Video summary

Braucht’s eigentlich noch Winterreifen? Großer Test mit 7 Marken in 215/55 R 17 | Die Reifentester

Main summary

Key takeaways

Product Review

Product Reviewed (Tire Test)

The video is a large winter tire test (7 winter tires) in the size 215/55 R17, plus an all-season tire as a comparison (“underdog”). The test aims to identify which tires perform best across snow, wet, and dry conditions in winter-relevant temperatures.

Competing winter tires mentioned

  • Bridgestone
  • Continental
  • Goodyear (spelled “Gutier” in subtitles)
  • Michelin
  • Nokian
  • Pirelli
  • Falken (spelled “Fredestein” in subtitles)

All-season compared (not in official ranking)

  • Goodyear All Season (called “All Season” / “underdog”, “out of competition”)

All testing is performed on specialized test sites:

  • Snow: Finland, Ivalo / “White Hell”
  • Dry/Wet: near Madrid / La Mancha plateau, about +7°C

Main Test Disciplines & Key Findings

1) Snow Performance (Finland, ~ -10 to -15°C)

Winter tire handling/braking/traction on snow is evaluated via:

  • steering/curve-by-curve predictability
  • braking from 50 km/h
  • traction from 5–40 km/h using sensors/GPS

Notable results

  • Understeer / steering precision issues: Continental and Michelin show significant understeer, with reduced steering precision.

  • Early loss of lateral traction: Nokian and Falken lose lateral traction too early.

  • Stable performance: Goodyear offers stable driving.

  • Pirelli: described as acceptable (slightly worse than top performers).

Snow braking (50 km/h)

  • Best braking: Goodyear UltraGrip — stop after 24.9 m
  • Bottom of the list: Continental and Michelin — around 26.4 m
  • The difference (~1.5 m) is described as not very relevant on smooth snow.
  • Steering corrections are practically unnecessary: all tires score well; even the Goodyear All Season performs well (just further back).

Snow traction (5–40 km/h)

  • Best benchmark: Goodyear UltraGrip — tensile strength 266 kg
  • The field is close behind.
  • All-season tire (Goodyear All Season): 235 kg, still within the mid-range.

2) Wet & Dry Performance (Spain, ~ +7°C)

This part tests:

  • wet braking (from 80 km/h) and dry braking (from 100 km/h)
  • wet handling
  • dry handling
  • aquaplaning (longitudinal and cross)
  • plus rolling resistance, comfort/noise, etc.

Wet braking (80 km/h)

  • Top vs bottom gap: only ~1.5 m
  • Leading: Bridgestone and Continental (about 30 m lead vs others)
  • Overall: very good for winter tires (not comparable to summer results, but strong within the winter tire field).

Dry braking (100 km/h)

  • The softer winter tread reaches its limits.
  • Best: Continental — about 40 m
  • Behind: Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin
  • Others: brake less effectively, up to ~43 m, with some showing residual speed >20 km/h
  • Goodyear All Season: 40.6 m, which would secure 2nd place.

Conclusion (asphalt braking): Even modern winter tires typically brake noticeably longer than summer tires, but remain relatively close within the winter-tire group.

3) Wet Handling

Standout

  • Continental performs strongly despite mediocre snow results:
    • willing steering
    • stable under braking
    • easy controllability → described as a strong result for a winter tire.

Also impressive (slightly lower grip)

  • Falken and Michelin

Weaker group (including All Season)

An “unfavorable mix”:

  • understeer
  • tendency to turn in too quickly after load changes → no rating higher than “satisfactory” possible.

4) Dry Handling (at +7°C, “almost summer-like”)

Notable

  • Bridgestone and Falken: willing steering response, stable near the limit, very good under braking.
  • Goodyear All Season: just behind, strong upper-range result (out of competition).
  • The “actual” winter Goodyear doesn’t quite match the All Season level, but remains consistently good.

Struggling under forced driving

  • Michelin, Nokian, Pirelli (described as harder to manage).

5) Aquaplaning (7 mm water depth)

Longitudinal aquaplaning

All tires show extremely high tear-off values.

