Following on from the 52 set braking shootout, the full Autobild summer tyre test has taken the best twenty tyres to the full set of testing, with some interesting highlights!
There are two interesting stories. Firstly, is the rise of the Chinese tyres, with both Linglong and Sailun performing really well in the grip tests. Does this mean Chinese tyres are now fighting with the premium manufacturers? Well, sort of.
In terms of grip, both the Chinese tyres performed extremely well, performing above average in both the braking tests. However, it is quite clear they have traded grip for tread life, as both the Chinese brands finished at the bottom of the wear test.
This means, despite their cheaper purchase price, their total cost of ownership, measured in euros per 1000km driven, was around double the test winning Goodyear. Yes, the Chinese companies can now make a tyre that grips really well, but no, they can’t yet seem to make one that also lasts.
The second story is regarding the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 AO. It was mentioned in the shootout, the Pirelli was the Audi specific version of the PZ4, which is unusual as OE tyres are quite different from the aftermarket version. In this case it seems Audi focused on dry grip as the PZ4 under delivered in the wet.
The final surprise is the Bridgestone Potenza Sport performing very well in the wear test, which is unusual for the Japanese tyre. They did still note in the full article that the tyre had it’s usual very high wear on track.
Dry
Bridgestone Potenza Sport achieved the shortest braking distance of 32.6 meters, followed closely by Falken ZIEX ZE320 and Michelin Pilot Sport 5, while the budget Autogreen tyre trailed by nearly 6 meters.
