What is the best winter tire size? Winter tires - which is better: narrow or wide Why narrow tires are better than wide ones.

When choosing tires, you can often hear from sellers (especially if the required tire size is not available) that it is not necessary to put tires of the native dimension, you can change it. So, for example, instead of wide tires 185/60 R14, you can install 175/65 R14, or instead of 205/55 R16, put wide tires 215/50 R17, while the outer diameter of the wheel will change very slightly.

The only question remains: why change the native size to another? It is believed that when the tire width changes, the characteristics change and the car's behavior in certain situations becomes unpredictable.

In recent years, there has been a clear trend in the new car market: car manufacturers, to give their products a sporty character, equip them with massive wide tires. After all, it's hard to imagine F1 on 175mm tires. And if, u summer tires width has more pluses than minuses, then the question arises - why should you use wide tires in winter?

Winter width test

The German magazine ADCA decided to conduct its own experiment. To do this, they needed 5 sizes of non-studded Dunlop Winter Sport 5 with widths from 195 to 225 (a difference of more than 10%), a VW Golf and a test pilot.

It should be noted right away that there were no significant differences between wide and narrow tires in the test, but minor changes in characteristics are still present.

The test was able to confirm several hypotheses. So, for example, narrow tires gain speed better, i.e. have better grip when driving. When overcoming a puddle of 0.7 cm, wide tires begin to swim at a speed of 71.4 km / h, but a smaller width of 195 mm, on the contrary, increased the bar and held tight until they accelerated to 82.7 km / h - and this is a difference of as much as 10 km / h. Essential, isn't it? The narrow contact patch cuts the streams of water like a hot knife through butter. Water escapes through the transverse channels in the tread pattern and releases the contact between rubber and asphalt. It was also found that narrow tires more sharply enter the turn. But the limit of aquaplaning in narrow tires is higher than that of large brothers.

The second dimensional characteristic of tires - height (profile) - was not ignored either. The fact is that, often, to switch to a wider tire, it is necessary to replace the disks with larger ones, in which not only the width, but also the diameter increases. And this already forces the car owner to purchase tires with a lower profile. You can't do without mathematics. For a tire measuring 195/65 R15, the profile height is 195x65% \u003d 127mm, and for 225/40 R18 the width will be only 225x40% \u003d 90mm - and this is a difference of 30%, which will be noticeable in terms of vibration transmission from the road surface to the car ...

Another important and sometimes decisive factor is the price. Narrow standard profile tires are more affordable than wide low profile tires. If we digress from this test and compare in one of the popular stores, then Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 195/65 R15 cost 4540 rubles, and 225/40 R18 - 12680 rubles. The difference is almost 3 times - not a budget.

Advantages and disadvantages of wide tires in winter

pros

1. It is better to keep the car in the snow, not allowing it to sit on its belly.
2. In handling and acceleration show better grip by increasing the area of \u200b\u200bthe contact spot.

Minuses

1. Worse to keep in a rut.
2. During the period of slush (0-3 degrees with abundant snow on the road), they are less able to cope with the withdrawal of liquid from the contact patch.
3. When the appearance loose snow (3-5 cm) begin to choke on acceleration and slip when braking. When braking, the wide tire works like a snowblower bucket, picking up the flakes under it.
4. Increased rolling resistance due to the difficulty of removing snow from the contact patch and, as a result, increased fuel consumption.
5. The level of comfort is reduced, especially for tires with a low profile.

If with winter tires figured out what is recommended for the summer? Automobile magazines did not conduct such a test, but experts agree on most of the nuances.

Advantages and disadvantages of narrow tires in summer

pros

1. They do better with aquaplaning.
2. Improved acoustic comfort, less noise compared to a similar wide tire tread.
3. Fuel consumption is slightly reduced due to reduced rolling resistance.
4. Better acceleration dynamics due to less wheel mass.
5. Better directional stability in mud and wet grass.

Minuses

1. Worse aesthetic appearance.
2. It burrows more deeply in deep mud and sand.

The wrong size can negate the benefits of even the coolest winter tires... “Auto Mail. Ru ”went to the landfill in Finnish Ivalo to actually find out which tires are best for the winter: wide, narrow or medium-sized?

We have a seventh generation Volkswagen Golf and three sets of wheels recommended by the manufacturer: 195 / 65R15, 205 / 55R16 and 225 / 45R17. All tires one nokian models Hakkapeliita 8, which went through a 100-kilometer run-in at the training ground before the test.

