The Sport auto experts checked whether modern all-season tires can ensure adequate grip if you fit them on a sports car.
In recent years, no sector of the tire market has developed as quickly as the segment of the so-called all-season or all-weather tires, which are now produced by almost any major tire maker you can think of. According to the Sportauto experts, if earlier these were tires with a narrow tread pattern predominantly designed to be driven on snow, now, thanks to new tread patterns and compounds, they have become much more effective on cold and wet surfaces, they better combat the hydroplaning effect and handle high speeds, while the snow and ice grip requirements have been reduced to minimal values. Due to this, conducting their next test, the SA experts reduced the weight of the snow and wet pavement scores (by 5%), and increased it for the dry tests (by 10%) — a performance area, in which many all-season tires have issues.
The test involved the Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 Evo, Continental AllseasonContact, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, Michelin CrossClimate 2, Toyo Celsius AS2, and Vredestein Quatrac Pro, two models — Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Bridgestone Blizzak LM005, summer and winter respectively — taken as controls. The testers opted for the size of 235/35 R19; the test car was a 250-horsepower Hyundai i30 N, which raised the bar for the tires’ grip due to its 355 Nm torque.
The high torque made itself felt in the very first discipline (which was snow acceleration) but the experts noted that the technologies of all-season tires keep on developing, and, while driving on the summer tires, you could only move safely at a pedestrian speed, the Michelin CrossClimate 2 performed virtually on a level with winter tires. The same situation was observed in the snow handling test, in which the lap times demonstrated by the Michelin tire and the winter model on a 1100-meter track differed by tenth fractions of a second.
Snow Traction
- Bridgestone winter
- Continental
- Michelin
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Vredestein
- Toyo
- Bridgestone summer
Info! Measurement of thrust force in relation to inertial mass,m/s2.
Snow Braking
- Bridgestone winter
- Michelin
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Toyo
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone summer
Info! Snow braking from 50 to 0 km/h, m.
At the same time, the testers noted that in actuality the differences were deeper, and, while the winter tires lost grip slowly and predictably (which increases the level of driving safety), the all-season tires went into a skid all of a sudden, and, although the pilots could show a good lap time despite this particular feature, less experienced drivers may have problems because of that.
Snow Lateral Stability
- Bridgestone winter
- Michelin
- Goodyear
- Continental
- Toyo
- Bridgestone
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone summer
Info! Average lateral acceleration, m/s2.
Snow Handling
- Bridgestone winter
- Michelin
- Continental
- Toyo
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone summer
Info! Average speed, km/h.
In the wet tests, the Toyo tire «distinguished itself» by demonstrating a braking distance considerably longer than the competition. The best results in this discipline were shown by the Vredestein model that scored the highest points for handling performance, and generally was the best in this part of the test. At the same time, one must keep in mind that once this Vredestein tire hits a puddle, it maintains grip worse than its rivals — the only tire that was worse in this respect was the Bridgestone model.
Wet Braking
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone winter
- Bridgestone
- Bridgestone summer
- Goodyear
- Continental
- Michelin
- Toyo
Info! Wet braking from 80 to 0 km/h, m.
Wet Lateral Stability
- Bridgestone summer
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone winter
- Michelin
- Toyo
Info! Maximum lateral acceleration, m/s2.
Wet Handling
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone winter
- Goodyear
- Continental
- Bridgestone
- Bridgestone summer
- Michelin
- Toyo
Info! Average speed, km/h.
Straight Hydroplaning
- Toyo
- Bridgestone summer
- Continental
- Bridgestone winter
- Michelin
- Goodyear
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone
Info! Float speed, km/h.
Lateral Hydroplaning
- Bridgestone summer
- Toyo
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Michelin
- Bridgestone winter
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone
Info! Lateral acceleration during loss of traction, m/s2.
On the dry track, the lead was again taken over by the Michelin tire, whose braking performance was on a level with that of the summer tire (the difference in the 100 km/h braking distance was mere 1.5 meters). But then again, all the contestants showed good results in this discipline, the only tire to lag behind being Goodyear, which was inferior even to the winter tires.
Dry Braking
- Bridgestone summer
- Michelin
- Bridgestone
- Toyo
- Continental
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone winter
- Goodyear
Info! Dry braking from 100 to 0 km/h, m.
Since Sportauto, as its name suggests, is meant for sports car enthusiasts, it was not without high-speed tests on dry pavement, and, as the experts noted, although they expected that after a few runs the tread of the all-season tires would be shredded to pieces, this did not happen, and, despite the numerous sipes, most of the contestants surprised them with quite impressive results. As the SA experts said, «you cannot, of course, call them „sports“ tires but these tires ensure an adequate safety level in any situation».
Dry Handling
- Bridgestone summer
- Michelin
- Bridgestone
- Vredestein
- Toyo
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone winter
Info! Average speed, km/h.
The experts also evaluated the level of external noise and the rolling resistance, and the quietest tire turned out to be Vredestein, and the most economical one Continental.
Noise
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone winter
- Toyo
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Michelin
- Continental
- Bridgestone summer
Info! The noise level at a speed 80 km/h, db(A).
Rolling Resistance
- Continental
- Michelin
- Bridgestone
- Bridgestone winter
- Toyo
- Goodyear
- Vredestein
- Bridgestone summer
Info! Rolling resistance, kg/t.
Verdict
The first place in the final standings was scored by the Michelin CrossClimate 2 that surpassed its rivals on snow and dry pavement, and has low rolling resistance. At the same time, the Michelin model did have difficulties on wet pavement, i.e. there is no such thing as a perfect all-season tire.
1 Very good Michelin / CrossClimate 2
Quick Take
Michelin CrossClimate 2
This Michelin model delivers excellent snow and dry performance, but on wet pavement it has long braking distances and is extremely prone to understeer. In addition, in the range of 30–50 km/h, an annoying wailing sound was heard.
2 Very good Vredestein / Quatrac Pro
Quick Take
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
This tire is great on wet pavement and is great for regions where snow on the roads is a rare phenomenon.
3 Very good Continental / AllSeasonContact
Quick Take
Continental AllSeasonContact
This tire has a very well-balanced performance, its only disadvantage being relatively poor braking capabilities on dry and wet pavement alike.
4 Good Bridgestone / Weather Control A005 Evo
Quick Take
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 Evo
This Bridgestone tire ensures good handling performance in any conditions, but you need to keep in mind that on snow it loses grip abruptly. The tire also has issues with hydroplaning resistance, and it makes audible hum at low to medium speeds.
5 Good Goodyear / Vector 4Seasons Gen-3
Quick Take
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3
An all-purpose all-season tire that will be a good choice for compact cars.
6 Satisfactory Toyo / Celsius AS2
Quick Take
Toyo Celsius AS2
This Toyo tire takes forever to stop the car and has weak wet traction, which is unacceptable for a tire of this category.
Out of competition Bridgestone / Potenza Sport
Quick Take
Bridgestone Potenza Sport
An exemplary sports summer tire that provides excellent handling response on both dry and wet surfaces. At the same time, this tire performs optimally only at temperatures above 10°C, and already at 8°C on a wet surface, frequent and sharp skidding starts. The Potenza Sport is also pretty loud, has a rough ride, and strong rolling resistance.
Out of competition Bridgestone / Blizzak LM005
Quick Take
Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
A great winter tire that ensures a high level of safety on snow, including in emergency situations. Its wet performance is also pretty good; the Blizzak LM005 also offers a smooth and noiseless ride, but on dry pavement it is slow to respond to the driver inputs, and is prone to understeer. In addition, this tire has an increased rolling resistance.
