Sind All season tires really suitable for all weather conditions? Or Are all-season tires just a lazy compromise? The ACE Auto Club Europa, the Austrian ARBÖ and the GTÜ wanted to know whether they could actually drive safely and reliably all year round.
Recently, nine different tire models with all-weather functionality were put through their paces. In the following article, you will learn how the tires perform on snow, wet road and dry tracks.
The advantages of all-season tires
All season tires are becoming increasingly popular: almost one in three tires sold in Europe is an all-season tire. The advantage is obvious: No annoying seasonal tire change More, no storage space for winter or summer tires and always the feeling of being prepared for any weather condition. But does the flexibility live up to its promise? It was tested on wintry roads in Sweden and, as a counterpart, on the hot asphalt in Lower Saxony.
Hard tests on snow
All-season tires must be used on snow-covered roads in winter good grip deliver. And the Test shows that the differences can be large. Braking on snow from 40 km/h all show acceptable results: The braking distances are between 19,4 and 20,9 meters. In comparison, however, a summer tire is completely overwhelmed - it required a whopping 51,8 Metersto come to a stop. Clear proof that summer tires pose a real safety risk in winter.
And also at Starting in the snowto accelerate to 30 km/h, there are clear differences. While the Michelin tire is the test winner with only 23,3 meters, the Toyo falls to last place with 27,5 meters. And the handling characteristics were of course also important: Michelin and Continental impressed with precise steering behavior, while the Toyo performed significantly worse and tended to oversteer.
Rain and wetness – a real challenge
Auch bei wet conditions All-weather tires are required, as aquaplaning and extended braking distances can become dangerous. Test winner on wet roads was the Continental tire, which after only 29 meters to a standstill Close behind are Pirelli and Bridgestone. But again the Toyo fell behind with a significantly longer braking distance of 33,5 meters .
And the handling on wet roads showed that Goodyear, Pirelli and Continental which are all-rounders. They enable precise steering, even if they understeer slightly in corners. Michelin, Bridgestone and Falken fared less well, reacting somewhat less precisely. aquaplaning However, it was good for all tires tested – there were no serious failures.
On dry asphalt – the decisive test
In summer there is one good performance on dry roads of course in demand. The tested summer tyre delivers 30,6 meters braking distance from 100 km/h. No all-season tire could beat this. But the Toyo, which was weak in the winter and wet tests, scores here with 36,7 metres, beating some of the competition.
Pirelli and Shelf delivered even better results with 35,6 and 36,1 meters respectively. The last ones on dry roads are Goodyear, Falken and Vredestein, which took significantly longer at over 42 metres. Even if the differences are small at first glance – 6,8 Meters can make the difference in an emergency.
Conclusion – How good are all-season tires really?
The Test shows clearly: All-season tires are all-rounders, but not all of them can convince in every situation. Shelf was the winner of the test, followed by Michelin , which primarily shone in the snow. Falken shows good results in winter, but weakens in summer. And Toyo, which was disappointing on snow and wet roads, surprised on dry roads.
Overall, three of the tires tested can be recommended without reservation, while four others can only be recommended to a limited extent. However, none of them failed. One thing is clear: if you want to get through the winter safely, you should definitely not rely on summer tires. They are and will remain life-threatening in winter. PS: The ADAC also carried out tests. The results can be seen in the following video:
