2010 European Summer Tyre Test

Keen to help tyre buyers select the best tyre for the 2010 warm season, the German auto club ADAC, Switzerland's Touring Club (TCS) and Austrian magazine AMTC (Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club) have already published this years group summer tyre test. The usual dry and wet performance tests have been performed, along with scoring for fuel consumption, wear rates and tyre noise in this extremely comprehensive test.

Like the AMS tyre test the major brands have once again dominated the results table with Pirelli, Dunlop, Continental, Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear taking 10 of the top 12 positions.

Both Nokian and Hankook have once again proved their strength in the midrange category and finished the tests amongst the "big 6", where as the budget brands Goodride, Wanli and Sunny were described as being dangerous thanks to their woeful dry and wet performance.

As an interesting side point, the worst performance tyres also had some of the best fuel consumption and wear characteristics. This means that under the new European tyre labelling legislation they would receive a big green A+ award, attracting buyers to their excellent environmental qualities. Fortunately for all of us, Goodyear has spent a great deal of money lobbying to have the tyres wet performance characteristics also reflected on the tyre label allowing customers to select a tyre that isn't just green, but also one that doesn't become dangerous at the first hint of moisture.

Here are the full results, along with (badly!) translated comments. All the scoring is out of a possible five, with the higher the score indicating the better result.

225/45 R17 W / V Results

225/45 R17 W / V	Dry	Wet	Fuel	Wear	Noise	Overall	Comments
Pirelli Cinturato P7	3.2	2.8	3.1	3.4	2.1	3	A balanced tyre, great in the wet and dry, low wear and low fuel consumption
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT	3.4	3	2.4	2.6	1.7	2.8	Another well balanced tyre, strong in both the wet and dry
Continental ContiSportContact 3	3.6	2.9	2.7	2	1.5	2.7	The best dry road tyre, also very strong in the wet
Michelin Pilot Sport 3	3.5	2.8	2.8	2.2	1.3	2.7	Another strong balanced tyre
Bridgestone Potenza RE050 A	3.5	2.6	2.1	2.3	1.7	2.6	Another strong balanced tyre
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric	3.3	3.1	1.8	3.1	1.4	2.8	Best wet weather tyre, strong dry performance, let down by high fuel consumption
Vredestein Ultrac Cento	3.3	2.3	2.9	2.4	1.8	2.5	Strong in dry conditions, let down by slightly weak wet performance
Hankook Ventus S1-evo	3.3	2.1	2.6	2.7	1.9	2.5	Strong in dry conditions, let down by slightly weak wet performance
Kumho Ecsta LE Sport KU39 LE	3.3	2.6	2.5	1.5	1.9	2.4	Great wetand dry performance, poor wear
Uniroyal RainSport 2	3.1	2.5	2.3	2.1	1.5	2.4	Good in the dry and wet
Firestone Firehawk SZ90?	3.2	2.4	1.9	2.1	1.4	2.3	Good in dry, slightly weaker on wet roads and fuel consumption
Maloya Futura Sport W	2.9	2.1	2.5	2	1.1	2.2	Good in dry, average in wet
Nankang Noble Sport NS-20	2.8	1.2	2	2.9	1.5	2	Good in dry, poor in the wet
Sava Intensa	1.8	0.7	3.5	3.9	1.5	1.9	Great wear and fuel consumption, very weak grip in the wet and dry
Goodride Neza200	1.8	0.5	2.5	3.8	0.9	1.7	Again very little wear but poor in the wet and dry
Wanli S-1063	2.1	0	2.8	3.2	1.8	1.5	Worst wet performance of the test
Sunny SN3800	1.5	0.2	2.6	3.1	1.2	1.4	Extremely weak in the wet, worst dry grip

Read on to part 2 to view the results in 185/65 R15 >>>