Max Performance Tyre Tests

In an unexpected release, Auto Bild have just published their second ultra high performance tyre test of 2021, this time testing the popular 235/35 R19 tyre size and again putting the new Bridgestone Potenza Sport up against the best from Continental and Michelin. Strangely, Auto Bild have included the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 instead of the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport which would have been a more natural selection for this group, but it's still a really interesting test.

As always, things are close at the top, with Michelin taking a narrow victory, just ahead of Bridgestone and Continental in joint second place.

It's the second time in history the new Bridgestone Potenza Sport has been tested in a tyre test, and it's super exciting to see whether it can it match the first place from the Auto Bild Sportscars test!

There are some small differences between the two tests. Firstly, Auto Bild tested 20" tyres using a Ford Mustang, where for this test Sport Auto have used the Toyota Supra / BMW Z4 platform which wears 255/35 R19 front and 275/35 R19 rear tyres.

Sport Auto have also added a little depth to the test by including both UUHP (or Maximum Performance) and UHP tyres, which means we get the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 up against the best from Michelin and Bridgestone, not the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport.

It's the test we've all been waiting for, it's the first test of the brand new Bridgestone Potenza Sport, the only new tyre in 2021 that has the chance of taking the fight to the established ultra high performance tyres such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, Continental SportContact 6 and Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport.

Naturally, it's the best testers in the business doing it first, the German publication Auto Bild. They've tested nine 265/35 R20 UUHP tyres in the dry and wet using a very un-european Ford Mustang.

The 2021 summer tyre test season is kicking off early, with the excellent team at Auto Zeitung publishing their 10 set 225/40 R18 summer tyre test during February!

As this test is out so early in the season, it means the testing would have been completed in late 2020, which means it's missing the new Bridgestone Potenza Sport, but it's still an excellent start to the year as AZ always dig into the subjectiveness of the tyres, covering dry handling, wet handling and comfort!

All testing was carried out using a Seat Leon FR, and the popular 225/40 R18 UHP tyre size should cover many mid-sized sporty cars, including the ever popular VW Golf, the front of a BMW 1 Series, the Audi TT and many other vehicles.

Every year, the British publication EVO Magazine conduct a UHP summer tyre test, with this years test covering the hugely popular 235/35 R19 tyre size, on a VW Golf GTI. This year, due to travel restrictions, the handling testing was conducted at MIRA in the UK, rather than the Continental facility in Germany.

The EVO summer tyre tests are particularly interesting as they're one of the few publications to really dig into the subjective handling of each tyre on test, as what good is a fast tyre if it's no fun to drive? This means, much like our own tests, the EVO test can help you understand which tyre will give you not just the best grip, but the most driving enjoyment too.

Ultra high performance tyre tests always make us happy, and Auto Bild do some of the best. For 2020, AutoBild have tested nine sports tyres in the staggered 245/35 R19 and 265/35 R19 sizes using a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG.

Like our UHP tyre test in 2019, Auto Bild have tested the very three best UHP tyres on the market, the Continental SportContact 6, Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, along with some of the other well know UHP tyres from Hankook, Vredestein, Falken and other brands.

The excellent UK automotive magazine EVO always seems to publish their summer tyre test late in the season, but it shouldn't be ignored as it's one of the best in Europe if you care as much about steering feel and feedback as you do ultimate grip.

This year, EVO have tested seven 225/40 R18 UHP tyres using a VW Golf GTI at the Pirelli test facility in Vizzola, Italy, and while the volume of tyres is surprisingly small for such a common size, the breath of testing was as vast as any European tyre test.

For 2019, the German publication Gute Fahrt has tested ten 225/40 R18 summer tyre patterns using a VW Golf, but unlike in 2018 where they included all season tyres in the test, this year they've included a 17 and 19 inch comparison tyre.

EVO are the only publication to put out their summer tyre test so late in the season, and while the timing is less than ideal, the content is always excellent.

2018 is no different, with the September EVO issue covering six 235/35 R19 UUHP / max performance tyres using a Ford Focus ST (we recently used the same car to test Michelin PS4 vs PS4S vs Cup 2 here)

The test winning Michelin was no surprise, the Pilot Sport 4 S always performs excellently when tested, but it was a surprise to see the Continental Sport Contact 6 bested by the aging Goodyear and Dunlop pairing. Perhaps there was some home advantage as the test was conducted at Goodyear's incredible test facility in Miraval, France.

This year Auto Bild have covered both 19 and 20" UHP tyres, and while we've covered the 20" test already, we delayed covering the 19" test for a few weeks.

In those few weeks, Sport Auto Magazine released their 19" tyre test, and it uses exactly the same 245/35 R19 and 265/35 R19 tyres, on the same BMW M2, and tests the same six UHP tyres at the same location.

The logical question would be why publish this version of the test, as the results should be exactly the same? Well, they're not. Whether it be down to driving style, test parameters or just the weather on the day, Sport Auto and Auto Bild have managed to come up with two different test results using the same vehicle and tyres, proving just how close the very best tyres on the market are.

The latest trend of combining two tyre tests into a single result seems to be continuing, with the brilliant German publication Sport Auto combining six ultra high performance tyres and three track day tyres into a single test!

Using a BMW M2, Sport Auto used the M2 OE sizes of 245/35 R19 front and 265/35 R19 rear, and objectively tested wet and dry performances while also scoring the subjective handling and feel of a tyre.

As you would expect, the track day tyres dominated in the dry, were the weakest in the wet, and generally had the highest rolling resistance and were the nosiest. Some of the road tyres were surprisingly close to the track day rubber during dry testing, and they were leagues ahead in the wet testing.

Read on for the full results!

2018 is setting up to be an excellent year for tyre testing, with the epic German publication Auto Bild already delivering three excellent tests. Of the three, this 20" tyre test is perhaps the most interesting of the trio.

For this investigation, Auto Bild have bought eight 245/30 R20 tyre patterns and placed them through the usual array of wet and dry tests using a Mercedes E Class.

While the internet favourite Michelin Pilot Sport 4S takes its traditional top spot, there is a strange result for the Continental Sport Contact 6, a great result for the ten year old Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (not 3!), and Bridgestone make a return to tests with the old Potenza S001.

Read on for the full results!

There's one more summer tyre test left to cover in 2017, and this time it's the American publication Car and Driver testing five 245/40 R18 maximum performance summer tyres using a BMW 430i.

How much faster are track day tyres compared to the best road tyres? The German publication Sport Auto have produced the answer by taking seven of the best maximum performance road tyres and three of the best track day tyres, and placing them all through the same testing on a Toyota GT86 (225/40 R18).

The Auto Bild sports cars test is usually one of our favourite tests of the year, and this year looks to be no different.

Testing nine 235/35 R19 maximum performance tyres using a Focus ST, Auto Bild have focused on the raw performance of these tyres, weighting the score heavily in favour of wet and dry handling.

We test the dominent Michelin Pilot Super Sport against the new boy to the max performance tyre segment, the Continental Sport Contact 6! Read on for the full details

Testing nine of the latest max performance tyres, EVO have chosen the popular 235/35 R19 size, using a Ford Focus ST at Continentals circuit in Texas for the 2016 EVO Summer Tyre Test.

This year Sport Auto have chosen 235/40 R18 as their ultra high performance tyre test size. Sadly, this resulted in a couple of the key new tyres being left out, so Sport Auto also tested the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 in 225/40 R18 and the Continental Sport Contact 6 in 235/35 R19 to get an approximate idea of how they compared, but excluded them from the final results.