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Will we stretch the rubber? We study the prices of good winter tires and their Chinese clones
The situation on the tire front is somewhat similar to what is happening on the car market, but not necessarily so. There is an invasion of hard-to-pronounce Chinese brands, but the diversity remains. Some brands are familiar, while others are hidden under Russian brands. We studied the range and prices of winter tires, and one of the pleasant conclusions was that there are absolutely no alternatives even to little-known Chinese brands.
Who left and who stayed?
, , and left Russia. Symbolically, the Michelin plant near Moscow will be repurposed to produce rubber crumb. In other words, it will destroy tires, not build them. However, the Bridgestone plant in Ulyanovsk will have to return to the original technology, but will produce tires under the auspices of the Russian manufacturer Cordiant, which won the rights to produce the Swedish brand's models.
Russian brands are also in service. It produces lines under its own brand and budget, and also acquired the Kaluga plant of the Continental concern, which was reorganized and renamed to produce tires of the sub-brand Gislaved. Russian production of Continental itself has ceased.
We compared prices for the popular size 205/55 R16. The budget segment of winter tires of this format is tires. Most Chinese models are concentrated in this range: Sailun Ice Blazer Alpine+, Aplus A730, Linglong Green-Max Winter Grip, Triangle IcelynX TI501. However, studded tires of Russian production Tunga Nordway 2, non-studded winter tires Formula Winter (a sub-brand of Pirelli) and Belshina Bel-317 are cheaper. And the Viatti Brino line is a little more expensive than Chinese low-cost airlines. It costs about 6,000 rubles per wheel.
The range includes some of the best-known brands. These include the Russian Cordiant (Snow Cross 2 and Winter Drive 2) in studded and friction form, the Ikon Nordman 5 (formerly Nokian), the Taiwanese Maxxis Premitra Ice Nord 5, the Torero MP30 and the Matador MP30 prototype Sibir Ice (both Russian-made) and the Formula Ice, all made at the Pirelli factory.
Also in the same price range are Linglong Green-Max Winter Grip 2. Note the second place in the index. If the first "green" ones belong to the budget category and have an outdated design, then the second generation of these tires largely repeats the successful Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 model and partially Michelin X-Ice North 4. This Linglong showed convincing results in recent tests. The choice of the model for the Autoreview publication (second after Yokohama Tyres) was already "crisis", but did not include previous segment leaders such as Nokian or Michelin. But it is unclear why you would still buy Linglong Green-Max Winter Grip 2. For this money, you can choose tires from a much higher-rated brand.
For example, the price of tires of size 205/55 R16 of old brands - Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta 9 can be purchased for about 12,000 rubles, and "10" - about 14,000. The Russian analogue Ikon Autograph Ice 9 is cheaper, but not radically. It costs about 10-11 thousand rubles per wheel. For Pirelli Winter Sottozero Series III, more than 15,000 units were requested, and for Continental Winter Contact TS - more than 20,000 units.
However, the above-mentioned Autoreview test revealed the characteristics of Chinese studded tires. Studs are not always good. Therefore, the studs of the Triangle IcelynX TI501 and Maxxis Premitra Ice Nord 5 (made in China) were too deep, and both tires showed poor results on ice. The braking distance is almost 1.5 times longer than the leader. .
Well, the last fact is curious. Chinese cars and electric cars often have large wheels, so buying tires can be difficult. For example, the price of 295/35 R22 tires on Zeekr 001 is about 50-80 thousand rubles per wheel, and the range is much narrower than that of mass-produced models.
Since last winter, Russia has been issuing fines for driving on off-season tires. And here is the answer to the question of which tires to choose: studded or friction. We have answered other popular questions about winter tire fitting here.