August 2, 2024
We say it often, but tire shopping can be daunting. Other than a myriad of options within each individual category, sometimes the differences between categories can themselves be confusing. Sure, certain things like "Summer" and "All-Season" are self-evident, but what is the difference between "Standard" and "Grand" Touring tires? How much of a performance difference is there really between "Ultra High", "Max" and "Extreme" - and which one is which?
We've gathered a selection of tires, two from several major passenger categories for sedans (except for Extreme Performance, which we'll get into later), to test on our new BMW 330i xDrive. This really gives us an idea how they compare: to explore the nuances that separate them, showcase their strengths, and draw attention to their limitations in relation to one another. Just like a standard test, we'll still be taking these tires through our real-world road ride, as well as 60-0 mph braking distances, sustained lateral traction on the skid pad, and laps around our test track in both wet and dry conditions.
So, this will be a little different from most reports - instead of focusing as much on individual ability, we'll be discussing the experience of the tires together under their given category heading, before wrapping it all up and talking about how the categories themselves compare.
Let's get into it!
Standard Touring All-Season tires can be most reliably looked to for one trait above most others: tread life. It's functionally in the name of the Goodyear tire here, and while Yokohama's naming convention differs, their marketing materials tout the tire's long service. Still, there's not much point in owning and driving a tire for a long time if it's miserable to drive or not capable on the road, and that's a big question for testing, to determine just how much is given up for their longer lives.
The experience of driving both tires during our road ride was one more clearly focused on comfort, both in ability to soften impacts and in noise. The Assurance MaxLife was particularly gentle and composed over imperfections, and while it did have some tonal variety, it was almost universally lower volume than anything else in the test. Not as much with the AVID Ascend LX - it was still reasonably soft over impacts, but a bit stiffer and with a bit less post-hit jiggle. It had a bit more noise as well and while it kept that noise to a lower overall volume, individual impacts really stood out. The two tires were about equally pleasant to steer, despite arriving there in different ways. The Assurance MaxLife was light and responsive - while the AVID Ascend LX had some heft and weight, neither tire was overeager to dart around the road.
The wet portion of the driving test was a bit of a challenge for both tires. The Assurance MaxLife was able to translate its lively steering to the lower traction surface nicely, but it didn't have the grip to make use of it in meaningful ways. It was all back to basics for both of them. "Brake sooner, go slow, don't push the tire too hard" - the limits were too low to get fancy. Both required braking sooner, plowing into understeer when leaned on for any kind of turns at high speed, and while the AVID Ascend LX had more usable oversteer, its traction was even lower in the wet. On a dry track, the experience was largely similar, compared to more performance focused tires especially. Again, it required slowing down and operating on a level the tire could handle. Both tires lacked the kind of responsiveness or grip to excel in the slalom or hang in deep during cornering and would simply push into sloppy understeer if stressed too far.
The two tires featured for this category are the Falken Sincera SN250 A/S - a bit of an unassuming workhorse of an all-season product, that is nonetheless well-reviewed and well-tested - as well as the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive. The latter is an "all-weather" tire, a term that can seem a bit redundant with "all-season" - though in brief, it simply means that the tire carries the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol for use in light snow. (We have a couple of tech articles explaining those more in-depth: What Are All-Weather Tires?, What is the 3PMSF?)
When our team took to the road, it was clear both tires provided pleasant experiences, though with their own distinct approach. The Cinturato WeatherActive offered a bit of a firmer ride than the two Standard Touring All-Season tires, not uncomfortable, but noticeable nonetheless. In contrast, the ride in the Sincera SN250 A/S was a touch more plush in general, especially over larger bumps. Both tires handled noise particularly well, blending tones and providing the kind of nice, muted tones expected of a regular commuter tire. The steering feel was likewise decent for both, if not particularly sporty or urgent, but weighty, direct, and deliberate.
Driving around the track in both tires was an apt example of the kind of experiential range that exists even within a category. In the wet, the Cinturato WeatherActive was pointy, precise and held grip around corners to a degree that, while not performance-level strong, was obedient and reliable enough that it felt it could be counted on when needed. The steering and handling were particularly well-balanced for the car and category, something that was mostly true for the Sincera SN250 A/S as well. Unfortunately, it was simply down in grip everywhere else, with longer braking distances and a much stronger tendency to rotate. Interestingly, on a dry surface, the Sincera SN250 A/S was little better in general, though really only to the point of functionally tying the Cinturato WeatherActive overall. The Pirelli tire's firm, weighty steering seemed to imply more athleticism and ability than its touring compound and construction could handle, and past the limits it kind of gave up and would smear around the track in understeer. Falken's tire felt more rounded, never overpromising, it just knew it was a touring tire and acted like a touring tire. It was predictable, and even if that meant rotating or gliding a bit, you knew what you were in for.
