2017 Auto Bild UHP Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Dry Braking	Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 Vredestein Ultrac Vorti Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
Rolling Resistance	Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3
Noise	Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Snow Handling	Vredestein Ultrac Vorti Hankook Ventus S1 evo2

The German publication Auto Bild have published their third tyre test of 2017, this time testing nine UHP tyres in 245/40 R18 using an Audi TT. Without a budget tyre included in the test, this is one of the closest tyre tests we've seen in years, and highlight just how close the latest generation of tyres have become in terms of raw performance.

Wet

In the wet, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 came out best overall. It won the aquaplaning tests and was joint fastest during the wet handling lap. The Firestone tyre lost both categories.

Under wet braking, the Michelin only managed sixth position, but when you consider the gap between the test winning Dunlop and sixth placed Michelin was just 0.4 meters, you realise the order of the top tyres could fall within the variance of the testing. The now-dated Continental Sport Contact 5 struggled, but not as much as the Firestone tyre, a full ten meters behind the winning Dunlop.

Dry

As in the wet, the Michelin was the fastest tyre in the dry, with Vredestein a close second.

The dry braking test verified Vredesteins dry ability, with Vredestein convincingly winning the test. Firestone once again finished last, rounding out last place in every test of grip performed.

The rolling resistance test was won by Goodyear, with the first five places close enough not to make a huge impact in overall fuel use. The excellent dry grip of the Vredestein does have a trade off, the Ultrac Vorti had the worst efficiency of all tyres on test.

The quietest tyres on test were Hankook and Vredestein. Firestone once again ranks last, but is the cheapest tyre on test.

Results

Below are the overall results. Auto Bild place a higher score weighting on the wet results, which is why the total scores aren't in sequence with the order of results.