Dry Braking | ▲Continental Premium Contact 6: 35.6 M | ▼Vredestein Ultrac Satin: 43.6 M |
Wet Braking | ▲Continental Premium Contact 6: 26.5 M | ▼Vredestein Ultrac Satin: 33.2 M |
Wet Handling | ▲Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125: 101.2 s | ▼Vredestein Ultrac Satin: 104.2 s |
Straight Aqua | ▲Continental Premium Contact 6: 75.9 Km/H | ▼Roadhog RGHP01: 73.1 Km/H |
Noise | ▲Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun: 70.3 dB | ▼Michelin Primacy 4: 71.9 dB |
Rolling Resistance | ▲Bridgestone Turanza T005: 6.9 kg / t | ▼Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun: 9.4 kg / t |
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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. Read Reviews Buy from £89.17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Well balanced with safe reactions in the dry. Excellent resistance to aquaplaning and sporty handling in the wet. None mentioned. Read Reviews Buy from £100.19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Bridgestone Turanza T005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good grip in the dry and the wet. Slight imbalance in the dry, overheats in the wet and performance drops off. Read Reviews Buy from £77.99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Michelin Primacy 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good dry braking, safe dry and wet handling. High Noise. Read Reviews Buy from £100.93 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Nokian WetProof | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good dry braking, low noise. Average wet performance with front axle overheating. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Low rolling resistance, excellent wet performance. Average noise, slightly slow steering in the dry. Read Reviews Buy from £81.30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good handling balance in the dry and wet. Average braking. Read Reviews Buy from £92.99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Low noise and high levels of comfort. Average grip. Read Reviews Buy from £81.99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Vredestein Ultrac Satin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good dry handling. Very long braking in the dry and wet, average wet handling. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10th: Roadhog RGHP01 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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None mentioned. Very low grip in the dry and wet. Poor handling leading to no confidence in the wet. Read Reviews |