In this test I'll be comparing 7 of the most popular ultra high performance all season tires to find out which tire is best for you.
If you've read any of my previous all season tests, you'll be happy to know that six of the tires in this test I've never tested before, and they include the brand new Pirelli P Zero AS 3 Plus and the brand new Falken Azenis FK460AS. The tire I have tested before is one of the benchmarks of the segment, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06+, so if you want to, you'll have a cross reference points to compare the tires in this test to the tires in the previous tests.
As always I'll be digging into the dry, wet, comfort and noise performance of the tires, then in a later test I'll be looking at the snow performance, to give you a really complete overview of the tires performances.
Dry Braking | ▲Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 PLUS: 34.5 M | ▼Vredestein Hypertrac All Season: 38.2 M |
Dry Handling | ▲Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3: 42.14 s | ▼Vredestein Hypertrac All Season: 43.17 s |
Subj. Dry Handling | ▲Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3: 100 Points | ▼Vredestein Hypertrac All Season: 92 Points |
Wet Braking | ▲Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3: 46.7 M | ▼BFGoodrich g Force COMP 2 AS Plus: 52.3 M |
Wet Handling | ▲Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 PLUS: 47.38 s | ▼Atlas Force UHP: 50.24 s |
Subj. Wet Handling | ▲Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 PLUS: 100 Points | ▼Atlas Force UHP: 92 Points |
Subj. Comfort | ▲Vredestein Hypertrac All Season: 100 Points | ▼Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 PLUS: 95 Points |
Subj. Noise | ▲Vredestein Hypertrac All Season: 100 Points | ▼Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 PLUS: 95 Points |
Wear | ▲General G Max AS 05: 50000 KM | ▼Atlas Force UHP: 40000 KM |
Value | ▲Atlas Force UHP: 3.77 Price/1000 | ▼BFGoodrich g Force COMP 2 AS Plus: 6 Price/1000 |
Price | ▲Atlas Force UHP: 150.99 | ▼Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 PLUS: 286.99 |
Wet
Starting with the wet performance of the tires, this is arguably the most important aspect of the tyres they're meant for year round use in areas get mild to moderate winters. In short, they'll see a lot of wet running, and wet is where the good tires separate themselves from the bad.
In last place was the Atlas Force UHP, which I believe is made by Linglong, a chinese company. This tire is the cheapest tire here, and might be sold as an all season tire, but it looks like a very summer bias tread pattern, so we will have to see how it does in the snow testing, but in the wet, it was both the slowest and my least favourite subjectively. It wasn't a total disaster, even on this 717bhp hellcat with all the driver aids turned off, however it did have noticably less grip laterally, even without seeing the lap times, and once it started sliding it took longer to recover.
Next up was the group of BFGoodrich, General and Vredestein, all in the 49 second bracket and while their lap times were close, they did feel fairly different to each other.
The BFGoodrich felt good when turning, but it didn't seem to stop or accelerate very easily, and was one of the tyres more upset by the deeper pockets of water on track, and the General was a similar story, feeling slightly more sporty, but these are tiny differences, and again seemed to get upset by the deeper water.
The Vredestein on the other hand was a different feeling tyre, it felt softer, more sluggish to turn, and offered less feedback than the previous two tyres, but had zero issues with standing water. It was incredibly easy to be consistent driving it, two of the three laps I drove were identical and the last was two one hundredths of a second slower. Quite a result, but of the 7 tyres, in the wet, it felt the least like a UHP tyre and more like a touring tyre.
Next up nearly a second ahead, which is a lot of time on this short lap was the new Falken. This tyre felt good to steer, but it could have given me a little more detail at the limit through the steering wheel. Lots of grip, good quick steering but lacking the final few percent of detail at the limit. Good tyre though and had good traction out of the corners. For an all season tyre in the wet with a 717bhp RWD vehicle.
The second fastest lap time was posted by new Pirelli, feeling pretty similar to the new Falken. Perhaps not quite as direct to steer, but excellent grip and very good traction and brakes. As good as everything was with the Pirelli, I did find myself prone to making small mistakes when driving it, but I couldn't really tell you why, I think possibly a little detail missing on the front axle, and a slightly longer than ideal time for it to recover. But I'm really moaning over tiny details, you'll be happy with this tyre.
And finally, the Continental, it's not a new tyre, but it's still the best around wet handling. There were small amounts of hydroplaning, but the grip was immense, it turned really nicely, and was just an enjoyable all round experience.
As for the wet braking test, I was happy to find out there was a pretty decent correlation between wet braking and wet handling, which is always nice as it's not always the way. In percentage terms, the falken edged even closer to the Pirelli and Continental, with the rest of the pack slipping slightly further back, so we're seeing a bit of a separation between the top 3 and the rest.
Dry
The soft handling of the Vredestein in the wet was magnified in the dry, the tyre just didn't appreciate going quickly and had lots of noisy understeer. It was also the worst in dry braking.
The General posted exactly the same time, and while it felt a little tighter than the Vredestein, it also felt a little imprecise on this Challenger.
Then came the BFGoodrich and the Atlas. Both felt more sporty, with the BFG just having a little more understeer, but as we know understeer is safe. The Atlas was a surprise, punching well above its weight in dry handling, but given it looks like a summer pattern, perhaps this all makes sense.
The final trio of tyres were once again the Falken, Continental and Pirelli, in that order. Like in the wet, the Falken just needed a little more detail at the limit through the steering, the Continental felt great, and the Pirelli remained as fun as it's predecessor in the dry, and posted the best time overall.
