Max Performance Passenger Car Tire Tests

Ultra high performance tire tests always make us happy, and Auto Bild do some of the best. For 2020, AutoBild have tested nine sports tires in the staggered 245/35 R19 and 265/35 R19 sizes using a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG.

Like our UHP tire test in 2019, Auto Bild have tested the very three best UHP tires on the market, the Continental SportContact 6, Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, along with some of the other well know UHP tires from Hankook, Vredestein, Falken and other brands.

The excellent UK automotive magazine EVO always seems to publish their summer tire test late in the season, but it shouldn't be ignored as it's one of the best in Europe if you care as much about steering feel and feedback as you do ultimate grip.

This year, EVO have tested seven 225/40 R18 UHP tires using a VW Golf GTI at the Pirelli test facility in Vizzola, Italy, and while the volume of tires is surprisingly small for such a common size, the breath of testing was as vast as any European tire test.

For 2019, the German publication Gute Fahrt has tested ten 225/40 R18 summer tire patterns using a VW Golf, but unlike in 2018 where they included all season tires in the test, this year they've included a 17 and 19 inch comparison tire.

EVO are the only publication to put out their summer tire test so late in the season, and while the timing is less than ideal, the content is always excellent.

2018 is no different, with the September EVO issue covering six 235/35 R19 UUHP / max performance tires using a Ford Focus ST (we recently used the same car to test Michelin PS4 vs PS4S vs Cup 2 here)

The test winning Michelin was no surprise, the Pilot Sport 4 S always performs excellently when tested, but it was a surprise to see the Continental Sport Contact 6 bested by the aging Goodyear and Dunlop pairing. Perhaps there was some home advantage as the test was conducted at Goodyear's incredible test facility in Miraval, France.

This year Auto Bild have covered both 19 and 20" UHP tires, and while we've covered the 20" test already, we delayed covering the 19" test for a few weeks.

In those few weeks, Sport Auto Magazine released their 19" tire test, and it uses exactly the same 245/35 R19 and 265/35 R19 tires, on the same BMW M2, and tests the same six UHP tires at the same location.

The logical question would be why publish this version of the test, as the results should be exactly the same? Well, they're not. Whether it be down to driving style, test parameters or just the weather on the day, Sport Auto and Auto Bild have managed to come up with two different test results using the same vehicle and tires, proving just how close the very best tires on the market are.

The latest trend of combining two tire tests into a single result seems to be continuing, with the brilliant German publication Sport Auto combining six ultra high performance tires and three track day tires into a single test!

Using a BMW M2, Sport Auto used the M2 OE sizes of 245/35 R19 front and 265/35 R19 rear, and objectively tested wet and dry performances while also scoring the subjective handling and feel of a tire.

As you would expect, the track day tires dominated in the dry, were the weakest in the wet, and generally had the highest rolling resistance and were the nosiest. Some of the road tires were surprisingly close to the track day rubber during dry testing, and they were leagues ahead in the wet testing.

Read on for the full results!

2018 is setting up to be an excellent year for tire testing, with the epic German publication Auto Bild already delivering three excellent tests. Of the three, this 20" tire test is perhaps the most interesting of the trio.

For this investigation, Auto Bild have bought eight 245/30 R20 tire patterns and placed them through the usual array of wet and dry tests using a Mercedes E Class.

While the internet favourite Michelin Pilot Sport 4S takes its traditional top spot, there is a strange result for the Continental Sport Contact 6, a great result for the ten year old Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (not 3!), and Bridgestone make a return to tests with the old Potenza S001.

Read on for the full results!

There's one more summer tire test left to cover in 2017, and this time it's the American publication Car and Driver testing five 245/40 R18 maximum performance summer tires using a BMW 430i.

How much faster are track day tires compared to the best road tires? The German publication Sport Auto have produced the answer by taking seven of the best maximum performance road tires and three of the best track day tires, and placing them all through the same testing on a Toyota GT86 (225/40 R18).

The Auto Bild sports cars test is usually one of our favourite tests of the year, and this year looks to be no different.

Testing nine 235/35 R19 maximum performance tires using a Focus ST, Auto Bild have focused on the raw performance of these tires, weighting the score heavily in favour of wet and dry handling.

We test the dominent Michelin Pilot Super Sport against the new boy to the max performance tire segment, the Continental Sport Contact 6! Read on for the full details

Testing nine of the latest max performance tires, EVO have chosen the popular 235/35 R19 size, using a Ford Focus ST at Continentals circuit in Texas for the 2016 EVO Summer Tire Test.

This year Sport Auto have chosen 235/40 R18 as their ultra high performance tire test size. Sadly, this resulted in a couple of the key new tires being left out, so Sport Auto also tested the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 in 225/40 R18 and the Continental Sport Contact 6 in 235/35 R19 to get an approximate idea of how they compared, but excluded them from the final results.

The test we've all been waiting for is here, and it's round one to Continental.

The 2016 Auto Bild Sports Cars tire test placed six maximum performance tires through their paces on a Jaguar F-Type, in 255/35 R20 front and 295/30 R20 rear sizes.

The new Continental Sport Contact 6 was tested against the reigning performance tire king, the Michelin Pilot Super Sport, and the result was surprising.

Testing in 225/45 R17, the GTU test is the first test to include the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3, Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2, Falken Azenis FK510, Toyo Proxes T1 Sport+ and GT Radial SportActive amongst the fourteen tires tested! Sadly, the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 was absent from the test, but we can't have everything at once.

The best tire test from the UK press is finally here - the EVO 2015 tire test.

It's not often we report on tire tests from across the pond. The tires, roads, and driving conditions can be very different, especially in North America, however this test from the Australian magazine "Australian Motor" was too interesting / random to miss.

With the UK being the largest optional "big wheel" upgrader in Europe, you'd have thought the likes of EVO and Auto Express would test a bigger tire size than the usual 17" size they choose! Fortunately, Germany has the answer, and this year Sport Auto Magazine tested seven patterns in 235/35 R19, the most common 19" tire size on the market, using a VW Golf R. 

For the 2015 ultra high performance tire test, Auto Bild have chosen the new BMW M4, wearing 275/35 R19 rear and 255/35 R19 fronts. While this limits the amount of tires available to test to just seven, it is a very good test car as the M4 is the benchmark for the current breed of big-wheeled super-saloons!