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All Season Tyre Test by OAMTC Austria

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
The OAMTC (Austrian AA) have published a test on all season tyres. results here in German http://www.salzburg24.at/2018/04/%C3%96AMTC_Ganzjahresreifen_low.pdf

Google translate of the report on salzburg24.at:
"Even if the result is better than in the larger dimension tested in 2016, the Mobility Club can not make a general recommendation for all-season tires," summarizes ÖAMTC tire expert Friedrich Eppel. The focus was on nine current models of the dimension 175/65 R14 T / H.
All-season tires: Models differ greatly. The all-season tires were tested on dry roads in summer, wet in autumn and snow and ice in winter. In addition - as with every other tire test - the criteria of rolling noise, fuel consumption and wear were checked. "Four of the nine trial candidates, Nexen N blue 4Season, Continental AllSeasonContact, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 and Nokian Weatherproof, were a bit outperformed in the test," explains Eppel. "The characteristics of each model are sometimes very different, it is definitely not every tire suitable for every driving situation."

How big the differences are, is shown by the example of the Vredestein Quatrac 5. "This tire was the only one that could compete with a normal summer tire on dry roads. In return, he is one of the weakest on snow, "notes the ÖAMTC expert. Conversely, the Firestone Multiseason is the weakest test candidate in dry and wet conditions, but is comparable on snow roads with winter tires.

All-season tires do not convince in wet conditions.

A common argument for buying all-season tires is that the car simply stays in the garage in winter conditions - or that there is no snow in the city anyway. "Especially in this case, you have to advise against some of the tested models. Because they behave on dry roads only a little better than winter tires and can not convince in the wet. "Both are but road conditions that occur throughout the year, especially in the summer," explains Eppel. "Such models do not fully meet their expectations."

Anyone who has nevertheless decided to buy all-season tires should take a close look at the test and choose the tire that best suits their own driving profile. "Only if you know the strengths and weaknesses of your tires, you will use them properly and be safe with them on the road," concludes Eppel.
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Hmm....I'm always a bit suspicious of such tests - i feel the benchmark for summer tyre performance should probably be against a 40,000 km mid range brand which is a reasonable proxy for the "average" tyre that is out there on the road.
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A salutory lesson on not wearing snow tyres...



Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Thu 26-04-18 15:43; edited 1 time in total
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Frankly this thread confirms my belief that you should ignore any thread on snowHeads that include the word "Tyre". What a load of rubbish.
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@Alastair, I'd be interested to know why it's rubbish given the test is by the equivalent of the AA (who I would take notice of). I knew it would open a can of worms Laughing
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Winters for my motorhome year round.

At the other end of the scale my brother in law has a new Ford Mustang. In the recent snow he drove it out of the garage onto the drive then decided not to go any further: it took him and hour to put it back in the garage! On top of that, at the first service, he was told his 6,000 mile rear tyres needed replacing at £240 each!!
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Would be interested to know HOW they tested them. That must be the first all season test I've seen where the Michelin Cross Climate didn't walk all over every other tyre. Unless it wasn't the newer Cross Climate Plus.

I've just put Quatrac 5's on my Audi Quattro and they don't grip as well as the PZero I took off but it's a lot less hassle. Despite what they say, good all season tyres usually out perform summer tyres in the wet. The 4wd/all season combination is more than enough for
95% of conditions IME.

The Autoexpress tyre tests publish exact data about all the parameters including wear rates and are the best IMO. The Autobild ones are also good but you can't get the full data without subscribing.
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@holidayloverxx, I have driven happily on summer tyres in the Alps for many years. i can't be arsed commenting on how difficult it is, when it isn't.
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@Alastair, Ah well, where I drive it is the law so winter tyres for me
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@holidayloverxx, bad luck.
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@Dave of the Marmottes,
Quote:

i feel the benchmark for summer tyre performance should probably be against a 40,000 km mid range brand which is a reasonable proxy for the "average" tyre that is out there on the road.


Surely that would be meaningless unless you also compare your 'average' tyre with an all seasons tyre that also has 40,000km on the clock?
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Alastair wrote:
@holidayloverxx, bad luck.
not really
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foxtrotzulu wrote:
@Dave of the Marmottes,
Quote:

i feel the benchmark for summer tyre performance should probably be against a 40,000 km mid range brand which is a reasonable proxy for the "average" tyre that is out there on the road.


Surely that would be meaningless unless you also compare your 'average' tyre with an all seasons tyre that also has 40,000km on the clock?


No what I had in mind was whether summer performance was objectively worse than an average in use tyre when new, in which case it might be a concern or simply worse than leading new sumnmer tyres, which would be expected i.e some measure of the degree of sacrifice. Despite over the years having some real unbranded crap on hire cars I can't ever recall having had summer tyres which felt unsafe (acknowledging that I'm not trying to lap Nurburgring etc on them)
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holidayloverxx wrote:
Alastair wrote:
@holidayloverxx, bad luck.
not really


I would regard it as an inconvenience to put winter tyres on when they're not needed.
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@Alastair, good luck with the Swiss police when someone makes a mistake, pulls out of a side road and you pile into them. You will almost certainly be the one prosecuted and fined.
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Imagine being the kind of person who gets angered by a tyre thread on a skiing website.
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@grumpygargoyle, Laughing Laughing
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Alastair wrote:
holidayloverxx wrote:
Alastair wrote:
@holidayloverxx, bad luck.
not really


I would regard it as an inconvenience to put winter tyres on when they're not needed.


Indeed you might, I regard it as sensible
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@Alastair, have you been on the sauce ? wink . Maybe you should just scroll on past tyre threads.
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@Hells Bells, Laughing
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@grumpygargoyle, hang on .. I thought everyone had gone into hiding, depressed about not being on the hill ... everyone’s watching and reading after all ...
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@Hells Bells, Probably on the sauce as he’s had a Good Year. Toofy Grin
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@geepee, be careful not to tread on anyone's toes in this debate
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@Alastair, you really are making a bit of a fool of yourself, I know, I'm an expert on the subject rolling eyes
My ex used to love leaving 4x4s behind in her S-max that had Goodyear Vectors fitted the 4x4s on modern summer low rolling resistance tyres would be sliding sideways across the school car park while she drove in & out as normal.
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@grumpygargoyle, stop with the puns, boy...

....they are making me feel deflated.
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@valais2, Laughing
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I bought Nokian Weatherproofs in the UK as a direct result of a test by a ADAC (German version of the AA). It was down to them or the Michelin Cross Climates but what clinched it for me was the better winter results.

Here in Austria I can certainly see the need to have dedicated winter tyres during the mandatory period (1st November to 15th April) rather than 'hybrid' do-it-all tyres. I've had instances this past winter where I have driven steep gradients on compacted snow, fresh deep snow, black ice, deep slush and combinations thereof. I wouldn't want anything less than full decent quality winters in very good condition.
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@valais2, Why don’t you all jack off? Toofy Grin
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
[b]@geepee personally I think the wheels have fallen off this thread...
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@valais2, @grumpygargoyle, @geepee, Laughing Laughing
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holidayloverxx wrote:
Alastair wrote:
holidayloverxx wrote:
Alastair wrote:
@holidayloverxx, bad luck.
not really


I would regard it as an inconvenience to put winter tyres on when they're not needed.


Indeed you might, I regard it as sensible


Much more of an inconvenience when you get stuck behind someone driving 30 km/h slower than everyone else because they're on the wrong tyres and can't keep up with the road speed
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Alastair wrote:
@holidayloverxx, bad luck.


Stupid comment. Physics laws apply to all irrespective of your high opinion of your driving.
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@mooney058, He is The Stig! NehNeh
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In my own limited experience, summer tyres on snow feel less safe and make the 4WD work all the time making your fuel consumption much worse. I make no claims to being a good driver and reckon the cost of winter tyres is less than the cost of mending the dents in the car.
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@Gordyjh, the reason they feel less safe is because they are less safe. Traction on snow and ice is massively better with winters. Traction on normal roads at below 7°C is significantly better than with Summers. Besides, at least here in Germany and Austria if you get in any kind of accident then the Judiciary will throw the book at you regardless of whether it was your fault or not.
It's really not worth arguing about!
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After many years driving to and from the Alps and probably driving on average 50000 miles a year I have come to the following conclusion.
4x4 using summer tyres will be able to get going compared to a 2wd car in winter conditions, however the 4x4 system compared with a 2wd doesn't make a iota of difference to the vehicles ability to corner or brake. I've seen numerous vehicles sliding around or crawling along because they're using the wrong tyres.
Now a 4x4 using winter tyres you can pretty much drive normally. I had no issues getting to La Rosiere on snowmamagdon transfer day a few years ago when hundreds of people got stuck due to conditions and drivers using the wrong tyres. Was the same this winter leaving resort no issues coming down the mountain, however a couple of other families couldn't even get out the car park due to the snow and being on summer tyres. If you are regularly driving in winter conditions I don't see why you wouldn't have winter tyres it's like wearing a seatbelt it just makes sense.
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@Steilhang, er...kind of the point I was making rolling eyes

Would it be right to assume winter tyres would have more grip on mud/wet grass or will they make no difference?
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Hi

I drive a BMW 320d Touring with X-Drive. Have driven on winter tyres for the last 5 months or so and it has made a huge difference. I was able to drive up the A3 in the relatively heavy snow as if I was driving on dry tarmac. Cars around me were in all sorts of problems. Car felt planted and steady and at no point did it feel "skittish".

Have literally only just swapped back to the summer tyres with BMW storing my winter ones until the next swap which will be end of October / beginning of November.

Griggs
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Gordyjh wrote:
@Steilhang, er...kind of the point I was making rolling eyes

Would it be right to assume winter tyres would have more grip on mud/wet grass or will they make no difference?


It's not just about the tread pattern but the rubber compound. Rubber on summer tyres gets hard in cold weather which restricts their performance, conversely soft winter tyres can wear out quicker in summer. Winter tyres perform better than summer tyres when the temperature drops beneath 7 deg C, when they grip much better on mud/wet grass etc.
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If I lived in the Alps I'd have Winter Tyres - I don't so I don't

Interesting reading, but having lived in UK all my life and driven in the snow here and down to Alps once a year I'm going to stick with my own review.

Octavia with Michelin Cross-Climate - performs a darn site better than summer tyres when it's snowy or cold and wet
Discovery with Quatrac 5s - never driven sportingly so fine in summer and got us through snow and ice in UK and down to Alps

I know this test is trying (?) to show that all-seasons are pointless but personally I think for my use they're the best compromise.
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