47 different tracks, warm boxes with lifts, wrenches and special devices for storing test tires. This is White Hell - this is the name of the Nokian test center in Lapland, which is located near the towns of Ivalo and Saariselkä

Before driving - check the width and weight of the tire. First opening - the actual difference in width between 195 / 65R15 and 205 / 55R16 turned out to be not 10, but 8 mm. The heaviest tires were expected to be 225 / 45R17. Moreover, if the 195 / 65R15 tire is 1.7 kg lighter than 225 / 45R17, then when controlling the wheel assembly, the difference becomes already 4.6 kg (total - 18.4 kg) - the main increase falls on the disc.

Acceleration and braking on snow

First, packed snow. First gear, soft start and immediately the gas pedal to the floor. ESP system limits wheel spin, and upon reaching 45 km / h - a sound signal that gives me the command to brake. Now I press the middle pedal and the ABS does all the work for me. This results in reproducible data. For one 700-meter snow straight, a dozen accelerations and decelerations are performed. We measure acceleration up to 45 km / h, and braking - from 44 km / h to 5 km / h.

What will the impartial say measuring device Racelogic? The difference turned out to be insignificant: during acceleration, the 195 / 65R15 wheels were slightly ahead of everyone, but during braking they lost 40 cm (or about 2.7%) to wider tires. 205th R16 performed the most stable. I repeated the measurement on the base tires to determine if conditions had changed - the data matched the first run.

Bottom line: The results of acceleration and braking on snow are very close. During braking, the narrow 195 / 65R15 tire slightly (2.7% or 40 cm) yielded to the best 205 / 55R16

Handling on snow

After finishing the races on the handling track, I was surprised how different the VW Golf's cornering behavior can be depending on the tire size!

First exit at 205 / 55R16. Fearfully! It's not about the tires, but about the "three-dimensional" complex snow path laid through the coniferous forest. But after a circle - complete understanding with the VW Golf and the pleasure of driving. Neutral understeer, a slight turn of the rear axle under the throttle release, which does not frighten and is gently damped by the stabilization system I liked the balance of the car so much that if I took a Volkswagen with these tires to amateur races, I would not change anything - quickly and safely.

On 195 / 65R15 tires, the test Golf gets nervous, the car goes into a skid, requires fast and sweeping steering movements, after a skid it stabilizes for a long time. But for a front-wheel drive car in "combat" mode, oversteer is beneficial - that is why, despite the sharp nature, in this configuration, the best lap time is shown, although it was dangerous.

On the widest 225 / 45R17 tires, the behavior of the hatchback is similar to the "calm" 205 mm tire, but with an increase in speed, deceit appears - after entering a turn, the car begins to suddenly demolish. Only on 225 mm tires did I hit on snow parapets and almost flew to a tree in an attempt to set a fast lap. The time on these tires was the worst.

Results: On a snowy forest track, we evaluated not only the lap time, but also the reliability of VW Golf driving. After reviewing the results, the Nokian factory test driver agreed with us on all points:

• the behavior of the car changed significantly depending on the set of wheels;
• 195 / 65R15 tires endowed the Golf with oversteer, the car often tried to turn around, upset with nervous behavior in corners;
• 225 / 45R17 tires, on the contrary, instilled in the five-door hatchback understeer and overall low grip
• 205 / 55R16 tires seemed to have healed the Golf - on them it passes a complex three-dimensional snow track quickly, calmly, and the skid began smoothly and was not a surprise for the driver

Acceleration and braking on ice

The acceleration / deceleration test on ice was carried out in a unique 300 meter tunnel, where a stable coating temperature is maintained (dotted line on the graph). The car is equipped with special rubber brushes that remove the snow crumb in front of the wheels and allow you to achieve stable, reproducible results. After the races - measured for the protrusion of the studs: a dozen from the inside and a dozen from the outside of the tire are taken, then the average value is calculated

Ten years ago, measurements of acceleration and deceleration on ice were a living hell: the surface on the lake is uneven, with slopes and outgrowths, with different grip, and the dependence on the wind, sun and applied snow made the tests look like a Russian roulette. Now everything is different. A unique 300-meter tunnel has brought all parameters to almost constant. But the responsibility is monstrous, the walls are nearby - there is no room for error, and according to the scenario, the measurements had to be carried out by a special tester. However, having made sure of our professional suitability during the snow tests, we were allowed to the office and indoors.

