Winter Tyres
The most challenging driving season is ahead of us, and the arrival of winter makes many of us uneasy about driving. Statistically, inexperienced drivers are many times more likely to have a traffic accident, but even newcomers can enjoy driving when their car and tyres are in good condition.
Scottish Borders Council is readying itself for the winter with a move to fitting Michelin XDW Ice Grip tyres across its fleet of gritters. The decision follows a trial during the challenging weather conditions earlier in 2018, when drivers found Michelin’s full-on winter fitments – typically the preserve of fleets operating in the Nordic markets and parts of mainland Europe which see extreme winter conditions – offered a significant increase in grip compared to those fitted with standard tyres.
Hankook Tire says it “is ready for winter” with its Winter i*cept RS 2, Winter i*cept Evo 2 and Winter i*Pike RS 2 ranges, and to prove points to the tyres’ performance in independent tyre tests conducted in Germany, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the UK. The tyre maker notes that the testers praised “above all” the handling and braking characteristics of the Hankook tyres on snow.
The Board of Directors at Nokian Tyres has set new financial targets for 2019-2021. These targets include faster than market growth of more than five per cent CAGR, EBIT at 22 per cent and a shareholders’ dividend of more than 50 per cent of net earnings. Nokian says the
financial targets will guide the company in reaching the strategic ambitions it set in early 2018, which include increasing sales by 50 per cent in Central Europe and doubling them in North America within the next five years.
At a time when many motorists look to make plans to drive abroad for the Christmas break and the start of the ski season, a YouGov survey commissioned by The Motor Ombudsman suggests that 87 per cent of car owners in Great Britain are unaware which countries across the Channel have laws pertaining to winter tyre use.
Continental has unveiled its latest tyre technology innovation, ContiFlexStud. The manufacturer calls this a “whole new type of stud that signifies an exciting revolution in the winter driving experience.” A completely new design, ContiFlexStud is said to deliver dramatically reduced road wear, grip on ice, longer-lasting performance over lifetime and less interior stud noise.
If I were a winter tyre developer at Continental, I’d be getting smug by this point in time. The brand can boast yet another tyre test win, this time with sport auto. The German performance car magazine has named the WinterContact TS 850 P victor of its six-brand test.
A new Continental drive axle tyre developed specifically for fitment on coaches aims to provide passengers with enhanced safety during the winter months. The tyre maker claims its HDW2 Coach “outperforms M+S tyres and exceeds the performance requirements of the 3PMSF certification.”
Ten winter SUV tyres – from premium brands to a so-called “budget tyre from the Far East” – were put to the test in this year’s comparative evaluation from Auto Bild Allrad. The German 4×4/SUV publication examined size 235/60 R18 107H/V products, fitting the tyres to an Audi Q5 for testing in wet, dry and snow disciplines. Happily, the testers found no truly dreadful tyres within the candidates’ ranks.
A new SUV winter range is available from Dębica. Called the Frigo SUV2, the newcomer is described as a “wallet-friendly tyre that is suitable for all winter conditions.” It joins the Frigo 2 and Frigo HP2 in the Dębica winter portfolio and will be available in six sizes. The first three come to market this month and a further two are scheduled to launch before the end of the year.
Point S has launched a new version of its private label winter tyre. The new product’s launch is part of the renewal program of the Point S branded tyre range. It follows the market introduction of the new Summerstar 3+ that took place early this year. To support this, a new European campaign has been introduced this year with the personified tyre characters: the SummerHero and the WinterHero.
Debuting in 1946 and featuring US army runabout the Jeep in its first issue, auto motor und sport (ams to abbreviation-happy Germans) has grown into one of Germany’s leading motoring publications and a regular feature in the tyre testing landscape. After publishing its 2018 all-season test in the first half of September, ams has turned its attention to winter tyres.
Continental’s WinterContact TS 860 has won its third consecutive Auto Express winter tyre test. The tyre beat strong competition from major manufacturers, most notably Hankook, whose Winter i*cept RS2 received a “commended” rating in second place, in a test tweaked this year “to better reflect UK driving conditions”. Outside the winter tyre competition, Auto Express also commented that the all-season control tyre, the Michelin CrossClimate+, not only finished close to the top in dry and wet tests, but was also only behind Hankook’s star performer in the snow – a result Auto Express described as “remarkable”.
September has been packed with tyre tests, with Auto Express, Auto Bild, GTÜ and auto, motor und sport all publishing comparative evaluations of winter and/or all-season tyres. German motoring association ADAC has come to the party with not one, but two winter tyre tests.
For its 2018 winter tyre test, German vehicle inspection organisation GTÜ evaluated nine winter tyres together with German motoring organisation ACE and Austrian counterpart ARBÖ. For good measure, it also tested three all-season tyres alongside the winter rubber. The result? An all-season tyre took second place in the winter test.
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