June 10, 2021
From its release, Vredestein’s Quatrac 5 has resonated strongly with drivers who want a dependable Grand Touring All-Season tire with the category’s trademark smooth, quiet ride, good tread life, and dry and wet traction. The Quatrac 5, however, had an ace up its sleeve, with light snow traction worthy of meeting the tire industry’s severe snow service requirements, and was therefore branded with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol. What was already a strong option for year-round warm climate drivers became even more appealing to drivers that experience all four seasons, but don’t receive sufficient snowfall to require dedicated winter tires.
Vredestein has subsequently released the Quatrac as the successor to the Quatrac 5. The new tire was designed to progress the company’s premium traction Grand Touring All-Season lineup by including the latest and greatest technology and construction techniques. Since drivers will surely want to know if this addition bearing the simplified Quatrac name is indeed worthy of its all-encompassing title, our team decided to use the Quatrac 5 as a benchmark and test the two tires head-to-head.
Testing on our variety of public road surfaces and conditions allowed our team to evaluate the everyday balance of each tire just as consumers would during their daily drive. After driving each tire back-to-back, our team noticed the Quatrac better isolated the driver from impacts and breaks in the pavement than the Quatrac 5. While both could be described as "equally firm" the Quatrac tended to elongate the impacts and mitigate the sharp peaks of road imperfections, where the Quatrac 5 had a more pronounced hit, but over a shorter duration. Noise comfort from each tire was good, with a slight advantage going to the Quatrac thanks to its ever-present but consistently pitched growl that better faded into the drive rather than the more varied pitches and tones from the Quatrac 5. The distinctive pattern of the Quatrac did produce some obvious pattern noise with significant steering inputs around on- and off-ramps, which, while noticeable, was never overly intrusive. On-road handling from each tire was appropriate for the category but perhaps not as precise or urgent as our team is used to, which was noted, might have been a function of the taller profile of our 16" test size.
After leveraging advances in compound and tread design technology, the Quatrac had a strong showing in our wet tests, besting the Quatrac 5 by significant margins both objectively and subjectively. The increased traction was immediately apparent with the Quatrac’s ability to apply throttle much sooner when exiting tight corners, along with steady state cornering speeds the Quatrac 5 couldn’t match. Subsequently, this impressive increase in wet grip yielded significantly quicker lap times. While both tires had what our team considered good wet braking performance, subjectively the Quatrac’s seemed underwhelming when compared to the tire’s more capable lateral and acceleration grip.
| Wet Track | Average Times | 50-0mph | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slalom | Total Lap | Lateral g’s | ABS Stop | |
| Vredestein Quatrac | 5.83 | 35.21 | 0.69 | 116.9 |
| Vredestein Quatrac 5 | 6.00 | 37.04 | 0.64 | 130.6 |
While dry track duty isn’t the primary focus for Grand Touring All-Season tires, our handling course does give our testers the opportunity to see how the tire would respond in emergency maneuvers on the street or highway. The Quatrac once again showed an advantage in objective metrics that translated to a more planted feel and quicker lap times. Similar to the Quatrac in the wet, the Quatrac 5 exhibited some braking disparity compared to its lateral traction and required a conscious effort to avoid aggressive understeer. Subjectively, each tire seemed more than capable of offering easily-controlled handling characteristics if called upon in an emergency avoidance maneuver on the public roadways.
| Dry Track | Average Times | 50-0mph | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slalom | Total Lap | Lateral g’s | ABS Stop | |
| Vredestein Quatrac | 5.32 | 31.44 | 0.89 | 86.4 |
| Vredestein Quatrac 5 | 5.34 | 31.86 | 0.86 | 93.4 |
This test demonstrated the ever-present march forward in technology and capabilities from tire manufacturers. Vredestein managed to improve upon an already well designed and popular product without any obvious compromises. With snow traction from the Quatrac, at a minimum, meeting industry severe snow service requirements, our team expects it to rate well with consumers and enjoy successes similar to the Quatrac 5 through the past few years.
Need help choosing the right products for your vehicle? Our team of highly trained experts has the knowledge and passion to help. Just pick up the phone and give us a ring. Or let's chat via email. We love solving problems and lending a hand (or an ear).
Contact Us