Continental Winter Contact TS 870 vs Goodyear Ultra Grip 9+: From the previous articles, we know that Continental’s TS 870 reign supreme compare to Michelin Aplin 6 and Bridgestone Blizzak LM005. We would like to explore another premium competitor this time around which is the Good year’s Ultra Grip 9+. It was release in 2019 which is one year later compared to TS870 which was launched in 2020. We will use the test magazine results of 2021 Auto Bild middle European winter tire test as our basis for comparison.
The graph above shows the comparison between Continental Winter Contact TS 870 vs Goodyear Ultra Grip 9+. TS 870 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark. The tire size chosen for the test is the highly popular 205/55 R16 which is commonly used by Volkswagen Golf (2018) and the Toyota Corolla Altis (2018).
Table of Contents
Snow
As the middle European winter is relatively mild compare to the Nordic regions, snow performance is of high importance as snow usually forms around 0 to 2°C. Ultra Grip 9+ had a slight advantage against TS870 when it comes to snow braking. The Goodyear tire was also rank 2nd among the 22 competitors in this category. They were fairly equal in snow traction but TS870 out performs Ultra Grip 9+ in snow handling. Ultra Grip 9+ is clearly a very strong objective snow tire but it lacks TS870 when it comes to snow handling.
Ultra Grip 9+ :
- +0.7% in snow braking
- -0.1% in snow traction
- -1.6% in snow handling
Wet
Apart from snow, the next big requirement is wet as it does rain quite often in middle Europe. Ultra Grip 9+ was lacking in wet in all 3 testing categories, especially on wet braking and aquaplaning where there is a clear deficit. Overall TS870 performs much better than Ultra Grip 9+ in wet conditions.
Ultra Grip 9+ :
- -2.9% in wet braking
- -0.4% in wet handling
- -1.8% in aquaplaning
Dry
Similar to wet, the same story repeats itself in dry. Ultra Grip 9+ was just 0.6% behind TS870 in dry braking while being 2.2% worse in dry handling.
Ultra Grip 9+ :
- –0.6% in dry braking
- -2.2% in dry handling
Wear
Wear results are hard to come by as its a really expensive test but we were lucky enough that Auto Bild has included it into its testing portfolio. TS 870 has an outstanding wear performance with an expected mileage of 45,400 km while the Ultra Grip 9+ has an expected mileage of 36,600 km. This translates to a big deficit of close to 20% difference in wear for Ultra Grip 9+ . As the tire mileage depends on a lot factors such as driving behavior, tire alignment & car setup, these results should be treated carefully and with a pinch of salt.
Ultra Grip 9+ :
- -19.4% in wear
Rolling Resistance
As both the tires have a label “C” rating, we know that the deviation could be up to 15% from the lower end border to the upper end border. It turns out that Ultra Grip 9+ is -3.8% worse than TS870.
Ultra Grip 9+ :
- -3.8% in rolling resistance
Noise
Both tires were tested for external noise and they are were separated by 0.7 dB with the TS 870 quieter than Ultra Grip 9+
Ultra Grip 9+ :
- +0.7 dB in noise
Price
Based on the test report, the prices of the tires were also noted down.
Tire size: 205/55 R16
TS 870: € 95
Ultra Grip 9+ : € 80
Difference: +19% cheaper for Ultra Grip 9+
Summary
Apart from snow braking, TS 870 has shown dominating performances in all other categories. The only downside is the price, but with these strong technical performances, there is a strong argument that you are getting great value. for your money. Our clear recommendation is the Continental’s Winter Contact TS 870 !