Bridgestone Turanza 6 vs Continental Premium Contact 6: After 5 years of consistent performer in the touring segment, Bridgestone finally bid goodbye to Turanza T005 and introduced the Turanza 6 as its successor in 2023. Touting an impeccable “A” label wet braking line up plus superior mileage and improved fuel/energy efficiency claims, Turanza 6 definitely looks like a top notch tire which you do not mind having with you during the summer days. Let’s put the Turanza 6 with another premium competitor in the form of Continental’s Premium Contact 6 and see who will come out on top !
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Results
Results below were taken from the “Bridgestone Turanza 6 press“. The tests were carried out by TÜV SÜD on the request of Bridgestone. Word of caution here, as these are test data provided by Bridgestone it is hard not to rule out any biases. Even though the test is commissioned by a 3rd party, only wet performances are shown without any data on other performance criteria. Knowing that tires are a target conflict game, being good in one area usually sacrifices performance in other areas. Hence only by evaluating a full performance test would enable us to see truly the full potential of Turanza 6.
A total of 4 tires were tested this time around including Michelin’s Primacy 4+ and Pirelli’s Cinturato P7 (P7C2). The graph below shows the comparison between Bridgestone Turanza 6 vs Continental Premium Contact 6 based on the relevant performance category. The Bridgestone Turanza 6 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
The tire size of interest is 245/45 R18 which is a common tire size for Audi A6 and the Volvo S90. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The tests are tested on 2 different vehicles which are a BMW 520i & BMW 530d.
Wet
The friction of coefficient of the tire/road dramatically decreases in wet roads compared to dry roads. Hence it is more likely to get into a road accident during wet conditions rather than on a sunny day. It was so important that the EU label has wet braking as one of its three criteria. Both Premium Contact 6 and the new Turanza 6 are labeled “A” in wet braking which would set up a very interesting battle.
Based on the wet braking results, Premium Contact 6 managed to out brake Turanza 6 by 0.7m (2.3 feet). This is a relatively short distance compared to the other competitors as Premium Contact 6 is the only competitor which managed to beat Turanza 6 in terms of wet braking. The test was conducted from a speed of 80km/h (50mph) down to 20 km/h (12mph). Lateral wet grip was also tested and this time around the new Turanza 6 was close to 3% better compared to Premium Contact 6.
Straight aquaplaning was a tight affair as both tires are having the same slip speed with Premium Contact 6 edging the Turanza 6 ever so slightly at 0.2%. Curved aquaplaning was also tested and Turanza 6 led the front with close to a 8% advantage against Turanza 6.
Overall in the wet category, Premium Contact 6 excels in wet braking while Turanza 6 excels in lateral wet grip & curved aquaplaning.
Premium Contact 6 :
- +2.1% in wet braking
- -3% in lateral wet grip
- +0.2% in straight aquaplaning
- -8% in curved aquaplaning
Price
The prices for the latest Turanza 6 are not out yet and we will update accordingly once it is in the market.
Tire size: 245/45 R18
Turanza 6 : TBC
Premium Contact 6 : €137
Difference: —
Summary
In summary, it is quite clear that Turanza 6 which mainly focused on wet was unable to dethrone Premium Contact 6 as the best wet braking tire in this segment. However it has some silver lining with a much higher lateral wet grip & curved aquaplaning. However, having not seen the dry, rolling resistance & noise/comfort results , it is hard to determine whether it has the whole package to beat the strong wet braking Premium Contact 6. Having said that, please stay tuned for updates in the upcoming 2023 summer press test season to get the full press test results of Turanza 6 and see whether we can crown a winner !