It can be a bit difficult to explain exactly what Ultra High Performance All-Season tires are. They are unquestionably more focused on raw ability and traction than a Standard or Grand Touring tire, and yet, these are still "daily drivers" for many - notably for upper echelon luxury or sports cars - and certainly not performance tires at a level where we'd recommend one race or autocross with them. They're in-betweeners, performance tires split between two worlds, with everything being asked of them and then just a little more.
The on-road experience for both tires was a slight, but noticeable step down in ride quality from the Grand Touring All-Season category options. The g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS was more agreeable, although unquestionably on the firmer side of the equation, it was pleasant overall, good at rounding over imperfections. The Pilot Sport All Season 4 was also firm, but less composed, with more excess motion. Noise was among the notable differences, with both tires creating some obvious tones or growls. There was a more substantial gap in steering feel, and while the Michelin tire didn't particularly impress, the g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS was hefty, direct, and responsive, with a nice on-center feel much more indicative of the performance aspirations of the category.
On the wet track, each tire was able to deliver improved performance over their touring counterparts, although still with their own shortcomings. The Pilot Sport All Season 4 was quick around the track and gave our drivers plenty of traction to work with, but the steering wasn't as precise or lively as we would have liked. Conversely, while the g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS offered some strong traction, and the steering was good, its responsiveness didn't quite match the rest of its performance. Once the track dried off, the story was similar - slightly faster, greater traction, stronger braking. The g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS felt particularly balanced and planted with hefty, reassuring steering, but it lacked finesse in the application of it, not really wanting to combine inputs or rotate, and required a more deliberate approach.
Max Performance Summer tires spell their intentions pretty clearly out in the name, completely sacrificing any wintertime ability, and generally some on-road comfort, to deliver some of the best available dry and wet traction for a street tire. There were two tires selected to represent the category: the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, considered a classic category benchmark, and one of the most popular tires available today. The other is the Vredestein Ultrac Pro, one of the newest tires as of this writing, it aims to exceed the classic aims of the category while improving ride quality.
Once on the road, the gap became more apparent between Max Performance Summer tires, UHPAS tires, and in particular, the touring options. Steering was a clear advantage for both, with the Pilot Sport 4S delivering some excellent handling: sharp, responsive and communicative, though its unapologetically firm ride transmitted bumps more harshly. The Vredestein Ultrac Pro offered a slightly softer ride, but it also led to a consistent jiggle over uneven surfaces. Both tires handled noise comfort relatively well, about on par with their UHPAS counterparts.
Particularly for Max Performance Summer tires, the wet track makes for a perfect showcase of the differences between categories. The Pilot Sport 4S had the same level of responsive steering as on the road, paired with some impressive grip, braking traction, and excellent lateral stability. While it could still understeer if pushed too hard, there was no reason to reach that point. The Vredestein Ultrac Pro likewise delivered a well-rounded performance with good front-end traction and alert steering. Whereas other tires tended to suffer from less responsiveness or diminished traction, these felt confident, at home in their element here. Once the track dried off, the experience was just as lively, with the objective scores communicating just as much of the message as any description could. Both tires were a full second faster around the track than the UHPAS tires, braking harder, accelerating quicker and simply outperforming them at every level.
Finally rounding out the category selection, Extreme Performance Summer (or just EP for short) is perhaps one of the most deceptively easy categories to understand. Whereas the Max Performance Summer category balances comfort and tread life to pursue the utmost ability in wet and dry conditions, EP tires have one focus alone: getting the most dry performance possible from a streetable tire. There's only one tire we included from this category, as its particular focus is so specific, and the differences between tires at this level are so nuanced that including a comparative discussion really goes outside the scope of a test like this. If you'd like to see more about EP tires, consider checking out our Extreme Performance Road and Track Tests.
On the road, the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS was unmistakably a performance tire - firm was too compliant a word to describe it - it was stiff in a way that bumps, seams, and imperfections in the road that didn't even exist to other tires were now clearly present. Noise too, was louder by a significant margin than even the Max Performance tires, with varied pitches, tones, and a consistent abrasive noise our drivers described as a "sizzle." The steering, however, was simply wonderful, with quick, direct response that built effort appropriately when turning, but was able to do so while using a smaller portion of the wheel, essentially translating every motion faster.
