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Head-to-head Updated

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 vs Riken Snow — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 3 + 4 road tests and 15 + 9 owner reviews. How we score

Too close to call: Winter Craft WP51 67, Snow 68.

Check price on Amazon · Winter Craft WP51 Check price on Amazon · Snow
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Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Tire AKumho

Winter Craft WP51

Winter

± 8

Tests 65 · 3 tests Owners 69 · 15 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 11 in 2018 AMS Winter Tyre Test (noise)

Riken Snow
Tire BRiken

Snow

Winter

± 7

Tests 64 · 4 tests Owners 68 · 9 reviews

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 62

    Dry

    Snow +4
    66
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 2 / – tests61≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online6465

    Winter Craft WP51: 60% × 60.7 + 40% × 64.1 = 62

    Snow: 60% × 66.9 (est.) + 40% × 65.4 = 66

    No road tests of dry for Snow. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 68

    Wet

    Winter Craft WP51 +1
    67
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 3 / 4 tests6664
    Reviews found online7071

    Winter Craft WP51: 60% × 66.4 + 40% × 69.9 = 68

    Snow: 60% × 64.4 + 40% × 70.6 = 67

  3. 70

    Snow

    Snow +1
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 3 / – tests67≈ 71 (est.)
    Reviews found online7471

    Winter Craft WP51: 60% × 66.7 + 40% × 74.1 = 70

    Snow: 60% × 70.5 (est.) + 40% × 70.5 = 71

    No road tests of snow for Snow. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 70

    Comfort

    Winter Craft WP51 +6
    64
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 69 (est.)≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online7063

    Winter Craft WP51: 40% × 68.9 (est.) + 60% × 70.1 = 70

    Snow: 40% × 67.4 (est.) + 60% × 62.5 = 64

    No road tests of comfort for Winter Craft WP51. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

    No road tests of comfort for Snow. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 69

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests71–
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)–

    Winter Craft WP51: 60% × 70.9 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 69

    No owner ratings of noise for Winter Craft WP51. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Snow +1
    68
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online6869

    Winter Craft WP51: 60% × 67 (est.) + 40% × 67.9 = 67

    Snow: 60% × 67.3 (est.) + 40% × 68.7 = 68

    No road tests of treadwear for Winter Craft WP51. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

    No road tests of treadwear for Snow. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 66

    Handling (owners)

    Level
    66
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Reviews found online6666
  8. 55

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Craft WP51Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 2 / – tests55–
Scores at a glance
CategoryKumho Winter Craft WP51Riken Snow
Relative Score 67 68
Dry 62 66
Wet 68 67
Snow 70 71
Comfort 70 64
Noise 69 –
Treadwear 67 68
Handling (owners) 66 66
Efficiency 55 –

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

Winter Craft WP51

± 7

Snow

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

The professional test results behind the scores

Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.

DisciplineCategoryWinter Craft WP51SnowΔHead-to-head
Wet Braking Wet 85% #32/49 · 2021 Winter Tyre Market Overview 85% #36/55 · 2024 Winter 55 Tyre Braking Test – Different tests
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #16/16 2021 ADAC Winter Tire Test R15 #36/55 2024 Winter 55 Tyre Braking Test – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Winter Craft WP51

Pros

  • Exceptional traction and reliability in deep snow and slush
  • High price-to-performance ratio compared to premium brands
  • Solid durability and tread life for the price point

Cons

  • Noticeable increase in road noise
  • Mediocre wet-weather braking and traction
  • Lack of steering feedback and stability on dry pavement
All owner themes in the Winter Craft WP51 review

Tire B Snow

Pros

  • Exceptional snow, ice, and winter traction
  • High value for the money in the budget tire category
  • Low road noise compared to standard winter tires

Cons

  • Reduced wet-weather braking performance during spirited driving
  • Lower-tier classification compared to premium flagship winter tires
All owner themes in the Snow review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Kumho Winter Craft WP51 B · Riken Snow
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available441
Rim diameters13″ – 15″15″ – 18″
Sizes in common11

Which one should you actually buy?

Kumho Winter Craft WP51

Riken Snow

Too close to call: Kumho Winter Craft WP51 and Riken Snow are within 2 points overall. Kumho Winter Craft WP51 is stronger on comfort. Riken Snow is stronger on dry.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 scores 70 vs 64 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Riken Snow scores 66 vs 62 on dry.

Tire A · Kumho Winter Craft WP51
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Tire B · Riken Snow
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Winter Craft WP51 or Snow?

Which is better in the wet, Winter Craft WP51 or Snow?

Neither, by our numbers: 68 vs 67 on the wet score, within 3 points.

Which grips better on dry roads, Winter Craft WP51 or Snow?

Riken Snow, 66 vs 62 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, Winter Craft WP51 or Snow?

Neither, by our numbers: 70 vs 71 on the snow score, within 3 points.

Which is more comfortable, Winter Craft WP51 or Snow?

Kumho Winter Craft WP51, 70 vs 64 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Winter Craft WP51 or Snow?

Neither, by our numbers: 67 vs 68 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology