235/50 R18 Tires

While these tire do produce a fair amount of road surface noise, they make up for it by providing outstanding grip in the dry, wet, ice and snow. Have driven over 250000 miles on this tire over the last 10 years and have always felt the car was stuck to the road.

Moving from cheap budget offerings as fitted when I bought the car (Volvo XC70 P3 D5 AWD 235/50/18) and fitting a set of these, the difference has been remarkable. Quieter, smoother, grippier, consistent performance in all circumstances. Even on a diesel spill on a wet roundabout, the combination of decent tires and clever electronic devices helped me stay on the road. Cheaper tires wouldn't have done that. The car was designed for these tires. Simply put, the best decision I made about keeping myself and others safe.

I have a lot of confidence in these tires, so much so that we have fitted them in the other 3 cars in the family. They are excellent all rounders and while not sporty they provide good feedback and most importantly for me, are excellent in the wet - a major consideration here in Scotland. They feel predictable in all conditions. The Audi approved car was supplied with new tires by the dealer, from one of the budget Chinese brands. I hated driving the car, plus it was poor in the wet (despite Quattro) and had poor wet braking performance. The car was transformed when after about a month of ownership when I fitted the Goodyears.

These tires have exceeded my expectations both in performance and mileage. From new to bald they have been confidence inspiring and have keep the car composed. A bit soft in corners but still responses fine

Bought a brand new Volvo XC40 in 2023 which unfortunately had Michelin tires fitted. Just taken car into Volvo for its first MOT and it’s failed. Car is perfect, driven with care and only covers approx 8000 miles per year, but the MOT fail is due to the tires cracking across the tread. We expected “wear and tear” but cracking? Terrible. Will not buy Michelin again and am going back to Pirelli.

Although I bought the Linglong Master series tires after reading the reviews on tirereview, I initially felt good and posted a brief comment. However, my English is not good, and I mistakenly wrote the mileage; I thought it was asking for my car's total mileage, but it was actually about how many kilometers this tire has traveled. I will delete the previous brief comment and upload more photos to explain in detail. More importantly, I bought the second generation of the Linglong Master series - SPORTMASTER 2, and the tread pattern is completely different from the first generation, so I think it is necessary to repost the review. I uploaded comparison pictures of the tread patterns of the first and second generations. So far, I have driven about 600 kilometers after changing the tires.

Previously, I used the Wanli SP166EV tires, which were too slippery in the rain (this tire is the second generation of WANLI SP022 but has worse grip than SP022... However, the good news for you in Europe is that this tire is not sold in Europe), so after seeing the reviews on tirereview, I noticed that the Linglong Sportmaster had a very short stopping distance on wet surfaces, so I went to the Linglong store in my city to try two tires. Both tires come with tire insurance (which can be seen on WeChat), and if there is a bulge or impact in the first year, they can be replaced for free. I don't know if you have this kind of service in Europe. After changing the front tires, I immediately felt the difference; the handling and braking confidence were much stronger. However, the day I changed the tires was hot and sunny, so I didn't immediately feel the wet handling. Later, I tested it in the rain, and the wet handling was indeed strong; previously, I was too scared to step on the throttle with the Wanli SP166 because it was so slippery. Later, I specifically went to test its lateral grip on continuous curves, and it was quite good.

The comfort level is very good, with good shock absorption and low noise, meeting the EU label and the Chinese tire label's performance of 69db. Also, because the shock absorption is good, it filters out the feedback from the road surface, so I don't feel the small bumps and undulations of the road; therefore, I only rated the road feedback 5 points.

As for wear, I initially rated it 5 points, but I have my doubts. Various reviews say that the Sportmaster is not durable, including the tirereview test, but will the second generation improve? The treadwear of the second generation Sportmaster is 400, while the previous generation was 360, and I measured the tire groove depth to be 8mm, which is the same as a new tire. I will run 20,000 kilometers and see how much depth is left and whether the grip will decline. Linglong's Green-Max series is known for its durability, which is why it is widely used in the taxi and ride-hailing sectors. Now the Sportmaster series is surprisingly less durable than the Michelin PS5? I have my doubts, so I will try it myself. Just to clarify, I am in Guangdong Province, China, and the roads I usually drive on are mostly asphalt with some concrete roads (see one of the pictures I uploaded).

As for the price, I bought one at a physical store for 630 RMB, equivalent to 80.64 euros, which is considered relatively expensive for tires in China. However, the Michelin PS5 (Michelin Pilot Sport 5) in my 235/50/R18 size is discounted to 857 RMB, equivalent to 109 euros.

The biggest drawback is that it consumes more electricity. For my BYD Yuan Plus (known as BYD ATTO3 in Europe), the range decreases significantly, but electricity is very cheap in China, so it is still acceptable. After all, the handling and wet grip have improved, and I only need to change two tires on the drive wheels, not all four.

That's all for now. Thanks again to tirereview for the review that helped me understand this tire. I was curious to try it out, and it also supports domestic brands. The Linglong brand was not considered good in China before; it was mostly used for ride-hailing, but this time their engineers really put effort into making a good product and dared to present it for European testing (although you tested the first generation, haha).

After 20000 miles I can rate these as very good tires. I have tried to assign score in each category according to my experiences with other all season tires I have driven (Pirelli SF3, Vredestein Quatrac, Bridgestone A005 evo and Toyo Celsius 2) and not compare it to specialized summer or winter tires.
On family estate car I find them great in both dry and wet. Since we do not have much snow here, I have driven on snow for only a few days and it felt good enough and safe. I have not observed any apparent disadvantage to winter tires (I live in a lowland country type with not many steep hills).
From the comfort perspective they seem to be on the firmer side and they needed quite a lot of miles to became quieter. On the other hand, thanks to the firmness the car feels stable even at high motorway speeds.
Overall, I would recommend them especially if you want an all season tire that feels closer to summer tire.
Fuel consumption seems to be a tiny bit lower (2-3%) in comparison to previous Conti SportContact 5.
I am definitely getting another set for the secomd car this autumn.

Changed to this new set of Ion GT SUV tires from my giti control p10 previously. Initial impression - Quiet and comfortable compared to the Gitis. Dry grip is ok for my driving style with occasionally spirited driving. Yet to test in the wet