Dry Braking | ▲Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 33.1 M | ▼Nankang Sportnex AS2 Plus: 37.5 M |
Dry Handling | ▲Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 129.3 Km/H | ▼Nankang Sportnex AS2 Plus: 125.2 Km/H |
Subj. Dry Handling | ▲Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 10 Points | ▼Nankang Sportnex AS2 Plus: 5 Points |
Wet Braking | ▲Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 34.1 M | ▼Toyo Proxes Sport: 41.5 M |
Wet Handling | ▲Falken Azenis FK510: 72.8 Km/H | ▼Toyo Proxes Sport: 68.6 Km/H |
Subj. Wet Handling | ▲Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5: 9 Points | ▼Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 7 Points |
Wet Circle | ▲Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 9.23 m/s | ▼Toyo Proxes Sport: 8.41 m/s |
Straight Aqua | ▲Nankang Sportnex AS2 Plus: 91.8 Km/H | ▼Maxxis Victra Sport 5: 87.6 Km/H |
Noise | ▲Nankang Sportnex AS2 Plus: 71.2 dB | ▼Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 73.1 dB |
Price | ▲Nankang Sportnex AS2 Plus: 139 | ▼Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 267 |
Rolling Resistance | ▲Continental Sport Contact 6: 8.3 kg / t | ▼Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 9.7 kg / t |
There are some small differences between the two tests. Firstly, Auto Bild tested 20" tires using a Ford Mustang, where for this test Sport Auto have used the Toyota Supra / BMW Z4 platform which wears 255/35 R19 front and 275/35 R19 rear tires.
Sport Auto have also added a little depth to the test by including both UUHP (or Maximum Performance) and UHP tires, which means we get the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 up against the best from Michelin and Bridgestone, not the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport.
Sport Auto have also provided lots of data about the tires on test, which you'll see in the results below underneath the images, and it's interesting to see Bridgestone have been punchy with a starting tread depth of just 6.7mm on the front tire, way lower than the 7.4mm of the Michelin and 8mm of the Goodyear. Please note, the information listed below is for the rear 275/35 R19 size, if you'd like the data for the front size please head over to the Sport Auto website.
UUHP vs UHP
Analyzing the differences between the best UUHP and best UHP tires brings up some interesting data.
In the dry, the UUHP tires from Michelin and Bridgestone were unrivaled in both braking and handling, with the testers also noting they had the sportiest handling on test.
The wet testing muddied the water a little. The UUHP Michelin had the shortest wet braking, but Falken managed to beat the Bridgestone to second place. Falken also dominated the wet handling test, ahead of second placed UHP Goodyear with the Bridgestone having to settle for third and the Michelin down in seventh! Somewhat strangely, the wet circle test brought the advantage back to the UUHP tires, with Michelin leading Bridgestone, which could mean the water depth on the wet handling circuit was too much for the UUHP tires at points, as the UHP tires were the clear leaders in the aquaplaning tests.
Dry
The new Potenza Sport led the way in dry braking with a small advantage over the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
Dry handling matched the first two positions of dry braking, with the Continental SportContact 6 taking an impressive third place.
Unsurprisingly the two fastest tires on test also had the best subjectively handling, with the Continental and Goodyear the best of the UHP tires.
Wet
The top three positions in wet braking were covered by just 0.3 meters, with the updated Toyo Proxes Sport A still struggling in the wet.
The Falken FK510 again proved its wet mastery, edging out the Goodyear for the fastest average speed around the lap. The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S seemed to unusually struggle, posting the second slowest time.
The three fastest tires also had the best subjective handling.
Michelin improved its wet weather performance by producing the highest lateral G around the wet circle.
The Nankang AS2+ was impressively ahead in straight aquaplaning tests, however that didn't make up for the otherwise low grip.
Environment
The spread of external noise was covered by just 1.9db.
The Continental SportContact 6 had the lowest rolling resistance on test, with the new Bridgestone posting it's first test loss.
Unsurprisingly the Nankang was cheapest, but surprisingly the Bridgestone was actually more expensive than the Michelin, at over 1000 Euros for a set.
Results
1st: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Very short braking distances in the wet and dry, high levels of grip, very direct steering response and very high steering prevision in the dry, low rolling resistance. Very narrow grip limit with tendency to oversteer in the wet, slight restrictions in ride comfort. The Pilot Sport 4S delivers precise, reliable steering and top grip in the dry and wet. Read Reviews Buy from £242.70 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Bridgestone Potenza Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Very high level of grip in the wet and in particular the dry. Direct steering response and high steering precision during dry handling. Somewhat sensitive to load changes in the wet, increased aquaplaning risks in curves, increased rolling resistance. The new Potenza Sport excels in the dry, with a slight aquaplaning weakness. Read Reviews Buy from £182.72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A very wall balanced tire with excellent handling in the dry, forgiving and still sporty in the dry, low rolling resistance, high driving stability and good comfort. Not a very dynamic steering response, higher noise levels. The Asymmetric 5 is sporty and comfortable for every day safety in any weather. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Continental Sport Contact 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A well balanced tire, very low rolling resistance, good ride comfort. Small deficits in wet braking. The aging Sport Contact 6 is still an excellent tire. Read Reviews Buy from £217.09 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Falken Azenis FK510 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Very good in all wet tests. Sluggish steering reactions and reduced corning grip in the dry, average ride comfort, somewhat increased rolling resistance. The FK510 is excellent in the wet, but limited in the dry. Read Reviews Buy from £202.96 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Maxxis Victra Sport 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good braking performance in the wet and dry, easily manageable understeer in the dry. Weaker aquaplaning resistance. The Victra Sport 5 is a mostly safe entry level tire with no racing ambition. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Nankang Sportnex AS2+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mostly safe in the wet, with an understeer balance, excellent aquaplaning resistance. No sporty driving with sluggish inaccurate steering and poor grip. Relatively long braking distances and weak cornering grip in the wet. The low cost SportNex AS2+ just shines in aquaplaning resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £146.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Toyo Proxes Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Well balanced handling. Limited steering precision and oversteering the dry, very long wet and dry braking distances. The new Proxes Sport A still has grip problems. Read Reviews |