Despite the late summer conditions, one thing is certain: next winter is definitely here. It is not yet known whether it will snow. According to Arbö, anyone who needs new winter tires this year should consider whether all-season tires are sufficient for their driving habits or whether they will be going to the Alps more often. The test team from the Arbö car club tested the properties of three affordable winter tires from manufacturers Austone, Fortuna and Sailun, along with seven tires from established and premium brands.
Winter tires were tested in Finland © K.TSCHOVIKOV
Results with surprises
Accelerating on snowy roads was not a problem for any of the test tires. Braking in the snow occurred at a speed of 35 km/h: the field was also close. After the Bridgestone with a braking distance of 12.26 meters, the much cheaper Austone surprisingly came in second place.
There were no discrepancies with the tires when it came to snow handling. Austone surprisingly performed at the same good level as Michelin. Both were easy to drive in the snow and were the best in this discipline. Last placed Sailun still ended up in the yellow zone. It revealed slight weaknesses in grip and driving stability in corners, especially on climbs, but was manageable overall. The rest formed a solid midfield when it came to driving behavior on snow. Goodyear and Nokian tires showed minimal loss of traction on climbs and curves.
When the braking distance increases by five meters
Braking on dry roads from 100 km/h was rock solid with almost all tires. Only the Fortuna left the line with a braking distance of 45.3 meters. There was one compared to the best in the discipline, the Michelin (40.4 meters). Braking distance almost five meters longer. This corresponds to the length of a car and is clearly too much.
The Fortuna and Austone tires made a weaker impression on dry roads: they had excessive understeer, were more difficult to maneuver in corners and were generally too spongy and imprecise to maneuver.
Big differences in supreme discipline
Braking on wet roads from 80 km/h is the ultimate discipline. The tires have to give their all here, because the braking distance on wet roads is significantly longer. The best in the race, the Hankook, had a braking distance of 30.4 meters. While almost all of them, even the Sailun tire, which placed last overall in the snow, showed a homogeneous braking pattern between 30 and 32 meters, the Fortuna (41 meters) and Austone (38.8 meters) failed completely . The braking distance is equivalent to the length of two short compact vans.
The cheaper brands were disappointing when it came to handling on wet roads: while the Sailun was almost acceptable here, the Austone and Fortuna tires proved a disaster. They also had noticeably little grip and were imprecise in steering. Our testers rated the driving behavior of these tires as dangerous for normal drivers.
Conclusion: The winner of the Arbö test
According to Arbö’s test, the Bridgestone is close to the perfect winter tire; showed a more than solid overall image in all disciplines, followed closely by the Hankook and Continental. The Austone and Fortuna were completely disappointing, as Erich Groiss, technical coordinator at ARBÖ, explains: “After a strong start in the snow, they showed how dangerous it can be to have the wrong tire when the weather changes. Under the given conditions, they completely fail the test. We strongly advise against these tires.”