The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S ultra-high-performance summer tire is among the top performers in the category, with impressive balance of dry and wet grip, handling, and hydroplaning resistance. Fair ride comfort and rolling resistance are typical of ultra high performance summer tires.

This Continental ultra-high-performance summer tire is among the top-rated in the category. It earns Excellent scores in CR's tests of dry braking, handling, and hydroplaning resistance. Wet braking is very solid. It's a very quiet tire as well.

This General ultra-high-performance summer tire is among the category's high scorers in CR's testing. It excels at dry braking and hydroplaning resistance, and gets Very Good ratings for wet braking and handling. It also offers a long tread life compared with competing models.

This Pirelli ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent scores in CR's tests of dry braking, handling, and hydroplaning resistance, and is a very quiet tire, but is has a relatively short tread life.

This Falken ultra-high-performance summer tire gets Excellent ratings for performance in the areas of dry braking, hydroplaning resistance, and quietness. Wet braking and handling are also very solid.

This Yokohama ultra-high-performance summer tire offers a good balance of track performance—dry braking and hydroplaning resistance are rated Excellent—and long tread life as tested by CR.

Despite being relatively inexpensive, this GT Radial ultra-high-performance summer tire holds its own against higher-priced competition, with outstanding dry braking, hydroplaning resistance, and quietness.

This Dunlop ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent ratings in CR's tests of dry braking and hydroplaning resistance; wet braking and handling are also very strong. Its standout characteristic, however, is decent ride comfort, which is a rarity among ultra-high-performance summer tires.

In CR's testing, this Firestone ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent ratings for dry braking and hydroplaning resistance, and Very Good scores for handling and tread noise.

This Hankook ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent scores for dry braking and hydroplaning resistance in CR's testing, plus Very Good ratings for handling and tread noise.

This Bridgestone ultra-high-performance summer tire delivers an exceptionally stiff ride, even compared with other tires in this category, which are generally stiff. If that's not a major concern, it does offer excellent dry braking and hydroplaning resistance, and better-than-average handling.

This Bridgestone ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent ratings in CR's tests of dry braking and hydroplaning resistance, and a Very Good score for handling.

This Bridgestone ultra-high-performance summer tire delivers excellent dry braking and handling in CR's testing, and solid hydroplaning resistance, but it has a relatively short tread life as tested by CR.

Based on CR's tests, this Nexen ranks about midpack among ultra-high-performance summer tires, with Excellent marks for dry braking and hydroplaning resistance, and scores that are likewise typical of the category in most other tests.

This Toyo ultra-high-performance summer tire earns strong performance scores in CR's testing. It has a shortcoming, however: Tread life as tested by CR, at 30,000 miles, is on the short side—but it is one of few tires in this category to have a treadwear warranty, in this case for 25,000 miles.

This Yokohama ultra-high-performance summer tire gets Excellent ratings for dry braking and hydroplaning resistance, like a majority of tires in the category. CR's testers found the tire to have an especially stiff ride, however.

A midpack performer in almost every respect, this Sumitomo ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent ratings in CR's tests of dry braking and hydroplaning resistance, like a majority of tires in the category.

This Yokohama ultra-high-performance summer tire gets impressive marks for dry braking and hydroplaning resistance but offers just average wet braking and handling relative to competing models.

This Achilles ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent scores in CR's tests of dry braking and resisting hydroplaning, but its overall performance rates below par compared with other models in the category.

Like most competitors in this category, this BFGoodrich ultra-high-performance summer tire earns Excellent scores in CR's tests of dry braking and resisting hydroplaning. But a subpar rating for wet braking means it's not suited to areas where wet roads are common.

This Nitto ultra-high-performance summer tire lags competitors in both wet and dry stopping performance. The 65,000-mile tested tread life is impressive, however, and it excels at resisting hydroplaning.

Though among the lowest-rated models that CR has tested in this category, this Armstrong ultra-high-performance summer tire does get strong marks for dry braking and hydroplaning resistance. But those scores—typical for the category—are undermined by just average wet braking and handling relative to competing models. A plus: It's a relatively quiet tire.