To determine which rubber is best to use for winter driving, it is better to take advantage of the experience of special tests that are carried out in Sweden and Finland, based on the best manufacturers tires in the world. For the most part, the tires produced there are designed for use in fairly harsh conditions. low temperatures, ice or deep snow. This is where it is best to look for studded or Scandinavian-type friction tires. However, not for every tire different types you can so easily determine the type of profile to use.

Most often, drivers claim that driving on snowy road use a wide profile. Moreover, it should be pointed out that the wide profile can also be very different - varying the width greatly affects what driving performance will come to the fore. So, for the widest and low profile Skidding is most common when turning, especially in snowy conditions. Therefore, in order to cope with the car in such conditions, you will have to make great efforts. The highest maneuverability and controllability are ensured car tires with average performance among wide-profile ones - this is confirmed both by numerous tests and by the direct experience of the drivers who use them.

Which winter tire profile to choose?

Actually, it is incorrect to talk about what type of profile winter tires better because each profile produces different changes in driving performance and has a different effect on the vehicle's movement and performance. Taller and narrow profile clings to the road much better and guarantees higher directional stability when forward movement, especially not on the ground or river ice, and along the highway. Also high profile makes it easy to “cut through” snowdrifts and achieve more high performance speed even in winter. Another thing is that few of the drivers are actually in winter time It's the speed that matters. Although such a requirement for a car may be placed on long highways and intercity travel, when no one wants to drive along a snowy road far from the city in dark time days.

Conclusion

Therefore, when determining which tire is better, it is worth relying on the required conditions of its operation, and not on the characteristics of certain types of rubber, its tread pattern or the features of preparation for movement. In order to feel confident on the road within the city, a wide profile is definitely more suitable.

In the process of choosing winter tires, no unnecessary questions should arise - in the instructions for the car, the manufacturer clearly provides all the standard sizes of tires that can be installed. But, wanting to give the car a sporty character, make it taller and softer, car enthusiasts are ready to violate the manufacturers’ recommendations. And they violate them. And the automakers themselves indicate several different sizes tires for wheels. Larger and wider rims look more impressive. But is it really that simple? Let's try to figure out what kind of tires better in winter- narrow or wide.

What is profile width?

Before talking about the characteristics of wide and narrow tires, it is necessary to find out what profile width is and what it affects. So, this is the distance between the side parts of the tire, which is inflated to the usual manufacturer's recommended condition. The profile size and tread width may not always match. However, there is a pattern - the larger the profile width, the larger the tread. Everyone needs to know this.

Wide and narrow

There have always been debates about which tires are better in winter - narrow or wide. Thus, fans of narrower tires claim that they have a higher specific pressure with a smaller contact patch with the road surface. The opposite side is confident that wide tires have longer sipes, which are responsible for traction in slippery areas.

Experts compared two tire sizes on ice and snow. Thus, the experiment involved Nokian Happelita tires with dimensions 205/55R16 and 225/45R17. To compare the grip performance, four tests were carried out. The car was accelerated on ice, then the braking was checked. Next, acceleration was carried out in the snow, followed by a decrease in speed. The test results were mixed. Winter tires should be narrower or wider - it all depends on the operating conditions and climate of a particular region.

On slippery surfaces, wider tires provide better braking performance. Due to the lamellas, the total length of which is greater, the grip properties on ice are actually better. But it can be taken into account that the car was accelerated to 30 kilometers per hour. Braking was carried out from 30 to 5 kilometers per hour. On a compacted snow surface, the test results were the opposite. In snow, the length of the lamellas has little effect. Important role The reduced contact area with the road also plays a role. This means that the pressure in the contact patch is also greater. This allows the tire to push through the snow. As for the dynamics of acceleration, it is the same on snow.

Test results

Let's see a comparison of narrow and wide winter tires. On snow on narrow tires the car accelerated to 50 kilometers per hour in 3.66 seconds. On wide ones - also for 3.66. But here are the results of braking tests - on narrow tires the car slowed down from 50 to 5 kilometers per hour with a braking distance of 27.11 meters. At wide, the result was 28.99 seconds.

And here's how the tires perform on ice. Acceleration on narrow wheels took 3.84 seconds. On wide ones, the car accelerated a little longer - in 3.55 seconds. The braking characteristics on ice are as follows: braking distance on narrow ones is 17.91 meters, on wide ones - 17.62 meters. Braking was carried out from 30 to 5 kilometers per hour.

