June 7, 2019
For years, the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R has been the king of the hill in Extreme Performance Summer. Since its introduction, there have been scores of competitors released, and with every new tire announced, the enthusiast community has wondered if this would be "the one" that knocks Bridgestone from its place at the top. Some have come close; others have mostly achieved parity in one metric or another, but none have succeeded at truly moving the bar by exceeding the all-around performance of the category benchmark.
The newest entry in the category comes from Yokohama, the ADVAN A052. Yokohama has a long and storied history manufacturing tires that can dominate in competition, so once again, the world is waiting to see how the newest release compares to the incumbent leader. To determine how the Yokohama stacks up against all the top competitors, we chose the BFGoodrich g-Force Rival S 1.5, Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R, and Dunlop Direzza ZIII, and we compared them with the ADVAN A052 in a full test. Our evaluation used 2017 BMW F36 430i sedans fitted with new, full tread depth 245/40R18 tires mounted on 18x8.0 wheels.
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.
The big news right up front: in our test conditions, on our test vehicles, with our test methods, the Yokohama was the fastest. While the times were close enough that vehicle setup, driving style, and driver preference may result in any of the top three tires being the fastest on a given day, for us the ADVAN A052 came out on top.
Subjectively, our team favored the Potenza RE-71R on the track, and it’s difficult to imagine a more satisfying driving experience than what the Bridgestone provides. Ideally weighted steering effort delivers exact and precisely metered response that allows the driver to place the car within inches of the intended mark, and balanced handling front and rear means the driver can induce mild rotation to quickly point the nose in the desired direction and accelerate away using the tire’s strong longitudinal traction. Where the ADVAN A052 is concerned, "strong" may not be adequate to describe the longitudinal traction, specifically the ability to transfer the vehicle’s power to the ground. Seemingly irrespective of the vehicle’s behavior at the moment, additional throttle results in forward trajectory, allowing the driver to pick up the throttle earlier than its competitors. This can overpower the front tires if misused, but fortunately, prodigious braking ability means the driver shouldn’t have difficulty slowing the vehicle adequately to complete the turn before powering away. The steering is nearly as responsive as the Bridgestone, but is a little vague, making it not quite as precise or enjoyable. This minor complaint aside, the Yokohama is more forgiving of small mistakes than the Bridgestone, making it easier for less than expert-level drivers. The most conspicuous characteristic while driving the g-Force Rival S 1.5 is the steering response. The tire seems to multiply the driver’s inputs, resulting in big directional change from a small turn of the wheel and requiring a conscious adjustment. This hyper-responsive steering means the front end feels eager and willing, but unfortunately, the overall traction doesn’t feel proportionate to the responsiveness. Combined with a strong tendency for power-on oversteer when exiting turns, the g-Force Rival S 1.5 feels a little uncoordinated on the track, as if the driver is constantly managing the vehicle’s attitude with small corrections. Despite this, the tire proved capable of very fast laps; it just isn’t as satisfying in the process. The Direzza ZIII feels athletic and is very satisfying to drive, but it’s held back in this company due to slightly lower levels of outright grip. Fast reflexes handle quick transitions without drama, and natural, balanced handling means the vehicle dances around corners. Unfortunately, those corners have to be navigated at slightly slower speeds for the tire to retain grip, and it doesn’t slow the vehicle as promptly as the other tires here.
Wet track testing followed a similar path, with the Yokohama proving marginally faster on average and the Bridgestone earning a higher subjective score from our team. The Bridgestone’s behavior in the wet is a carbon copy of the dry, simply with less available traction due to the slick surface. As a result, it can be driven in the same manner as on the dry track, just at a slower pace, requiring no major adjustment in strategy from the driver and making the tire feel instantly familiar. The Yokohama slightly edged out the Bridgestone in our objective braking and skid pad measurements, and it is similarly well-mannered and easy to drive, though it takes a little longer to recover after the limit is exceeded. Something important to take into consideration is our track is relatively low-speed, and the water depth is moderate, so it is only a minor challenge to tires’ hydroplaning resistance. While the Yokohama’s wet grip is exceptional, there are a few spots on our track where it just begins to hydroplane. This isn’t an issue with the Bridgestone, so higher speeds and/or deeper water may create much larger separation between the two. Just like in the dry, the Dunlop is a sweetheart to drive, but lower grip means it’s not as fast as the rest of the group. The BFGoodrich is challenging to push in wet conditions. Combine its inherently imbalanced behavior with intermittent, short bursts of hydroplaning, and the result is a rather unpredictable lap that requires the driver’s full concentration.
