Lassa winter tyres

The thinking and technology behind Lassa winter tyres

Lassa is an older brand than the company that makes it today. The name appeared in 1974, while the manufacturer Brisa - a joint venture between Bridgestone Corporation and Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding - was founded in 1988, and each partner holds 43.63% of the shares. The plants are in Izmit and Aksaray, and the company's research and development centre is in Izmit as well, as Brisa itself states. The link to Bridgestone is therefore one of ownership and technology, not something invented by marketing.

In practice Lassa inherits the factory and the development base, but neither the performance of the Blizzak line nor its price. In terms of construction the range takes two approaches. Snoways and Competus Winter are Central European type winter tyres with stiffer tread blocks and an emphasis on cold, wet tarmac, and they carry no ice grip symbol on the EU label. Iceways 2 goes the other way: a softer compound, stud holes moulded in at the factory and the EU ice grip symbol. Almost every other decision follows from this single dividing line.

The Lassa range by application

The models in this range are not alternatives to one another for the same car. Each is tied to a particular body type and load range, so the choice starts with what is parked in the garage, not with the model name.

Three rows in the table need a note. The previous-generation tyres here are Snoways 3 and Competus Winter 2, and they stay in the range in individual sizes. In the case of Snoways 3 that works in your favour: it is the one that covers the narrower sizes from 155 mm wide and R13 rims, which the newer Snoways 4 no longer reaches. Snoways 5 goes the other way - the newest generation, only just arriving in the range and appearing so far in R16. An older generation does not mean a weaker tyre in terms of winter requirements: the marking is the same, there is simply less choice around a given size.

The two values in the Iceways 2 row are not an inaccuracy. A large share of these tyres leave the factory without studs and are only studdable; a smaller share come ready-studded. The studs are fitted by a tyre workshop, and until they are in, the tyre behaves both in practice and in law like a studless tyre.

• The speed rating decides more than it seems. Iceways 2 is available from us only with a T rating, which is 190 km/h, and only up to R17. If the car maker requires an H or V rating or a larger rim, the ice tyre option drops out and what is left is Snoways 4 or Competus Winter 2+.
• Check the load index separately. Wintus 2 and Wintus 3 are C-marked tyres with a dual load index, for example 215/60R16C 103/101T: the first figure applies to a single wheel per axle, the second to twin fitment. For passenger cars and crossovers, XL reinforcement is available in some sizes and is useful for a heavier or regularly loaded car.
• Rim protection (RP) is there on some sizes, and with a low profile on potholed streets it tends to save the rim from the pothole.

What the range does not have matters just as much. There is not a single RunFlat tyre in the Lassa winter section, and no product carries a car maker's OE homologation marking - no star, no MO. If the vehicle manufacturer asks for exactly that kind of tyre, look for it in our RunFlat section and on the original equipment pages of the car makers.

Independent tests and what to expect at this price level

Lassa appears in independent tests with two models. In the ADAC winter tyre test of 2023, in size 205/60 R16, Snoways 4 earned 2.5 on dry and wet surfaces, 2.4 for wear and 2.8 for noise, but 5.2 on snow. A lower number is better on this scale, so it is snow that drags the overall score of 5.2 down, and ADAC does not recommend this tyre. The Tyre Reviews summary of five independent tests shows the same shape from the other side: an average placing of 26th, with braking distances 7.8% longer than the premium class on a wet surface and 10.2% longer on snow.

The SUV model does better. The Tyre Reviews score for Competus Winter 2 is 8.3 out of 10, and in the 2025 Autozurnal test in size 215/65 R17 it came fourth out of seven tyres and second best in the wet category, while on snow it finished sixth. There is no independent test of the newer Competus Winter 2+, and Lassa itself publishes TÜV report No. 713209800-TM, in which the wet braking index is 100 against a competitor average of 83; that is a comparison published by the manufacturer, not an independent test. There are no ADAC or Auto Bild results for Iceways 2 and the Wintus family, so no test placings can be promised for them.

The overall picture is consistent. At this price level the strong point is wet and dry tarmac, while snow and ice are exactly where the gap to the premium class shows up first, and that is worth knowing before the purchase rather than after.

Which drivers Lassa suits in Latvian conditions

On Riga's streets and on the main roads, where wet tarmac and salt dominate in winter, the logical choice for a passenger car is Snoways 4 with the widest range of sizes and speed ratings. For an older car and narrower sizes Snoways 3 fits, and for a crossover or an SUV it is Competus Winter 2+ with sizes up to R20 inches. For a loaded van or a minibus what remains is Wintus 2 and Wintus 3: they are the only ones with the C marking and a dual load index.

For anyone driving on unmaintained country roads or wanting a bigger safety margin on ice, this brand has one answer: Iceways 2 for a passenger car up to R17. Ice grip comes at the cost of wet tarmac. In one and the same size, 215/60 R16, the EU label gives Snoways 4 a wet grip class of C, while Iceways 2 gets E, and one class is roughly 3-6 metres of braking distance from 80 km/h. Lassa does not make studded tyres for a crossover, an SUV or a van; in our shop those are in the Nokian and Sailun sections, where studded tyres are available for larger rims too.

The correct size, load index and speed rating are read off the tyre sidewall, the sticker on the driver's door frame, the owner's manual or the fuel filler cap. Fit all four tyres the same: CSDD points out that tyres of different types must not be fitted to the front and rear axles and that the tread of winter tyres has to stay at least 4 mm deep for the whole season, not only on the day they go on. Studded tyres are permitted in Latvia from 1 October to 1 May, as set out in clause 219 of the Road Traffic Regulations; this deadline does not apply to the studless Iceways 2 or to the other Lassa models.