Testworld publishes winter and studded tyre tests

Artic tyre and vehicle test centre Testworld has published a winter and studded tyre test database called safewintertyre.eu. The centre based in Ivalo, Finland has published the results of 128 tyres categories as studded, un-studded Nordic and un-studded mid-Europe. And while the first two categories are fairly specialised, the last contains one performance metric for 49 mainstream winter tyres. So far the tests are limited to what the firm calls “ice braking” metrics, which set the tyres against an as-yet unnamed standard reference tyre.

The decision to focus on “ice braking” is an interesting one. Bearing in mind the fact that winter tyres are always at a disadvantage when it comes to European tyre labelling – just think back to the Nokian winter tyre label fiasco last year – it could be that the intention is to provide a balancing fact until or unless there is a change in the law.

However, with such an emphasis on the extreme end of the spectrum the data is likely to be ignored by the mass market. And tyres being rated as 206% for the winner Nokian Hakka 8 (studded) and the best non studded Hakka R2 getting 160% it would be helpful to know what tyre provides the 100% mark.