2020 New 17 Inch Summer Tyre Test

Dry BrakingContinental Premium Contact 6: 35.6 MVredestein Ultrac Satin: 43.6 M
Wet BrakingContinental Premium Contact 6: 26.5 MVredestein Ultrac Satin: 33.2 M
Wet HandlingHankook Ventus Prime 3 K125: 101.2 sVredestein Ultrac Satin: 104.2 s
Straight AquaContinental Premium Contact 6: 75.9 Km/HRoadhog RGHP01: 73.1 Km/H
NoiseFalken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun: 70.3 dBMichelin Primacy 4: 71.9 dB
Rolling ResistanceBridgestone Turanza T005: 6.9 kg / tFalken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun: 9.4 kg / t
Tyre testing is incredibly complicated to conduct, and one of the most difficult parts of testing is good repeatability.

Take for example wet braking. To get the wet braking distance of a tyre, you don't just do the braking run once, you do it 6-8 times, delete the outliers then average out the results. Even on the most expensive test facilities in the world, with the most perfect sprinkler systems and perfect tarmac, you rarely get the same distance twice as there are so many variables, which means when you use a less than state of the art facility, results can be surprising.

This brings us on to this test by the Italian publication "al volante". 

On the surface, this should be a very interesting test, as it includes the new Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 and the new Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2, but after initial inspection, the test seemed of limited use.

Firstly, we've never seen such a big advantage in wet braking by a single tyre as this test, and having spoken to Continental they're unsure of why it was so large. Secondly, while the Ultrac Satin has never been the best dry braking tyre, 8 meters difference from just 100 KM/H is almost unheard of. Thirdly, the testers indicate in their writing that dry handling was conducted, but no times were given, and lastly with a 25% difference in wet braking, I would have expected much more than a 2% difference in wet handling, especially over a 100 second lap!

Having spoken to a number of tyre manufacturers in this test, it seems the test wasn't conducted at a permanent facility, but a temporary one, which could explain the interesting results below.

In short, this is another piece of information to help you select the best tyres for your vehicle, but perhaps it's best not to read into this test too much. Make sure to browse all the other tests available on Tyre Reviews.

Dry

Wet

Environment

Results

1st: Continental Premium Contact 6

Continental Premium Contact 6
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking1st35.6 M100%
Wet Braking1st26.5 M100%
Wet Handling5th101.7 s101.2 s+0.5 s99.51%
Straight Aqua1st75.9 Km/H100%
Noise4th70.6 dB70.3 dB+0.3 dB99.58%
Rolling Resistance5th8.7 kg / t6.9 kg / t+1.8 kg / t79.31%
Quick and responsive in the dry with very short dry braking distances. In the wet the car feels easy to control, with extremely short wet braking.
Slight understeer in the wet.

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2nd: Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2

Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking2nd35.9 M35.6 M+0.3 M99.16%
Wet Braking3rd29 M26.5 M+2.5 M91.38%
Wet Handling6th101.9 s101.2 s+0.7 s99.31%
Straight Aqua8th74.7 Km/H75.9 Km/H-1.2 Km/H98.42%
Noise3rd70.5 dB70.3 dB+0.2 dB99.72%
Rolling Resistance5th8.7 kg / t6.9 kg / t+1.8 kg / t79.31%
Well balanced with safe reactions in the dry. Excellent resistance to aquaplaning and sporty handling in the wet.
None mentioned.

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3rd: Bridgestone Turanza T005

Bridgestone Turanza T005
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking6th36.9 M35.6 M+1.3 M96.48%
Wet Braking6th29.6 M26.5 M+3.1 M89.53%
Wet Handling1st101.2 s100%
Straight Aqua3rd75.2 Km/H75.9 Km/H-0.7 Km/H99.08%
Noise5th70.7 dB70.3 dB+0.4 dB99.43%
Rolling Resistance1st6.9 kg / t100%
Good grip in the dry and the wet.
Slight imbalance in the dry, overheats in the wet and performance drops off.