  • Top: Nokian — top speed 92 km/h
  • Near top: Continental — 89 km/h
  • All Season: also strong — 87 km/h

Cross aquaplaning

  • Nokian leads again: ~76 km/h (“very good”)
  • Next: Falken, Goodyear, Pirelli? (subtitles unclear), Continental (described as “follow at some distance”)
  • Only Michelin and Pirelli lag behind: ~70 km/h

6) Noise & Comfort

  • Tires are described as surprisingly quiet (no old “humming/howling/thumping” character).
  • Quietest: Goodyear UltraGrip, closely followed by Michelin
  • Also good acoustically: Bridgestone, Continental, Nokian, Pirelli, Falken
  • All Season: also rated as very quiet

Ride comfort (most convincing):

  • Continental, Goodyear UltraGrip, Michelin

7) Rolling Resistance / Efficiency

  • Rolling resistance depends mainly on tire construction and pressure.
  • Reporting uses an approximate points score:
    • Michelin: under 7 points
    • Best: All Season = 6.7
    • Worst: Falken = 8.4

Overall Comparison / Verdict (What the Video Concludes)

  • Winter tires still have a place—especially in winter conditions.
  • Biggest advantage: very cold temperatures (around -10°C to -15°C) and heavy snow.
  • All-season tires are closing the gap: they can perform extremely well in some disciplines and be competitive.
  • However, all-season is not a replacement:
    • in severe cold, all-season tires “fail” (per video)
    • in very warm temperatures, winter tires also face issues (per video)

Concise recommendation from the content

  • If you mostly drive in real winter with snow and sub-zero temperatures, choose a winter tire:
    • Goodyear UltraGrip is specifically highlighted for snow braking/traction
    • Continental stands out for wet handling and dry braking
  • If you want a compromise for milder winters, the Goodyear All Season is praised as a strong performer in multiple non-snow disciplines with excellent efficiency and low noise—but it’s not positioned as fully equal to winter tires in deep winter.

Unique Points Mentioned About Performance

  1. Winter tire value drops when snow is scarce due to competition from all-season tires.
  2. Test size: 215/55 R17; mid-range vehicles (e.g., Skoda Superb / VW Passat mentioned).
  3. Snow handling/braking/traction tested at ~ -10°C to -15°C in Finland.
  4. Continental & Michelin: significant understeer and worse steering precision on snow.
  5. Nokian & Falken: lose lateral traction too early on snow.
  6. Goodyear: stable snow driving performance.
  7. Pirelli: acceptable on snow (less strong).
  8. Snow braking (50 km/h):
    • Goodyear UltraGrip best: 24.9 m
    • Continental & Michelin worst: 26.4 m (gap ~1.5 m)
  9. Snow steering corrections: generally low; all tires score well.
  10. Snow traction (5–40 km/h):
    • Goodyear best: 266 kg tensile strength
    • All Season: 235 kg (mid-range)
  11. Wet/dry tests at about +7°C in Spain.
  12. Wet braking (80 km/h): top vs bottom gap only ~1.5 m; Bridgestone/Continental lead.
  13. Dry braking (100 km/h):
    • Continental best: ~40 m
    • others up to ~43 m, sometimes with large residual speed differences
  14. Goodyear All Season would be 2nd on dry braking (~40.6 m).
  15. Wet handling: Continental strong; Falken & Michelin slightly less grip but still good.
  16. Wet handling weak group (includes All Season): understeer and too-quick turn-in after load changes.
  17. Dry handling: Bridgestone & Falken near summer-like behavior; All Season strong upper-range.
  18. Michelin/Nokian/Pirelli struggle under forced driving style.
  19. Aquaplaning (longitudinal, 7 mm):
    • Nokian: 92 km/h best
    • Continental: 89 km/h
    • All Season: 87 km/h strong
  20. Aquaplaning (cross):
    • Nokian: ~76 km/h best
    • Michelin & Pirelli: ~70 km/h lag
  21. Noise: winter tires are quiet; quietest Goodyear, then Michelin; All Season also very quiet.
  22. Comfort: best rated Continental, Goodyear UltraGrip, Michelin.
  23. Rolling resistance/efficiency points:
    • Michelin < 7
    • All Season 6.7 best
    • Falken 8.4 worst
  24. Final takeaway: winter tires outperform most in cold + lots of snow; all-season can excel in selected dry/wet areas but has limits in extreme cold.

Speaker-Specific Views (As Reflected in Subtitles)

  • Host/Presenter (general): explains background (climate/snow effects), test structure, and final recommendation on when winter vs all-season makes sense.
  • Joachim (mentioned during Finland/snow segment): participates in cold-start comfort discussion (heated-seat comfort) and supports the flow of the test.
  • “Zur Hand/Zurufen” style segments (music/banter): mostly atmosphere; main evaluations are presented collectively rather than as separate scoring frameworks with distinct named experts.

No separate independent “reviewer” scores are clearly attributed to named individuals beyond the general test narration.

Original video