A place where true performance is measured: Tire Press Test Summary

Tire Press Test Summary: The fundamental question people would ask before purchasing a tire would be “what is the performance of the tire ? ” Most of the tire consumer in Europe rely on the tire test results commonly published by auto magazines and motor clubs to help them decide which tire to choose. Hence this is how press test results become the proving ground for the tire manufacturers to proof how competitive they are compared to their rivals. Winning a press test would not only show your clear dominance in the segment but also indirectly help increase sales of that particular tire.

How frequent do the top manufacturers get onto the top of the podium spot? We have analyze the last 5 years worth of tire test and make a short breakdown as below.

Michelin

	Comfort	Touring	UHP	UUHP	All season	Winter	Nordic stud	Nordic soft	Total	%
Michelin	Energy Saver+	Primacy 4	Pilot Sport 4	Pilot Sport 4S	Cross Climate+	Alpin 6	X-Ice North 4	X-Ice Snow
1st	–	5/21	1/10	4/13	4/23	0/15	4/8	0/4	18/94	0.19
2nd	–	3/21	4/10	3/13	4/23	1/15	2/8	1/4	18/94	0.19

As the leading technology leader, Michelin fair pretty well in the press test by winning close to 20% of every press test it has participated. There are definitely certain tire lines of Michelin which outshine its sisters. The studded tire X-ice North 4 won 50% of its test while the the Alpin 6 from the winter category has never won a press test yet despite entering 15 of them. The summer section of Michelin did ok with a few test wins where Primacy 4 is leading the pack. In summary, Michelin has a good balance of products demonstrating its technological strength in all tire segments.

Bridgestone

	Comfort	Touring	UHP	UUHP	All season	Winter	Nordic stud	Nordic soft	Total	%
Bridgestone	Ecopia EP150	Turanza T005	Potenza S007A	Potenza Sport	Weather Control A005 Evo	Blizzak LM005	Noranza 001	Blizzak Ice
1st	–	1/25	0/2	1/3	1/12	9/15	0/7	0/4	12/68	0.18
2nd	–	6/25	0/2	1/3	1/12	4/15	0/7	0/4	12/68	0.18

Bridgestone’s winning percentage is around 18% which is just slightly behind Michelin. However if you look closely in the details, the wins are mostly coming from is outstanding winter tireline Blizzak LM005. Its performance was simple amazing as it has won 9 times while finishing 2nd place 4 time out of 15 test. While the rest of the tireline of Bridgestone did not fair really well with occasionally 1 or 2 wins from the summer segments. In short, amazing winter tire but the rest could be improved.

Goodyear

	Comfort	Touring	UHP	UUHP	All season	Winter	Nordic stud	Nordic soft	Total	%
Goodyear	EfficientGrip Compact	EfficientGrip Performance 2	Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5	Eagle F1 SuperSport	Vector 4Seasons Gen-3	UltraGrip 9+	UltraGrip Arctic 2	UltraGrip Ice 2
1st	–	0/12	4/17	1/7	3/5	0/4	–	1/8	9/53	0.17
2nd	–	2/12	4/17	1/7	0/5	2/4	–	1/8	10/53	0.19

Goodyear has also a respectable win rate of 17%. However they have 2 primary press test winners in the form of its Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 in the UHP segment and also its all season segment with the Vector 4 seasons gen-3 tire.

Continental

	Comfort	Touring	UHP	All season	Winter	Nordic stud	Nordic soft	Total	%
Continental	EcoContact 6	PremiumContact 6	SportContact 6	AllSeason Contact	Winter Contact TS 860	Ice Contact 3	Viking Contact 7
1st	0/4	12/31	3/11	4/20	10/20	5/8	6/10	40/104	0.38
2nd	0/4	6/31	3/11	3/20	4/20	2/8	1/10	19/104	0.18

The ultimate press test winner goes to Continental. It manages a whooping 38% win rate from the press test it has participated. They do have a range of good products which all segments contributed a fair share of winners. Most notably the winter contact TS860 which as won 50% of the press test it has entered. The premium contact 6 also did very well by bringing home 12 wins. Overall Continental shows a good balance in all segments which is demonstrated through the test wins obtained.

Pirelli

	Comfort	Touring	UHP	All season	Winter	Nordic stud	Nordic soft	Total	%
Pirelli	Cinturato P1	Cinturato P7 (P7C2)	P Zero Corsa PZC4	Cinturato All Season Plus	Winter Sottozero 3	Ice Zero 2	Ice Zero FR
1st	–	0/9	–	0/2	0/14	0/3	0/6	0/34	0.00
2nd	–	1/9	–	1/2	1/14	0/3	0/6	3/34	0.09

The worst press test performer among the premium brands belongs to Pirelli. With the current line up, it has not won any press test while have a 2nd place rate of 12%. Through sponsoring of the Formula 1 tires, Pirelli managed to get a big exposure in terms of marketing. However when it comes to the real deal, the tire products they currently offer does not meet the competitiveness of the other 4 premium competitor.

Summary

Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear & Continental clearly shown that the deserved to be label as premium tire manufacturers as they capture close to 90% of the test wins in the market. Bridgestone & Goodyear may have a couple of good tire lines while Continental & Michelin have a very well diverse winners in all different segments. Pirelli on the other hand, has a major room for improvement 🙂