As can be seen from the results, both wide and narrow are approximately the same, and in different conditions needed different tires. Therefore, it is difficult to answer the question of which tires are better in winter - narrow or wide.

Wet road tests

The shortest braking distance on wet asphalt provide wider tires. In addition, a car equipped with such tires handles better. But as for hydroplaning, here wide tires showed itself poorly, much worse than the narrow ones.

Dry winter road

Here winter tires are not in their element. But, as tests of winter tires (wide and narrow) have shown, the former significantly improves the car's handling characteristics and shortens the braking distance. But you will have to pay for it in fuel consumption. The wider the rubber, the higher its rolling resistance. This means fuel consumption increases.

Spikes or Velcro

This is also a topic of constant debate between car enthusiasts. Some people think that studless winter tires in our country are ineffective, others think the opposite. Let's see what the average car enthusiast should choose for winter operation car.

Studded tires

In my own way chemical composition Winter tires are much softer than summer tires. But it should be noted that it is rougher, unlike Velcro. Naturally, these tires have special inserts and studs. You can often hear that these same spikes wear out on the asphalt and also fly out. Yes, indeed, this is so. But modern technologies are constantly evolving - today you can find the most modern tires who know how to hide spikes on the asphalt. But when the car hits a snowy road, the spike appears again and bites into the ice or snow.

In addition, there may be a film of water between the tire surface and the road surface. This significantly reduces tire grip on ice. The spike consists of teeth that literally cut this film, thereby significantly improving grip. Studded wheels are very popular and effective, so they are now sold in huge quantities in countries with harsh climates.

Advantages and disadvantages of studded tires

Reviews say that these tires have high grip on icy and snowy surfaces under any loads placed on them. This can be turns, acceleration, braking. They provide shorter braking distances on icy roads. Patency in deep snow they have a very big one.

Among the disadvantages, reviews highlight high noise, especially when driving on asphalt. On wet clutch not just bad, but terrible. Due to the protrusion of the stud, the contact area of ​​the tire with the road is reduced. The grip decreases even in frosts of minus 20 degrees - the ice becomes stronger and denser, and the spike is no longer able to penetrate it effectively. Fuel consumption also increases due to the fact that the tire is very rough. There are slight vibrations on the steering wheel. The spikes often fly out and also wear off. Service life - no more than 4-5 seasons. At first glance, there are more pros than cons. But it will not provide comfort, as the reviews say. It will only give you confidence high cross-country ability, as well as controllability.

Velcro

Velcro or studless winter tires are a completely different matter. It can solve two problems. The tire is capable of holding the car on wet asphalt with slight ice. It can also keep the car on icy surfaces. For this purpose, soft rubber is used so that the tire can stick to the road surface. But at the same time, the tire material must be stiff enough to ensure normal handling. Velcro is contraindicated for driving on dry asphalt - as a result, it overheats. Because of this, controllability will deteriorate. And in all other conditions, these tires are only slightly inferior to their studded counterparts.

Among the advantages is the lack of noise. Fuel consumption will be only slightly more than summer tires. There are no vibrations in the steering wheel, and the tires behave well on wet asphalt. The service life is longer than that of studded analogues. There are also disadvantages. A car with such tires will handle worse on ice and snow compared to studs. The braking distance on icy roads is also increased. In snowy conditions, cross-country ability is slightly lower.

What's better?

Experts give advice on choosing winter tires. If the region has harsh winters, then you need to buy studded tires. But for the southern regions you can get by with Velcro. As for parameters such as width, everything is not so simple.

Narrow tires are needed, for the most part, to punch a rut in snow and snowdrifts. Then, when it hits the asphalt, it will catch on the spikes. Therefore, narrow winter tires are suitable for those places where there is a lot of snow and the roads are not cleared. Here narrow tires will allow you to be the king on the road. But there is also a minus - this is the contact patch. Reviews say that narrow tires have a smaller contact patch on hard surfaces. In addition, on ice or icy asphalt narrow tires It's just uncomfortable to move.

With wide studded tires in winter you can be truly confident on icy roads, but without snow. The contact patch here is maximum, so the car will hold well on ice. Increases noticeably directional stability from lateral drift.

Now it’s clear which tires are better in winter - narrow or wide. For most cases, a wide one is better.

When choosing winter tires, questions often arise: which tires are better in winter - wide or narrow. There is an opinion that if the tires are studded, then they are effective on ice until they are completely worn out. To answer these questions, at the end of last winter we conducted two non-standard test. In one of them we compared on ice and snow braking performance and acceleration dynamics of winter tires with different widths tread pattern, and in another, on the same winter surfaces, they tested similar properties of a new studded tire and a worn one. The results were as follows.

