C&D Tests Tires; Some Surprising Results
Linkie.
They tested high performance tires this month. The results are surprising.
Some snippets:
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Eighth Place
Toyo Proxes T1R
Toyo says its new T1R has "high-modulus bead apex rubber." You probably don't know what that means, and neither do we. This wasn't much more clear: "Spiral-wound, jointless edge and capplies." If this test were based on no comprendo engineer-speak, Toyo would win.
In fact, the Proxes never placed higher than eighth in any test, and in two dry tests, the autocross and the skidpad, the Toyo finished last, trailing the top finishers by significant margins. In some tests it felt better than it actually was performing, but overall, Geswein noted it was "soft and imprecise" and didn't "feel like a sport tire."
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Fifth Place
Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212
The Hankook has one feature the other tires can't match—a $99 price. And to its credit, the Hankook didn't behave like the cheapest tire, particularly when the track was dry. It tied the $175 Yokohama and $145 Goodyear for second place in lateral grip, scoring 0.94 g. And although its dry-braking results landed it in last place, that shortcoming did not greatly affect the Hankook's dry-autocross showing—a 29.86-second average, a third-place result that was only 0.20 second away from the winning effort.
It became apparent that the Hankook was clearly tuned for dry running as its wet-track results were below average. Like the other poor runners in water, the Hankook felt greasy and was slow to recover once it broke traction. But in the dry, the Korean tire felt just as responsive and sticky as its more-expensive competition.
The thing is, though, the harder you drive, the more tread you'll burn off a tire. So if you're a track-day addict who doesn't mind sacrificing some wet-weather capabilities, the Hankook is a choice that will save you money without losing much performance.
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Third Place
Yokohama Advan Neova AD07
On dry pavement, the Yokohama tires put the BMW cars in a position to go fastest through our tests. Check the results. With the Yokos at all corners, the BMW was fastest on the dry autocross, and they provided the shortest stopping distance by a significant margin.
Geswein knew the Yoko was a grippy tire before its results were posted. "Grip is way up," he commented after a run. He also noted that grip level stayed consistent even when the tire was sliding. In the dry, it performed a lot like the BFGoodrich, but the Yokohama is also pretty good in the wet.
Of all the tires, Geswein thought the Yokohama and the BFG g-Force rewarded aggressive driving because the two had a wide plateau of grip versus slip angle. That means if you enter a corner a little too fast and begin sliding, the Yokohama recovers quickly and in some sense covers up your mistakes.
The behavior in the wet was a little more toward the slippery end of the scale, but we could push the Yokohama hard and not feel as if we were on the verge of a sudden spinout. This combination of outstanding dry performance and more-than-passable wet performance makes the Yokohama a very alluring product. If you're looking to cut the quickest lap times while using a street tire, this is the one to have. Bring money: They're $175 apiece.
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First Place
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
As an all-around high-performance tire, you can't beat this Goodyear. It was the best performer in all three wet-track tests and was very competent in the dry. It generated 0.94 g on the dry skidpad, only 0.01 g off the first-place BFGoodrich and tied with the Yokohama and Hankook.
The Goodyear gripped so well that you might not have been certain the road was wet, and it lost traction in a gentle, predictable manner. It held onto the wet track with 0.82 g of stick, an impressive figure considering the worst tire in that test made only 0.67 g.
The Eagle F1 got a lot of favorable comments. In the wet, Geswein called it "direct"—a way of saying the tire provided clear signals about its contact with the pavement.
There were tires that performed better in the dry, but the Eagle wasn't far off. It was a little less precise than the BFG and Yokohama on a dry track, but not by much. And like the Continental, the Goodyear had a high 280 tread-wear grade. At $145 each, it's $34 cheaper than the most expensive tire here.
Goodyear: 1050.4
Continental: 1031.9
Yokohama: 1027.0
Michelin: 1018.7
Hankook: 1015.4
Dunlop: 1002.2
Pirelli: 1002.1
Toyo: 999.7
Bridgestone: 993.9
BFGoodrich: 993.0
Kumho: 990.7
Max points
dry performance (x2): 600
wet performance: 300
price: 100
tread wear: 100
total possible: 1100
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::Flag::
S.
