The German publication Auto Bild have just tested five 235/35 R19 track day tires using a Ford Focus ST, and included a "normal" maximum performance road tire as comparison.
Given the location of the test (Continentals proving grounds in Texas), and the performance of the included road tire, we're going to assuming the tire was the Continental Sport Contact 6, and it demonstrates just how good road tires have become!
Dry
Dry Handling
Dry Handling Average Speed
Higher is better ↑| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
| 74.0 mph | Best | |
| 73.8 mph | -0.2 mph | |
| 73.2 mph | -0.8 mph | |
| 72.1 mph | -1.9 mph | |
| 71.3 mph | -2.7 mph |
The difference between best and worst was 3.7% (2.7 mph).
In the dry testing, the Pirelli shines. It is the fastest in the dry lap, just beating the Michelin to the top spot. The summer road-tire would have placed fourth overall, averaging 72.8 mph, which is faster than both the Yokohama and Toyo track day tires!
Dry Braking
Dry braking in feet
Lower is better ↓| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
| 112 ft | Best | |
| 115 ft | +3 ft | |
| 115 ft | +3 ft | |
| 120 ft | +8 ft | |
| 120 ft | +8 ft |
The difference between best and worst was 7.6% (8 ft ≈ 0.6 Car Lengths).
Again, the Pirelli just beats the Michelin to the top spot during the dry braking test, but this time the Toyo matches the Michelin for second place. Again, surprisingly the summer road-tire places fourth, at 116 feet.
Wet
Wet Handling
Wet Handling Average Speed
Higher is better ↑| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
| 49.4 mph | Best | |
| 48.4 mph | -1.0 mph | |
| 47.8 mph | -1.6 mph | |
| 46.7 mph | -2.7 mph | |
| 45.8 mph | -3.6 mph |
The difference between best and worst was 7.3% (3.6 mph).
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the test is the Pirelli in wet handling, winning the test and beating the road-bias summer tire which lapped at an average of 48.6 mph. The Michelin and Dunlop were close behind, with the Yokohama and particularly the Toyo struggling.
Wet Braking
Wet braking in feet
Lower is better ↓| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
| 112 ft | Best | |
| 114 ft | +2 ft | |
| 115 ft | +3 ft | |
| 125 ft | +13 ft | |
| 127 ft | +15 ft |
The difference between best and worst was 13.8% (15 ft ≈ 1 Car Lengths).
During wet braking, the summer tire dominated, stopping the Ford Focus ST in just 103 feet, where the best track day tire could only manage 112 feet. Again the Yokohama and Toyo struggled.
Straight Aqua
Float Speed in mph
Higher is better ↑| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
| 42.9 mph | Best | |
| 40.8 mph | -2.1 mph | |
| 39.6 mph | -3.3 mph | |
| 39.1 mph | -3.8 mph | |
| 34.1 mph | -8.8 mph |
The difference between best and worst was 20.5% (8.8 mph).
The summer tire again showed its wet weather advantage, winning the aquaplaning testing, managing 44.4 mph before the car started floating. This time the Michelin track day tire surprised, almost matching the summer tire and with a huge gap to the second placed Dunlop. Aquaplaning is where the Pirelli tire struggled, and lost a lot of points.
Results
It's a shame the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R struggled in the aquaplaning tests, as looking at the other tests it just beat the Michelin as the best track day tire on test. The real surprise is how well the summer tire did in the dry, but it's worth mentioning the testers said the summer tire felt soft and slow to steer when comparing against the best track day tires, and there's no way the road-bias summer tire would manage as long on track as the track day tires without overheating.
In short, the Michelin is the best tire if you're spending some time on the road too, but if you want the pure dry-track experience, go with the Pirelli. Or a slick.
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
235/35 R19
All discipline results (2)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 9 |
| Wet | 7 |
Total: 16
Dunlop SportMaxx Race
235/35 R19
All discipline results (2)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 7 |
| Wet | 6 |
Total: 13
Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R
235/35 R19
All discipline results (2)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 9 |
| Wet | 7 |
Total: 16
Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08R
235/35 R19
All discipline results (2)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 4 |
Total: 9
Toyo R888 R
235/35 R19
All discipline results (2)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 2 |
Total: 7
First (bad?) test of the AD08R and second of the 888R on tirereviews. And there lies the problem, the results are very different from experience, these two should perform a lot better in the dry. And the 888R did perform a lot better in Sport Auto UHP test, better than the Cup2! Also, the comment of the AD08R 'slow steering' sounds very out of place, as it is a very sharp steering tire!
I strongly suspect that in this test they made a typical 'beginners mistake', or made a misguided decision based on 'same conditions for all' and ran the AD08R and 888R on too high standard pressures. These two are, contrary to the other tires in this test which are track optimized sports tires, more of a road legalized semi slicks with reinforced sidewalls. As such, they should be ran approx. 0,5bar lower in pressure for them to grip in the dry. If not, they simply won't heat and hook up, and just slide over their hard shoulders.
Unfortunately Auto Bild did not write anything on the pressures used, but anyhow, results are inconsistent here as actually also TireRack has tested these tires against 'normal' sports tires and these semi's most definitely do better in the dry.
Anyhow, nice to see the aquaplaning results (water depth?) and the unsuspected good results in the wet for the Trofeo R. More data needed though.