Wide vs narrow

205/55R16

225/45R17

In the debate about which tires are better on ice and snow - wide or narrow, supporters of the latter base their arguments on the fact that narrow tires have higher specific pressure in a smaller contact patch. U opposite side the arguments are different: wide tires have a larger total length of lamellas, which provide adhesion properties on slippery surfaces. We decided to find the answer to this controversial issue and compared two tire sizes on ice and snow Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 – 205/55R16 and 225/45R17. To compare traction properties, we carried out four tests: acceleration on ice, braking on ice, acceleration on snow and braking on snow. The result was mixed. So, on ice, a wider tire (225/45R17) brakes and accelerates better. Slats with a larger total length actually improve grip properties on ice. The difference in the graphs may seem small, but it should be noted that acceleration was only up to 30 km/h, and braking was from 30 to 5 km/h. On lightly packed snow, the result when braking is the opposite. Here the lamellas are already ineffective. A significant role is played by the smaller contact area with the road surface. Accordingly, there is a higher specific pressure in the contact patch, which allows the tire to push through the snow. But the acceleration dynamics on snow are the same.

Old vs new

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5

We decided to check the difference in grip on ice between a new and a worn studded tire using the example of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 tires. The tread of the latter was worn to a depth of 4 mm, while the tread of the new one was more than 9 mm. The spikes on the “five” also turned out to be worn out. Their carbide core protruded only 0.4 mm above the worn stud body (for new ones - 1.2 mm or more). The ice temperature during the test was -5 °C. These are optimal conditions for the operation of the spikes, since at very low temperatures the ice becomes very hard - and it is difficult for the core of the spike to push through it. At temperatures closer to zero, the ice, on the contrary, is soft, so it “plows up” more easily, which contributes to less braking force. The test result was as expected. The acceleration dynamics on ice of the new Hakkapeliitta 8 with its progressive hex spike in a very narrow speed range of 5-30 km/h turned out to be almost 1.5 seconds better. When braking from a speed of 50 km/h to a deceleration of 5 km/h, the stopping distance is new tire shorter by more than 3 m. If we proportionally project this onto more realistic speed limits, then the difference in braking distance can be from 10 to 20 m. This is very dangerous, since it can lead to tragedy on a public road. Here is another proof of the low grip properties of worn tires.

The new Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 stud, thanks to its large core width and height, provides more effective deceleration on ice than the worn NHKPL 5 stud.

Photo by Evgeny Sokur

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TIRES: 185/65R14 and 175/65R14

Winter tires- this is a constant seasonal barrage of questions. Some are trying to figure out the intricacies of names and companies, some are hesitating - with or without studs, while others just can’t decide whether to get a wider or narrower tire. I must say that most of our fellow citizens are more relaxed about summer “shoes” for their cars. No wonder - the pace of development Russian market winter tires are several times ahead of European ones. Moreover, even the requirements of this market are still being formed, because depending on climatic features Each region also needs different types of tires. So we will probably return to the tire selection strategy, but for now let’s move on to more prosaic issues, that is, tactics.

Modern a car, as a rule, provides for the possibility of using tires of several sizes. At the same time, the manufacturer does not always specify the preferred options, giving the right of choice to the consumer. Of course, there is an established opinion that for winter you should choose narrower wheels: they say they will push through the snow better, reaching the firmament faster. This indirectly confirms sports experience. Looking at a modern tire for winter racing, it is easy to see that it is almost twice as “thin” as a summer one. But sport is sport, and it is governed by its own, very specific laws of movement. So we thought: why not evaluate the pros and cons of narrow and wide 14-inch tires - and then confirm or refute the established opinion. But appetite, as they say, comes with eating: we decided to slightly expand the boundaries of the experiment, adding another problem to the rivalry between two dimensions - with or without spikes. After all, on this issue, motorists have long been divided into two camps. Moreover, opponents of spikes have quite compelling arguments.

And if so, we are preparing for work the editorial VAZ 2111 and three sets of obviously good winter tires of dimensions 185/65R14 and 175/65R14.

