magazine and website tyre tests, independent tyre tests, manufacturer tyre tests
German magazine, Offroad has “highly recommended” four out the five 4×4 winter tyres tested on snow, ice, wet, and dry surfaces. Mounted in size 245/65 R17 H on Volkswagen’s Amarok Canyon, the Goodyear Ultra Grip+ SUV, Nankang Winter Activa SV-55, Nokian WR SUV 3, Michelin Latitude Alpin LA2, and Pirelli Scorpion Winter participated in the […]
Goodyear and Dunlop are celebrating taking first and second place in the 2015 Auto Express winter tyre test, details of which were released this week. Auto Express tested eight premium tyre brands in 225/45 R17 at Nokian’s ‘White Hell’ proving ground in Ivalo, northern Finland. There were 14 intensive tests on snow, wet and dry as well as noise and rolling resistance.
Mitas reports that the development of its PneuTrac concept has reached a new milestone with the start of field tests. According to the company, these show the advantages of the product’s larger footprint and better tractive force over standard but also IF agricultural tyres. Thanks to positive progress in testing, Mitas has outlined its goals for further development of PneuTrac. The aim is to measure and compare characteristics of Mitas PneuTrac and rubber tracks during 2016 to clearly position PneuTrac among tyre and track solutions offered on the market. Mitas’ goal is to have all data needed for a successful market launch available by the end of 2017.
Even during its third year on the market, Continental’s WinterContact TS 850 is a frontrunner in many winter tyre tests. Following its recent victory in this year’s GTÜ size 225/50 R17 test and the 205/55 R16 comparative test conducted by Germany’s ADAC, Austria’s ÖAMTC and Switzerland’s TCS, the WinterContact TS 850 has secured a second consecutive victory in the size 185/65 R15 winter test performed by German motoring magazine Autozeiting. The publication describes the tyre as “invariably safe, fast and balanced.
Some industry observers assumed that the CrossClimate, the Michelin summer tyre certified for winter use, would blow away the competition in this year’s spate of all-season tyre tests. However results from the Auto Bild test published last week (issue 39/2015) show this not to be the case – a new tyre from former all-season segment top dog Goodyear dominated the results.
Every autumn the largest motoring associations in Germany (ADAC), Austria, (ÖAMTC) and Switzerland (TCS) publish the largely-identical results of their combined winter tyre test. The information presented here is drawn from the ÖAMTC’s reportage and covers the comparative test of 16 size 165/70 R 14T tyres on a VW Polo and 19 size 205/55 R16H tyres on a VW Golf. The results of the two tests show frugality in bestowing the ‘outstanding’ rating – no tyre in either test received this – yet four tyres effectively failed the test with a rating of ‘not recommended’.
Victory has gone to Nokian Tyres in both the studded and non-studded categories of the winter tyre test conducted by Finnish publication Tekniikan Maailma (World of Technology). The test of 12 studded size 205/55 R16 tyres and eight non-studded 205/55 R16 tyres appeared in issue (17/2015) and saw the Nokian tyres pitted against a range of premium, mid-range and budget tyres.
In its annual winter tyre performance survey, German motoring publication AutoBild narrows a wide field of 49 winter tyres and two all-season tyres with wet and snow braking measurements before conducting a full test of a range of characteristics. 19 tyres made it through to the 2015/16 season test, conducted using the tyre size 185/60 R15.
Millbrook, the well-known vehicle test, validation and engineering service provider, signed a contract to acquire specialist winter test centre Test World on 14 September. No price-tag has been publically released.
German vehicle inspection organisation the Gesellschaft für Technische Überwachung (GTÜ) has released one of the season’s first winter tyre tests, and the result are mostly positive. The test of eight size 225/50 R17 H/V tyres was jointly carried out with the Autoclub Europa (ACE), using a BMW 320i as test vehicle. The tyres were subjected to the usual snow, ice and wet tests.
Auto Express has named the Nokian Weatherproof as its number one all-season car tyre in its survey of the segment. Testing a modest six tyres at Nokian’s test centre in Ivalo, Finland for winter conditions and at Contidrom, Germany for summer conditions, the test was a first for the magazine, highlighting the growth trend Tyrepress.com has noted in the UK market for such products. The Nokian Weatherproof was declared the test winner, and an Auto Express ‘Best Buy’, perhaps unsurprisingly sweeping away the competition in the winter tests (the winter rubber specialist uses Test World to test its tyres). The test’s most notable omission is Michelin’s self-professed “game-changer”, the 2015 launched CrossClimate. The French manufacturer has responded hawkishly to references to the new product as an all-season tyre despite its year-round applicability, though tyre test coordinator Kim Adams noted that its March 2015 launch was “just too late” for the tyre to be included.
The Maxxis AP2 all-season passenger car tyre was rated in fourth place in a series of performance tests recently carried out by Auto Express magazine. Maxxis scored an average of 95.4 per cent over a total of 14 disciplines, surpassing the score of comparative tyres from the likes of global giants Pirelli and Bridgestone.
The new Goodyear Vector4Seasons Generation 2 tyre has ranked highly in Auto Express’ latest edition to its tyre test portfolio – the All Season Tyre Test 2015.
Compared with other international tyres, ZC Rubber reports that its Goodride Sport SA-37 has “obvious advantages”, especially in terms of wet braking test and with relation to the 225/45 R17 size.
Recent ads from Continental cockily ask ‘Who says you can’t win them all?’ The tyre maker raises a fair point – it has enjoyed a good run of test victories in recent times, with its ContiPremiumContact 5 topping the ADAC and Auto Bild tyre tests in Germany and the ContiSportContact 5 claiming victory in this year’s auto motor und sport summer tyre test. Here in the UK, the ContiSportContact 5 was named top tyre in the recent Auto Express test of 11 size 225/45R17 tyres, and now evo magazine has named the ContiSportContact 5 winner of its summer tyre test – for the second year in a row.
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