May 16, 2022
Grand Touring All-Season tires have become the category to showcase manufacturers’ latest and greatest developments in well-balanced, daily-driving performance. In an industry where a product’s increase in one metric can mean a compromise in another, engineers are tasked with making meaningful advances while retaining previous developmental victories. One such area we continue to see advances in, is tire designers meeting the industry’s Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certification with their foul weather-focused Grand Touring All-Season tires. This sub-segment of the category grows by the year, to the point where a tire missing the 3PMSF marking almost attracts attention.
The Toyo Celsius Sport is the latest entry into the category, hoping it has struck the delicate balance of road manners with dry, wet and winter traction. Along with a comfortable daily drive and confident traction, the Celsius Sport is built to offer predictable handling and, as the name suggests, an element of sportiness that is designed to satisfy when the roads start to wind.
We’ve assembled a group of other like-minded, all-season tires that share the same space within the Grand Touring All-Season category. Each features the 3PMSF symbol and are designed to offer higher levels of light snow traction than their non-branded counterparts while maintaining the requisite balance of a quiet, comfortable ride and satisfying tread life. The Firestone WeatherGrip and General AltiMAX 365 AW are no strangers to each other and have been previously tested head-to-head. They represent a solid benchmark in the wintry traction-focused all-season segment. The Vredestein Quatrac Pro continues to be a consumer favorite, along with a history of competitive performances against the strongest tires in the category, which naturally, along with its 3PMSF branding, makes it an excellent target for any new addition. To find out how they compare, our evaluation used 2022 Subaru BRZ Limited test vehicles fitted with new, full tread depth 215/45R17 tires mounted on 17x8.0 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.
In our on-road testing, the Quatrac Pro once again impressed our team by delivering a luxurious ride worthy of its Grand Touring namesake. Not only were large impacts softer than the others in the test, smaller bumps and imperfections were better damped and absorbed. Noise comfort was also a high point from the Quatrac Pro, where it managed to mitigate even the most pervasive harmonics from our route’s sections of crosscut concrete. The Celsius Sport also provided impressive on-road results with its particularly precise and responsive steering and reassuring mid-corner feedback through turns. While the ride was taut over some of the rougher sections of pavement, the Toyo never lost its composure and managed to feel controlled throughout the route. Overall noise levels were a little louder than the Quatrac Pro but managed to stay mostly consistent without any significant pitch variations. The AltiMAX 365 AW rounded over the large, quick hits fairly well, but overall, it was still described as firm by our team. While not the loudest in the test, the General produced some significant two-tone cavity noise no matter the road surface. The WeatherGrip’s pattern noise was the highest in the test, most likely due to its more aggressive tread design. Regardless, the tradeoff was constant harmonics and multi-pitched tones. While never unacceptably loud, it’s unlikely to go unnoticed when compared to its milder counterparts in the category. Along with a drop in noise comfort, some steering precision might have been sacrificed for the Firestone’s purposeful tread design. Even if the tire wasn’t meant to compete with the sportier subset of these tires, its steering would have benefited from more definition and mid-corner feedback. Ride quality was mostly comfortable over imperfections but could have used some finesse. While the initial impact was comfortable, the residual jumpiness and secondary motion caused the ride to feel a little unrefined.
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.
Besides wintry roads, drivers will often find their tires’ limit of traction on wet roads during an unintended or emergency avoidance maneuver. Simulating those situations on our wet handling course helped our team determine handling differences at the limit between the competitors. The Quatrac Pro impressed our team with a commanding advantage in both lateral traction and braking from 50 mph. The differential in grip was hard to argue with around the track, with our team giving the Vredestein high subjective marks for its easy to drive nature. Laps were consistent, drama-free and nearly a second faster than its closest rival, displaying an unmatched level of control that would be appreciated on wet roads. A short step behind, the Celsius Sport’s direct steering and crisp turn-in helped its subjective score, although the modest drop in absolute wet traction meant it couldn’t quite turn laps in line with the leader. Further back from the pack, the AltiMAX 365 AW generated the lowest measured lateral traction and longest braking distances of the test and combined with a slightly more responsive front end than expected for unbalanced laps. While very close in objective metrics, the WeatherGrip was still a step behind the General subjectively. Even though the Firestone felt mostly balanced, driver inputs, whether throttle or steering, had to be made far in advance. The delay in response ended up making laps feel dramatically different from the others and made consistency difficult.
