Every year Autobild Sports Cars aims to go big, and this year they've literally have, testing UUHP summer tyres! In search for the sportiest performance tyre, they used a Mercedes AMG test vehicle which is fitted with 265/35 R19 front and 295/30 R20 rear tyres.
As usual the excellent drivers at AutoBild put seven sets of UUHP / maximum performance tyres to the test in the dry and wet, as well as testing the rolling resistance and noise levels of the tyres.
It's a good bunch of tyres, and includes the brand new Vredestein Ultrac Pro (which replaces the Ultrac Vorti) against the very best in the category.
4 categories (8 tests)
Test Category | Best Performer | Worst Performer | Difference |
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Dry (2 tests) | |||
Dry Braking | ▲ Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 37 M | ▼ Winrun R330: 44.8 M | 7.8 M (17.4%) |
Dry Handling | ▲ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 109.9 Km/H | ▼ Winrun R330: 106.2 Km/H | 3.7 Km/H (3.5%) |
Wet (4 tests) | |||
Wet Braking | ▲ Continental SportContact 7: 49.2 M | ▼ Winrun R330: 68.3 M | 19.1 M (28.0%) |
Wet Handling | ▲ Continental SportContact 7: 78.9 Km/H | ▼ Winrun R330: 65 Km/H | 13.9 Km/H (21.4%) |
Wet Circle | ▲ Continental SportContact 7: 10.78 s | ▼ Winrun R330: 13.03 s | 2.3 s (17.3%) |
Straight Aqua | ▲ Vredestein Ultrac Pro: 100.3 Km/H | ▼ Winrun R330: 94.3 Km/H | 6.0 Km/H (6.4%) |
Comfort (1 tests) | |||
Noise | ▲ Vredestein Ultrac Pro: 70.5 dB | ▼ Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport: 73.9 dB | 3.4 dB (4.6%) |
Value (1 tests) | |||
Rolling Resistance | ▲ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 8.11 kg / t | ▼ Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport: 9.76 kg / t | 1.7 kg / t (16.9%) |
Dry
The Bridgestone Potenza Sport was the best in dry braking, ahead of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and Continental SportContact 7.
The Michelin was the fastest around the dry handling lap, but the Tyre Reviews favourite, the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport got the best subjective marks. The Bridgestone overheated after a few laps and had very high wear, something Tyre Reviews has noticed many times.
Wet
Continental was at the front during wet braking.
And it was fastest around the wet handling lap, and the fastest in the wet circle, showing it's incredibly high wet grip.
The new Vredestein Ultrac Pro was best in the deeper water of aquaplaning.
Comfort
The Vredestein was also the quietest on test.
Value
Michelin were back at the front during the rolling resistance test, where the sporty Goodyear really struggled.
Please note: All the data such as EU label and weight is for the rear axle size.
Results
1st: Continental SportContact 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A convincing super sports car that hardly shows any weakness, precise steering response, dynamic handling on wet and dry tracks, excellent balance, short braking distances, good aquaplaning reserves. Slightly increased rolling noise. Read Reviews Buy from £240.05 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced sports tyre that excels on both wet and dry roads, precise steering, good feedback, good balance, short braking distances, quiet rolling noise. Average aquaplaning safety reserves. Read Reviews Buy from £255.41 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Vredestein Ultrac Pro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Brand-new, dynamically balanced sports tyre with very good safety reserves for aquaplaning, short braking distances, convincing rolling comfort, and quiet ride noise. Slightly delayed steering response. Read Reviews Buy from £227.14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Bridgestone Potenza Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dynamic handling characteristics and impressive grip on wet tracks, short braking distances, direct steering, good balance. After a few laps on a dry racetrack, there is significant wear and tear (leading to downgrading). Read Reviews Buy from £225.67 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Hankook Ventus S1 Evo Z K129 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sporting talent with agile steering, good aquaplaning reserves, and short braking distances on wet roads. Rear axle's lack of lateral stability leads to a pronounced tendency to oversteer on both wet and dry roads. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dynamic sporting talent with crisp, direct steering on dry roads, good comfort. Lacking grip and pronounced understeering behavior with extended braking distances on wet surfaces, high rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £211.68 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Winrun R330 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Average aquaplaning reserves, low rolling resistance. Lacking wet grip and dangerous driving behavior, delayed steering with poor balance and treacherous oversteering on both wet and dry roads, dangerously long braking distances. Read Reviews |