Looking for a heavy tire for a heavy car
Not all sports tires are the same, as this test proves once again. Some brands achieve top performances, others fall completely through the ice. To test tires intended for heavy performance to the limit, the rubber in this test was folded around the wheels of a Toyota GR Yaris. That 261 hp four-wheel drive rally monster for the public road knows what to do with the sporty summer tires.
Rarely has a tire test been as intense as this test with sporty rubber and an equally sporty car. On the one hand, this is due to the many brand new tires that compete against each other on a track for the first time. On the other hand, it’s our exciting test car, a Toyota GR Yaris with 261 hp, four-wheel drive with limited slip differential and the genes of a WRC rally car. After just a few corners on the test track, the sporting qualities and weaknesses of our test participants become apparent. Among the thirteen candidates in the classic sports size 225/40 R18, there is something for every budget: from expensive premium sports tires to branded rubber and budget products.
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 as benchmark
In the showdown on the handling course, Michelin’s classic PilotSport 5 has so far served as the benchmark in terms of steering and dynamics. But the less experienced test participants from Pirelli, Continental and Bridgestone are now setting new standards when it comes to lap times and subjective feel. On wet roads, Michelin has to give way to the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, which, like Bridgestone’s new Potenza Sport, impresses with fine cornering and excellent balance. This is not noticeable with the tires of the cheap brands. It is still best to leave them for what they are, especially when it comes to sports tires. Conclusion: new beats old. Development does not stand still, although it is about small steps. No problem, because that ensures that our next tire tests will be exciting again.
The wet road tests
Driving behaviour: Bridgestone’s new Potenza Sport makes the Yaris stick to the road proverbial, and with rubber from Goodyear and Pirelli, the powerhouse rides on rails in the wet. The cheap Superia, on the other hand, poses a safety risk because it offers very little lateral grip.
Roundabout: With excellent lateral grip on wet surfaces, the wet-weather specialists from Bridgestone and Pirelli lead this test segment. Toyo’s new Proxes Sport 2 also proves its potential. At the bottom of the table is the moderately performing Superia.
Brakes: When braking, tires from Conti, Hankook and Michelin have the best grip and perform excellently during emergency braking. The Giti and Linglong candidates need extra meters to come to a standstill, but Superia’s water-shy Ecoblue UHP really disappoints. At the end of a traffic jam, the Toyota would drive at 48 km/h with this rubber to the point where it would have come to a standstill with the best decelerating tire!
Aquaplaning and cornering aquaplaning: The GitiSport S2 is the best at absorbing or draining water from under its tread. The cheaper tires from Linglong and Superia lose contact with the road much sooner.
The tests on dry road surfaces
Driving behaviour: In track or sport mode, the Yaris needs a stable grip on the rear axle, which works best with the Bridgestone and Continental candidates. The GR suffers from strong understeer with Linglong and Maxxis products, and with Superias, the dynamics and driving pleasure are completely lost.
Sound when driving by: In the car, the mutual differences when it comes to rolling noise are indistinguishable even when driving quietly; the growling three-cylinder always has the last word. For the environment and people who live near highways or through roads, the differences of up to three decibels between the quietest and the noisiest band are clearly perceptible.
rolling resistance: Sportiness and economy need not be mutually exclusive. Continental, Goodyear and Hankook show that lower fuel consumption does not necessarily lead to wet grip problems.
Brakes: With Bridgestone and Continental tyres, the Yaris performs excellently on this test section. Here, too, the low-budget tires score below par.
Tire-eating sportsman
The four-wheel drive GR Yaris eats tires. Especially if it is equipped with the optional High-Performance package with two differential locks. With tires with a good amount of grip, some restraint is required in fast corners, even on wet surfaces. Otherwise, a premature, costly tire change is unavoidable.
Conclusion
The sometimes quite large differences between the sports tires are clearly evident in the dynamic tests with the Toyota GR Yaris. Of course you can also mount them under other car models. It is noticeable that the tires perform according to their price: the expensive ones end up at the top, the cheap ones at the bottom. All five candidates that were rated ‘exemplary’ are expensive premium tyres. This is no coincidence, because a lot of know-how is required during development. Moreover, the A-brands use high-quality, expensive materials. Top performance and quality have their price, also in the tire world.
The top 5 of this summer tire test 225/40 R18Y:
- Continental Sport Contact 7
- Bridgestone Potenza Sports
- Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric 6
- Michelin Pilot Sport 5
- Pirelli PZero PZ4
Extensive results and graphs
All results are also presented in graphs, as is an overview of all tires and their performance. We cannot show these on the web page, but you will find them in the PDF that you can download on this page.
Price comparator
With the AutoWeek Car Tire Price Comparison we offer you a handy tool to find the best offers on summer tires. The price comparator currently provides an overview of the full range of 16 different tire suppliers. Also here are the results all tire tests of the past 9 years.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl