ACE/ARBÖ/GTÜ 2023: Summer Tire Test R18
The European motoring club conducted a test of premium and medium-class summer tires.
The experts from the European Automobile Club (ACE) in collaboration with their partners from the Austrian Automobile Club (ARBÖ) and the German Technical Inspection Association (GTÜ) conducted a test of summer tires in size 245/45 R18, selecting only high and medium-priced models.
The test involved the premium-class tires Bridgestone Potenza Sport, Continental PremiumContact 7 (a newcomer of the season), Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, Michelin Pilot Sport 5 and Pirelli P Zero (PZ4), while the medium price bracket was represented by the Falken Azenis FK520, Hankook Ventus S1 evo3, Kumho Ecsta PS71. Maxxis Victra Sport 5, and Nexen N’Fera Sport tires.
The main dry and wet tests were conducted at the Contidrom test facility in Germany; the selected tire size is suitable for vehicles such as the Audi A4, BMW 2- and 3-Series, Mazda3, Nissan Juke, and others.
Wet
The highest points for wet handling were scored by Goodyear, Continental, and Bridgestone, which behaved more steadily than others in corners, while the Goodyear model provided the best steering response. The ACE experts added that the track surface for the tests in this discipline at the Contidrom complex had been recently updated, and the grip was slightly higher than usual, and as a result, the differences in the tires’ performance were slightly smaller than on a track with the old surface.
Wet Braking
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Hankook
- Bridgestone
- Michelin
- Pirelli
- Maxxis
- Falken
- Kumho
- Nexen
Info! Braking in the range of 80–0 km/h, m.
Continental and Goodyear were also very effective in terms of wet braking, but in this discipline the victory was won by the Hankook tire, despite the fact that it had the weakest lateral hydroplaning resistance among the tested tires. The Michelin model was the best in terms of lateral hydroplaning resistance, while Kumho, Continental, and, again, the Pilot Sport 5 were the best in terms of straight lateral hydroplaning resistance.
Wet Handling
- Bridgestone
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Pirelli
- Falken
- Hankook
- Kumho
- Michelin
- Nexen
Info! Points.
As a result of all the wet tests, the Continental model took first place, but Goodyear and Michelin were only one point behind the leader.
Dry
On dry pavement, all the tested tires showed relatively similar performance, and for example, the shortest and longest 100 km/h braking distances (first place shared by Goodyear and Continental, last place occupied by Kumho) differed by only two meters, being 34.3 and 36.3 meters respectively. In the handling test, Bridgestone, Continental, Pirelli, and Goodyear topped the subjective rating, impressing the testers with excellent grip in corners, and the Goodyear model once again received praise for the precision of its steering response. Partly thanks to this, the Goodyear tire became the leader in this part of the test, narrowly beating the Bridgestone model.
Dry Braking
- Bridgestone
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Falken
- Hankook
- Pirelli
- Maxxis
- Michelin
- Nexen
- Kumho
Info! Braking in the range of 100–0 km/h, m.
Dry Handling
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Continental
- Maxxis
- Michelin
- Pirelli
- Falken
- Hankook
- Kumho
- Nexen
Info! Points.
Verdict
Since the test did not involve any cheap tires, all of the contestants showed good results on wet and dry pavement alike; the absolute winner was the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6. The Goodyear tire invariably delivers excellent performance with a low noise level coming as a pleasant bonus.
1 place: Goodyear / Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
Quick TakeGoodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
- This tire replaced Goodyear / Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
- Available Sizes in Line: 41
- Year Released: 2022
- Regions for sale: USA+, Europe, Middle East, South Africa
Positive: Wet handling. Dry handling. Dry braking. Noise.
2 place: Continental / PremiumContact 7
Quick TakeContinental PremiumContact 7
- This tire replaced Continental / PremiumContact 6
- Year Released: 2022
- Regions for sale: Europe
Positive: Wet braking. Dry braking. Wet handling. Straight hydroplaning resistance.
Negative: Noise. Environment.
3 place: Michelin / Pilot Sport 5
Quick TakeMichelin Pilot Sport 5
- Available Sizes in Line: 43
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Subaru Levorg VN [2020 .. 2024]
- Year Released: 2022
- Regions for sale: Canada, Mexico, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Oceania
Positive: Wet braking. Hydroplaning resistance.
Negative: Price.
4 place: Bridgestone / Potenza Sport
Quick TakeBridgestone Potenza Sport
- This tire replaced Bridgestone / Potenza S001
- Available Sizes in Line: 87
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Lamborghini Huracan Facelift [2019 .. 2023]
- • Fisker
- • Ferrari Roma [2020 .. 2023]
- • Maserati
- Year Released: 2021
- Regions for sale: North America, Europe, Russia+, China, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Oceania
Positive: Wet handling. Wet braking. Dry braking.
Negative: Environment.