Dry lapping around a track is certainly not the primary focus of Grand Touring All-Season tires, but it still let our team decipher the difference in more aggressive handling traits outside the scope of the daily drive. The Celsius Sport’s sharp and lively steering paid dividends with the extra traction at its disposal and was a subjective favorite with our team, particularly through the slalom. The Quatrac Pro wasn’t far behind subjectively, although it exhibited slightly less responsive steering. The Vredestein’s strong braking performance more than likely helped make up for any vague handling traits as it managed the quickest average lap time of the test once again. The AltiMAX 365 AW’s test-leading lateral traction helped it mask some of the unbalanced handling traits our drivers found in the wet and ended up turning satisfying laps right in line with the leader. With objective braking and cornering numbers once again a step down from the group, the WeatherGrip struggled to stay with the pack. With what seemed like excessive pattern movement, the Firestone generally felt unplanted and less precise when asked to transition the vehicle through the tight corners.
With all four tires in the test bearing the 3PMSF symbol, our team’s expectations ran high for their winter evaluations. In a perfect scenario, any sacrifices made in the name of clear road operation would be vindicated by impressive ice and snow performance. The Firestone WeatherGrip seemed to do just that, with impressive acceleration and braking figures in the snow, but its performance really stood out to our drivers around the handling course. The Firestone delivered levels of control and composure that would satisfy in a dedicated winter tire evaluation. It was easy to drive at the limit and quickly recovered errors in speed and trajectory without protest. The AltiMAX 365 AW was right in line with the Firestone in objective metrics and actually edged it out in acceleration. Subjectively, the General lacked some of the absolute, locked down control of the Firestone, with less front axle bite and a rear end that would break away a little quicker. The Quatrac Pro delivered capable acceleration but needed a bit more room to bring the vehicle to a stop than the former competitors. While it wasn’t quite at the level of the first two around the handling course, the Vredestein’s large plateau of grip gave our drivers the confidence needed to get around the loop at a nice pace. The Celsius sport rounded out the group with a satisfying performance in line with the Quatrac Pro but required slightly earlier and deliberate inputs to set the car up for a gentle line through the tighter corners.
On the ice, the WeatherGrip maintained its advantage with the quickest acceleration and shortest braking distances of the test. The AltiMAX 365 AW was right on the Firestone’s heels once again with a similarly impressive performance. The Quatrac Pro was about a half second slower in acceleration and took four feet longer to stop the test vehicle from twelve miles per hour. The Celsius Sport essentially matched the Vredestein in acceleration and delivered braking that was only a half foot further for what were once again impressive results from this set of all-season products.
Each tire in the test has been developed to deliver satisfying daily driving characteristics with good on-road comfort and dry and wet traction, along with an increased focus on light snow performance. The tradeoffs between these sometimes diametrically opposed engineering metrics can be observed with this group. The Quatrac Pro, as in the past, impresses our team with its ability to blend excellent on-road comfort and composure with truly capable handling and traction when pushed, whether in the dry or wet. It might not index as heavily in the snow as others in this test but achieves what would certainly be considered good winter performance, while excelling at the rest of its duties. The Celsius Sport has found itself in good company, scoring just in sight of the leader on the road, track, and winter surfaces. The Toyo brings a sporty demeanor to the test with quick and sharp steering combined with good mid-corner feedback at daily driving speeds and when pushed. Its taut ride is well-damped for a sophisticated feel that should work well for modern, tightly-sprung vehicles looking for a good balance of civility and connection to the road. The AltiMAX 365 AW manages to satisfy on the street, but not to the level of the competition it will inevitably be compared to. While certainly appropriate for the category, particularly when you factor in its very good winter performance, it does feel unrefined at times. The WeatherGrip was constantly chasing the group throughout our testing on the road, dry and wet. While the Firestone’s manners are good enough to satisfy drivers on the road, the comparative lack of wet traction might get the attention of some consumers. The WeatherGrip, however, represents the tradeoff of performance attributes in tire design when engineers focus heavily on a particular characteristic. In this case, the Firestone’s excellent winter traction might be exactly what consumers are looking for in an all-season tire designed to be a one tire solution for mild winter climates. Any tradeoffs in clear road handling or manners might be well worth it for the WeatherGrip’s confidence inspiring performance in winter.
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