Tyre Reviews Off-road tire test in snow 275/65 R18 2023

Snow Tire Testing: What Did We Find Out?

Three groups of tires showed up in snow handling. You might assume that the non-snow rated tires were in the slowest group, but if you assumed that, you'd be wrong. The slowest two tires in the group were the Goodyear, which doesn't have a snow rating, and the Pirelli, which does have a snow rating!

The Goodyear handled really well, communicated well, slid progressively, just had a little less grip compared to the best, which slowed it down by about 12% per lap. The Pirelli handled less easily, especially the rear part broke off sideways quite quickly and then it was difficult to get it back. The next group of tires was made up of the other tires without a winter rating, the Continental, almost matched the winter Toyo and Yokohama, all of which were less than 1% and 5% away from the best.

The final pair of tires were Firestone and BFGoodrich. They were so close that I tested them a second time and had other drivers test them, and everything confirmed the result. BFGoodrich had a slight advantage in speed for all of us, but Firestone was impressive. When driving these tires felt quite different, BFGoodrich seemed like it was developed with safety in mind. It seemed like it had the best traction and straight-line braking of the group, was monstrous in straight-line braking, which I will confirm in the next traction and braking test, and went into understeer by default. All very safe qualities.

While the Firestone couldn't quite match the BFGoodrich in raw traction, I found it more fun because even though it went into oversteer early and the first part of the skid was pretty quick, you could easily keep the car in high yaw angles and feel like a hero. This probably helped the lap times and made me smile. This is obviously not a useful feature for the road, so the BFGoodrich clearly wins overall in terms of lap times and subjective safety, but the Firestone is very close and is a truly capable tire.

What about all-season and winter tires?

I tested the all-season tires, the Michelin Defender LTX, back-to-back with the BFGoodrich to see how big the difference is between the best winter off-road tire and a very good all-season tire. There was a difference, but it was smaller than the difference between good and bad off-road tires, as the Defender finished between the Firestone and the Toyo! Let’s not forget that the Defender LTX is not rated for snow, so overall I think it performed extremely well. No unpleasant handling characteristics, you just had to be a little slower on all your inputs. It even felt good under braking. It will be interesting to see how it does in the traction and braking tests.

And finally, can a snow-rated all-terrain tire be a substitute for a winter tire? The answer is, and I'm sorry to say, absolutely not. I may have given the winter tire an unfair advantage by using one of the best in the segment, the Michelin X-Ice Snow SUV, but the grip was from another planet. Braking was most impressive, but the amount of extra grip you had in all directions was simply indescribable.

Surprises:

• Despite expectations, not all winter tires are created equal. Goodyear (without winter marking) was better than Pirelli (with winter marking).
• Continental (without winter marking) almost matched winter Toyo and Yokohama.

Performances:

• Yokohama slightly better in corners.
• Toyo average but sufficient.
• BFGoodrich: Safe, excellent traction and braking.
• Firestone: More fun, with controllable oversteer, but less safe.

Comparison:

• Michelin Defender LTX (all-season) surprisingly good, among winter tires.
• Michelin X-Ice Snow SUV (winter): Incomparably better grip and braking.

Conclusion:

• Winter tires are still best for snow.
• All-season tires cannot fully replace winter tires.