2015 EVO Magazine Performance Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet BrakingYokohama Advan Sport V105
Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
Dry BrakingContinental Sport Contact 5
WearContinental Sport Contact 5
Rolling ResistanceGoodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
NoiseHankook Ventus S1 evo2
Snow HandlingContinental Sport Contact 5
The best tyre test from the UK press is finally here - the EVO 2015 tyre test.

We look forward to the EVO test every year, not because they test unique sizes, or use special vehicles - in fact this year they've used the generic Golf GTI running 225/40 R18 tyres, but because EVO dedicate over 40% of their scoring to subjective feel, and weight the results in order of performance traits such as lap times, giving criteria such as comfort a lower overall impact. This makes the tyre tests particularly relevant to those of us who love the feel of driving, rather than outright objective measurements.

Testing at Pirelli's Vizzola facility near Milan, Italy, EVO subjected ten of the best 225/40 R18 tyres available today to the usual mix of dry, wet and comfort tests.

The Top Three

Regular readers of the site are unlikely to be surprised at the winning tyre… once again Continental have taken the top spot with the Sport Contact 5, thanks to a supreme wet performance, taking the fastest wet lap and best subjective score.

While the number one position was unsurprising, the second placed tyre is a little more interesting. Yokohama, with the Advan V105S finished just 0.1% behind Continental overall, thanks to class leading dry weather lap times and feel, with third place going to Pirelli, which has recently made a comeback with an updated P Zero tyre.

The Rest

Fourth to sixth positions finished just 1.2% apart. The Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric 2 narrowly beat the Vredestin Ultrac Vorti thanks to a good overall performance, where the Vredestein could only excel in the dry, and Dunlop took sixth with the Sport Maxx RT, doing well, but not excelling in all areas.

Hankook disappointed in the wet to finish seventh, and the Michelin struggled in the dry to finish eighth. The nomination of the RE002 was a brave move by Bridgestone, but it ultimately failed to work, finishing in ninth place, and Toyo showed that a low price doesn't always pay, finishing last in nine of the twelve tests, and last overall.

The Future

TyreReviews knows of three changes to the above tyres worth looking out for in the next few months. The Continental Sport Contact 6 is already out on the new Civic Type R, and will be launched officially next month, and both Goodyear and Michelin are due to replace the tyres tested in this test in 2016. The rumour is the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 will include a lot of technology from the excellent Michelin Pilot Super Sport, which will make the 2016 EVO tyre test far more interesting.

The Results

Below are the full results. Please note, we've not included aquaplaning scores, or applied any weighting, so make sure you pick up a copy of EVO issue 213 (October 2015) for the test in its full glory. Also we entered the EVO road route test as "comfort", but EVO took into account comfort, noise and steering feel while testing on the road.

1st: Continental Sport Contact 5

Continental Sport Contact 5
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 664.9
  2. Dry: 99.4
  3. Wet: 100
  4. Subjective: 196.2
  5. Comfort: 91.7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 81.3
  7. Overall: 96.3
The Continental managed its usual party piece by combining excellent dry and wet performance, two opposing qualities.

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2nd: Yokohama Advan Sport V105

Yokohama Advan Sport V105
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 659.7
  2. Dry: 100
  3. Wet: 99.1
  4. Subjective: 192.6
  5. Comfort: 95.8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 76
  7. Overall: 96.2
The Yokohama proved to be a real dry weather specialist, and would be EVO's tyre of choice if you avoid taking your car out in wet conditions.

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3rd: Pirelli P Zero

Pirelli P Zero
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 660.7
  2. Dry: 99.9
  3. Wet: 99.4
  4. Subjective: 187.9
  5. Comfort: 95.8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 81.8
  7. Overall: 95.9
The P Zero managed to combine best in test wet braking, with the third fastest dry times, earning it third place overall.

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4th: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 669.7
  2. Dry: 99.6
  3. Wet: 98.7
  4. Subjective: 180.1
  5. Comfort: 95.8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 100
  7. Overall: 95.5
The Goodyear once again proved itself as a very strong all round tyre, finishing objectively well in both the dry and wet.

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5th: Vredestein Ultrac Vorti

Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 658.5
  2. Dry: 100
  3. Wet: 97.6
  4. Subjective: 190.1
  5. Comfort: 95.8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 80.1
  7. Overall: 94.9
Sharing the fastest dry lap with Yokohama, Vredestein couldn't quite match the wet performance and struggled under dry and wet braking, leaving the Vorti in fifth place overall.

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6th: Dunlop SportMaxx RT

Dunlop SportMaxx RT
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 668.9
  2. Dry: 98.9
  3. Wet: 96.9
  4. Subjective: 188.7
  5. Comfort: 97.5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 92.7
  7. Overall: 94.2
The Dunlop performed consistently, but not outstandingly in any test, other than straight line aquaplaning.

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7th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo2

Hankook Ventus S1 evo2
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 649.7
  2. Dry: 99.2
  3. Wet: 96.4
  4. Subjective: 170.2
  5. Comfort: 100
  6. Rolling Resistance: 90.6
  7. Overall: 93.3
The Hankook was let down by its wet performance, and dry braking. Competitive in dry laptime.

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8th: Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 643.3
  2. Dry: 98.5
  3. Wet: 98.3
  4. Subjective: 177.4
  5. Comfort: 91.7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 84.5
  7. Overall: 92.9
While Michelin had a relatively strong showing in the wet, the Pilot Sport 3 failed in the dry both subjectively and objectively, finishing ninth in both tests. It won the curved aquaplaning test.

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9th: Bridgestone Adrenalin RE002

Bridgestone Adrenalin RE002
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 557.4
  2. Dry: 99.1
  3. Wet: 96.2
  4. Subjective: 176.4
  5. Comfort: 9.7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 83.7
  7. Overall: 92.3
The Bridgestone curveball of the RE002 instead of the S001 didn't pay off. Short of grip in the wet, finishing ninth fastest, and only managing seventh in the dry, the Bridgestone RE003 must be due to Europe soon.

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10th: Toyo Proxes T1 Sport

Toyo Proxes T1 Sport
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 596.6
  2. Dry: 98.5
  3. Wet: 92.4
  4. Subjective: 153.9
  5. Comfort: 75
  6. Rolling Resistance: 90.5
  7. Overall: 86.3
As the cheapest tyre on test, you'd expect the Toyo to struggle against the premium competition, but finishing last in nine of the twelve tests left the Toyo a full 25% behind the winning Continental overall.

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