Goodyear, Dunlop and Michelin models rated best in Consumer Reports' tests of summer ultra-high-performance tires

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 all achieved “Excellent” overall scores in Consumer Reports’ evaluations of braking, handling, hydroplaning, tread life, rolling resistance, and noise. The Continental Extreme Contact DW and the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110 scored just below those three. Both were priced lower, but the Hankook was considerably less than the top-three rated tires.

With short, low-profile sidewalls and a wide tread, ultra-high-performance (UHP) tires are designed to provide tenacious grip and superior handling. But they usually wear more quickly and cost more than standard all-season passenger tires. UHP tires used to be found as factory rubber on high-end sports cars and sports sedans, but they’re now showing up as original equipment on many lower-priced cars, such as the MazdaSpeed3 and Mini Cooper S.

In addition to testing summer UHP tires, Consumer Reports also rated 17 models of all-season ultra-high-performance tires and 15 models of performance winter tires. All-season UHP tires provide some performance in wintry conditions, but give up a little dry-wet grip compared with their summer-only cousins. Performance winter tires are designed to provide better grip on snow and ice, and come in sizes and speed ratings that make them a good winter alternative to UHP tires.

Consumer Reports’ tire tests demonstrate that there’s no shortage of good performance tires to choose from. All of the 38 summer and all-season ultra-high-performance models CR tested earned a Very Good score; five models scored Excellent. That glut of high-rated tires makes it easy to comparison shop among different brands and potentially save hundreds of dollars without giving up much in the way of performance. But prices vary by tire size and where they are sold.
All the new UHP and performance winter tire ratings are now posted online at www.ConsumerReports.org, where they are available to subscribers. Updated daily, ConsumerReports.org is the go-to site for the latest auto reviews, product news, blogs on breaking news, and car buying information. The ratings will also be in the upcoming November issue of Consumer Reports magazine, which goes on sale October 5.

Consumer Reports also tested a new all-season tire that’s designed to save fuel, the Continental ProContact Ecoplus +. A tire that has low rolling resistance—one that rolls easily down the road—will use less gasoline than one with higher rolling resistance. The new Continental achieved an Excellent rolling resistance rating in CR’s testing. It also delivered good all-around performance in CR’s braking, handling, hydroplaning resistance, and winter-driving tests.
Overall, the ProContact Ecoplus + earned an Excellent test score and now ranks second among the 26 models in the competitive all-season tire category. It tied the equally fuel-efficient Michelin EnergySaver A/S, which CR tested for the July 2010 issue.

Consumer Reports’ testers put tires through a number of objective and subjective tests in the most comprehensive tire-test program of any American magazine or Web site. Testers measure braking and lateral grip on dry and wet surfaces, dry handling in CR’s emergency avoidance maneuver, wet handling in a 2.5 acre autocross course, and hydroplaning resistance, which measures how well a tire maintains contact with the road in standing water. CR rents a local skating rink to test braking on ice and snow traction in Vermont for UHP all season and performance winter tires. Outside labs evaluate tread life and rolling resistance. To ensure consistency, testers buy each tire model in the same size and mount them on the same test cars.

For UHP tires, Consumer Reports’ overall scores are a weighted average emphasizing braking, handling, and hydroplaning for UHP tires. Scores for performance winter tires are more heavily weighted to snow-traction and ice-braking performance; they are not tested for wet handling or tread life. CR chose a (P)225/40R18 size tire that fit its Chevrolet Cobalt SS for its tests; its engineers expect other sizes of the same tire models to provide similar performance
Among the 21 different models of summer UHP tires tested, only the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric got Excellent ratings in four of the five braking, handling, and hydroplaning tests. It posted a “Very Good” score in the wet braking test.

The three top-scoring tires in the all-season ultra-high performance category are the Pirelli P Zero Nero All-Season; the Sumitomo HTR A/S P01; and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. The Pilot Sport A/S Plus tied with the fourth-place finisher, the Continental Extreme Contact DWS.
The three top-rated tires in the performance winter category are the Nokian WR G2; Hankook Winter i*Cept Evo; and the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3.

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