2011 EVO Winter Tyre Test

Full results and write up due soon.

1st: Continental WinterContact TS 830 P

Continental WinterContact TS 830 P
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 456.3
  2. Dry: 94.1
  3. Wet: 96.6
  4. Snow: 98
  5. Subjective: 77.1
  6. Overall: 90.5
Dry:Soft and friendly, tidy when hustled. 3rd fasted dry lap time.
Wet:Smooth and flowing, very predictable in its responses. 3rd fastest lap time.
Snow:Mid pack snow performance but stable.
The Continental is objectively the best overall, which it combined with solid results to win the test.

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2nd: Michelin Alpin A4

Michelin Alpin A4
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 456.8
  2. Dry: 92.1
  3. Wet: 95.6
  4. Snow: 95.2
  5. Subjective: 83.5
  6. Overall: 90.4
Dry:Subjectively the best winter tyre in the dry. 9th fastest lap time.
Wet:A winter tyre that feels truly precise in the wet. Fastest wet lap time.
Snow:Slightly better than the Conti in the snow, still trails the Goodyear and Dunlop winters.
Best on-road feel and consistently good in the tests gives the Michelin Alpin A4 a strong second.

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3rd: Pirelli SNOWCONTROL Serie II

Pirelli SNOWCONTROL Serie II
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 453.2
  2. Dry: 92.1
  3. Wet: 96.9
  4. Snow: 94.2
  5. Subjective: 79.9
  6. Overall: 90.1
Dry:Soft and lazy feel. Slowest dry lap time.
Wet:Best subjective score in the wet, 2nd fastest lap time.
Snow:Strong performance finishing 3rd in the snow lap.
Best in the wet.

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4th: Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2

Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 451.4
  2. Dry: 92.3
  3. Wet: 94.3
  4. Snow: 99.6
  5. Subjective: 75.7
  6. Overall: 89.5
Dry:Decent front end feel, lacks bite on the brakes. 7th Fastest dry lap time.
Wet:Benign nature and good low speed agility, 5th fastest wet lap time.
Snow:Best winter tyre in the snow.

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5th: Vredestein Quatrac 3

Vredestein Quatrac 3
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 447.6
  2. Dry: 94.3
  3. Wet: 91.6
  4. Snow: 92
  5. Subjective: 80.7
  6. Overall: 89
Dry:Most positive front end after the summer tyre. 2nd fastest dry lap time.
Wet:A little tail happy but strong front end and lots of steering feel. 7th fastest wet lap.
Snow:Surprisingly strong in the snow with the quickest lap time! 6th in the slalom.

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6th: Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D

Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 443.1
  2. Dry: 93
  3. Wet: 94.3
  4. Snow: 96.3
  5. Subjective: 71.6
  6. Overall: 87.9
Dry:Good time but soft turn in. 5th fastest dry lap time.
Wet:Soft and friendly feel, happy turning. 6th fastest laptime.
Snow:Best in snow slalom.
Extremely strong in the dry and snow (pre-production tyre used)

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7th: Hankook Optimo 4S

Hankook Optimo 4S
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 442
  2. Dry: 93.2
  3. Wet: 94.5
  4. Snow: 92.4
  5. Subjective: 74.1
  6. Overall: 87.8
Dry:Strong on the brakes, stable direction change. 6th fastest dry lap time.
Wet:Strong wet grip, 4th fastest wet lap.
Snow:7th in both the snow slalom and laptimes, above the dedicated winter SV2.

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8th: Nankang SV2

Nankang SV2
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 413.3
  2. Dry: 92.6
  3. Wet: 86.9
  4. Snow: 85.5
  5. Subjective: 65.4
  6. Overall: 82.9
Dry:Surprisingly good in the dry, 6th fastest lap time.
Wet:Oily, vaque, loads of lock needed, hard to tell when the wheels are locked. 9th fastest wet lap time.
Snow:Worst winter tyre on test, 3 seconds a lap slower than the all season Hankook.

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9th: Kumho Solus Vier KH21

Kumho Solus Vier KH21
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 405.5
  2. Dry: 92.6
  3. Wet: 88.5
  4. Snow: 73.8
  5. Subjective: 69.8
  6. Overall: 80.8
Dry:Strong on the brakes, stable direction change. 4th fastest dry lap time.
Wet:Reluctant to turn in, little traction, jumps sideways under power, sloppy. Slowest wet lap time.
Snow:Extremely poor snow performance, nearly 9 seconds slower than the next best tyre.

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10th: Continental Sport Contact 3

Continental Sport Contact 3
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 311.1
  2. Dry: 100
  3. Wet: 90.9
  4. Snow: -36.1
  5. Subjective: 94.8
  6. Overall: 61.5
Dry:Clear leader in the dry by over 3 seconds a (115 second) lap. Different league subjectively. Extremely precise compared to winter tyres.
Wet:Marginally preferred the feel to the winter version, only 8th fastest wet lap time.
Snow:Couldn't even get to the start line for the snow handling!

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