What is best snow tire
Which Snow Tire is Best? We Test Them On America's Steepest County Road!
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welcome to TFLs ultimate winter tire
slash snow tire test now we called it
the ultimate snow tire test because we
invited ten tire manufacturers to submit
their snow tires for a real world review
unfortunately only three respondents so
the ultimate tire test became a three
tire test shootout and coming up right
now we're gonna take these three snow
tires we're gonna put them on that
Subaru and we're gonna find out in
real-world testing which one of these is
the best tire for you three two
you're not gonna believe the resolve
before we start with the contestants in
other words the snow tires let's start
with the car we're going to be using two
almost identical Subaru Outback
why the Outback well because it's really
the family truckster of today
it's got symmetric all-wheel drive it
has a tire size that's almost ubiquitous
and we've got two of them at the office
so we felt it was a great car to use for
this test
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[Applause]
okay this is gonna be the magic moment
and she's gonna fit
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we're driving up to lick skillet road
which wikipedia says is the steepest
country road in America at 14 to 18
percent incline it's really steep and
we're doing it on a cold winter day
right after a snowstorm because we
thought people drive cars to work to
pick up their kids at school and they
don't do it on hockey rinks so if you're
looking for a test where we're testing
snow tires
in apples apples conditions on a hockey
rink this isn't it we do real-world
testing and right now it's really cold
out there about 14 degrees we've got two
almost identical Subarus and we've got
Colorado in our backyard so that's what
we use for our testing also we're not
doing studded tires you can stud snow
tires to give you a better grip on ice
and actually I was at the tire shop when
we were having those tires put onto our
steel wheels I asked them what
percentage of people in Colorado
actually used studded snow tires
versus non studded ones like the ones
were testing it's not free and he said
about 50% people actually use studded
tires and studs are little metal spikes
that go into the tire that give you
better grip on ice he said people who
live up here in the mountains use mainly
studded whereas people who live in
Boulder where we're based use the manaan
studded pure dedicated snow tires and I
think that has to do with the fact that
up here in the mountains you get about
eight months of winter a year and down
where we live you get about eight months
of some right here but hopefully next
year we'll also do some studded snow
tire testing to compare how the two
different types of snow tires do up or
down looks CoolIT Road
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let's see how Andres old all ceaseless
do up this I'm worried to see and by the
way these ins do going a two-wheel drive
car would not make it up this no not at
all not even close
also my passenger window broke again I
can't roll it down that has the fourth
time it broke
[Laughter]
luckily we brought hey Andre I brought
recovery straps for the truck a little
run up it might be all right up might
need to run at it Andre didn't you run
up oh my god
it's slick it's it's really slick
[Laughter]
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[Applause]
basically cutting power so there is a
button down here on the dash and I've
just turned it off so you could see it
here and if I floor it I should be able
to get momentum and come around this
corner so let's see if that works
[Applause]
[Applause]
you know I was really worried about how
to show just how steep looks CoolIT
Rhoda's I think thanks to Andrea there
we've just shown that it is indeed steep
and deep and now I'm a little worried
about the downhill test because right
now this truck is really loaded down
with 12 winter tires so I've got really
good grip especially with new
all-terrain tires but even though the
line of Subaru coming down this hill and
hitting the brakes it's gonna be
interesting I just hope we can slow down
before we put it into a snowdrift oh
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yeah security and safety always hey
Michael can you change my brakes while
you're at it nope we're gonna set the
torque to
eighty oh that needs a little bit
underneath a little bit alright boys
test number one the control we're using
standard tires that came on the Subaru
I've got some cones set up and we're
gonna do boys is we're gonna well this
is that's ice ice we're gonna do this
we're gonna hit 20 miles an hour right
there by the 20 mile an hour sign I'm
gonna hit my brakes keeping everything
in regular mode so no x-mode no traction