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4th: Michelin Primacy 4

Michelin Primacy 4
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking3rd36.4 M35.6 M+0.8 M97.8%
Wet Braking4th29.1 M26.5 M+2.6 M91.07%
Wet Handling4th101.6 s101.2 s+0.4 s99.61%
Straight Aqua9th74.6 Km/H75.9 Km/H-1.3 Km/H98.29%
Noise10th71.9 dB70.3 dB+1.6 dB97.77%
Rolling Resistance2nd7.4 kg / t6.9 kg / t+0.5 kg / t93.24%
Good dry braking, safe dry and wet handling.
High Noise.

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5th: Nokian WetProof

Nokian WetProof
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking3rd36.4 M35.6 M+0.8 M97.8%
Wet Braking2nd28.3 M26.5 M+1.8 M93.64%
Wet Handling6th101.9 s101.2 s+0.7 s99.31%
Straight Aqua6th75 Km/H75.9 Km/H-0.9 Km/H98.81%
Noise1st70.3 dB100%
Rolling Resistance9th9.3 kg / t6.9 kg / t+2.4 kg / t74.19%
Good dry braking, low noise.
Average wet performance with front axle overheating.

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6th: Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2

Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking7th37 M35.6 M+1.4 M96.22%
Wet Braking5th29.5 M26.5 M+3 M89.83%
Wet Handling3rd101.4 s101.2 s+0.2 s99.8%
Straight Aqua6th75 Km/H75.9 Km/H-0.9 Km/H98.81%
Noise5th70.7 dB70.3 dB+0.4 dB99.43%
Rolling Resistance3rd7.6 kg / t6.9 kg / t+0.7 kg / t90.79%
Low rolling resistance, excellent wet performance.
Average noise, slightly slow steering in the dry.

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7th: Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125

Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking5th36.7 M35.6 M+1.1 M97%
Wet Braking8th31.9 M26.5 M+5.4 M83.07%
Wet Handling1st101.2 s100%
Straight Aqua3rd75.2 Km/H75.9 Km/H-0.7 Km/H99.08%
Noise7th70.9 dB70.3 dB+0.6 dB99.15%
Rolling Resistance5th8.7 kg / t6.9 kg / t+1.8 kg / t79.31%
Good handling balance in the dry and wet.
Average braking.

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8th: Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun

Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking8th39 M35.6 M+3.4 M91.28%
Wet Braking7th30.6 M26.5 M+4.1 M86.6%
Wet Handling8th102.1 s101.2 s+0.9 s99.12%
Straight Aqua2nd75.3 Km/H75.9 Km/H-0.6 Km/H99.21%
Noise1st70.3 dB100%
Rolling Resistance10th9.4 kg / t6.9 kg / t+2.5 kg / t73.4%
Low noise and high levels of comfort.
Average grip.

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9th: Vredestein Ultrac Satin

Vredestein Ultrac Satin
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking10th43.6 M35.6 M+8 M81.65%
Wet Braking10th33.2 M26.5 M+6.7 M79.82%
Wet Handling10th104.2 s101.2 s+3 s97.12%
Straight Aqua5th75.1 Km/H75.9 Km/H-0.8 Km/H98.95%
Noise7th70.9 dB70.3 dB+0.6 dB99.15%
Rolling Resistance8th9.2 kg / t6.9 kg / t+2.3 kg / t75%
Good dry handling.
Very long braking in the dry and wet, average wet handling.

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10th: Roadhog RGHP01

Roadhog RGHP01
  • 225/45 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking9th41.4 M35.6 M+5.8 M85.99%
Wet Braking9th32.1 M26.5 M+5.6 M82.55%
Wet Handling9th104.1 s101.2 s+2.9 s97.21%
Straight Aqua10th73.1 Km/H75.9 Km/H-2.8 Km/H96.31%
Noise7th70.9 dB70.3 dB+0.6 dB99.15%
Rolling Resistance4th7.8 kg / t6.9 kg / t+0.9 kg / t88.46%
None mentioned.
Very low grip in the dry and wet. Poor handling leading to no confidence in the wet.

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