255/45 R18 - Best winter tyres 2026 - market overview, tests, reviews

Winter

38

Tyres

We recommend

Premium

Blizzak LM-005

9.0

£237

Buy Details

Price / Value

Winter i*cept evo3 W330

9.6

£182

Buy Details

Budget

WinGuard Sport 2 WU7

6.9

£146

Buy Details

Best deals

Premium

PILOT ALPIN 5

255/45 R18 103 V

£235

Great price for a premium tyre

Best tyres in tests (2026)

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1

Premium

Pilot Alpin 5

'25#1

'25#1

'25#2

10.0

Price from

£235

Price from£235

Expert summary

This is currently the best rated tyre we have and there is a reason for it - it combines sportiness on snow and dry and very good safety margins on the wet. It’s designed to maintain the joy of driving, even on winter tyres, but still manages to be safe at all times. 100% recommended.

Recommended

#1

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#1 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Wear

100%

Gravel traction

100%

Sand traction

100%

+29

Wet handling - objective

38%

Ice lateral guidance

33%

Price/value

8%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#1(Exemplary)

2025275/35 R19#1(Outstanding)

2025245/45 R19#2(Highly recommended)

2025225/40 R18#2(Good)

2025225/40 R18#2(-)

2024235/35 R19#1(Exemplary)

2024245/45 R18#1(Exemplary)

2024235/35 R19#1(Test winner)

2023225/45 R18#1(Test winner)

View full review

Price variants (1)

255/45 R18 103 V

B C 69dB

£235

mytyres.co.uk

£235

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£252

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

2

Premium

Winter

'25#1

'25#2

9.6

Price from

£191

Price from£191

Recommended

#4

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#4 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow traction

100%

Snow cornering

100%

Comfort

100%

+10

Wet circle cornering

47%

Dry handling

42%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

26%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#1(-)

2025225/40 R18#2(Exemplary)

View full review

Price variants (1)

255/45 R18 103 V

B B 71dB

£191

mytyres.co.uk

£191

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

3

Premium

Blizzak 6

'25#1

'25#2

'25#3

9.2

Price from

£190

Price from£190

Expert summary

Blizzak has always been a winter tire focused on wet conditions, but with its sixth model, Bridgestone has promised improved snow performance and reduced rolling resistance. Early tests suggest they have delivered on these promises—Blizzak 6 is unmatched in wet conditions and excels on snow, making it ideal not just for city climates.

Recommended

#8

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#8 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow safety

100%

Lateral guidance on snow

96%

Gravel traction

91%

+26

Exterior noise

52%

Price/value

34%

Interior noise

29%

Test results

2025235/50 R19#1(Test winner)

2025275/35 R19#2(Very good)

2025225/45 R17#3(-)

2025215/55 R17#3(Good)

2025225/40 R18#3(Exemplary)

2025225/40 R18#3(Good)

2025245/45 R19#4(Highly recommended)

2025225/40 R18#6(-)

2025215/55 R17#6(Very good)

2025215/55 R17#7(Good)

View full review

Price variants (1)

255/45 R18 103 V XL Enliten / EV

B C 72dB

£190

mytyres.co.uk

£190

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£259

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

4

Premium

WinterContact TS 870 P

'25#1

9.4

Price from

£210

Price from£210

Expert summary

Continental winter tires have been winning tire tests for many years, and the 870P is no exception. The “P” stands for performance, but don’t be mistaken, its rolling resistance is also praised, making it ideal for EVs. A well-balanced tire.

