2020 ADAC 18 Inch Summer Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet BrakingPirelli P Zero PZ4
Dry BrakingContinental Premium Contact 6
WearContinental Premium Contact 6
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Rolling ResistanceRotalla RU01 S Pace
Sava Intensa UHP 2
Snow BrakingContinental Premium Contact 6
Cooper Zeon CS Sport
Rotalla RU01 S Pace
Falken Azenis FK510
Sava Intensa UHP 2
Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
Nexen N Fera Sport SU2
Maxxis Victra Sport 5
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Snow HandlingRotalla RU01 S Pace
Maxxis Victra Sport 5
Nokian PowerProof
While ADAC doesn't provide its readers with raw data from their testing, their yearly tyre tests are some of the most influential in the world. This year they've tested sixteen 225/40 R18 car tyres, and twelve 235/55 R17 crossover SUV sizes. For the 225/40 R18 test, there are few surprises.

Continental and Michelin tie for first place with the PremiumContact 6 and Pilot Sport 4, two tyres we've historically seen perform extremely well in testing. It's worth noting that the Continental and Michelin both scored the same in the wear testing, again showing Continental have got on top of wear.

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 and Maxxis Victra Sport 5 finish a tied third place overall. While it's not unusual to see the Goodyear near the top, the latest range of Maxxis tyres are proving to be really strong in testing.

The "best of the rest" spot was awarded to the Nexen N'Fera Sport, with tyres from Sava, Vredestein, Falken, Bridgestone, Kumho, Nokian, Pirelli and Toyo all close behind. The Pirelli in particular is an interesting result as it was the best in every category during dry testing, but still finished relatively poorly overall.

We'd also love to see more data from the wear testing, as most of the tyres on test were given the same scores, but we'll have to wait for the Auto Bild test due soon for actual numbers.

The full results are below, feel free to ask any questions in the comments, and be sure to come back to Tyre Reviews in the coming weeks for more of the latest summer tyre tests!

Update

We've been sent the actual wear figured, which sheds some light on the poor result for Pirelli overall. ADAC wear tested each set of tyres on the open road for 15,000 km then predicted the total mileage based on starting tread depth and remaining tread before 1.6mm.

Results

ADAC applied the following score weighting to the overall results - Dry 20% / Wet 40% / Noise 10% / Fuel 10% / Wear 20%

1st: Continental Premium Contact 6

Continental Premium Contact 6
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 44.2
  2. Dry: 7.2
  3. Wet: 8.6
  4. Rolling Resistance: 7.8
  5. Noise: 4.8
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 7.8
Top marks in the wet (especially in brakes and handling)
A little noisy, a little weak in the dry compared to the best
Highly Recommended

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1st: Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Michelin Pilot Sport 4
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 46.4
  2. Dry: 8.2
  3. Wet: 8
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8.2
  5. Noise: 6.2
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 7.8
Very balanced, very good in the dry and wet, low fuel consumption
None mentioned
Highly Recommended

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3rd: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 45.6
  2. Dry: 8.6
  3. Wet: 7.4
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8.2
  5. Noise: 5.8
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 7.6
Very balanced, particularly good in the dry, low fuel consumption
None mentioned
Highly Recommended

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3rd: Maxxis Victra Sport 5

Maxxis Victra Sport 5
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 44.8
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 7.6
  4. Rolling Resistance: 7.2
  5. Noise: 6.4
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 7.6
Very balanced, good in the dry and wet, quiet
None mentioned
Highly Recommended

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5th: Nexen N Fera Sport SU2

Nexen N Fera Sport SU2
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 43
  2. Dry: 7.6
  3. Wet: 6.8
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8.2
  5. Noise: 5.8
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 6.6
Good in the dry, low fuel consumption
Slightly weak in the wet
Recommended

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6th: Vredestein Ultrac Vorti

Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 41.6
  2. Dry: 7
  3. Wet: 6.6
  4. Rolling Resistance: 7.2
  5. Noise: 6.2
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 6.6
Good in the dry
Slightly weak in the wet
Recommended

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6th: Sava Intensa UHP 2

Sava Intensa UHP 2
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 44.2
  2. Dry: 8.4
  3. Wet: 6.6
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8.8
  5. Noise: 5.8
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 6.6
Lowest fuel use, very good in the dry
Slightly weak in the wet

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8th: Falken Azenis FK510

Falken Azenis FK510
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 41.6
  2. Dry: 6.2
  3. Wet: 7.2
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8
  5. Noise: 6
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 6.2
Good in the wet
Relatively weak in the dry
Recommended

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9th: Toyo Proxes Sport

Toyo Proxes Sport
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 40.6
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 6.4
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8
  5. Noise: 6.2
  6. Wear: 6
  7. Overall: 6
Good in the dry
Slightly weak in the wet, relatively high wear
Recommended

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9th: Pirelli P Zero PZ4

Pirelli P Zero PZ4
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 42.6
  2. Dry: 9.4
  3. Wet: 8.4
  4. Rolling Resistance: 6.6
  5. Noise: 6.2
  6. Wear: 6
  7. Overall: 6
Best in dry, good in the wet
Relatively high wear and high rolling resistance
Recommended

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9th: Nokian PowerProof

Nokian PowerProof
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 40.8
  2. Dry: 7.2
  3. Wet: 7.2
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8
  5. Noise: 6.4
  6. Wear: 6
  7. Overall: 6
Good in the dry and wet, relatively quiet
Relatively high wear
Recommended

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9th: Kumho Ecsta PS71

Kumho Ecsta PS71
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 40
  2. Dry: 7.2
  3. Wet: 7.4
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8
  5. Noise: 5.4
  6. Wear: 6
  7. Overall: 6
Good in the wet
Relatively high wear
Recommended

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9th: Bridgestone Potenza S001

Bridgestone Potenza S001
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 40.4
  2. Dry: 8.6
  3. Wet: 6
  4. Rolling Resistance: 7.8
  5. Noise: 5
  6. Wear: 7
  7. Overall: 6
Very good in the dry
Relatively weak in the wet
Recommended

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14th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3

Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 40.2
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 5.8
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8.4
  5. Noise: 5.2
  6. Wear: 7
  7. Overall: 5.8
Good in the dry, low fuel consumption
Relatively weak in the wet
Recommended

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15th: Cooper Zeon CS Sport

Cooper Zeon CS Sport
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 39.4
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 5.4
  4. Rolling Resistance: 7
  5. Noise: 5.6
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 5.4
Good in the dry
Relatively weak in the wet
Recommended

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16th: Rotalla RU01 S Pace

Rotalla RU01 S Pace
  • 225/40 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 39
  2. Dry: 6.2
  3. Wet: 4.8
  4. Rolling Resistance: 8.8
  5. Noise: 6.4
  6. Wear: 8
  7. Overall: 4.8
Low fuel consumption
Relatively weak on dry and wet roads
Conditionally Recommended

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