off and we're gonna see how quickly our
Subaru can stop using the standard tires
that came on the car and then we're
gonna use cone number one to mark that
and then we're gonna try the Cooper's
with Andres rig all right Andre I'm the
judge
you are the adjudicator the judge yes
and the and the cone holder and the
[Laughter]
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Russian cones first test all season
tires M&S now as a sort of a control
we're gonna be using the tires that came
from the manufacturer on the Subaru
these are bridgestone dueler
HP's they are 225 65 s they are mud and
snow rated but they are not snow tires
in other words these are all season
tires the car has about 4,000 miles on
them so they are relatively new and this
is the tire that you would use all year
round if you live in a place like
Colorado if you actually did not switch
to dedicated snow tire so one of the
things we're going to find out is just
how much more grip and traction we're
gonna get with dedicated snow tires
versus these all seasons okay here I go
boys
that's time and here's 20
these are going straight and true still
going down the hill still going down the
hill that was 20 miles now imagine what
that would do on real-life conditions
like when you know there was a car ahead
of you and he didn't emergency stop and
then I had to do the same thing I would
have hit him okay so here's where the
tire is all season I'll put the cone
right here boom
start Andre I'm stuck power
I just measured 115 feet using my feet
I'm heading right for the sign Andre
right for it
test number two with the Cooper Tires
our next contestant is this Cooper
Discoverer TrueNorth and according to
Cooper this tire is ideal for daily
commuters who drive on plowed or treated
roads and deal with slush and black ice
what makes it unique and what makes it a
great snow tire well quiet with superior
grip on ice accorded Cooper with
sawtooth technology which traps snow in
the tread to provide better snow on snow
traction also coupled silica compound
better Griffin ice without the need for
studded tires and of course Cooper says
it has indeed high density sipes
which enhance wet traction yes go for it
Andrew you drive like a pimp
much better
felt like I had a lot more yeah I felt
like I had a lot more control that was
more of a driver than a passenger their
blue mark on the cone for Cooper tire
I'm gonna mark it Center tire is center
of the tire one more time I'm gonna put
it right here so that's a Cooper 48 49
49 and a half that's a big humongous
difference that's like three car lengths
for acceleration test we've come to the
steepest part of lick skillet Road which
is actually where Andre initially got
stuck with his old all-season tires down
there and we're gonna do is we're gonna
time the cars Andre come on over here
you got the cones
I got the baby cones to demarcate the
finish line okay all right so what I'll
do is up drive the Subaru to the bottom
of the hill okay I'll stop at the very
steep part of that turn yes you tell me
when to go on the radio on the radio and
I'll floor it coming up and then when I
get past the cones you stop me all time
you and you tie me and we'll see what
the times are so okay obviously the
faster the time the better the traction
the slower the time the worst attraction
but here's a question are you using
traction control everything is set in
normal mode okay no x-mode no traction
of pull on just the way it is yes I
think what we're gonna get is the
traction control kicking in especially
trying to come around their discretion
on the all-season time yeah all right
let's do this I'm using this tree here
to mark the finish line and we're gonna
be starting down there
uphill acceleration test you've got the
all season manufacturer tires on the
silver Subaru and Andre I am good to go
so start me please sir
three two large I'm floored Andre I'm
floored
I'm not moving finally finally a moving
here we go it's 15 you did the 20 how
long was that 15 point for two seconds
fourteen point four two I think I got up
to about 18 miles an hour when I cross
the line deep
I really wonder what's gonna happen with
a snow tire do the Cooper next Andres
car test number two acceleration run
Cooper Tires Cooper Tires going up the
hill acceleration testing I understand
it's a different car but the drive
trains are identical horsepower is
identical symmetrical all-wheel drive
this identical it's all the same except
that our car is a little bit newer and
this is all right dude I'm ready to go
whenever you're ready okay so first
winter tire it's the Cooper Roman ready
three two
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no way well guess what my Lightspeed
finger recorded 11 second flat I tell
you I'm impressed by how well the
Cooper's did yeah I mean you know
dedicated snow tire versus and all
season no contest no but now the real
