The British magazine conducted a test of UHP summer tires.
In November 2022, the British magazine evo published the results of its next summer tire test, this time opting for the size of 235/35 R19, ever more popular in the UK, and comparing the tires’ performance on dry and wet pavement.
The frontrunner of the new test could be considered to be the Continental SportContact 7, which previously won the mini-test of three 265/35 R20 tires, its claim to victory being disputed by other leaders of the UHP segment, such as Pirelli P Zero (PZ4), Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport, and Bridgestone Potenza Sport, who never participated in the evo tests before. Yet another newcomer was the Falken Azenis FK520, while the Maxxis Victra Sport 5 had been tested by evo before and showed very good results, but back then its participation in the test was «unofficial». And, finally, yet another participant was the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, which also won the two previous evo tests, i.e. the competition in this test was more than serious.
The test car was a VW Golf GTI Clubsport, which does not have any shortage of either power or torque (300 horsepower and 406 Nm respectively); the testing ground was the Goodyear complex in Mireval, France.
Wet Handling
On a watered track, the best lap time was demonstrated by the Bridgestone model, which surpassed Pirelli by more than half a second, at the same time receiving the highest subjective evaluations. The P Zero behaved confidently and reliably without demonstrating any prominent issues, while the Bridgestone model was only slightly inferior to it in terms of steering feedback. Second-placed in the subjective ranking was the Goodyear model, which fell only slightly behind the leaders in terms of traction, while the Maxxis tire produced a very good overall impression thanks to its predictable behavior. The Continental tire caught up with Goodyear in terms of lap time, but it had issues with traction in corners, and, in addition, you had to work very carefully with the gas pedal to fully use its potential. The Michelin tire, in turn, had a relatively weak grip on the rear wheels, which was good for slow cornering and bad for fast cornering, while the worst time was shown by the Falken tire, which was too quick to go off course during high-speed maneuvering because its overall grip was weaker than that of the competition. At the same time, the tire behaved in a quite stable way in other respects.
Wet Handling
- Bridgestone
- Pirelli
- Maxxis
- Goodyear
- Continental
- Michelin
- Falken
Info! Lap time, sec.
Subj. Wet Handling
- Pirelli
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Bridgestone
- Michelin
- Continental
- Falken
Info! Subjective, points.
Lateral Stability
Usually, there is strong correlation between the results of the handling tests and the tests for lateral grip on wet pavement, and in the second discipline first and last places were scored by Bridgestone and Falken respectively. At the same time, on the circular track the scatter of the results was not as significant, and the Goodyear tire shared the top line of the tournament bracket with Bridgestone.
Lateral Stability
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Maxxis
- Continental
- Michelin
- Pirelli
- Falken
Info! Circle time, sec.
Braking
The braking tests were dominated by Continental, which had a significant lead over the competition on dry and wet tracks alike. The Michelin tire also demonstrated consistently good results in both disciplines, even though it lagged considerably behind Continental on the wet track. The worst performance here was demonstrated by the Maxxis tire, which scored the last-but-one lines on both types of pavement.
Wet Braking
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Michelin
- Pirelli
- Bridgestone
- Maxxis
- Falken
Info! Braking in the range of 80–0 km/h, m.
Dry Braking
- Continental
- Bridgestone
- Michelin
- Falken
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Pirelli
Info! Braking in the range of 100–0 km/h, m.
Hydroplaning
The hydroplaning effect appears when the tire can no longer cut through the water layer on the road and starts to «float». The best hydroplaning resistance — both straight and lateral — was demonstrated by the Bridgestone tire. At the same time, it should be noted that the tire’s lead over the closest pursuers was essentially minimal, and in the first discipline — straight hydroplaning resistance — the difference between the first in the last place was mere 3.2%.
Straight Hyroplaning
- Bridgestone
- Michelin
- Gooyear
- Continental
- Pirelli
- Maxxis
- Falken
Info! Float speed, km/h.
Lateral Hydroplaning
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Falken
- Maxxis
- Michelin
- Pirelli
- Continental
Info! Residual lateral acceleration, km/h.
Dry Handling
Predictably, on dry pavement the lap times shown by different tires did not differ as much as on wet pavement, the first place being scored by the Continental model, which had a slight lead over Goodyear and Bridgestone. The subjective ranking consisted of the same three models, yet the order was shuffled — the best tire was pronounced to be Goodyear, which inevitably maintained reliable grip during high-speed maneuvering. In the more abrupt corners it missed traction a little bit, but it was deservedly commended for excellent handling response. The Bridgestone tire also informs the driver about reaching the grip threshold, which the Continental is better at tackling high speeds, even though in terms of feedback it was inferior to the other two tires from this trio.