Recommended

#7

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#7 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Dry handling - objective

93%

Rolling resistance

92%

Mud traction

91%

+26

Gravel traction

46%

Sand traction

46%

Price/value

4%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#1(Good)

2025215/55 R17#1(Outstanding)

2025235/50 R19#1(Exemplary)

2025215/55 R17#3(Exemplary)

2025245/45 R19#5(Highly recommended)

2025225/40 R18#6(Good)

2025225/40 R18#7(Good)

2025225/40 R18#13(-)

2024215/55 R17#2(Highly recommended)

2024235/55 R18#2(Very good)

View full review

Price variants (1)

255/45 R18 103 V BSW XL

B C 71dB

£210

mytyres.co.uk

£210

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£254

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

5

Premium

Wintrac Pro+

'25#4

7.2

Price from

£160

Price from£160

Performance

Wet handling - objective

90%

Wet circle cornering

89%

Wet handling

83%

+22

Price/value

21%

Dry lane changing

16%

Dry driving behavior

11%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#4(Exemplary)

2025215/55 R17#4(Good)

2025235/50 R19#4(Good)

2025215/55 R17#5(Very good)

2025225/45 R17#6(-)

2025245/45 R19#6(-)

2025275/35 R19#6(Good)

2025225/40 R18#13(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#17(-)

View full review

Price variants (1)

255/45 R18 103 V £160

mytyres.co.uk

£160

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

6

Upper-middle

Winter i*cept evo3 W330

'25#4

'25#5

'25#6

8.7

Price from

£191

Price from£191

Expert summary

Hankook sneaked in between the traditional premium tyres again with its Icept Evo3. It excels in aquaplaning resistance, which is crucial for european winters.

Recommended

#13

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#13 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Aquaplaning - cross

96%

Gravel traction

91%

Snow handling - objective

90%

+19

Wet handling - objective

50%

Dry steering response

41%

Exterior noise

13%

Test results

2025275/35 R19#4(Very good)

2025225/40 R18#5(Good)

2025225/40 R18#6(Good)

2025225/40 R18#14(-)

2024235/35 R19#4(Recommended)

2024245/45 R18#5(Exemplary)

2024235/35 R19#6(Good)

2023225/40 R18#4(Exemplary)

2023225/45 R18#4(Highly recommended)

2023225/45 R18#6(Good)

View full review

Price variants (2)

255/45 R18 103 V

B C 73dB

£191

mytyres.co.uk

£191

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

7

Upper-middle

Eurowinter HS02 Pro

'25#9

'25#20

6.6

Price from

£146

Price from£146

Expert summary

EuroWinter HS02 is very good and quite sporty on dry and wet, but lacks some performance on the snow which is the reason for the not so good test results. Weaknesses in aquaplaning and rolling resistance doesn't help either.

Performance

Dry braking

74%

Wet handling - objective

68%

Exterior noise

68%

+20

Gravel traction

18%

Mud traction

18%

Snow handling - objective

9%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#9(Good)

2025235/50 R19#9(Sufficient)

2025225/40 R18#20(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#20(-)

2024235/55 R18#8(Good)

2024245/45 R18#10(Satisfactory)

2023255/45 R20#7(Satisfactory)

2023225/60 R18#7(Satisfactory)

2023225/40 R18#9(Satisfactory)

View full review

Price variants (1)

255/45 R18 103 V £146

mytyres.co.uk

£146

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

8

Budget

Premitra Snow WP6

'25#10

'25#19

'25#44

3.6

Price from

£155

Price from£155

Performance

Safety

94%

Dry steering response

89%

Price/value

84%

+29

Mud traction

18%

Snow handling - objective

11%

Wet safety

0%

Test results

2025245/45 R19#10(-)

2025225/40 R18#19(Sufficient)

2025225/40 R18#44(-)

2024245/45 R18#11(Satisfactory)

2024215/55 R17#13(Sufficient)

2024205/55 R16#41(-)

2023225/45 R18#34(-)

2022225/45 R17#6(-)

2022185/65 R15#8(Satisfactory)

2022245/40 R19#8(Satisfactory)

View full review

Price variants (1)