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.
Refinement and comfort during the daily drive are low priorities for Extreme Performance Summer tires, but what they lack in on-road manners, they make up for with their ability to make every drive an event. Whether going to the grocery store, pounding down a twisty canyon road or heading across the country to a national-level autocross, tires from the category typically deliver driving fun in excess.
As the only untested tire going into the evaluation, our team didn’t know what to expect from the ADVAN A052, and we walked away pleasantly surprised. For an Extreme Performance Summer tire, the ride is remarkably smooth, doing an admirable job of rounding over big imperfections while mitigating small ones and remaining composed over repetitive impacts. Sound quality is another high point. While it is loud, the noise created is essentially high-volume white noise, without any distinct tones like the other tires in the group. On-road handling and steering response are good, but a small dead spot on-center increases the required input before the tire responds, and steering effort and response build in a non-linear way that makes it feel a little vague and imprecise. The Potenza RE-71R is a known quantity, and essentially the inverse of the Yokohama. The ride is extremely firm, and it creates a wide variety of intrusive tones over all surface types. The handling and steering response, though, are superb, with ideal heft to the steering wheel and a perfectly natural build-up of effort and response. The g-Force Rival S 1.5 creates a distinct, almost tangible grinding sound that stands out in the cabin, but other noise mostly blends together. The ride is firm, but could also use better composure after impacts, and the extremely responsive steering requires the driver’s full attention. Rounding out the group, the Direzza ZIII is generally inoffensive and doesn’t stand out in any way. The taut ride makes every impact a single event, and aside from a "sizzle" sound over sealed surfaces, the tread is loud but not conspicuously so.
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 three stop signs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BFGoodrich g-Force Rival S 1.5 | 28.9 | 519.0 | -2.1% |
| Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R | 28.8 | 520.8 | -2.4% |
| Dunlop Direzza ZIII | 28.5 | 526.3 | -3.5% |
| Yokohama ADVAN A052 | 29.5 | 508.5 | -- |
| Our evaluation used Race Technology DL1 data loggers to record true distance traveled. | |||
Fuel economy typically isn’t a factor when considering Extreme Performance Summer tires, and within this group we found a 1-mile per gallon disparity between our lowest and highest observed fuel economy. This difference would result in an additional 17.8 gallons of premium gasoline used per year for a vehicle driven 15,000 miles annually.
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.
Time will tell what happens in the real world, both from a competition and a sales perspective, but in our evaluation, the Yokohama ADVAN A052 has succeeded in claiming the top spot in Extreme Performance Summer. It is very fast and easy to drive in the dry and the wet, and it’s surprisingly pleasant on the road, emerging from the test as our team’s top choice. The Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R is a superb performance tire that arguably is still unmatched in precision and driving pleasure on the track. On the road, the Bridgestone is acceptable for the category, but leaves much to be desired in terms of ride and noise comfort. The BFGoodrich g-Force Rival S 1.5 delivers alert and responsive handling combined with strong grip in the dry. The tire has very high limits and is capable of lap times that are within striking distance of the best in the test, but it doesn’t feel as polished or coordinated as its competitors. Wet traction is strong, but standing water can cause some concern, and the on-road behavior is average for the category. The Dunlop Direzza ZIII is extremely satisfying to drive, with an agile, athletic personality that makes it feel like an extension of the driver. Lower ultimate grip results in lap times that are slightly off the pace in dry and wet conditions, though only the most serious of competitors would be left wanting, and on the road, it delivers category-appropriate levels of comfort.
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