THICK AND THIN

When assessing handling, the narrow 175/65R14 tire impresses from the first minutes of acquaintance with the clear, stable behavior of the car on a snowy road. In these shoes, the “eleven” is very tolerant of ruts and other flaws in the winter surface, and almost does not tire the driver with yaw even at high speeds (120–130 km/h). It is impossible not to note the good ability of the tire to swallow small irregularities, which are so abundant in winter road. It seems that practice from the first minutes of acquaintance confirms the original theory about the superiority of a narrow tire in winter conditions. And our extreme exercises on the winding track of the training ground seem to echo it - at least from the standpoint of handling. After all, better time and highly predictable slip control.

However, traditional measurements of grip properties force one not to rush to conclusions, although at first the more powerful (185/65R14) tire does not make the right impression. It is not only stiffer and more vibration-loaded on small irregularities. This tire reacts more actively to loose surfaces, “floating” in the snow where a narrow tire rode without problems. Hence the nervousness in the car’s behavior and the constant struggle with yaw even in a small rut. At the same time and on ordinary road noticeable: as soon as the car hits smooth and level areas, the wide tread grips better, and it doesn’t matter whether there is compacted snow or ice under the wheels. And it turns out that, despite all the treachery of the tires in loose snow, the VAZ 2111 drives much more stable through sections of turns, rolled out to a mirror shine.

Opinions about wide tires are gradually changing. Almost imperceptibly, bit by bit, it gains better results in acceleration and braking. It feels like she likes the perfectly “ironed” areas for measurements. The situation is similar on ice. No matter how hard the driver tries to take advantage of all the advantages of a narrow tire, a wide one is at least a little better! In addition, it is quite understandable that this tire is preferable on asphalt. It's no secret - many winter tires in such conditions suffer from weak, smeared responses. And increasing the width helps combat such shortcomings. So not everything is as simple and straightforward as expected.

WITH OR WITHOUT SPIKES

If you immediately look at the measurement results, the answer is obvious. Being equivalent on snow, studded and non-studded ones immediately cease to be friends on ice. Moreover, the difference, say, in braking is already such that it is unlikely to sound convincing: they say, without “nails” the tire is quiet, economical and comfortable.

Well, what if we forget about the ice and the academic nature of the conclusions for a while? After all, it’s not the bobsleigh track that we ride all winter. Even in our short experiment, it is noticeable: as soon as the lamellas and blocks of a studless tire have the opportunity to catch on to something, they do their job quite effectively.

Moreover, it turns out that this tire reacts much more calmly to the looseness and depth of the snow cover, allowing driving fast handle the car more freely. It would seem that you were just calculating down to the millimeter the slip on the spikes, fearing even to touch the snowy edge - the car changed its mood so abruptly. And without spikes, you fly completely calmly into the loose snow - and there is no nervousness in the car’s behavior. The same observations in the “calibrated” gauges, where the “eleventh” is even big wheels drives reliably and confidently. In a word, in the snow and even on the asphalt there is no carbide helpers that strive to cling to the terrain invisible to the eye road surface, looks more than logical. And doubts arise in the soul again: maybe we shouldn’t discount the studless one, or, as it is commonly called, friction tire? After all, in its essence it is more universal.

"PROS AND CONS"

So what should you choose - brakes or handling? I confess that I suffered with this difficult dilemma for more than one evening. After all, in both cases safety is in the balance. The answer turned out to be quite prosaic. When choosing winter tires, you just need to strictly adhere to the factory instructions, taking into account that by installing wider tires, you will most likely improve the longitudinal grip properties, but the price for this will be a deterioration in handling, especially on unstable, loose surfaces. What to prefer is up to you.

In the debate between “shippers” and “anti-shippers,” I still remain a supporter of the former, as do most of the capital’s drivers. After all, according to the Nokian company, 60% of them choose studs, 20% just winter tires, and the remaining 20% ​​do not change their shoes at all. The arguments in favor of a studless tire are, of course, correct, but to talk about its superiority would be disingenuous. Most likely, this is due to rather unstable weather: winter sometimes pleases with soft snowlessness, sometimes it suddenly fills the streets with snowdrifts.

Good Year Ultra Grip 500 185/65R14

Good Year Ultra Grip 500 175/65R14

Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 185/65R14

The wrong size can negate the benefits of even the coolest winter tires. "Auto Mail. Ru" went to the training ground in Ivalo, Finland, to actually find out which tires are better to choose for the winter: wide, narrow or medium-sized?

We have at our disposal a seventh generation Volkswagen Golf and three sets of wheels recommended by the manufacturer: 195/65R15, 205/55R16 and 225/45R17. All tires of one Nokian models Hakkapeliita 8, which underwent a 100-kilometer test run at the test site before the test.

