Do you necessarily have to go for a tire from a premium brand or can you also use a tire from a cheaper brand in the summer? The summer tire test provides the answer to that question.
The summer tire season is about to begin, while the tire market is in a turbulent period. New brands are constantly entering the market and prices are under pressure from last year’s overcapacity and unsold tires. Tire buyers can take advantage of this, because full warehouses cause falling prices and sometimes strange situations. For example, the average merchant price of premium brand Goodyear that we calculate is below that of the B and C brands (Dunlop and Fulda) from the same group. So it is always worth comparing the prices. Our tip: always ask the tire dealer or internet service providers for the total price including mounting and balancing, because prices vary considerably in this type of service in particular. On the other hand, you should certainly not save on safety, so we start this summer tire test like every year with an extensive brake test.
This year we chose the size 245 / 45R18, a size that is widely used in the higher D-segment and E-segment. However, the results are also representative of other tire sizes. The 50 tire sets were subjected to a braking test on the huge ATP test site in Papenburg, Germany. During the emergency stops on dry and wet surfaces, the tires must show what they have to offer in terms of safety reserves. Only the twenty best performing tires qualified for the extensive dynamic testing and cost check. Incidentally, it is not all gold that shines: four promising candidates die for the finish line because the expected lifespan is disappointing.
This time, in addition to the tires of the expensive premium manufacturers, the tires of affordable B and C brands also finished in the top 20. For the first time in the final: the newcomers from Laufenn and Zeetex.
Seven tires achieve the highest qualification ‘excellent’ this year. Overall winner is the Continental PremiumContact 6. The top seven also consists of the GoodYear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4, the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, the Apollo Aspire XP, the Nexen N Fera Sport and the Falken Azenis FK510.
The full results of all 50 summer tires and all test results can be read this week in Techzle No. 14 (1-8 April) or digitally available at the bottom of this article.
Price comparator
With the Techzle Car Tire Price Comparison we offer you a handy tool to find the best offers on summer tires. At the moment, the price comparison offers an overview of the full range of 19 different tire providers. All tire tests from previous years can also be found here.
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