Surprisingly missing from the test were Pirelli, Dunlop and Yokohama, but Auto Bild did manage to include Hankook, Maxxis and Nankang to give a spread of the midrange and budget end of the markets.
The Results
Subjectively, the tire which offered the best steering feel was no surprise. The Michelin Pilot Super Sport offered outstanding turn-in and great feel, so much so that sometimes it left the rear a little lose. The Vredestein was a close second, and while the Vorti might have lost some of the sharpness the Ultrac Sessanta had, it still did very well on test and even provided a slightly better overall balance than the Michelin ending up with a fractionally quicker lap time. Continental, Hankook and Goodyear all had very close lap times for third to fifth, and unsurprisingly the two cheapest tires on test were the two slowest.
In the wet Vredestein and Hankook traded top places in handling and braking, with the Maxxis and Nankang once again consistently last.
Overall, Auto Bild awarded the top spot to the Hankook Ventus S1 EVO, a surprise result for the Korean brand considering the strong opposition. It tested well in every category, and somehow managed to stop 2.6 meters shorter than the next best in wet braking (places two to five were only covered by just 1.5 meters…)
Second place was awarded to the Michelin Pilot Super Sport. Nearly perfect in the dry, combined with a strong wet performance and good comfort meant it was a great all round choice for the BMW. Third place was the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2, which placed well in every category and perhaps an overly harsh fourth place for the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, whos only weakness seemed to appear in the aquaplaning test.
1st: Hankook Ventus S1 evo | |
| Balanced tires without obvious disadvantages, the shortest braking distance in the wet, very low rolling resistance None mentioned Read Reviews |
2nd: Michelin Pilot Super Sport | |
| The real sports tires with excellent handling and precise and rapid steering response, excellent results on dry and wet surfaces High rolling resistance Read Reviews Buy from £217.96 |
3rd: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 | |
| Very balanced tires, short braking distances on wet and dry roads, low rolling resistance None mentioned Read Reviews |
4th: Vredestein Ultrac Vorti | |
| Good handling and precise steering response in all conditions Poor resistance to aquaplaning, high rolling resistance Read Reviews |
5th: Continental ContiSportContact 5 P | |
| Good handling and precise steering response on dry roads Not enough good handling and braking performance in the wet Read Reviews Buy from £198.20 |
6th: Nankang Noble Sport NS20 | |
| Low noise level, high resistance to aquaplaning Weak lateral stability and a tendency to understeer on dry and wet roads, long braking distances in the dry Read Reviews |
7th: Maxxis Victra Sport VS01 | |
| None mentioned Poor handling and long braking distances on wet surfaces, poor resistance to aquaplaning Read Reviews |
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