Bridgestone Blizzak LM 005 continues winter tyre test dominance, but others better on snow

German consumer automotive magazine Auto Motor und Sport (AMS) has published the first winter tyre test of the season, pitting seven high-performance 20-inch profiles against each other. The clear overall winner was the reigning WhatTyre Winter Tyre of the Year, Bridgestone’s Blizzak LM 005, yet the tyre benefitted from the magazine’s decision to reduce the share of snow performance in the overall score to 20 per cent; the tyre was rated lower than all but one of the other six competitors in the test. The Stuttgart-based testers fitted 255/45 R20 105V XL tyres on both conventional and electric Kias.

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 (Photo: Bridgestone)

The test-winning Bridgestone Blizzak LM 005’s distinctly average showing on snow reveals the challenge winter tyre engineers face when bringing new products into the European market. Previously considered the flagship discipline of a winter tyre, the significance of tyres’ performance on snow is frequently downgraded, with wet and even dry performance more heavily weighted by testers in producing overall results. One reason for this is the infrequency with which snow affects average motorists’ journeys in the major European markets. The technical improvements of modern all-season tyres, which have rubber compounds engineered for a much broader operational range than seasonal equivalents, are resulting in accelerating sales in the segment, usually at the cost of winter tyre sales. Of course, winter tyres still offer improved performance at very low temperatures. Yet the perceived value of tyres’ performance on snow in particular is being eroded – even in tests looking at full-winter tyres.

The AMS test winner from Bridgestone excelled on both dry and wet roads, which accounted for 30 and 35 per cent of the total test mark. In the wet category, the Blizzak LM 005 was exceptionally strong, missing out on a perfect grade by only one-tenth. Combined with a comparatively reasonable purchase price, this is why the tyre is able to call itself the AMS winter test winner, despite an underwhelming snow performance grade. According to tester Thiemo Fleck, the tyre is best suited to the “Central European winter.” It was the only tyre ranked “outstanding” thanks to an overall score of 9.2.

4 “very good” tyres show different priorities

Drivers in northern or alpine regions would be well advised to consider other tyres in this test, since snow performance is much more likely to be a greater consideration. Very much the best of these was the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV, which secured the perfect 10.0 grade on snow. According to the testers, the tyre is the “snow specialist”, offering exceptional traction, cornering, and braking performance on the white stuff. AMS explains that this performance results in “acceptable weaknesses on wet and dry asphalt due to conflicting objectives” with an overall “best possible balance”. The Michelin tyre ended up with a very good overall grade and third place in the overall ranking.

Splitting these two diametrically opposed variations on the winter tyre concept was the Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 3, whose best balance of performance characteristics was rewarded with second place. AMS said the new Goodyear tyre is close to the top “in all weathers,” and its ranking above Michelin’s snow specialist was largely achieved based on its better performance in typical Central European wet and dry winter conditions.

Looking at environmental characteristics – the fourth broad performance category tested, and worth 15 per cent of the total grade – the Continental WinterContact TS 870 P was the best in the AMS test. Its fourth position overall reflects some trade-offs made to achieve low rolling resistance according to AMS: Conti “bought low rolling resistance through restrictions on wet braking.” Accordingly, the tyre recorded the lowest grade in wet performance among the seven tyres, though at 7.4 out of 10, this was no disaster. The Conti tyre was rewarded with 8.2 overall, -0.4 back from Michelin’s snow specialist, but like the Goodyear and Michelin products, this was enough to obtain a “very good” overall rating.

The final tyre to achieve the “very good” was the Pirelli Scorpion Winter 2 Elect. The testers wrote that Pirelli’s latest winter tyre – manufactured with electric vehicle ready features – was “not balanced enough”, above all lacking “a little bit of bite in the wet.” But overall, these relatively minor deductions did not entirely detract from much better snow performance than the test winner, plus “very good” dry performance, led by test-leading dry braking.

Vredestein and Falken winter performance a step down from rivals

The Vredestein Wintrac Pro was AMS’s cheapest tyre in the test, with AMS obtaining the product for 233 euros. The magazine described the tyre as the right one “when arrival counts,” praising (faintly) the tyre’s mastery of “the basics”. The Vredestein tyre overall showed a very good balance of winter tyre performance characteristics, making it similar to the Goodyear tyre, though its scores were a step down. On snow it is “good” and “decent”, on wet conditions it is even “consistently good” and “flawless”, while in dry conditions it is at least “balanced”, which all in all is enough for a “good” overall rating.

The Falken Eurowinter HS 02 Pro was the only tyre in the test to achieve only “satisfactory” overall performance, which will come as a blow for the Sumitomo Rubber Industries flagship brand. Falken tyres compete with more renowned global brands in summer, high-performance, and even all-season tyre tests, but even with a new product, winter performance still shows a significant gap to the best products in the market, according to AMS. After its premiere at Tire Cologne in May 2022, Falken Tire Europe brought the tyre onto the market in time for the last winter tyre season, but with limited competitiveness, AMS struggled to justify the tyre’s hefty price tag (398 euros). Overall, snow performance was the biggest let-down in the test. The Falken tyre was “too weak on snow” and offered “not enough for a winter tyre,” which led to the only downgrade in the test, AMS said. Otherwise the tyre proved only “passable” in the dry (7.3/10), though it offered reasonable wet performance (7.8).