Who Makes the Best Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires?

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Tire Rack recently put four ultra high performance all-season tires to the test using a 2014 BMW 328i sedan, comparing how each set of tires performed on a dry test track, a wet test track, and a slalom, testing stopping distance and average cornering by measuring g-force, as well as day-to-day driving performance on the road. The team also compared how fuel consumption was affected by each set of tires. The four tires tested were BFGoodrich g-Force Comp-2 A/S, Dunlop Signature HP, General G-MAX AS-03 and Hankook Ventus S1 noble2.

Under the category of Real World Road Ride Ratings, the Dunlop Signature HP scored highest in road ride comfort (7.53) with the BFGoodrich g-Force Comp-2 A/S coming in second (7.44), Hankook’s entry in third (7.30) and General in last (7.01). The Dunlop tire also narrowed out BFGoodrich for noise comfort while BFGoodrich excelled in the category of handling with a score of 7.95. Hankook’s tire was second in handling (7.54) while General was third (7.41) and Dunlop last (7.26). As a result, the BFGoodrich g-Force Comp-2 A/S had the best overall road rating while Dunlop came in second.

When it came to performance on the dry test track, BFGoodrich triumphed with an overall track rating of 7.96. The competition between General and Hankook was tight, with General edging out Hankook 7.27 to 7.26. Dunlop came in last on the dry test with a rating of 7.14.

Performance on the wet test track was a different story, with the Dunlop Signature HP shining, taking the category with an overall rating of 7.45. That’s not to say BFGoodrich’s tire didn’t perform well, as it had an overall rating of 7.44. Performance from General and Hankook were off the mark, with General scoring 6.51 and Hankook netting a 6.45.

SEE ALSO: BFGoodrich g-FORCE COMP-2 A/S Review

On the dry slalom, the BFGoodrich tire continued to shine, although the Dunlop Signature HP was just 0.01 seconds behind. Hankook fared nearly as good as the top two with a time of 5.14 while General lagged behind stopping the clock at 5.21. On the wet slalom, BFGoodrich widened the gap on its competitors, turning in a 5.66 time with Hankook behind at 5.71, Dunlop at 5.72 and General with 5.73.

The recorded lap times on the track followed a similar pattern, with BFGoodrich turning in the best dry lap time with 30.30 seconds. Dunlop and Hankook kept it close with a time of 30.67 and 30.73 respectively, while General finished last on the dry track at 30.99. Dunlop went ahead and took the crown on the wet track, finishing in 34.77 seconds. BFGoodrich finished second with 34.99 while General turned in a time of 35.29 and Hankook wasn’t far behind with 35.59.

When it came to dry braking performance, Dunlop won out ahead of Hankook, BFGoodrich and General. Wet braking performance was a different story, with BFGoodrich leading the pack ahead of Dunlop, General and Hankook. Results for average cornering was similar, with BFGoodrich leading the way in both dry and wet performance. General and Hankook were identical in dry while Dunlop performed the worst. For wet results, Dunlop followed BFGoodrich in the rankings with General and Hankook tying for last.

The most fuel efficient of the four tires were the Hankook Ventus S1 noble2, helping the BMW 3 Series average 30.4 mpg. Dunlop’s tire netted 30.1 mpg and General’s entry returned 29.9 mpg. For all the performance the BFGoodrich g-Force Comp-2 A/S offers, it did return the least fuel economy at 29.4 mpg – 3 percent less than the Hankook tire.