47 different tracks, warm boxes with lifters, impact wrenches and special devices for storing test tires. This is White Hell (“white hell”) - this is the name of the Nokian testing center in Lapland, which is located near the towns of Ivalo and Saariselka

Before races, check the width and weight of the tire. The first discovery is that the actual difference in width between 195/65R15 and 205/55R16 was not 10, but 8 mm. As expected, the heaviest tires were 225/45R17. Moreover, if a 195/65R15 tire is 1.7 kg lighter than a 225/45R17, then when checking the wheel assembly, the difference becomes 4.6 kg (total - 18.4 kg) - the main increase falls on the disc.

Acceleration and braking in the snow

First, compacted snow. First gear, soft start and immediately the gas pedal to the floor. ESP system limits wheel slip, and upon reaching 45 km/h, a sound signal gives me the command to brake. Now I press the middle pedal and the ABS does all the work for me. This results in reproducible data. During one 700-meter snowy straight, a dozen accelerations and decelerations are performed. We measure acceleration up to 45 km/h, and braking from 44 km/h to 5 km/h.

What will the impartial say? measuring device Racelogic? The difference was insignificant: during acceleration, the 195/65R15 wheels were slightly ahead of everyone, but during braking they lost 40 cm (or about 2.7%) to the wider tires. The 205th R16 performed the most consistently. I repeated the measurement on the base tires to determine if the conditions had changed - the data was consistent with the first race.

Result: The results of acceleration and braking on snow are very close. When braking, the narrow 195/65R15 tire was slightly (2.7% or 40 cm) inferior to the better 205/55R16

Handling on snow

After finishing the handling tests, I was surprised how different the VW Golf's cornering behavior can be depending on the tire size!

First trip to 205/55R16. Scary! It's not about the tires, but about the "three-dimensional" complex snow path laid through the coniferous forest. But within a circle there is complete understanding with the VW Golf and the pleasure of controlling the car. Neutral steering, slight oversteer rear axle under the release of gas, which does not frighten and is gently extinguished by the stabilization system. I liked the balance of the car so much that if I took a Volkswagen with these tires to amateur racing, I wouldn’t change anything - quickly and safely.

On 195/65R15 tires, the test Golf becomes nervous, the car suddenly goes into a skid, requires fast and sweeping movements of the steering wheel, and after the skid it takes a long time to stabilize. But for front wheel drive car in “combat” mode, oversteer is beneficial - which is why, despite the sharp nature, the best lap time was shown in this configuration, although it was dangerous.

At the most wide tires 225/45R17 hatchback behavior is similar to a “quiet” 205 mm tire, but with an increase in speed, insidiousness appears - after entering a turn, the car suddenly begins to drift. Only on 225 mm tires I hit the snow parapets and almost hit a tree in my attempts to set a fast lap. The time on these tires turned out to be the worst.

Results: On a snowy forest track, we assessed not only the lap time, but also the handling reliability of the VW Golf. After reviewing the results, the Nokian factory test driver agreed with us on all points:

• the behavior of the car changed significantly depending on the set of wheels;
• 195/65R15 tires gave the Golf oversteer, the car often tried to turn around, causing nervous behavior in corners;
• 225/45R17 tires, on the contrary, gave the five-door hatchback understeer and general low grip on the road
• 205/55R16 tires seem to have healed the Golf - on them it passes difficult three-dimensional snow track quickly, calmly, and the skid began smoothly and was not a surprise to the driver

Acceleration and braking on ice

The acceleration/braking test on ice was carried out in a unique 300-meter tunnel, where a stable coating temperature is maintained (dotted line on the graph). The car is equipped with special rubber brushes, which remove snow crumbs in front of the wheels and allow you to achieve stable, reproducible results. After the races, we measure the protrusion of the studs: a dozen are taken from the inner part and a dozen from the outer part of the tire, then the average value is calculated

Just ten years ago, measuring acceleration and braking on ice was a living hell: the surface on the lake is uneven, with slopes and build-ups, with different grip, and the dependence on wind, sun and applied snow made the tests similar to Russian roulette. Now everything is different. The unique 300-meter tunnel brought all parameters almost to a constant. But the responsibility is monstrous, the walls are nearby - there is no room for error, and according to the scenario, the measurements should have been carried out by a special tester. However, having been convinced of our professional suitability in snow tests, we were allowed to control indoors.

