December 1, 2021
Few things in life are quite as reassuring as knowing your vehicle is equipped with a set of high-quality winter tires when you need to get somewhere on a dark, snowy night. The added confidence and reduced stress that comes with sure-footed performance in winter’s worst weather is invaluable, but how do you know which winter tire category is right for you?
Studless Ice & Snow Winter tires are the specialized performers designed to deliver maximum traction in snow, on ice, through slush, and in sub-freezing, clear conditions. As is almost always the case with tires, this specific focus can lead to trade-offs in other areas of performance. Their tread patterns feature small blocks, heavy sipe density, and lots of void space; the rubber compounds are soft and pliable; and they often feature deeper starting tread depths than all-season or summer tires. All these attributes help deliver excellent winter traction, but the trade-off is the sometimes-spongy handling and slightly disconnected feel can seem out of place on a sports car or other performance vehicle, sometimes even causing the traction and stability control to intervene on a clear, sunny day.
For drivers who want to maximize the winter capability of their high-performance vehicle without completely sacrificing the engaging driving dynamics that likely led them to that specific model in the first place, Performance Winter / Snow tires may be the perfect solution. While tires from the category admittedly give up some ultimate traction in snow, slush, and ice when compared to Studless Ice & Snow Winter tires, they typically offer improved handling dynamics and traction in dry and wet conditions, while still significantly outperforming All-Season tires in winter weather.
Still, some may wonder what they’re giving up by choosing a tire from one category over the other. What magnitude of difference will there be? While we can’t provide an exhaustive answer to that question due to the fact that every tire is unique, we set out to deliver a generalization by comparing the top tires from each category.
Our test served as two tests in one - with the two newest, top competitors from the Performance Winter / Snow category, the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 and Vredestein Wintrac Pro, competing head-to-head and the top Studless Ice & Snow Winter tire, the Michelin X-Ice Snow, serving as the benchmark for its category. Our evaluation used 2020 BMW 430i Gran Coupes fitted with new, full tread depth 225/50R17 tires mounted on 17x7.5 wheels.
Our 6.0-mile loop of expressway, state highway and county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city and highway speeds, smooth and coarse concrete, as well as new and patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality and everyday handling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.
While on-road refinement is often lower on the priority list for winter-focused tires, it’s still an important consideration. Typically, the majority of a driver’s time is spent on clear, paved roads, even during the winter months. In the Road Ride portion of our evaluation, the Pilot Alpin 5 came away as our test team’s preferred choice. The ride was taut-to-firm. Bigger impacts hit harder, and smaller undulations stood out more than the other tires in the test, though it was still good, especially considering it is a Performance Winter / Snow tire. Noise comfort was surprisingly satisfying for a winter tire and possibly competitive with some premium touring tires. The only tones created were mild and unobtrusive, even over coarse or cross-cut surfaces. When it came to steering feel and light handling, the Michelin once again stood out from the group. A small dead spot directly on-center helped with straight-ahead tracking at highway speeds, and the response was crisp and linear off-center. One thing our team wanted was some added resistance, as the feel was lighter than expected from a performance tire. The Wintrac Pro and X-Ice Snow were very close in their overall scores, but they demonstrated two significantly different personalities to get there. The Wintrac Pro featured the smoothest, most-cushioned ride of the group. It was surprisingly comfortable while also retaining very good control over the vehicle’s motion. However, the noise comfort trailed the pack by a noticeable margin. While it wasn’t objectionable, especially considering we’re discussing a winter tire, it created multiple, medium-volume tones. It wasn’t a "noisy" tire, but some of the tones were distinctive. Our drivers also mentioned a desire for some tuning of the steering characteristics. The lack of solid on-center feel meant it seemed to wander a small amount at speed, and once off-center, it was a bit dull in its responses. It was acceptable for the category, but our team hoped for a bit more of a "performance" feel. The X-Ice Snow delivered a ride that was nearly as stiff as the Pilot Alpin 5, with slightly more cushion over small bumps that made them less apparent to the driver. As is typical for Studless Ice & Snow winter tires, the tread pattern created a variety of tones, but they did a reasonable job of blending together into a constant, medium-volume drone. Fingertip-light steering is a common trait of Studless Ice & Snow winter tires due to the soft compound, independent tread blocks, and deep tread depths, and the X-Ice Snow exhibited this characteristic on the road. It was linear and predictable enough, but there was very little feel or effort required.
Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, a five-cone slalom and simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry and wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, handling and drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.
The two Performance Winter / Snow tires in our test delivered similar objective results in our wet testing, and they were both strong performers. The Wintrac Pro earned the highest score from our test team, though, thanks to its balanced and easy-to-drive personality. While it didn’t feel quite as strong as the Pilot Alpin 5 in any one metric while driving on the track, all its attributes coalesced into a flowing, cohesive lap. It delivered just the right amount of usable, easily-controlled rotation, and all aspects of performance were in harmony. The Pilot Alpin 5, on the other hand, felt very digital, very point-and-shoot. It had strong braking traction, authoritative turn-in, and impressive grip at corner exit, but it didn’t blend those traits together as nicely as the Vredestein. The result was laps that were just a touch slower and less satisfying. When it comes to tire design, increasing traction in the snow and on ice almost always has a negative effect on wet grip, so it’s very common to see tires from the Studless Ice & Snow category lag behind other, less-winter-focused tires in the wet. Our previous testing has demonstrated the X-Ice Snow is competitive with the best in its category for wet braking and lateral traction, but unsurprisingly, it was at a significant traction disadvantage compared to the two Performance Winter / Snow tires.
