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Originally Posted by CaberTosser
I like Nokian for sure, but I've have had great experience with Toyo's and Generals too. I have a Consumers Reports subscription but their ratings seem to stop at tires for half ton trucks and SUV's as there weren't any LT tires tested, just P-rated tires. On the list below I find it a bit curious how low they rated the Toyo Observes as I've driven with these on two Nissan Titans (one crew cab and one with the small rear doors) and they were fantastic, the test however rated them low on handling and wet braking but excellent for snow traction & very good for ice braking.
The Toyo Observes were on borrowed trucks, the Nokian Hakkapellittas (older series) and studded General Arctic LT's I had on GMC 2500 Savanas. The previous winter I bought some Cooper AT/W's as an experiment and they were reasonable, but still a noticeable compromise when compared to a dedicated winter tire.
For those interested in the P-rated light truck/SUV winter tire ratings they rated in this order: - 1: Michelin Latitude X-Ice XI 2: score 74
- 2: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV: score 68
- 3: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2: score 68
- 4: General Grabber Arctic: score 66
- 5: Dunlop Winter Maxx SJ8 tire: score 66
- 6: Yokohama iceGUARD iG51v : score 66
- 7: Nexen WINGUARD winSpike SUV: score 62
- 8: Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT: score 62
- 9: Toyo Observe GSi-5: score 60
- 10: Hankook I*Pike RW11: score 56
For winters for your cars the top rated tires looked like a real value as they were also a lot cheaper than many of the next-best rated tires. The winner there are the Cooper Discoverer True North which rated a 70, leading Contis, Michelins, Nokians, Generals and Blizzaks in that order.
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Honestly, I dislike these types of lists for tires. Even as unbiased as we assume these tests to be, the problem with tire testing in the scope this sort of thing shows is there are far to many variables that occur in the real world for a generic test to emphatically tell someone that one product is emphatically better than another, and it slants people away from asking the questions that will help them select potentially a tire that is actually maybe better for their needs.
Sure in the tiny scope of testing they performed that days the results indicate the order shown, but change the variables slightly with say a decrease in temperature by 10 degrees and I guarantee you the results would flip around. Put the tires on a car that was heavier by 1000 pounds and try it again. Again, they will vary. Use a different group of drivers with different driving styles, it will be different. Alter road surface (asphalt versus concrete etc) and results can change.
I have always found it funny that after doing more comparable ride and drives and driving tests than one can count over my last 31 years in the automotive tire industry, you can count on the fact that the manufacturer who is setting up the ride and drive, it is their tires that invariably end up coming out on top. There are so many ways to manipulate what the final results will be, and if there are ways to manipulate a supposedly controlled environment, it means the real world will come up with even more.
Testing tires is a whole lot more complicated than these lists can ever do justice. It isn't even remotely the same thing as say testing and comparing a toaster yet people tend to afford the word of a magazine more creedence than that of a professional, experienced individual and that does cause me a bit of exasperation when someone comes in asking for advice only to tell me they disagree because Consumer Reports says I am wrong... Ugh lol!
The real truth is that any single one of the tires on those lists will be a huge improvement in real winter driving over not using them, and even thought it shows one tire being bottom and one being the best, the specific characteristics of the apparent worst may actually do the job you need better while the supposed best one is completely the wrong choice. Figuring out what that best choice is for you specifically will not come from a simple magazine test.