The “ice” tests are similar to those I previously conducted on snow. Acceleration from 5 km/h to 31 km/h, and then sound signal- sharp braking from 30 to 5 km/h. First, acceleration at 205/55R16 - what a catch! And the braking is excellent. We change the tires to narrow ones - similar results. Next are wide 225/45R17. Bah! Even without measuring equipment, I feel how the car rolls much further (when taking measurements, I moved the Golf to the side only by the width of the previous wheels to save test ice).

As test car spoke Volkswagen Golf with a 1.2 TSI engine, but with an atypical power of 85 hp for Russian specifications. With. and 160 N∙m of torque. Curb weight 1205 kg. Acceleration to 100 km/h in 11.9 seconds. Maximum speed 187 km/h. The car's dynamics are enough for up to 100 km/h, within this framework we carried out measurements

We measure the average protrusion of the studs: 195 mm - 1 mm, 205 mm - 1.1 mm, 225 mm - 0.9 mm.
The working day is over. And then - communication with a Nokian tire development engineer, who watched the tests with interest:

Did you notice that the 225/45R17 tires had less stud protrusion? This is precisely the reason for poor braking results on ice.

Yes, but no more than two meters! After all, between 195 mm and 205 mm tires, the difference in the protrusion of the studs is the same - 0.1 millimeter,” I retorted.

After the discussion, engineer Matti shows me a graph of Nokian's closed internal tests, which shows the dependence braking distance from the protrusion of the thorn. “You see, yes...” I recalculated the results according to Nokian dependencies, and still the difference between best results and with 225/45R17 tires was 1.9 meters! Therefore, we decided to focus on actual data.

Result: When braking and accelerating on ice, the 195/65R15 and 205/55R16 tires performed close (2.9% difference), while the 225/45R17 tires frankly failed braking and did not grip the surface well during acceleration.

Handling on ice

Tire test on an ice track: before each qualifying run, it is cleared of crumbs. In addition, regular temperature measurements are taken. After races on each set, check for stud protrusion. The last run is a control run on base tires to see if the condition of the surface has changed

On the second day, according to the plan, we measured lap times and assessed handling on ice - for this we completely turned off ESP by removing the fuse. I drive on 225/45R17 - there is not much grip, but the VW Golf constantly rushes between drift and skid, and the steering wheel has an unpleasant step in force, after which the connection with the front wheels is completely lost. Due to lack of traction, even at low speed the car slips rear axle and strives to turn around its axis.

But on tall and narrow 195/65R15 tires, it seems that the tires have significantly more studs - the VW Golf literally digs into the ice. If the speed is exceeded in a turn, there is pronounced understeer; it is very difficult to make the rear axle slide (only with the help of special rocking of the car). However, and steer when normal traffic there is a lot - the high profile is the reason.

The 205/55R16 tires have even more grip than the narrow 195/65R15 tires. The car is more balanced and requires less steering when taking the same turns - better lap times with a significant advantage, and most importantly - safe behavior.

Result: The 205/55R16 tires performed excellently; there are no special complaints about the narrow 195/65R15 tires, but you have to steer more, and understeer makes it difficult to show good time circle and can in some cases frighten an inexperienced driver.

The wide 225/45R17 tires lack grip on ice, which is why the Golf constantly wants to spin around its axis as if it were rear wheel drive car- requires quick steering in the direction of skidding. In this case, the front axle may also unexpectedly begin to drift, which will continue much longer than you expected.

Results

Narrow tires lead to sharp disruptions in turns on a snowy surface, although on ice they are very obedient, and the high 65 profile with large lateral slip will force you to turn the steering wheel to a greater angle even during normal cornering. We recommend such tires only for cars with ESP, and when driving in snow you need to drive with extreme caution.

The golden mean is exactly what this kit is about. The 205 tire has not had a single failure on snow or ice, and the mid-size tire won most tests. In our case, for a car weighing 1205 kg, this width turned out to be optimal, and the moderate profile height made the car’s behavior understandable.

The tires completely failed ice tests. The large contact area with the surface led to a low specific pressure of the studs on the ice due to the low vehicle weight of 1205 kg. In the snow, a car on such tires begins to drift early, and it always tends to drive straight. The steering wheel on wide tires has a step in force, after which all information about the road disappears. We do not recommend installing optional wide and low profile tires for the winter.

Final tire ratings:

	Weight coefficient	195/65R15	205/55R16	225/45R17
Snow
Acceleration in the snow
Braking on snow
Reliability of control
Lap time
Total snow
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