Tires like these are most at-home on the track, and what was lively steering on the road was even more energetic and direct when pushed during our wet driving testing. It was fast too, only falling behind in objective times when compared to the Max Performance Summer tires, owing perhaps partially to its tendency to hydroplane in any standing water. Even so, the strong traction let our drivers really lean on it through corners, brake hard and make the most of everything that both it, and the vehicle, were capable of. Once the track dried off, however, the Potenza RE-71RS was absolutely in its element. It allowed for more power, earlier braking, and less need to back off during quick adjustments like slalom driving because it just had so much grip. It wouldn't really rotate or functionally slide around, but this was the kind of tire that illustrated just how good it feels to drive something that doesn't need it. It was so planted and compliant in all respects, that every input was simply translated into useful action.
So, where does all of this bring us to? Well, for one it can be helpful to think of many tire categories as increasing degrees of specialization radiating out from a central point. The further from center, the greater the specialization and generally, the more sacrifices are made to achieve that end. This can be seen reflected in the tires' graphs and objective scores, but the subjective experience of driving them plays just as important a role.
As a starting point, Grand Touring All-Season (GTAS) tires are a category that just about everyone reading this is probably familiar with. With fitment sizes for a wide variety of vehicles on the road and aimed at being pretty good at everything without necessarily being "the best", this jack-of-all-trades attitude makes this category the go-to option for most people. That isn't to say there isn't specialization or nuance within the group, there definitely is, but as a broad stroke overview, it's understandable why these are common daily drivers. As the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive and Falken Sincera SN250 A/S show, both objectively and subjectively, they're not the grippiest or the most…well, anything really. Neither were they the most comfortable tires on-road (although both were very nice in that regard), and conversely, they're not really the worst at anything either. That's part of what makes them a good starting point for comparison.
Standard Touring All-Season (STAS) tires are, in many ways, similar to their Grand Touring counterparts, just with a distinct focus on tread life. The Goodyear Assurance MaxLife was handily our favorite tire on-road for comfort, which is a positive for a distance-focused tire, in addition to performing reasonably well under the pressures of harder driving. Taking a look at the objective results, it did take further to come to a stop under 60-0mph braking than the GTAS tires, so there's little question that some performance is part of the cost of the tire's focus.
Swinging back toward a performance focus, as we said above, tires in the Ultra High Performance All-Season (UHPAS) category are still daily drivers for many people, and consequently share a lot of the push-and-pull demand to favor both comfort and performance in dry and wet without sacrificing too much tread life or winter performance. That's something we see represented very clearly in both of the UHPAS tires we tested - both offer measurable gains over the touring options here, while also taking noticeable losses in ride quality. Between the two, BFGoodrich's g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS takes a more balanced approach between ability and comfort, while Michelin's Pilot Sport All Season 4 easily outpaces, out-brakes and outperforms every other tire before it in every objective measurement, but at a steeper cost on the road.
Finally, we get to the two categories that have dedicated themselves to achieving some of the best traction: Max Performance Summer (MP) and Extreme Performance Summer (EP) tires. It's worth discussing them together, given their similar aims and sacrifices, notably that both give up usability in cold temperatures, and typically some noise and ride comfort compared to touring options, but in exchange, their grip, steering response and speed are nearly peerless among street tires. Where they diverge from there is better compared to one another.
Up to this point, we haven't discussed objective measurements much. However, as an illustrative point for the Max Performance Summer tires they bested the other categories in braking distances by 13 feet at a minimum, and 20-40 feet against most. There's no discussion around tires like this that doesn't come down to statistics eventually, because at this level, that's what the pursuit is all about. There's no question MP tires are quick in both dry and wet, and they are generally the "go-to" for peak wet performance. That's where the big difference lies: if MP tires are peak in the wet, EP tires are that for the dry. The Potenza RE-71RS was unquestionably the leader in objective lap times and braking distances, coming to a stop from 60-0mph 7.5 feet shorter than even the closest tire, and in the double digits compared to anything else on a dry surface.
We've tested many tires across many categories. There's still a lot to consider for your own individual vehicle, the right fit for yourself isn't as clear-cut as picking an objective "best tire" - but if you're looking for additional information about specific tires, keep an eye out for even more from our testing team as we explore the wide, exciting world of tires.
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