test begins that's right now we've got
the real apples-to-apples testing so
we're gonna see which of these three
dedicated snow tires is the winner of
our very first annual epic what if the
result is like a matter of inches and
milliseconds it's still a result okay
all right okay let's put the
Continentals on our long turn Subaru and
the Dunlop's on your white Subaru are
the good
see these are directional tires these
Dunlop's and Continentals so we have to
make sure
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check it out clear look at the chains on
the front of this old Ranger the tire is
bald but the chains still help let out
crazy all right this is test downhill
test number three
Andre Subaru with the gun locks we have
this the dunlop winner max sj8 according
to dunlop
this helps conquer winter conditions on
snowy and icy roads and how does it do
that well dunlop says it's got max sharp
edge sipes which help keep the tread
more rigid for thread to ice contact
finally nano fit rubber combines
flexibility and rigidity to help the
tread adhere to icy surfaces okay we're
rolling cameras once again 20 miles an
hour and then just stomp on it like I'm
stomping in an office
oh my oh my Andre that was interesting
huh
okay let's mark it I think it's about
the car lengths
actually so here's the mark for the
Dunlop tire alright well 13 14 almost 14
feet the Cooper tire did 14 feet better
than the down-low this is downhill test
number four Continentals on long-term
silver Subaru we've got the continental
winter contact si now I've got my cheat
sheet here because we decided to find
out what makes these tires special and
on their website continental says that
this is the ultimate winter tire with
powerful grip in the rain snow and even
ice end quote and how does it do that
well it uses something called polar plus
technology which Continental says it
claims to increase grip in the rain and
snow so conditions with special traction
grooves with multi angle tread pattern
that's what sets this tire apart all
right are you ready yes I'm not doing
much for this one here we go
well we certainly have a result there
Andre I can't tell if this tyre is even
with the previous tire mark this right
there all right Andre let's show them
the results so you're down there with
the standard tire that came on the
Subaru the all season so congratulations
to Cooper you guys are number one or the
shortest stopping distance on the
braking test and I think now we have to
see which of these tires does best on
the grip test when you're accelerating
versus braking so shall we run up the
mountain go for it all right
acceleration test number three with the
Dunlop's using Andres wife's car so test
number three accelerating up the hill
Dunlop's
three-two
here I go 15 miles an hour 17 i exceeded
the speed limit by two miles an hour
boys well Roman I gotta say so I got
some bad news what's the bad news
you have 12 point seven nine twelve
point seven nine oh my 12 point seven
nine so right now
Cooper's out of the snow tires are still
in the lead
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it doesn't matter what snow tire you buy
but get some dedicated snow tires going
up like skillet right now is just so
much more confidence inspiring and much
less scarier knowing that I have grip
it's like night and day between these
and the all seasons definitely go out
and get yourself some snow tires because
it makes a world of difference
all right test number four Continentals
in the house with the long-term TfL
Subaru all right Andre count me down 11
seconds is the time to beat
three-two
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24 that time I got to tell you guys that
felt the best out of all of them I had
very little slippage you're not gonna
believe the results and the Cooper the
traction control kick in this time there
was no traction control it just took off
like it was stuck to glue it's pretty
good I'll just I'll just let you read em
and weep Wow
eleven point zero five it's almost
identical to the Cooper oh this is five
one hundredths of a second
this is with inhuman air this is within
a blink of an eye that's interesting
I want to thank Cooper continental and
Dunlop for providing tires for TFS very
first and hopefully annual ultimate
winter tire test now of course the
results speak for themselves and
congratulations to Cooper that edged out
the other two tires I think the biggest
takeaway from this year's testing is
that if you're gonna drive in winter
conditions definitely get yourself some
dedicated winter tires because the all
seasons
they're pretty terrifying as always this
is rhomin reporting for the fast lane
car check out TfL car comm for more news
views and real-world reviews hey and all
you other guys that didn't participate
this year we're open for business next
year see you guys next time ciao