Mere few tenths of a second separated the Maxxis and Michelin models from the leaders; subjective evaluations tipped in favor of the tires from the French brand. According to the experts, the Michelin tire required just a little time to find the right grip when entering high-speed corners, but otherwise it behaved in a very predictable way, while the Maxxis tire, conversely, was better when entering the corner, had better feedback and better traction, but it was also pretty noisy, and, once heated, the noise would increase in the second lap.
Pirelli was two seconds inferior to the leader, scoring the last place, but subjectively it was rated fifth. The evo experts noted that, just as the Michelin model, the Pirelli tire was generally effective, but it lacked traction in comparison to the other top tires. The lowest subjective scores were received by the Falken tire that already had an obvious lack of traction.
Dry Handling
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Maxxis
- Michelin
- Falken
- Pirelli
Info! Lap time, sec.
Subj. Dry Handling
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Continental
- Michelin
- Pirelli
- Maxxis
- Falken
Info! Subjective, points.
The Road Test
The road test involved evaluating handling performance and steering feedback, as well as noise and ride smoothness, and the first place was scored by the Michelin model that was effective at absorbing noise and vibrations, and ensured excellent handling performance in corners. Second-placed was Pirelli, which was slightly noisier, but also ensured good feedback through the steering wheel at moderate speeds. The Falken tire came third because, although it was not the best in terms of steering response, it ensured a smooth and noiseless ride on all types of surfaces.
For those who place handling performance above ride comfort, we can recommend the Bridgestone and Goodyear tires. The tire by the Japanese brand is very quick to respond to the driver inputs, and it the same time it behaves very consistently under loads, yet it does let you know about road inequalities with both noise and vibrations, while the Goodyear model is less sensitive to the changes in the road structure, and provides good steering feedback.
The Road Test
- Michelin
- Pirelli
- Falken
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Continental
Info! Subjective, points.
Efficiency
Previously, the tire’s environmental performance, stated on the EU label, already deviated from the results of the evo tests, and in the 2022 test this applied to Maxxis, which, instead of the D ranking, scored a place among the tires with a C index. The best environmental performance this time was demonstrated by the Michelin model.
Rolling Resistance
- Michelin
- Falken
- Maxxis
- Continental
- Pirelli
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
Info! Rolling Resistance, kg/t.
1st place: Bridgestone / Potenza Sport
Quick Take
Bridgestone Potenza Sport
This Bridgestone model ensures excellent handling response on wet pavement, and has a very high rolling resistance; on dry pavement, and has good handling feedback and crisp steering response, for which, obviously, the technologists sacrificed some of the ride comfort.
2nd place: Goodyear / Eagle F1 SuperSport
Quick Take
Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport
This tire is characterized by excellent steering feedback and ensures very good handling response on dry pavement. You cannot call it the most comfortable tire around, but on dry pavement it produces quite an impression.
3rd place: Pirelli / P Zero PZ4
Quick Take
Pirelli P Zero PZ4
This Pirelli tire is very good on wet pavement, and it also ensures a pretty comfortable ride. At the same time there were minor gripes about handling response and dry braking performance.
4th place: Maxxis / Victra Sport 5 VS5
Quick Take
Maxxis Victra Sport 5 VS5
A good inexpensive tire, whose performance is almost on a level with that of much more expensive models.
5th place: Michelin / Pilot Sport 4S
Quick Take
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
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This Michelin tire ensures a very smooth and comfortable ride and has a low rolling resistance. True, there are newer models available on the market, which do outperform it on wet and dry pavement alike, but the Pilot Sport 4 S is still an excellent choice.
6th place: Continental / SportContact 7
Quick Take
Continental SportContact 7
One of the strongest sides of this Continental model is a very short braking distance on both wet and dry pavement. In addition, the tire ensures an excellent dry handling response. At the same time, this Continental model is inferior to some of its rivals in terms of steering feedback and ride comfort.
7th place: Falken / Azenis FK520
Quick Take
Falken Azenis FK520
This Falken tire combines acceptable dry handling response and good ride comfort. In addition, it has a high resistance to lateral hydroplaning but it lacks steering feedback, it has a long wet braking distance.
