Ultra High Performance Tire Tests

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.

For AutoBild's third summer tire test for 2022, the German publication tested ten sets of 245/40 R19 tires using a BMW 5 Series.

As this is the first test with both the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 AND Continental SportContact 7, it makes for a very interesting test!

The new Goodyear wins overall thanks to excelling in nearly every test, other than aquaplaning (though strangely Auto Bild still said the tire has good aquaplaning reserves, we're not sure why.)

The SportContact 7 was the fastest tire in the dry and had the best dry braking, however it couldn't match the stellar wet performance we found in the Tire Reviews 2022 UUHP Tire Test.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 is new to market, but so is its main rival, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6! 

To find out which of these new ultra high performance tires are best, I use a VW Golf GTI wearing 225/45 R17 tires and test the dry, wet, comfort, noise and rolling resistance of nine sets of performance tires, to see if the new PS5 or Asym 6 can retain their crowns, or whether another brand of tire will prove to be best!

The 2022 Autobild Sportscars summer tire test has tested eleven 225/45 R18 sizes using a BMW 3 Series, but has also tested four of the SAME sets in a staggered 225/45 R18 front and 255/4 R18 rear size to compare the two different options.

First up, the main test. Sadly the test was missing Goodyear and Pirelli, and interestingly the testers found the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 not only to be the best, but also to have the sportiest handling, something we're don't see often.

Even more surprising was that the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+ finished joint first, beating every tire in the wet handling test and ending up with enough points to match the Pilot Sport 4.

It was the test of ties, with the Falken FK510 and Toyo Proxes Sport A finishing joint third and the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 finishing joint fifth.

It's the first test of the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, and it's the first test win for the new tire!

For 2022, the excellent publication Auto Motor und Sport have tested ten ultra high performance tires in 245/45 R19 using an Audi A6 Quattro. The new Goodyear was essentially the best in nearly all the grip tests, and had the best subjective handling on test, but did drop some points in aquaplaning.

Without fail, each year German publication Auto Bild provides the most comprehensive overview of the summer tire market by testing a huge amount of tires ability in the dry and wet, in order to work out which twenty tires deserve to be tested in their full summer tire test.

For 2022, Auto Bild have tested 50 tires in the most popular tire size in Europe, 215/55 R17.

The 2021 Auto Bild Sportscars winter tire test has tested twelve of the best winter tires in 245/40 R18 size using a Mercedes C Class, AND have included a summer and all season tire as reference.

This is exceptionally useful for those of us wondering whether to fit winter or all season tires for the bigger while size, and for a change Auto Bild named the all season tire used, it's the Vredestein Quatrac Pro. 

There are however some drawbacks to the single reference tire. The Quatrac Pro is an older patter now, and certainly not the best all season tire on the market anymore. This means while it was good in the dry, it didn't beat all the winter tires as you'd expect (the Michelin CrossClimate 2 certainly would have), it struggled in the wet, and if you'd expected it to come last in a group of winter tires in the snow tests, you're also in for a surprise.

If you've ever wondered how the modern breed of ultra high performance all season tires compared in the snow when compared to a summer tire and a winter tire, this is the test for you!

In this video the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 and Michelin X-Ice Snow are tested for traction, braking and a timed snow lap, to see all the differences between three of the best tires in each category!

Auto Express have asked Tire Reviews not to cover too much of their test, so if you'd like to see the full results of this 225/45 R17 summer tire test head over to the Auto Express website!

Here's a very basic overview of the results. One thing to keep in mind is there's a mix of tire types in this test, with more performance bias patterns such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 up against touring bias tires such as the Bridgestone Turanza T005 and Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2.

The 2021 Auto Bild all season tire test has tested sixteen of the best all season tires in the popular 225/50 R17 size.

Auto Bild are the European leaders in tire testing, and go to lengths with their tests no other publication can. Firstly, to select the sixteen all season tires in this test, they placed thirty two sets through a dry and wet braking test with the top sixteen qualifying, ensuring these sixteen are some of the very best on the market.

ADAC tire tests are some of the most influential in the world, and for the 2021 winter season ADAC have chosen to test eighteen 225/50 R17 tires and sixteen 195/65 R15 winter tires, across two tests. This article covers the 17" test, to see the 15" test please click here.

In this tire test we take nine of the best performance winter tires in the popular 225/40 R18 size and test them in the dry, wet and of course snow to see what the best winter tire is for the 2021/22 autumn and winter.

The German publication ProMobil have tested eight summer tires in the popular 235/55 R17 size using a VW T 6.1 Camper!

This test is slightly more relevant than usual tests to Camper Van / SUV overs, as the magazine tested the "regular" 235/55 R17 tire option instead of the 215/65 R16 C commercial size with is often fitted to the VW Transporter the VW is based on.

This tire size isn't just limited to camper vans though, it's also on many large saloons and midsize crossover SUVs such as the BMW 7 Series, BMW X3, Audi Q3, Ford S-Max, Honda CRV, VW Tiguan, VW, California, VW Caravelle and many others!

As usual the eight sets of summer tires were put through the usual array of dry, wet, noise and rolling resistance tests to find out exactly what tire is best in each key area.

Published a later than usual due to covid travel restrictions, the Polish magazine "Motor" have tested ten 225/55 R17 summer tires in the usual array of wet and dry testing.

The 17 inch size tested can be found on a wide range of vehicles, such as the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, and Mercedes E-Class, smaller vehicles like the BMW 3-Series and Mini Countryman, crossovers like the Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail and Skoda Karoq, and even minivans / people carriers like the Chrysler Voyager, Fiat Scudo and Opel Vivaro. 

We've taken 14 of the best ultra high performance summer tires in the very popular 225/40 R18 tire size, and we've tested the dry and wet handling, the dry and wet braking ability, aquaplaning resistance, the noise levels and the rolling resistance of these tires, to work out exactly what tire is best at what!

Good news, 2021 is shaping up to be a really a exciting year for tires. We have a brand new UUHP contender taking the fight to Michelin, Goodyear and Continental, some extreme updates of existing patterns, and the promise of new tires on the horizon later this year! 

Watch on for the full exciting details!

After already publishing the ADAC 16" tire test in 2021, ADAC have also released their slightly more sporty, 225/50 R17 summer tire test.

While the 16" test received wear data, for this test we have wet braking data, and the range between best and worst is larger than ever!

What's the best ultra high performance all season tire on the market? To find out, I test 7 of the most popular ultra high performance all season tires, and test them in dry handling, dry braking, wet handling, wet braking, noise and comfort tire tests, to see which is the top UHP AS tire.

Every year, the German publication Auto Bild selects a tire size, finds as many winter tires as possible in that size, and tests them all in wet braking. The top thirty tires proceed to snow braking, then the top twenty overall to the full winter tire test.

For the 2020 winter tire test, Auto Bild rounded up fifty one winter tires in the rather huge 245/45 R18 size, and a summer tire as reference.

If you like detailed and confusing tire tests, you're in for a treat! The 2020 Sport Auto tire test has tested ten 245/35 R19 tires, using a Mercedes AMG A45 S, and is confusingly amazing!

Why is this confusing? Well, they've tested three different types of tires in the single test! The first group is the more "regular" ultra high performance tires, which includes the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, Nokian PowerProof, Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, Toyo Proxes Sport, and strangely, the Continental SportContact 6. They've also tested two "UUHP" tires, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and the new Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport (which is the group we believe the Continental SportContact 6 should be included in as the PremiumContact 6 is the rival to the Asymmetric 5), and three track day tires, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, the unreleased Bridgestone Potenza S007 RS, and the Giti GitiSport GTR3.