5 place: Pirelli / P Zero PZ4
Quick TakePirelli P Zero PZ4
- This tire replaced Pirelli / P Zero
- Available Sizes in Line: 319
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • BMW 8 Series G14/G15/G16 [2018 .. 2023]
- • Hyundai Kona OS Facelift [2020 .. 2023]
- • Acura NSX NC1 [2016 .. 2023]
- • Volvo V90 II [2016 .. 2023]
- • Jaguar XF
- • BMW X1
- • BMW X2
- • MINI Countryman
- • MINI Clubman
- • Mercedes-Benz C-Class
- • Jaguar XE
- • Audi A4
- • Audi A5
- • BMW 3 Series
- • Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- • Mercedes-Benz B-Class
- • Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
- • BMW 7 Series
- • BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo
- • BMW X3
- • BMW X4
- • BMW X5
- • BMW X6
- • Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
- • Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- • Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe
- • Audi A8
- • Bentley Continental GT
- • Bentley Continental GTC
- • Porsche Boxster
- • Porsche Cayman
- • Audi A3
- • McLaren 540C
- • McLaren 570GT
- • McLaren 570S
- • Volvo V40
- • Hyundai Veloster
- • Lamborghini Huracan
- • McLaren Senna
- • Audi R8
- • McLaren 720S
- • Porsche 911
- • BMW 5 Series
- • Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 4
- • Porsche Panamera
- • Audi A6
- • Audi A7
- • Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class
- • Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class
- • Volkswagen Touareg
- • Lamborghini Aventador
- • BMW Alpina B5
- • Jaguar F-Type
- • Ferrari 488 Pista
- • Ferrari GTC4Lusso
- • Ferrari Portofino
- • Maserati GranTurismo
- • Maserati GranCabrio
- • Ferrari 812 Superfast
- • Dodge Challenger
- • Aston Martin Vantage
- • Alfa Romeo Stelvio
- • BMW Alpina XD3
- • BMW Alpina XD4
- • Jaguar E-Pace
- • BMW X4 M
- • BMW X3 M
- • Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
- • Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class
- • McLaren GT
- • Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
- • Lamborghini Urus
- • Volkswagen Atlas
- • Ford Mustang Mach-E [2020 .. 2023]
- • Aston Martin DBX [2020 .. 2023]
- • BMW i4 G26 [2021 .. 2024]
- Year Released: 2016
- Regions for sale: North America, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Oceania
Positive: Dry handling. Dry braking.
6 place: Maxxis / Victra Sport 5 VS5
Quick TakeMaxxis Victra Sport 5 VS5
- This tire replaced Maxxis / Victra Sport VS-01
- Available Sizes in Line: 67
- Year Released: 2018
- Regions for sale: Canada, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, Japan, China, South Africa, Oceania
Positive: Performance balance. Price/quality ratio.
7 place: Hankook / Ventus S1 evo3 K127
Quick TakeHankook Ventus S1 evo3 K127
- This tire has been replaced by Hankook / Ventus S1 evo3 EV K127E
- This tire replaced Hankook / Ventus S1 evo2 K117
- Available Sizes in Line: 210
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Audi RS6 C8 [2019 .. 2023]
- • Audi RS7 C8 [2019 .. 2023]
- • BMW 3 Series VII (G20/G21) [2018 .. 2023]
- • BMW Z4 III (G29) [2018 .. 2023]
- • Audi S3 8V [2013 .. 2016]
- • Audi S3 8V Facelift [2016 .. 2020]
- • Audi S3 8Y [2020 .. 2023]
- • Tesla Model 3 [2017 .. 2023]
- • BMW 2 Series F44 [2019 .. 2023]
- • Porsche Boxster III (981) [2012 .. 2017]
- • Porsche Cayman II (981) [2013 .. 2016]
- • MINI Cooper F55/F56 [2014 .. 2021]
- • MINI Cooper F55/F56 Facelift II [2021 .. 2023]
- • BMW 2 Series Active Tourer F45 Facelift [2018 .. 2021]
- • BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer F46 Facelift [2018 .. 2023]
- • BMW 5 Series VII (G30/G31) [2016 .. 2020]
- • Audi A1 citycarver GB [2019 .. 2023]
- • Volkswagen Golf Mk8 (CD1) [2019 .. 2023]
- • Mercedes-Benz S-Class W223 [2020 .. 2023]
- • Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8 (CD1) [2020 .. 2023]
- • Volkswagen Golf R Mk8 (CD1) [2020 .. 2023]
- • BMW i4 G26 [2021 .. 2023]
- Year Released: 2019
- Regions for sale: North America, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Oceania
Positive: Wet braking.
Negative: Lateral hydroplaning resistance.
7 place: Kumho / Ecsta PS71
Quick TakeKumho Ecsta PS71
- This tire has run-flat model:
- Available Sizes in Line: 88
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Skoda Octavia Mk4 A8 (NX) [2020 .. 2023]
- • Kia
- • Hyundai Grandeur VI (IG) Facelift [2020 .. 2024]
- Year Released: 2016
- Regions for sale: Canada, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, North Africa, Oceania
Positive: Straight hydroplaning resistance
Negative: Wet braking. Dry braking. Noise.
9 place: Falken / Azenis FK520
Quick TakeFalken Azenis FK520
- This tire replaced Falken / Azenis FK510
- Available Sizes in Line: 81
- Year Released: 2022
- Regions for sale: Europe
Positive: Dry braking
Negative: Wet braking
9 place: Nexen / N'Fera Sport
Quick TakeNexen N'Fera Sport
- This tire replaced Nexen / N'Fera SU1
- Available Sizes in Line: 57
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Audi A3 8Y [2020 .. 2023]
- • Porsche Panamera II (971) Facelift [2020 .. 2023]
- • Volkswagen Golf Mk8 (CD1) [2019 .. 2023]
- • Seat Leon KL [2020 .. 2023]
- • BMW 2 Series Active Tourer U06 [2022 .. 2023]
- • BMW X1 II (F48) Facelift [2019 .. 2023]
- • BMW iX [2021 .. 2023]
- Year Released: 2018
- Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+
Positive: Noise. Price.
Negative: Wet braking
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