If a broken car is a sign of a good tire test, breaking a Focus RS twice, then giving up and using a Sirocco R means the latest Max performance tire test from Russian magazine Auto Review should be the best tire test yet. Fortunately, it doesn't disappoint.
An ideal tire test would take the huge amount of clinical data taken from the average German tire test, and combine it with the glorious enthusiasm of the British tire test like EVO. This is exactly what Auto Review have achieved when testing 9 of the latest Max Performance Summer Tires, at the Contidrome in 235/35 R19. Instead of summarising the test, we'll go straight to the full results with each tire summarised in excellent detail. For even more information, be sure to check out the full test (and brush up on your Russian) at Auto Review or just checkout a spreadsheet overview of the full results here. One final thing to note, the Russian magazines subjective scores were based on "ease of driving".
The Results
Continental ContiSportContact 5 P
235/35 R19
The SportContact 5P is a very balanced tire, scoring strongly in both the wet and dry. The main achievement of the 5P is the excellent resistance to aquaplaning with excennelt braking characteristics on dry roads. At the limit of grip in the wet, the tire starts sliding gently and only needs small steering angles to get back in line. The speed on the track isn't the highest, but it's not far off the leader, just 0.6 seconds behind in the dry.
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 28 |
| Wet | 46 |
| Subjective | 19 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Noise | 8 |
| Overall | 9.1 |
Total: 116.1
Pirelli P Zero
235/35 R19
While the P Zero is now 5 years old, a second second place proves Pirelli are doing a great job of keeping it up to date. It's raw grip in the wet and dry topped the tables, with its only negative score due to a rather abrupt slide quality in the wet. The poor curved aquaplaning results left the P Zero just 0.1 points behind the 5P!
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 27 |
| Wet | 44 |
| Subjective | 18 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Noise | 8 |
| Overall | 9 |
Total: 113
Hankook Ventus S1 evo
235/35 R19
The Korean Ventus S1 EVO was the surprise of the test, scoring well in nearly every test and offering excellent value for money, being the cheapest tire on test.
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 25 |
| Wet | 44 |
| Subjective | 16 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Noise | 10 |
| Overall | 8.6 |
Total: 109.6
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric
235/35 R19
Despite being a fairly old tire (the Asymmetric 2 is now launched) the F1 Asymmetric still places a strong 4th thanks to its excellent wet weather grip and handling coupled with a comfortable ride. Unfortunately the F1 Asymmetric was let down by its "floaty" dry handling, something which has been resolved in the new version
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 21 |
| Wet | 47 |
| Subjective | 17 |
| Comfort | 8 |
| Noise | 8 |
| Overall | 8.4 |
Total: 109.4
Toyo Proxes T1 Sport
235/35 R19
The T1 Sport are the best of the Japanese trio of tires, trading poor aquaplaning results for excellent dry handling and low noise. If Toyo could correct the wet weather issues it would be a top 3 tire
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 27 |
| Wet | 38 |
| Subjective | 18 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Noise | 9 |
| Overall | 8.3 |
Total: 106.3
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
235/35 R19
The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is a good example of how it's extremely difficult to achieve excellent in all areas. Michelin have prioritized dry grip and steering feedback with the Pilot Super Sport, giving the tire the best dry lap time and handling, at the expense of wet performance and comfort.
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 29 |
| Wet | 39 |
| Subjective | 16 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Noise | 6 |
| Overall | 8.2 |
Total: 103.2
Nokian Hakka Z
235/35 R19
A good high speed road tire without an obvious specalisation
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 26 |
| Wet | 43 |
| Subjective | 14 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Noise | 9 |
| Overall | 8.2 |
Total: 106.2
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A
235/35 R19
For a tire which is fitted to cars like the Ferrari 430, the RE050A has a very poor result. Perhaps Bridgestone use a different compound for the Russian market as it was a full 33 feet behind the best tire in the wet braking test. Bridgestone have recently release the S001, and there is rumours of the S04 coming to Europe.
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 25 |
| Wet | 28 |
| Subjective | 13 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Noise | 9 |
| Overall | 6.7 |
Total: 88.7
Yokohama ADVAN Sport
235/35 R19
The Yokohama Advan Sport scored similarly to the Bridgestone RE050A giving average dry performance and poor wet scores. This again raised the question as to whether the Japanese ship a different compound into Russia, or is it just one of Yokohamas flashship tires really lags behind its competitors
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 22 |
| Wet | 29 |
| Subjective | 13 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Noise | 9 |
| Overall | 6.4 |
Total: 85.4
Score weighting: 40% wet / 30% dry / 20% subjective ("Ease of driving") / 10% comfort
TYRES : YOKOHAMA ADVAN SPORT V103B - 255/55 R18Y
CAR : CHRYSLER 300C TOURER 3.0 CRD
IMPRESSIONS :
SECO : 9
MOJADO : 7
AGARRE : 8
RUIDO : 6
CONFORT : 8
TYRE APPEARANCE : 8
PERFECT...., VERY SATISFIED WITH HIS PERFORMANCE
Again this test seems odd. The pilot super sport is the lightest tire out of all of these.
A 5 for comfort on the super sports? This is ridiculous. I had P zero's and switched to Super Sports on my 535i and the handling and comfort both benefitted significantly.
Lighter tires also lead to better gas mileage, easier weight transfer, quicker acceleration due to lower rotational mass, etc.
The Super Sports should be #1 as they are in most other tests. They've already won the title of the #1 ultra high performance tire. And that means all around, they handle better than most of these tires in the wet too.
It seems that following this test you created a new entry for the Nokian Hakka Z in your database. This tire IS the Nokian Z G2, with a different name for Nordic/Scandinavian markets (remember it was a Russian test).
Thank you very much for the information!