Snow Tires

This Swedish publication, whose name translates as World of Technology, tests six studded and 11 studless winter tires on its test track on dry, wet, snowy and both polished and roughed-up ice surfaces.… Experts rate each tire on its braking, hydroplaning, road performance, comfort and "the moose test" -- how well the tires handle a sudden swerve, as if to miss a moose standing in the middle of an icy road. Teknikens Värld picks overall winners in both the studded and studless categories, and it lists several winter tires consumers should avoid. All of the tires are from major brands, and five models -- including one of the top-rated tires -- are available in the U.S.

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Motor's SUV winter tire tests are just as thorough and objective as its passenger-tire tests. The icy test track is periodically tested for changing road conditions, and editors run each test multiple times… with each tire (the test SUV is a Kia Sorento). Tests are conducted blindly, so drivers don't know which tires their cars are wearing. Motor evaluates six studded and three studless tires for SUVs. Three of the tires are available in the U.S. -- the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R SUV, Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 SUV and Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3 -- but none rises to the level of a top pick. This article is written in Norwegian.

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In this test, Auto Motor & Sport looks at 10 studless snow tires for mild winters, which are known as Central European-type winter tires. They are designed to grip wet and dry roads well, but tests show… they usually aren't as good as a traditional winter tire on ice and snow. Three tires stand out as the best: the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D, Continental ContiWinterContact TS810 and Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero Serie II (all are available in the U.S.). This article, written in Swedish, details each tire's particular strengths and weaknesses. The Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25, a popular U.S. tire that is top-rated in other reviews, finishes next to last.

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This Swedish magazine tests 15 winter tires -- seven studded and eight studless -- on both polished and roughed-up ice. Tests include a few tires available in the U.S., including the popular Michelin X-Ice… Xi2 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta R, but both land at the bottom of the rankings (the review concludes that studless tires really aren't good on ice). The best winter tire is the studded Gislaved NordFrost 5. Testers also try a couple of street-legal used tires, including a 9-year-old Bridgestone Blizzak. Although the Blizzak performs pretty well considering its age, Motorföraren lists several cautions you must keep in mind if you plan to drive on used winter tires.

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This Canadian nonprofit association is dedicated to protecting consumer interests in the marketplace. It's funded by individual consumers' membership fees, with no subsidies from the automobile, oil or… insurance industries. The APA puts more weight on tires' snow and ice capabilities than some other reviewers, with less concern given to dry-road performance. It has rated 76 winter tires for passenger and performance cars and for SUVs. Readers get only a sentence or two of advice on each tire, but the APA does give each a star rating, making it easy to see which are the best.

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Thousands of consumers contribute to these ratings at TireRack.com, which rank 21 passenger winter tires and eight for light trucks and SUVs. Each tire is scored in 12 categories (ice traction, deep snow… traction, etc.), and the results are presented in easy-to-read charts. Consumers report how many miles they've driven each tire, and on what type of car. TireRack.com averages the scores and ranks the tires accordingly. Users can also click and read narrative consumer reviews for each tire -- usually many reviews, several of which are quite thorough and thoughtful.

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Thirty winter tire models have accumulated consumer reviews at Epinions.com. Several tires have just a handful of reviews, and some reviews are outdated. However, some reviews are recent, thorough and offer… helpful snapshots of the tires' real-life performance. The Bridgestone Blizzak series gets the highest possible rating, with more than 30 reviews. Reviewers also indicate how much they paid for their tires.

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