Quote:
Originally Posted by tuco44
There are different tires within the brand names, saying the brand of tire doesn't go far enough. Eg, the Dunlop WinterSport 3Ds are better than the WinterSport 3Ms.
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With all due respect to everyone's well stated opinions:
Even specifying tire “models” doesn’t go far enough. Some manufacturers use different construction specifications (tread pattern, belt/cord constriction and rubber compounds) in different tires of the same “name” depending on size and load range. Also, manufacturers are constantly changing tire designs, even in tires of the same brand/model. The tire that was compared in a published test, may, or may not be the same tire that is being sold 6-months later.
Additionally, a tire that performs well on a particular vehicle, may, or may not, perform well on another vehicle due to specific loading (number of lbs. of contact pressure per square inch of tread surface in contact with the road) weight distribution, 2WD or different AWD configurations, the specific surface temperature when the comparison was made, and even inflation pressure differences. The best snow tires for a 2WD 1/2-ton pickup are probably not the best tires for a X3.
Finally, as has been stated before, anecdotal results, as are typically published in user reviews, such as the TireRack ratings are totally subjective and are essentially worthless since the reviewers either have no frame of reference to compare their results, or are making comparisons to tires that are 3 or 4 years old that were probably fitted to a different vehicle. What I think is great cornering traction on snow, might be mediocre by your standards, and what you think is fantastic braking ability on ice might be unacceptable to me.
It’d just not as simple as saying Nokian “Hakkapeliitta’s” are always better than Bridgestone “Blizzaks” and “Blizzaks are better than “Dunlops”.
It all depends!
