see the X-Ice maintaining its supremacy. I think Bridgestone needs to step up their game with the WS-series.

Curious how the Hakkas did. Those are a long-time favorite too.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Good to see the X-Ice maintaining its supremacy. I think Bridgestone needs to step up their game with the WS-series.

Curious how the Hakkas did. Those are a long-time favorite too.


Haks are awesome for sure. Had Hakka Q's on my Maxima and they were amazing.
Still think the Altimax Arctic is one of the best overall snow tires I have ever used. I have Hankook 409 iPikes right now and they're pretty good, but I miss my Altimax Arctics.
 
Originally Posted By: mikered30
x ice 3 and 2 were top two although wet and dry braking are poor. Hankook i cept evo was 3rd. Blizzak Ws 70 was 6th and the fan favorite on here, the general altimax Arctic was 11 out of 16. All of the tires tested did well in the snow but handling,
and braking left much to be desired......


Thanks for that information. I assume those were the overall rankings. Would you mind answering two more questions?

What were the top 3 winter tires in the ice braking test?
What were the top 3 winter tires in the snow acceleration test?
 
I'll go out on a limb here and guess that the differences among the top performers are very slim. I think at some point its splitting hairs and they all perform similarly.

In the end it still proves that no single tire is a jack-of-all-trades. It comes down to trade-offs.
 
Here are the top few.

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My Firestone Winterforce tires seem to be poorly rated. I can tell you they are noisy. However this will be at least the third winter for these tires. This may be their last year.

Been adequate here in KY as we usualy get the follow sequence: ice, then snow, then slush, then rain and then sunshine. Repeat all winter.
 
There are 2 categories of winter tires. The X-Ice3 in the Winter Tire group scored a 62 total, while in the Performance Winter category the Nokian's WRG2 scored a 76. X-Ice have edge in ice braking...
 
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Did they compare the WRG2s to any of the pure winter (rated) tires?

Just wondering how they compare now to the newer, pure winter rubber (especially the H, and V rated 'performance/Euro' donuts).
 
Originally Posted By: kkreit01
....... I have not received that issue yet.


It should be in the November print issue.
 
If you have an online subscription, you can also read digital versions of the print magazine.

The November issue hasn't been posted yet.
 
The Firestone Winterforce are good winter tires, I have a studded set for my Focus and it's great in the snow!

I read a lot of reviews that said the tires were hard to balance and shook a lot ... I'll have to agree, I have one that shakes real bad and I've replaced the wheel and had it balanced multiple times.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
I'll go out on a limb here and guess that the differences among the top performers are very slim. I think at some point its splitting hairs and they all perform similarly...........


IMO, it is impossible to tell what the differences are between tires with the opaque "colored circle" rating system CR uses. For instance, if tire A is rated "excellent" for ice braking from 10mph, and tire B is rated "good", what is the difference in actual braking distances between them? 6 inches? 20 inches? 60 inches? CR does not reveal that information. With CR, all we get are relative rankings.
 
lets weigh in dry braking and wet braking.. on a snow tire test.

Obviously If I put max traction type snowtires I'm expecting that to be lower.

also their whole donut system is uninformative and arbitrary.
 
Relative rankings seem better than the customer reviews available at many other places.

As far as the ratings being uninformative and arbitrary - I don't agree. All red = excellent. All black = poor. You can probably figure out the rest.
 
Yes and no with 5 grade system. If tire has all excellent marks it is easy but tires are full of compromises. Do you trade excellent snow traction for mediocre dry? Other drivers will be driving faster in dry conditions, will you stay in the right lane?

When tire has excellent snow and ice but black dot for wet and dry how does it handle slush?

My winter driving is mostly dry, then wet, then snow and I try to stay indoors when it is ice. I use performance winter tires. I wonder how they did in test.

Krzys

PS Somehow the USA is being starved for new performance winter tires. No clue why.
 
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The winterforce is a great tire...but for a similar price, the General Altimax Arctic is a better value.

My budget for snow tires this year points me to the Generals.

I was interested in the Hankook Icept EVO, as I was fairly happy with the old Icebear W300's
 
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