255/45 R18 103 V £155

mytyres.co.uk

£155

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

255/45 R18 tyre test

Personalize →

Best tyres in your size

Dry

1. Michelin Pilot Alpin 5

92%

2. Continental Wintercontact Ts 870 P

78%

3. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

77%

4. GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3

71%

5. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

71%

6. Falken EuroWinter HS02 Pro

70%

7. Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330

69%

8. Imperial SnowDragon UHP

64%

9. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

64%

10. Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6

55%

11. Vredestein Wintrac Pro+

51%

12. Dunlop Winter Sport 5

50%

Wet

1. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

87%

2. GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3

76%

3. Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330

75%

4. Vredestein Wintrac Pro+

73%

5. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

71%

6. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

70%

7. Continental Wintercontact Ts 870 P

70%

8. Dunlop Winter Sport 5

67%

9. Michelin Pilot Alpin 5

67%

10. Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6

61%

11. Falken EuroWinter HS02 Pro

49%

12. Imperial SnowDragon UHP

29%

Snow

1. Michelin Pilot Alpin 5

87%

2. Dunlop Winter Sport 5

76%

3. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

73%

4. GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3

68%

5. Continental Wintercontact Ts 870 P

68%

6. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

68%

7. Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330

67%

8. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

66%

9. Vredestein Wintrac Pro+

51%

10. Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6

45%

11. Falken EuroWinter HS02 Pro

31%

12. Imperial SnowDragon UHP

29%

Comfort

1. Michelin Pilot Alpin 5

91%

2. Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6

75%

3. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3

74%

4. Continental Wintercontact Ts 870 P

73%

5. Falken EuroWinter HS02 Pro

65%

6. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

61%

7. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

53%

8. Dunlop Winter Sport 5

49%

9. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

40%

10. Vredestein Wintrac Pro+

40%

11. Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330

31%

This is a preview of our comprehensive tyre test. The full test includes:

Detailed breakdowns

Interactive sorting

Side-by-side comparisons

View Full Test Results

Price vs Quality

See how tyre price relates to test performance at a glance

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Cars with 255/45 R18 tyres

I'm looking for ...

Best snow tyres

Best tyres for EVs

Best ice tyres

Best dry-handling tyres

Best rain tyres

Quietest tyres

Most economical tyres

Best anti-aquaplaning tyres

Customer reviews

216 customer reviews for tyres in this size

Dunlop Winter Sport 5 3.8/5 (38)

Dunlop SP WINTER SPORT 3D 3.5/5 (36)

Nokian WR A4 3.3/5 (23)

Nexen WinGuard Sport 3.2/5 (20)

Falken EuroWinter HS01 3.7/5 (20)

Michelin PILOT ALPIN 5 3.7/5 (20)

Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 3.2/5 (16)

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P 3.9/5 (16)

Yokohama BluEarth winter V905 3.8/5 (14)

GoodYear UltraGrip Performance+ 3.8/5 (13)

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255/45 R18 — Also available in

Summer(106)All season(17)

Top brands in 255/45 R18

Did you know ...?

255/45 R18 doesn't belong to the most popular dimensions for winter tyres - there are 21 tyre models available, which can be compared to 175/70 R13, 155/65 R13, 155/80 R13. Let's break down the sizing - 45 is height of the tyre, which is calculated as 45% of the tyre width (255mm), which means the sidewall height has 114.75 mm. The wheel diameter is R18, which means it fits to a 18 inch/457.2mm diameter wheel. The total circumference of the tyre is 2157.33 mm, which is very similar to 255/40 R19(2157.02 mm), 255/35 R20(2156.7 mm), 215/65 R16(2154.82 mm), 225/45 R19(2152.31 mm), 295/30 R20(2151.99 mm), 235/60 R16(2162.67 mm), 295/35 R19(2164.87 mm). There are multiple speed indexes available for winter tyres in 255/45 R18: S(180km/h), T(190km/h), V(240km/h), W(270km/h). The same goes for weight indexes: 99, 103, 110. You can find 255/45 R18 on 9 car models - mainly .

255/45 R18 is found on 9 vehicles: