Wide vs Narrow Winter Tires Tested - What's REALLY Better on Snow and Ice?

It's one of the oldest argument on the internet, and it crops up every winter.

Are you better off with a narrow or wide winter tire?

In this video we'll find out whether a narrow tyre or a wide tyre is best for snow and ice by comparing a 205 wide tyre on a 16" wheel, all the way up to a 275 tyre on a 19" wheel!

First, let's quickly talk about why we're having this argument. There are two contrasting theories about grip on snow and ice, and both of them are technically correct.

The first is the one you most often hear from the internet experts, and it gets used for dry and wet performance too. That is that a narrow tyre can apply more pressure on the surface below. While this is true specifically from a physical grip point of view, it ignores the fact tyres produce chemical grip, and that the footprint shape changes with different tyres widths. Which is kinda a shame as I think a La Ferrari would look hilarious on 155 wide tyres.

The second argument is that a wider tyre has more in contact with the surface., which means more compound to grip, a greater distance of sipes, the cuts in the rubber in a winter tyres tread pattern which gives the tyre more gripping edges, and everything else being equal, a wider tyre should have a little more space to pack snow into the tread, and as snow grips snow pretty effectively, this is an advantage.

[tyrereviews]

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[noahnovotny]

In my experience, in northern Minnesota people are much less concerned about turning and braking quickly than they are about getting stuck. I really wish you would do deep snow testing as a result. I’m sure it is difficult to find spots to get a consistent surface with 6-12 inch snow, but that is what matters to most people who have to go to work before the side roads and driveways get plowed. That is where the narrow tire would show the greatest advantage as well. I still appreciate all the in depth reviews! The best tire reviews on the planet currently.

[HOON]

The advantages of a narrow tire show up more in "slush planing" and pushing through deeper snow.

[tomasfranek]

- [06:52] ❄ Narrow tires perform better in both snow and ice traction tests.
- [05:36] 🚗 Narrow tires offer better acceleration in snow but perform worse in snow braking compared to wider tires.
- [08:10] 🚘 Tire width has a minimal impact on handling and performance; tire quality matters more.
- [09:28] 🚙 Consider fitting narrower winter tires for practical reasons, like protecting larger alloy wheels, but focus on choosing a high-quality winter tire rather than worrying about width.
- [03:44] 🌧 Differences in handling and performance between narrow and wide tires are extremely small, with width making little difference in most cases.

[gad]

This test was performed in a very cold place where the snow is basically ice-gravel. My intuition is that you'd see more differences between the widths if you tested on fresher, wetter, deeper snow. For me, my main motivation for winter tires is to not get stuck in fresh snow, especially when climbing hills. I'm not all that concerned about braking and handling differences because where I live, any time there's snow on the ground you're driving slowly anyway.

[carcontrolschool]

Having done several years of Ice Racing in the CASC Ice Racing Championships combined with running our Winter Driving schools for over 20 years at our iced facility and having conducted numerous tire tests, we did notice that a narrower tire has advantages in deeper snow/slush conditions. What is important to note though is any winter tire will out perform any all season tire in winter conditions. Get yourself a good quality set of winter tires. ILR Car Control School

[unvinmtl]

Try testing in deeper snow, so you can see how they would handle on an unplowed road, that's where the narrower tire will cut through the snow VS the wider tire riding on top of the snow. This is when you will really notice the difference (usually during a snowstorm in an urban setting the snow turns to deep slick slush and the narrower tire find's much better traction than a wider tire).

[jeffer]

I've always got the smallest option as that's what I figured made the most sense. From the looks of it, the difference is negligible, but the smaller tire options are often less expensive too. I guess you could look at this way; save some money and buy the smallest option, but use some of that savings to ensure you put it towards a quality tire. That way, you are getting the best of both worlds.

[Pesmog]

There are more potholes in the winter, so I always go for a smaller winter wheel rim with a taller side-walled tyre so that rim damage is less likely and for more comfort on rougher winter roads. I never deviate from the manufacturers list of approved wheel and tyre combo's for that vehicle though, I just move between the recommended sizes depending upon the season.

[donboles]

I’d be interested in comparing tire pressure effect on traction, both dry and wet pavement AND snow and ice, to what vehicle manufacturers want vs what the tire manufactures want for static loaded radius. If a change that can be made for free affects performance I’m sure many would want to know.

[swecreations]

Definitely think the conclusions on this video was wrong, long-time viewer here and love your videos but as someone who's grown up in northern Sweden you definitely see a big difference between narrow and wide tires. On wide tires you will essentially "aquaplane" on the snow and slush.

[meverkko]

I know it's hard to test, but I would have liked to see tests in loose snow and slush.

Living in Finland I've opted for a narrower winter tyre for behaviour. With patches of ice/snow/slush between tarmac the transition from sliding a bit to not sliding is much smoother with a narrower and higher tyre. The narrower tyre might have a bit more traction in the slippery but more significantly it is not so sharp when you either loose grip or get it back.

[machx]

Super interesting test. Some things to consider :
1. A lot of cold areas will see a mix of conditions, sometimes snow, ice, slush, rain, wet and dry pavement. In some areas a driver can experience a combination of any of those in winter, in a single trip!
2. Though it’d be a lot of work to do all this additional testing on 4 different sets, it’d bring additional considerations for finding the best overall width for a well-rounded winter experience.
3. Without much doubt the wider tire would do better on dry and wet than narrower tires; maybe not so much in the rain (hydroplaning).
4. I’d be curious to see how studs would influence the results. Do wider tires have more studs overall? It probably varies from a model to the next depending on the design choices the manufacturers made. But if a particular model has more studs on the wider sizes, then that could very positively improve results on ice.

Thank you for all the hard work 👌

[louisolivierfortin]

One major thing to consider is that most days are not snowy nor icy suring the winter, at least where I live in Canada. So you end up driving on cold tarmac, which I imagine would favor a wider tire. I guess not going to the extremes is the way to go

[ranran]

I always thought the more narrow tire was significantly better for driving in snow. I've been educated now lol. Love these videos.

[garagecedric]

In cases where its snowslush on asphalt roads, which is pretty common here i definitely prefer narrow tyres for traction up hills, or just slushplaning at speed (if i can call it that :)) etc, specially in a lighter car. Great test anyway!

[Camakazininja]

I’d love to see a test of winter tires in fresh deep snow (6-12 inches). I know it’d likely be hard to set up, but I think it would provide useful information. If you are able to make it happen then it’d be cool to add in a narrow vs wide tire into that testing pool. I feel like it’ll have more of a difference in that environment.

[johnhufnagel]

as you mentioned near the end, going with as small a diameter wheel for your winter tires makes sense, since roads are going to be be in poorer shape overall, leading to a higher probability of damaging a large diameter wheel. also, the tires should be a bit cheaper as well, potentially even the cost of one entire tire cheaper.

[JCintheBCC]

In my experience, driving in Vermont and Utah winter here in the USA, width does not matter much. I’ve run from 235 to a 275 on my truck always Blizzaks. The big variable in the real world is the snow temperature, snow depth, road surface under the snow, etc. Any difference from the width is washed out by how bloody variable winter conditions are. I knew a mechanic who’s family raced in an ice league in Vermont (on frozen lakes) and he told me that “surface pressure” only mattered for the deep spiked tires. Modern studless winter tires are so good that you just don’t notice much difference through the noise of “that bit of road had some salt thrown on it” versus “that bit was in the shade and was 5 degrees colder”.

[fulltonefulltone]

Not only the best tires review in the world he also describes the feeling/feedback from the tires and you can tell he really likes to drive like an entusiast. This is very important for dynamic reviews.