The 2022 Auto Express summer tire test is here! For 2022 Auto Express tested seven ultra high performance summer tires in the popular 225/40 R18 tire size!
As always, we will steer you towards the Auto Express website to see the full details of the test, but we do have a few comments to make.
- At time of testing there were stock issues for some of the usual brands, meaning no Michelin and Continental are included in this test.
- The Asymmetric 6 placed a very close second to the Potenza Sport, just 0.5% off overall. The Bridgestone was the sharper handling tire in the dry and wet by a small margin, but the Goodyear was the best of the rest by a clear margin.
- The Pirelli Cinturato P7 seems out of place in this test as the only touring tire in the group, in this group we'd have prefered to see the P Zero PZ4.
- The budget Austone tire took 59 feet longer than the best on test to stop in wet braking, which is a huge difference.
- Maxxis seems to continue its recent form with the Victra Sport 5 finishing impressively well with a rounded performance!
The overall results are below, and once again you can find the full details on www.autoexpress.com. The scores are weighed as 50% wet, 40% dry and fuel economy 10% with the emphasis on handling and braking in the dry and wet.
Results
Bridgestone Potenza Sport
225/40 R18
The Potenza Sport lead in the dry and wet with the sharpest handling and shortest braking distances.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 200 |
| Wet | 392.1 |
| Noise | 98.7 |
| Overall | 100 |
Total: 790.8
- Weight
- D/A/72 kgs
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
225/40 R18
The Asymmetric 6 was only slightly behind the Potenza Sport in the dry and wet, but had a better rolling resistance and the best aquaplaning resistance on test.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 196.4 |
| Wet | 395 |
| Noise | 97.2 |
| Overall | 99.5 |
Total: 788.1
- Weight
- C/A/70 kgs
Maxxis Victra Sport 5
225/40 R18
The VS5 had good handling and levels of grip in the dry and wet.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 193.5 |
| Wet | 378.7 |
| Noise | 98.3 |
| Overall | 97.5 |
Total: 768
- Weight
- C/A/72 kgs
Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3
225/40 R18
The S1 Evo3 excelled in wet braking and had a good subjective handling result, but struggled a little in the deep water aquaplaning testing.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 191.2 |
| Wet | 361.1 |
| Noise | 100 |
| Overall | 97.4 |
Total: 749.7
- Weight
- C/A/72 kgs
Falken Azenis FK520
225/40 R18
The new Falken Azenis FK520 performed well in the dry and in the aquaplaning testing, but couldn't match the best in the wet grip tests of wet handling and braking.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 194.9 |
| Wet | 360.7 |
| Noise | 98.2 |
| Overall | 96.5 |
Total: 750.3
- Weight
- C/A/70 kgs
Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2
225/40 R18
The Cinturato P7 C2 was the only touring tire in a group of UHP tires, and performed as you would expect. It couldn't match the outright grip of the performance tires but had the best rolling resistance on test.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 187 |
| Wet | 340.6 |
| Noise | 99.4 |
| Overall | 95.2 |
Total: 722.2
- Weight
- B/A/70 kgs
Austone Athena SP 7
225/40 R18
The Austone SP7 finished last in every grip test, and took 59 feet longer to stop the test car than the winner, which is a huge margin. As always, cheap tires are cheap for a reason.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 181.5 |
| Wet | 304.9 |
| Noise | 99.4 |
| Overall | 89.7 |
Total: 675.5
- Weight
- C/A/72 kgs
They tires were tested on Bridgestone's own test track. Might that have given them a slight advantage I wonder?
I was hoping for a better result from Falken, they are my usual Go-to midrange brand.
It certainly could have but any home advantage is usually extremely small! And yes agreed on Falken, I'd waiting to see more tests though before I worry
Falken aren't made in Japan any more.... this is for me the major reason for this results...
Thanks for the test results :)
The Bridgestone had in thenear past also very good results, so the victory isn´t surprising. The Goodyear confirms the good results from your test. The Maxxis is a surprise but I´m not sure how good the balance is. IIRC some Maxxis tires with good grip levels had a bad tread life.
The new Falken is a bit disappointing IMHO. Behind the "old" Hankook, maybe the good aquaplaning resistance contorted the wet skills.