Tyre tests typically involve a head-to-head evaluation of the latest products from numerous brands. Typically, but not always, as the team at Autozeitung restrict their latest all-season test to just two tyres, both Pirelli Cinturato All Season models. The SF3 version, which debuted earlier this year, faces off against the 2021-launched SF2.
Autozeitung recently conducted its summer tyre test for 2024, joining the ranks of evaluations by Auto Bild as well as European motoring clubs ADAC, ÖAMTC and TCS. The German motoring publication looked at nine brands of 225/45 R17 94W/Y XL tyres, mounting them on a BMW 1-Series and subjecting all to a range of tests in wet and dry conditions.
It’s not uncommon for motoring clubs or magazines to withhold their recommendation when testing tyres, but they typically reserve this cautionary result for low-priced candidates that struggle to compete against premium and mid-range rivals. But Autozeitung has declined to recommend no less than five tyres in its 2023 all-season test – more than half the entire field – including products from known names.
Apollo Tyres is expanding its Vredestein Ultrac summer tyre range with the addition of 18 new options for 17- and 18-inch rim diameters. The Ultrac portfolio now encompasses 63 different 15- to 18-inch dimensions.
Just as talented chefs tweak their recipes to improve flavours, tyre manufacturers make updates during the production cycle to gain better performance. Such a tweak has helped Bridgestone: When Autozeitung tested the Turanza T005 in 2020 it found the tyre imperfect on wet roads. Bridgestone adjusted the T005’s tread compound last year, and the result is a safer “wet specialist” – and an Autozeitung test win for the Bridgestone tyre.
Vredestein is chuffed that its Quatrac is joint winner of the latest Autozeitung all-season tyre test. The Vredestein tyre tied for first place in the test of nine 205/55 R16 all-season tyres, and was also named Autozeitung’s price-performance recommendation.
Parky mornings and evenings are one sign that summer is on the wane. The appearance of all-season and winter tyre tests is another. The first to arrive this year is from German motoring magazine Autozeitung, which has looked at the commonly-fitted small car size 205/55 R16.
Ten premium and mid-range brands of tyre show us what they can – and can’t – do in Autozeitung’s 2021 summer tyre test. This year the German motoring publication looks at size 225/40 R18, which is a dimension suited to around 60 vehicle models – including the new Seat Leon, which served as test vehicle.
The Autozeitung winter tyre test has revealed “extreme differences” between the best and worst winter tyres, according to its testing panel. The first and last-placed tyres in the product comparison were ultimately no less than 43 percentage points apart in the overall rating. This is, in part, because Autozeitung has changed its evaluation scheme compared to previous years. A percentage value is now given for the performance shown in the three performance categories of snow, wet, and dry – previously points were awarded – with a mean average percentage calculated to define final placements. 14 tyres in size 205/55 R16 were mounted on a VW Golf 1.5 TSI for the test.
Tyre tests published in the run-up to summer show that the majority of mainstream tyres available in the UK are of a high or very high standard. Europe’s major car magazines and motoring associations recommended most products during the recent spate of testing. Of the 134 individual tyres put through their paces, only a handful weren’t recommended or were found to have serious issues. A further 13 were deemed merely ‘adequate’ or were conditionally recommended.
When evaluating the latest crop of tyres for the coming summer season, Germany’s Autozeitung opted to look at ten brands of size 235/45 R18 rubber. We weren’t especially surprised to see the Continental PremiumContact 6, last year’s runner-up, in first place and the Michelin Primacy 4 in second, but it was nice to see the Maxxis Premitra HP5 acquaint itself with the victors’ podium.
Another German car magazine’s summer tyre test has thrown in a handful of all-season tyres for good measure. Autozeitung evaluated a total of nine size 225/45 R17 tyres (W/Y speed rated and 91/94 load indices), six summer and three all-season products. Fitted to a Seat Leon, the tyres were tested in both wet and dry disciplines, with a maximum 150 points up for grabs in each of these.
It’s summer tyre test season, or at least the time of year when the results are published. German car magazine Autozeitung has evaluated ten size 215/55 R17 W/Y products. Its decision to only test tyres available for retail purchase at the time means that two newcomers, the Bridgestone Turanza T001 Evo and the Continental PremiumContact 6, aren’t included amongst the ten. Instead, the two brands were represented by each tyre’s respective predecessor.
It isn’t every day that a leading premium brand is handed the wooden spoon in a comparative tyre test, however Michelin is currently coming to terms with this tree-based utensil. The test in question appears in the current issue (12/16) of German magazine Autozeitung, and the tyre is the Michelin Latitude Sport 3. While the Michelin Rubber wasn’t found significantly lacking in any particular area and finished very close behind several other products, it was nevertheless trumped fair and square when results of the various performance, environmental and cost-related tests were tallied up.
Giti reports it has completed an independent test with Dekra to evaluate the wet braking performance of its GT Radial SportActive tyre against several leading products as used in the original Autozeitung article. The firm also called for all “manufacturers, key associations and informed publications” to standardise testing in order to avoid grey areas.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
Stephen Goodchild