Primacy 4 Review: Since the birth of Primacy 4 in 2017, the product has graced us with countless wins and podium place finished in various press test. The aim of this article is to go through every single one of them and hopefully give you an impression on how this touring segment tire performs in relation to its competitors. This would hopefully give you a a feeling about how well primacy 4 performs.
The graphs below shows how Primacy 4 performs in each press test in relation to the performance category. The Y axis on the left shows the percentage difference compare to the best performing tire while the right Y axis shows its ranking for the respective performance criteria. Note that for subjective evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if the tire A is graded 8 while tire B is graded 7, A is better than B by 5%. The natural scaling does not really make sense in evaluation whereby the max number is 10. The 10 press test & its relevant source are shown as below.
- Sport Auto
- Autonavigator.hu
- Auto Bild
- Test World
- Auto Bild All Rad SUV
- ViBilagare
- Quattroruote
- ProMobil
- Tyre Reviews
- Teknikens varld
Table of Contents
Wet Braking
Being a label “A” tire in wet braking , Primacy 4 is known to be one of the best wet braking tires out there. In 2021, it was the best wet braking tire in 2 test while finishing twice as the runner up as well. Its worst every outing was 5th and the biggest deficit was 8.9% against the best tire.
Average Ranking: 3
Recap: As the competition gets stronger every year, Primacy 4 is facing great challenge from all sides. It still shows its winning touch with other non main stream sizes such 235/55 R17 and also 195/55R16 which is not commonly used for press testing. With an average ranking of 3rd & the leading tire in 2 test magazine, Primacy 4 is still a force to be reckon with.
Wet Handling
With a quite strong performance in wet braking as shown in the above section, one might expect an equally good show for wet handling. However the competition prove even much tighter with the Primacy 4 winning 2 test and finishing 2nd once. Its worst every outing was 13th in the huge Auto Bild test (50 competitor) and the biggest deficit was 5.5% against the best tire.
Average Ranking: 5
Recap: Primacy 4 was the best wet handling tire in Sports Auto & Teknikens Varld test with the size of 195/55R16 & 235/55R18. It is fairly consistent in most of the test scoring an average 98% deficit against the best tire. It was also important to note that the Primacy 4 rank a disappointing 13th out of 50 in the Auto Bild test as the competition was extremely strong in this size.
Aquaplaning
Finally the real “weakness’ of Primacy 4 has been revealed. It did poorly in this performance category as Primacy 4 consistently fill the back markers in the test. It’s highest finishing place is 4th while it has an average deficit of 94% against the best tire.
Average Ranking: 7
Recap: Clearly aquaplaning is not the something Primacy 4 would be proud off. Clear improvement is needed for the next generation.
Dry Braking
One of Primacy 4 other core strength comes in the form of dry braking. It managed to back 4 wins while finishing second twice. When it comes to transmission of forces to the surface to maximize braking potential, you can really count on Primacy 4. Its worst ever outing was finishing 10th out of 50 in the Auto Bild test while having an average deficit of 98%.
Average Ranking: 3
Recap: When it comes to braking be it dry or wet, Primacy 4 is highly competitive. Dry braking is definitely one of its strong strength.
Rolling Resistance
With a rolling resistance label of “C”, Michelin was dominating in the rolling resistance category. It managed to beg 5 wins while finishing 2nd twice. This was achieved in a variety of sizes including 195/55 R16, 205/55 R16, 225/45 R17 & 235/55 R18.
Average ranking: 2
Recap: Michelin once again show that they are the masters on balancing the target conflict of rolling resistance vs wet braking. In simple terms, you would want to dissipate energy quickly to achieve a minimum braking distance while on the opposite end you want to conserve as much energy as possible to ensure you do not loose energy just by rolling the tire. Being the top 3 in both wet braking and rolling resistance category just proof how well the target conflict has been handle.
Overall ranking
Due to numerous target conflict that arises when designing a tire, the overall performance package has to be taken into account to fully judge how good the tire is. Primacy 4 was declared the winner in 5 test while coming in 2nd twice. With this results, we conclude that Primacy 4 is definitely a force to be reckon with in 2021 !
Press test winner: 5 x