"Ice" tests are similar to those that I have conducted earlier on the snow. Acceleration from 5 km / h to 31 km / h, and after sound signal - sharp braking from 30 to 5 km / h. First acceleration on 205 / 55R16 - what a hold! And the braking is great. Changing the tires to narrow ones - similar results. Further wide 225 / 45R17. Bah! Even without measuring equipment, I feel like the car rolls much further (when measuring, I moved the Golf to the side only the width of the previous wheels to save test ice).

As test car performed Volkswagen Golf with a 1.2 TSI engine, but atypical for the Russian specification with a capacity of 85 liters. from. and 160 N ∙ m of torque. The curb weight is 1205 kg. Acceleration to 100 km / h in 11.9 seconds. Maximum speed 187 km / h. The dynamics of the car is enough for up to 100 km / h, within this framework we performed measurements

We measure the average protrusion of the spikes: 195 mm - 1 mm, 205 mm - 1.1 mm, 225 mm - 0.9 mm.
The working day is over. And then - communication with the development engineer nokian tirewho watched the tests with interest:

Did you notice that 225 / 45R17 tires had less studding? This is the reason for the poor braking performance on ice.

Yes, but not more than two meters! Indeed, between 195 mm and 205 mm tires, the difference in the protrusion of the studs is the same - 0.1 millimeter, - I retorted.

After the discussion, Engineer Matti shows me a Nokian closed internal test graph showing stopping distance versus cleat protrusion. "See, yes ...". I recalculated the results according to Nokian dependencies and still the difference between better results and tires 225 / 45R17 was 1.9 meters! Therefore, we decided to focus on factual data.

Bottom line: When braking and accelerating on ice, tires 195 / 65R15 and 205 / 55R16 performed close (a difference of 2.9%), and tires 225 / 45R17 frankly failed braking and did not adhere well to the surface during acceleration.

Handling on ice

Tire test on an ice track: before each test run, it is cleaned of crumbs. In addition, regular temperature measurements are taken. After the races on each set - check for the protrusion of the spike. The last run is a control one, on basic tires, to understand if the condition of the coating has changed

On the second day, according to the plan, measuring lap times and assessing handling on ice - for this we completely turned off the ESP by removing the fuse. I drive 225 / 45R17 - there is not much grip, but the VW Golf constantly rushes between drift and skid, and the steering wheel has an unpleasant step in terms of effort, after which the connection with the front wheels is completely lost. Due to the lack of grip, even at low speeds, the car slides with the rear axle and strives to turn around the axle.

But on tall and narrow 195 / 65R15 tires, it seems that the tires have significantly more studs - the VW Golf literally bites into the ice. In case of overspeeding in a corner - pronounced understeer, it is very difficult to achieve sliding of the rear axle (only with the help of a special swing of the car). However, you have to steer a lot during normal traffic - the high profile is the reason.

The 205 / 55R16 tires have even more grip than the narrow 195 / 65R15 tires. The car is more balanced and requires less steering in the same corners - better lap times with a significant advantage, and most importantly, safe behavior.

Bottom line: 205 / 55R16 tires performed excellently, there are no special complaints about narrow 195 / 65R15 tires, but you have to steer more, and understeer makes it difficult to show good lap times and can in some cases frighten an inexperienced driver.

The wide 225 / 45R17 tires have insufficient ice grip, which is why the Golf constantly wants to turn around its axis, as if it were a rear-wheel drive car - it requires quick steering in the direction of a skid. At the same time, the drift of the front axle can also suddenly begin, which will continue much longer than you expected.

Outcome

Narrow tires lead to sharp breaks in corners on snowy surfaces, although on ice they are obedience itself, and a high 65th profile with a large side slip will force the steering wheel to a greater angle even during normal cornering. We recommend these tires only for vehicles with ESP, and in the case of driving on snow, you need to be extremely careful.

The golden mean is just about this kit. The 205th tire has not a single failure on the snow or on the ice, and the average tire has won most of the tests. In our case, for a car mass of 1205 kg, it was this width that turned out to be optimal, and the moderate profile height made the car's behavior understandable.

The tires completely failed the ice tests. The large area of \u200b\u200bcontact with the surface led to a low specific pressure of the studs on the ice due to the low weight of the car of 1205 kg. On snow, a car on such tires starts to demolish early, and it always strives to go straight. The steering wheel on wide tires has a step in force, after which all information about the road disappears. We do not recommend installing the optional wide and low profile tires for winter.

Final tire ratings: