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Head-to-head Updated

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 vs Goodyear UltraGrip 8 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

UltraGrip 8 leads, 75–72 Narrow edge

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Tire APirelli

Winter Sottozero 3

Winter

Tests 66 · 10 tests Owners 78 · 66 reviews

Best test result: #10 of 10 in 2020 Auto Bild Sportscars Winter Tire Test R18 (overall ranking)

Tire BGoodyear

UltraGrip 8

Winter

Tests – · none yet Owners 78 · 59 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 14 in 2011 Auto Zeitung Winter Tyre Test (overall ranking)

Category by category

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

  1. 75

    Dry

    Winter Sottozero 3 +1
    74
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score)73–
    Reviews found online7978
  2. 81

    Wet

    Winter Sottozero 3 +1
    80
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score)80–
    Reviews found online8384
  3. 65

    Snow

    UltraGrip 8 +8
    73
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score)57–
    Reviews found online7775
  4. 73

    Comfort

    UltraGrip 8 +1
    74
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score)72–
    Reviews found online7478
  5. 67

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score)60–
    Reviews found online78–
  6. 62

    Treadwear

    UltraGrip 8 +9
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score)56–
    Reviews found online7174
  7. 80

    Handling

    Winter Sottozero 3 +1
    79
    Why this score
    SourceWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8
    Reviews found online8079
Scores at a glance
CategoryPirelli Winter Sottozero 3Goodyear UltraGrip 8
Relative Score 72 75
Dry 75 74
Wet 81 80
Snow 65 73
Comfort 73 74
Noise 67 –
Treadwear 62 71
Handling 80 79

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Important
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Less important
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Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

Important
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Winter Sottozero 3

UltraGrip 8

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

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategoryWinter Sottozero 3UltraGrip 8ΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 18% #10/10 · 2020 Auto Bild Sportscars Winter Tire Test R18 100% #1/14 · 2011 Auto Zeitung Winter Tyre Test −81.8 Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Winter Sottozero 3

Pros

  • Exceptional wet weather performance and resistance to hydroplaning.
  • Strong dry-road handling and steering precision for a winter tire.
  • Excellent traction and stability in snow and slush.

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear, particularly if driven in temperatures above 15°C or year-round.
  • Susceptibility to sidewall damage and bubbling when encountering road hazards.
  • Increased noise levels as the tire ages and tread depth decreases.
All owner themes in the Winter Sottozero 3 review

Tire B UltraGrip 8

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and traction in wet, slushy, and snowy conditions
  • High level of ride comfort and refinement
  • Low road noise compared to many winter tire competitors

Cons

  • Reports of excessive road noise for some specific vehicle applications
  • Tread wear can be faster than average under heavy usage or high-speed driving
  • Occasional reports of 'snappy' handling characteristics when pushed to the absolute limit
All owner themes in the UltraGrip 8 review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 B · Goodyear UltraGrip 8
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available9814
Rim diameters16″ – 21″13″ – 16″
Tread depth10/32″—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure50 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

Goodyear UltraGrip 8

Winner: Goodyear UltraGrip 8 — better treadwear and snow. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Goodyear UltraGrip 8 scores 71 vs 62 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You drive through snowy winters

Goodyear UltraGrip 8 scores 73 vs 65 on snow.

Tire A · Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
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Tire B · Goodyear UltraGrip 8
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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.

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

75

Narrow edge

UltraGrip 8

Amazon