Dry track testing found similar results, with the Wintrac Pro leading the way by a more-significant margin. Once again, it delivered a driving experience that was greater than the sum of its parts, though in the dry it led the objective evaluation, as well. Our team wished the steering was a bit more authoritative, but the balance and communication of the Wintrac Pro more than made up for it. In contrast, the Pilot Alpin 5 exhibited satisfying steering characteristics, but the athleticism of the tire didn’t quite match. There was a slight delay between the initial response of the tire and the vehicle’s change in directory, which resulted in a feeling of always being "behind" through fast transitions. This meant it was relatively easy to overdrive the tire, but it was something that is unlikely to be noticed unless a driver was pushing to the absolute limit. Similar to in the wet, the X-Ice Snow was out of its element in our dry track testing. While it would react predictably and acceptably in an emergency situation, being pushed to the limit on our dry handling course isn’t a situation the tire was designed for. Once again, we know from previous testing that it is competitive within its category, but it’s an unfair comparison to pit a Studless Ice & Snow winter tire against competitors from the Performance Winter / Snow category.
Glare ice, like drivers encounter at an intersection, is arguably the most-difficult condition experienced during the winter months. It takes a highly-specialized tread compound and pattern to deliver adequate traction, and the Michelin X-Ice Snow stood out in our testing. Even with simple acceleration and braking evaluations at relatively low speeds, the advantage in traction was immediately apparent for our team. The Pilot Alpin 5 led the Performance Winter / Snow pairing, also by a noticeable margin, with the Wintrac Pro rounding out the group, though still offering significantly more traction than one could expect from a typical all-season tire.
| 60’ Ice Acceleration (Seconds) | |
|---|---|
| 4.490 | Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 |
| 4.838 | Vredestein Wintrac Pro |
| 4.016 | Michelin X-Ice Snow |
| 12-0mph Ice Braking (Feet) | |
|---|---|
| 37.1 | Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 |
| 42.3 | Vredestein Wintrac Pro |
| 29.3 | Michelin X-Ice Snow |
The X-Ice Snow stood out again in our light snow testing, leading in acceleration, braking, and lap times, though the Performance Winter / Snow tires were remarkably close in the straight-line disciplines. The X-Ice Snow’s 25.10-foot 0-12 mph acceleration distance was only 2.75 feet shorter than the third place tire, and its braking distance was only 3.5 feet shorter from 25 mph. Combining all the skills and adding lateral maneuvers resulted in a larger, 3.1-second spread across the group in lap times around the handling track. The X-Ice Snow delivered excellent all-around traction, with our drivers particularly enjoying how usable the front end was due to its impressive grip through turns. Where cornering in the other tires in the test required breaking the rear end loose to varying degrees, the X-Ice Snow primarily allowed the driver to use the steering wheel - as opposed to the throttle and/or brakes - to navigate all but the tightest turns. Confident acceleration and braking at all speeds completed the package and helped earn the highest subjective score by a noticeable margin. The Pilot Alpin 5 was a strong performer as well, taking second place in all categories. Compared to its real competition, the Wintrac Pro, the Pilot Alpin 5 stopped 2.6 feet shorter from 25 mph and required 1.6 feet less to accelerate from 0-12 mph. Subjectively, our drivers preferred the steering of the Pilot Alpin 5, in addition to its balanced handling. The Wintrac Pro was an able performer, though it did fall just a little short in this competitive set. The steering was a touch less responsive than the Pilot Alpin 5, and the front end traction would dissolve into understeer more abruptly than our team would have preferred. Even so, it had no worrisome habits, and the traction was certainly enough to work with for our drivers.
Our testing illustrates the tradeoffs drivers can expect when choosing between categories of winter tires, as well as the difference between two leading Performance Winter / Snow products. The two Performance Winter / Snow tires demonstrate their superiority in dry and wet traction and handling, while the Studless Ice & Snow winter tire is clearly dominant on the ice. Specifically, the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 is surprisingly satisfying to drive on the road, thanks to its quiet operation and firm, yet composed ride. The steering is responsive and linear, if a little light. In the wet, it has strong outright traction but doesn’t feel completely adept at turning fast laps. Similarly, its strong objective performance in the dry would be satisfying for street use, though it doesn’t feel like it’s intended to be driven on the track - and for good reason. In winter weather it is a confident performer, leading its category in the snow and on the ice. The Vredestein Wintrac Pro leads the on-track portion of our testing in both the dry and the wet. Its surprising athleticism is impressive for a winter-focused product, though we would like some additional steering response. On the road, the ride delivers both comfort and a feeling of connectedness with the road, combined with some pattern noise that is slightly distracting in the cabin. While it offers better traction on the ice and snow than could be reasonably expected from a typical all-season tire, it trails the other tires in this test in both disciplines. The Michelin X-Ice Snow is exemplary on the ice and in the snow, leading the objective results by a significant margin and feeling even better subjectively. The ride is firm, with some to-be-expected pattern noise and light steering. The wet traction falls way short of the Performance Winter / Snow tires in the test, but our previous testing has shown it is competitive with the best in its own category.
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