The Continental proved to be the best at stopping the car, with the Falken a close second and the new Pirelli third.
Environment
Price / Warranty
The Continental was the most expensive tyre on test, with the Atlas being the cheapest.
The tyres broadly offered a similar tread life warranty.
Using the purchase price and warranty, we can work out a cost per 1,000 miles driven.
Results
For the overall results I've been debating whether to include the treadwear warranty against the price to factor in a price per mile value figure, as while a tread wear warranty isn't a true wear test, in theory the tyres should get there.
For these results I have, but there's a link below to the results page so you can play with it yourself and see what results you get.
1st: Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 PLUS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Excellent in both wet and dry conditions with good handling and a solid warranty. Hem ıslak hem kuru zeminde mükemmel, iyi yol tutuşu ve sağlam bir garantiye sahip. Hervorragend sowohl bei Nässe als auch bei Trockenheit mit gutem Handling und einer soliden Garantie. Excellent dans des conditions humides et sèches avec une bonne maniabilité et une garantie solide. Slightly higher price point. Biraz daha yüksek fiyat noktası. Etwas höherer Preis. Prix légèrement plus élevé. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Pirelli P Zero AS+ 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Excellent dry handling, good braking, and good comfort. Strong performance in both wet and dry conditions. Mükemmel kuru yol tutuşu, iyi frenleme ve iyi konfor. Hem ıslak hem de kuru koşullarda güçlü performans. Hervorragendes Trockenhandling, gutes Bremsen und guter Komfort. Starke Leistung sowohl bei Nässe als auch bei Trockenheit. Excellente tenue de route sur sol sec, bon freinage et bon confort. Excellentes performances sur sol sec et humide. Price per mile is higher than some competitors. Mil başına fiyat bazı rakiplerinden daha yüksektir. Der Preis pro Meile ist höher als bei einigen Mitbewerbern. Le prix au kilomètre est plus élevé que chez certains concurrents. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Falken Azenis FK460 AS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced performance across categories and less expensive on a per-mile basis. Good in wet conditions. Kategoriler arasında dengeli performans ve mil başına daha az maliyetli. Islak koşullarda iyi. Ausgewogene Leistung über alle Kategorien hinweg und günstiger pro Meile. Gut bei Nässe. Des performances équilibrées dans toutes les catégories et un prix au kilomètre moins élevé. Bon sur sol mouillé. Subjective dry handling is slightly lower than its competitors. Subjektif kuru yol tutuşu rakiplerine göre biraz daha düşüktür. Das subjektive Trockenhandling ist etwas schlechter als bei der Konkurrenz. La tenue de route subjective à sec est légèrement inférieure à celle de ses concurrents. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Atlas Force UHP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Best value tire with good dry handling and excellent comfort. İyi kuru yol tutuşu ve mükemmel konforu ile en iyi değer lastiği. Preis-Leistungs-Reifen mit gutem Trockenhandling und ausgezeichnetem Komfort. Pneu au meilleur rapport qualité/prix avec une bonne tenue de route sur sol sec et un excellent confort. Extended wet braking and limited wet handling, warranty duration are less than other options in the test. Islak zeminde daha uzun frenleme ve ıslak zeminde sınırlı yol tutuşu, garanti süresi testteki diğer seçeneklere göre daha kısadır. Erweitertes Nassbremsen und eingeschränktes Nasshandling, die Garantiedauer ist kürzer als bei anderen Optionen im Test. Freinage prolongé sur sol mouillé et tenue de route limitée sur sol mouillé, la durée de garantie est inférieure à celle des autres options du test. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Vredestein Hypertrac All Season | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Highest rated comfort and noise. Decent performance across various metrics. En yüksek konfor ve gürültü puanı. Çeşitli metriklerde makul performans. Bestbewerteter Komfort und Geräuschpegel. Ordentliche Leistung in verschiedenen Bereichen. Confort et bruit les mieux notés. Performances décentes sur plusieurs paramètres. Dry braking and dry handling lag behind competitors. Kuru zeminde frenleme ve yol tutuşu rakiplerinin gerisinde kalıyor. Beim Trockenbremsen und Trockenhandling hinken sie der Konkurrenz hinterher. Le freinage et la tenue de route sur sol sec sont à la traîne par rapport aux concurrents. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: General G Max AS 05 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Affordable with solid warranty, and comfortable ride. Uygun fiyatlı, sağlam garantili ve konforlu sürüş. Erschwinglich mit solider Garantie und komfortabler Fahrt. Abordable avec une garantie solide et une conduite confortable. Dry and wet braking could be improved. Kuru ve ıslak zemin frenlemesi geliştirilebilir. Das Trocken- und Nassbremsen könnte verbessert werden. Le freinage sur sol sec et humide pourrait être amélioré. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: BFGoodrich g Force COMP 2 AS+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good dry handling and overall comfort, along with a decent warranty. İyi kuru yol tutuşu ve genel konfor, ayrıca makul bir garanti. Gutes Trockenhandling und allgemeiner Komfort, zusammen mit einer ordentlichen Garantie. Bonne tenue de route à sec et confort général, ainsi qu'une garantie décente. Falls behind in both dry and wet braking metrics. Higher price per mile. Hem kuru hem de ıslak frenleme ölçümlerinde geride kalıyor. Mil başına daha yüksek fiyat. Bleibt sowohl bei den Trocken- als auch bei den Nassbremswerten zurück. Höherer Preis pro Meile. Le freinage sur sol sec et humide est à la traîne. Prix au kilomètre plus élevé. Read Reviews |