If you live in the upper portions of the Northern Hemisphere, snow could start falling in a matter of weeks or maybe a few months. This means it's the perfect time to start considering a set of winter tires for your vehicle. Jonathan Benson from Tyre Reviews is here to evaluate the best cold-weather rubber for the 2023-2024 season.
Benson selects 11 winter tires. Plus, he chooses an all-season and summer design to show how much of a difference there is from using cold-weather-specific rubber. All of them are size 225/45 R18, and he uses a BMW 3 Series as the evaluation vehicle.
He evaluates the:
- Michelin Pilot Alpin 5
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
- Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2
- Hankook Winter i*Cept Evo 3
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
- Kumho Winter Craft WP52
- Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
- Giti GitiWinterW2
- Leao Winter Defender UHP
- Falken Eurowinter HS02 Pro
The all-season tire is the Hankook Kineregy 4S2, and the summer tire is the Hankook Ventus Prime 4.
Benson puts the tires through a variety of evaluations. He starts by testing on a snow-covered circuit. The Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 clocks the quickest time of 84.26 seconds, and the Falken Eurowinter HS02 Pro is the slowest at 90.66 seconds. The Hankook all-season rubber gets the 3 Series around the course in 87.12 seconds. The Ventus Prime 4 summer tire gives the BMW a lap time of 122.18 seconds.
Benson also singles out the Hankook Winter i*Cept Evo 3 for providing the most feedback through the steering wheel and giving the driver confidence when driving on the snow.
Driving in the winter is about more than just snow. Once the plow drivers get their work done, the streets might just be wet. Benson also evaluates the tires on a soaked circuit. The Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 is the winner by clocking a time of 56.33 seconds. The second-place Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 does a lap in 57.53 seconds – over a second slower.
At the end of the video, Benson ranks all 11 tires from worst to best. There's a tie for the winner.
If you don't want to think about snow and winter, Benson also has a video comparing high-performance tires versus pure racing rubber. Another clip from him compares the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 against the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
If you'd like to hear more from Jonathan Benson, check out his appearance on Rambling About Cars:
