August 13, 2015
As consumers, we ask a lot of our tires, often without realizing it. Though it may never register as a conscious thought, every time we jump in our car and drive we are subjecting our tires to thousands of revolutions while carrying the full weight of the vehicle and its occupants. Tires operate in some of the harshest conditions imaginable, dealing with longitudinal and lateral g-forces, the abrasive surface of the pavement, potholes, curbs, and construction zones, adverse weather, foreign objects in the road, and more. We all need our tires to survive the daily challenge, and we want our tires to deliver the features that improve the quality of our commute, as well.
Standard Touring All-Season tires may have one of the most difficult jobs in the tire world. In addition to the utility they offer, they are expected to deliver a level of refinement, comfort, all-season capabilities, and treadlife that is a step above the basic round and black of Passenger All-Season tires, but without a premium price tag. There is no such thing as a free lunch, but the Kumho Solus TA11 is trying to prove that you may be able to satisfy all your needs, in addition to a few of your wants, and stay under budget. We rounded up the Kumho, along with three established competitors in the class to find out.
To understand how the Kumho Solus TA11 performs, the Tire Rack team conducted a Real World Road Ride and Performance Track Drive comparing it with three known entrants in the class: the General AltiMAX RT43, Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus, and the Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X. Our evaluation used 2014 BMW F30 328i sedans fitted with new, full tread depth 215/60R16 tires mounted on 16x7.5 wheels.
Our 6.0-mile loop of expressway, state highway and county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city and highway speeds, smooth and coarse concrete, as well as new and patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality and everyday handling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.
The most frequent role tires from this group are asked to play is that of chauffer - get you where you need to go with the least amount of disruption possible. In that task, all four tires performed commendably, with the top three more tightly grouped than the fourth place candidate. The General AltiMAX RT43 impressed testers with its combination of a quiet ride and solidly planted feel that communicated to the driver what was happening at the contact patch. The Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus was the cream of the crop when it came to ride quality, with the least noticeable tread noise and exceptional cabin isolation from all but the most jarring impacts. The tradeoff for its impressive road manners was in handling, though, as it was not as sharp or responsive to steering inputs as the General. Though not loud or intrusive, the Kumho Solus TA11 had a faint growl from the tread that landed it in third place behind the Pirelli and General. The Kumho’s steering feel was light and natural, providing the driver with a comfortable, predictable driving experience on the road. Sumitomo’s HTR Enhance L/X was noticeably noisier than the rest of the group over all surface types, and it allowed impacts to find their way to the passenger compartment more readily than the other three tires. It also had the lightest on-center feel, which made it feel darty or disconnected from the road and required multiple small corrections to maintain the driver’s desired course.
Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, a five-cone slalom and simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry and wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, handling and drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.
Part of the basic utility expected from a tire is the ability to react and respond when asked to give one hundred percent, and all four tires in this group showed they were up to the task. With approximately .3 second separating first and last place, the stopwatch couldn’t determine much of a difference in the competitors, but our testers’ subjective observations told very distinct stories. The luxury-oriented feel of the Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus on the road translated into a slightly disconnected feeling on the track. Despite the lack of communication with the driver, this tire still got the job done, seemingly coming together and getting "into the zone" when pushed. The General AltiMAX RT43 felt the most solidly anchored through all sections of the track. It was never twitchy or wanting to step out the rear end, but it also never felt playful and didn’t seem to enjoy its time on the course. Kumho’s Solus TA11 went about its business around the track, with no standout character traits. It performed as expected, when expected, making it very predictable and confidence-inspiring. The light steering feel and disconnected nature of the Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X bore out on the track in the same way it did on the road. The tire felt loose in the rear and eager to change direction in the front. Even though it was never out of control, this tire felt like it was the most likely to bite if the driver overstepped his ability level.
The stopwatch determined there was a big difference in these tires after we turned on the sprinklers, and our subjective opinions corroborated the timer’s story. Taking the top time and immediately revealing itself as the tire with the best wet grip in the group was the General AltiMAX RT43. From the very first braking zone to the final turn, the General instilled confidence in the driver. This confidence was not unfounded, as the General was nearly a second and a half per lap faster and stopped from 50mph almost ten feet shorter than the closest competitor. Pirelli’s P4 Four Seasons Plus delivered reasonable, if not impressive, wet traction while either stopping or turning, but it lacked the outright grip to make it a good multi-tasker in the wet. The Kumho Solus TA11 bettered the Pirelli’s straight line performance, but a lack of lateral grip in the wet made it want to hang the tail out during steady-state turning or while powering out of a corner if the driver was not respectful of the throttle. The same looseness that made the Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X feel jittery in the dry, combined with a lack of overall grip, relegated it to a distant fourth place in the wet. Whether it was stopping or starting, changing directions abruptly or trying to hold its place in a constant radius, the Sumitomo struggled, spinning and clawing at the tarmac, mostly to no avail.
Winter weather is often unpredictable, and snow-covered roads change with every passing vehicle as they churn snow into slush or pack it down to polished ice. A constantly changing test surface makes side-by-side comparisons difficult, so we use a dedicated winter testing facility in Northern Sweden with acres of groomed snow that provides the consistency we need to get reliable acceleration and braking comparisons. This facility also has a prepared snow-handling course where we evaluate the stability and control of each tire during abrupt maneuvers. To simulate the icy conditions found at intersections or the black ice experienced out on the highway, we use ice at a local hockey rink and measure acceleration and braking traction.
Overall the General AltiMAX RT43 delivered the best snow performance of the group. The Pirelli P4 Four Seasons was close for acceleration and braking traction on the snow, but didn’t have quite as much cornering traction. The Kumho Solus TA11 offered a little less start and stop traction than the Pirelli, but provided slightly better cornering power. Trailing the group by a noticeable margin was the Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X.
Our Real World Road Ride features a relatively flat 6.0-mile loop of 65 mph expressway, 55 mph state highway and 40 mph county roads along with two stop signs and one traffic light every lap. Our team drove each tire approximately 500 miles over the course of several days. Since we wanted to compare fuel consumption results that typical drivers would experience, our drivers were instructed to maintain the flow of traffic by running at the posted speed limits and sustain the vehicle’s speed using cruise control whenever possible. They did not use hypermiling techniques to influence vehicle fuel economy.
| Tire | Test MPG* | Gallons/Year @ 15,000 Miles |
% vs. Most Efficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| General AltiMAX RT43 | 33.2 | 451.8 | -0.3% |
| Kumho Solus TA11 | 33.3 | 450.5 | -- |
| Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus | 32.5 | 461.5 | -2.46% |
| Sumitomo HTR Enhance LX | 32.3 | 464.4 | -3.1% |
| *Our evaluation used Race Technology DL1 data loggers to record true distance travelled. | |||
Maximizing fuel economy is a want of many consumers, and while none of the tires in this test were designed with low rolling resistance as a high priority, we did find a difference in observed vehicle fuel economy across the group. Based on our results the one mile per gallon difference between our lowest and highest observed fuel economy would result in an annual difference of almost 14 gallons of premium gasoline. At the current cost of $3.00/gallon, it would amount to an annual difference of just under $42 for drivers driving 15,000 miles per year.
It’s important to note our test’s fuel consumption measurements follow consistent procedures designed to minimize variables that could influence the results, however they do not represent an exhaustive long-range fuel consumption study. While our procedures require the test vehicles in each convoy to run under the same prevailing conditions, the week-to-week differences in ambient temperatures, barometric pressures and wind speeds that we experience over a season of testing can influence vehicle fuel consumption and prevent the absolute mpg values of this test from being compared directly against those of others.
Larger differences in consumption between tires may indicate a difference that might be experienced on the road, while smaller differences should be considered equivalent. As they say, your mileage may vary.
Through careful research, design, and engineering, tire companies can produce Standard Touring All-Season tires with qualities that meet both the needs and the wants of today’s drivers. The General AltiMAX RT43 combined on-road attributes that were near the best in this test with wet traction that was a noticeable leap above the rest of the group. Kumho’s Solus TA11 played its part without drawing any unnecessary attention to itself, offering predictable driving dynamics and agreeable ride characteristics. If your wants center around a quiet and comfortable ride, the Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus could be the preferred choice thanks to its best-in-test refinement on the road and acceptable wet weather grip. The Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X’s comparably crude road manners, disconnected feeling on the dry track, and surprisingly low levels of traction in the wet left it at the back of this pack, not providing drivers what they really want.
General AltiMAX RT43 (Standard Touring All-Season): AltiMAX RT43 (Road Touring) tires featuring T-speed ratings are General’s Standard Touring All-Season tire members of their AltiMAX family of flagship tires. Designed to deliver impressive consumer value through even treadwear and extended treadlife, the AltiMAX RT43 combines a quiet, comfortable ride with year-round, all-season traction, even in light snow. Read more.
Kumho Solus TA11 (Standard Touring All-Season): The Solus TA11 is Kumho’s Standard Touring All-Season tire developed for the drivers of subcompacts and sedans, as well as minivans and small crossover vehicles looking for comfort and lasting value. Designed for cost-conscious drivers, the Solus TA11 is designed to provide traction on all roads and in all seasons, even in light snow. Read more.
Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus (Standard Touring All-Season): The P4 Four Seasons Plus is Pirelli’s Standard Touring All-Season tire developed for drivers of coupes, sedans and minivans. Designed to help reduce environmental impact, P4 Four Seasons Plus tires combine ride comfort, low noise and reduced rolling resistance with long life and four-season traction on dry, wet and wintry roads, even in light snow. Read more.
Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X (T-Speed Rated) (Standard Touring All-Season): HTR Enhance L/X tires featuring T-speed rated sizes are Sumitomo’s Standard Touring All-Season tires developed for the drivers of family coupes and sedans. Designed to combine extra-long treadwear with good ride comfort, HTR Enhance L/X tires provide all-season traction in dry, wet and wintry conditions, even in occasional light snow. Read more.
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