Serious car — good tyres! Winter tyres R19 for SUV

In the W/T symbols, which appear in the full name of the tyre originally from the Land of the Rising Sun, the phrase Winter Terrain is encrypted. And it will not be difficult to understand from it that the model is designed for operation on winter roads.

The asymmetric design of the tyre tread pattern reveals its versatile abilities. However, Toyo Open Country W/T rides on asphalt at its best. And it does not matter whether it is dry, wet or dusted with a small layer of snow. The rubber is highly resistant to hydroplaning, and the S-shaped lamellas on its blocks increase the rigidity of the tread elements, improving handling on dry asphalt.

Numerous rectangular and trapezoidal blocks form many sharp edges that cling to the slippery roadbed. By virtue of the above, rubber predictably behaves on rolled snow. But on pure ice, its coupling properties cannot be called outstanding. However, you should not expect anything else from friction rubber — if you often need to move on ice, it is better to get studded tyres.

Consumers who have tested the tyre on their "iron horse" leave entirely positive reviews about it. In addition to responsiveness in handling, the model receives high scores for noiselessness and softness when moving, as well as for maintaining elasticity at low temperatures. And the dimensions of the Toyo Open Country W/T are presented for every taste and colour in radii from R15 to R20, which allows you to install a tyre on both an all-wheel drive sedan with small wheels and a serious SUV with twenty "rollers".

Latitude Alpin LA2 tyres from the French concern Michelin have a reinforced sidewall frame, which makes them the best option for use on SUVs, which, as is known, have an increased mass and a high centre of gravity.

Blocks diverge from the rib along the central part of the tyre tread, forming a directional "herringbone". This nature of the drawing is designed to ensure good directional stability of the car and effective removal of thawed snow masses from the contact spot. As a result, the tyre is practically not afraid of hydroplaning and slashplaning.

The tyre shows excellent results in tests both when traveling on loose snow and on dry asphalt. That's just in the latter case, you should rely on a slightly increased braking distance. Uniform load distribution during movement contributes to uniform wear of the tread and provides a large area of the tyre contact spot with the road.

On the go, the Michelin Latitude Alpin LA2 is a low-noise and comfortable rubber. She feels like a fish in water in the conditions of mild European winters. The model belongs to the category of winter tyres for urban roads, where the asphalt surface is most often cleaned or covered with snow-mud porridge. But periodic outings on snow-covered ground coverings will not hurt her either.

Six months after the successful run-in of the winter tyre Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance G1 215/55 R17 98V on the wheels of passenger cars, the American tyre giant has launched a similar version of the SUV tyre on the market. Its design has been redesigned taking into account the key features of the structure of SUVs, crossovers and four-wheel drive cars.

The tyre is marked with high-speed indexes T, H or V. On those roads where it is appropriate and allowed to move at high speeds, it demonstrates a sensitive responsiveness to all the actions of the driver, confidently holding the course and not losing it in turns. The load on the contact spot of the tyre with the roadbed is distributed evenly, which has a positive effect on the stability of control, excellent grip and braking efficiency.

The wide central part of the tread is separated from the shoulder zones by two deep grooves, which are part of the drainage system. The blocks in the centre form a directional pattern, moreover, each of them is striped with an increased number of 3D-BIS lamellae, which have increased rigidity. As a result, the tyre is better able to withstand high loads, increases the handling of the car on a dry road and increases productivity in the snow.

The degree of tyre wear is easy to track by focus on the indicator in the form of a snowflake, which is located on one of the tread blocks. The signal for the need to replace the tyre with a new one will be the disappearance of a snowflake. In general, rubber reveals to the driver a sense of real permissiveness on winter roads, but you should not get too carried away with it, since the main priority when traveling in the cold season is safety. And both your own and other road users.

In the segment of premium winter friction rubber for SUVs, Continental brand products traditionally occupy one of the first places. The TS850P SUV offers first-class handling on the winter roadbed, excellent grip and reduced braking distance.

The asymmetric arrangement of the blocks divides the tread pattern into two different parts. The blocks on the outside ensure the stability of the car on turns, and closer to the inside — increase the stability and controllability of the course. In the shoulders, the blocks have slightly increased dimensions, which prevents stones from getting stuck in the tread when riding on winter off-road.

The pointed edges of the blocks in the inner part of the tread pattern improve traction characteristics on snow-covered roads. Extensive laminating is applied on top of them, which contributes to more confident movement on dry asphalt. On such tyres, you can confidently move on any winter road, understanding what to expect from the car when manoeuvring and the need for a sudden stop.

The re-fitting of the "iron horse" in the Continental ContiWinterContact TS850P SUV requires considerable investment, since the price tag for the tyre cannot be called democratic. However, if uncompromising quality of non-studded winter tyres is required, then there is not much better option for SUV cars.

The model from the company-inventor of winter tyres — the Finnish brand Nokian — borrowed some advanced technologies from representatives of the squad of professional winter tyres for motorsport. In particular, she was the first among the so-called civilian tyres to receive a double pinching.

At the first acquaintance with the tyre, it seems that there are not so many spikes in it. This is true, but it's not about the number of coupling "teeth", but about their quality and shape. Perpendicular-oriented spikes are installed in the central area of the tread to improve the acceleration and braking dynamics of the car, and "metal claws" in the shoulder areas provide improved lateral grip (i.e. they are connected to work in turns).

If the spikes help you feel confident on the ice, then an additional link in improving the traction properties of the tyre on snow-covered roads are V-shaped recesses between the tread blocks in the central part and Deep Snow Boosters, which form coupling edges when moving through deep snow. 3D lamellas work in tandem with them, the mobility of which is limited by supports in the shoulder zones, which positively affects responsiveness in control when manoeuvring.

The tyre should also be praised for the sidewalls reinforced with aramid fibers. In case of accidental impacts on snow-dusted obstacles, the probability of cuts to the side walls of the tyre is significantly reduced. And the degree of tyre wear will be indicated by special indicators indicating the residual tread depth (8, 6 and 4 mm). Conflicting feelings are caused only by the high cost of the model, but due to the lack of alternatives similar in characteristics, it is quite justified.