Expensive and poor wear,but the best street sporty tires I ever used.
265/40 R21 Tires
Everything we know about the 265/40 R21 tire size: 6 owner reviews covering 74,500 miles of driving, and EU label data for the tires you can actually buy in it.
- 6owner reviews
- 74,500 milescovered on them
- 189tires made in this size
265/40 R21 EU tire label data
EU label values are declared for each individual size, so the figures here are exact for 265/40 R21 rather than a range across a model. 148 tires carry label data in this size. The most common load index is 105 (up to 925 kg per tire). Speed ratings on offer: (Y) (301 km/h), Y (300 km/h), W (270 km/h), V (240 km/h), H (210 km/h), T (190 km/h), Q (160 km/h). 48 tires in this size carry the 3PMSF severe snow marking.
A Best wet grip
63 tires in this size hold the top EU wet grip rating, class A. The highest scoring on Tire Reviews:
- Continental SportContact 7 Summer 9.7
- Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 Summer 9.7
- Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport All Season 9.6
- Continental PremiumContact 7 Summer 9.5
- Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo Summer 9.5
- Nokian Snowproof 3P Winter 9.4
A Lowest rolling resistance
The most fuel efficient choice: 16 tires in this size reach rolling resistance class A. The highest scoring on Tire Reviews:
- Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 Summer 9.7
- Continental SportContact 7 Summer 9.7
- Hankook iON Evo Summer 9.3
- Bridgestone Potenza Sport Summer 9.3
- Continental VikingContact 8 Winter 9.2
- Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 Summer 9.2
67dB Quietest tires
The quietest 265/40 R21 tires are labelled at 67 dB external noise:
- Hankook iON Evo Summer 9.3
- Bridgestone Turanza T005 Summer 8.6
- Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 ev Summer 8.5
- Accelera Iota ST68 Summer 6.6
Label values come from the EU EPREL database and apply to the EU market versions of each tire. Wet grip and rolling resistance run from class A (best) to E; noise is the measured drive-by figure. A good label is a floor, not a verdict - the tests and owner ratings above tell you far more.
What does 265/40 R21 mean?
A 265/40 R21 tire is 265 mm wide, its sidewall is 40% of that width (106 mm) tall, and it fits a 21 inch wheel. That gives an overall diameter of roughly 745 mm.
| Section width | 265 mm |
|---|---|
| Sidewall height | 106 mm |
| Rim diameter | 21" (533 mm) |
| Overall diameter | ≈ 745 mm |
| Circumference | ≈ 2,342 mm |
| Revolutions per km | ≈ 427 |
| Revolutions per mile | ≈ 687 |
Also written as
265/40R21 265/40 ZR21 265-40-21 265 40 21
Figures are calculated from the nominal size. A loaded, rolling tire runs a few percent smaller, and true widths vary slightly between makes.
What cars use 265/40 R21 tires?
The cars most often running this size in our owner reviews. Each links to the best rated tires for that exact car.
Every tire reviewed in 265/40 R21
The complete record, including discontinued tires and tires with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 2 tires have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.
| Tire | Season | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental SportContact 7 | Summer | 87% | 2 | 29,500 miles |
| Continental Sport Contact 6 Replaced by Continental SportContact 7 | Summer | 79% | 2 | 20,000 miles |
Reviews only cover part of the market: 189 tires are made in 265/40 R21. Browse every 265/40 R21 tire →
What drivers say about their 265/40 R21 tires
The most recent owner reviews fitted in this size, in their own words.
Very good dry grip and handling especially when new. In wet, the tires performed good but not as good as in the dry. The tires proved to be robust on bad road surfaces and over many potholes. In general I cannot fault the tires for the general driving experience. The only downside was the tires did not last long (approx. 15K miles) which was surprising to me as 70% of the mileage was in town with average speeds below 40mph, and rest on motorways at the national limits. At nearly £300 each tire, I believe these high performance tires are wasted if majority of driving is low speed city driving. For this reason alone, I will not buy them again.
Bmw x3m stock tires. Dry grip warm weather is incredible.. and confidence inspiring. Dry cold the tires can produce some understeer when pushing. Wet grip cold an warm these tires surprised me with the amount of grip that had.
20,000kms and the rear are quite worn but I do launch the car fast off the lights often. The fronts can last another 2000kms roughly.
Definitely recommend these if you get them for cheap
Excellent tires both in dry and wet. Tried a good selection of tires over the years and these are the best by far. Only drawback I find is that they wear a bit quick.. I think its got more to do with the 700bhp and 1100Nm of torque they need to tame on my Audi S8 4.0 tfsi. Highly recommended, especially on tuned cars that demand the best grip possible in dry and wet.
First set of tires from new. Grip wet and dry good but not much give on normal road surface. Wear is very poor. Down to 3.5mm all round after only 8000 miles and I do not drive the car hard..Always use the onboard pressure settings. Will not buy again.
Drive on 265/40 R21 tires?
Review your tires and help the next driver choose. It takes about five minutes, and every review on this page came from a driver who took them.
Where this data comes from
Owner ratings are submitted through the review form on this site, naming the tire, the size and the distance covered, and are checked by hand before publication. Test results come from independent published tire tests indexed by size, and label values from the EU EPREL database.
About the TR Score
The Tire Reviews Score rates each tire out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.
Who does the testing
Every test published as a Tire Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tires independently since 2007.