The Best All-Season Tires for Ultra-High-Performance Driving
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of quality tires in high-performance driving. There’s a wide spectrum of options if you’re just using cars to get from A to B. Great summer tires aren’t hard to find either. But they have a limited temperature range and typically don’t last very long. If you enjoy spirited driving all year round, the number of truly grippy and versatile all-season tires is much smaller.
Ultra-High-Performance All-Season tires are a fairly recent development compared to other categories in the industry. First, the demand has to be there to make the business case. Then comes the chore of developing a material that grips across huge temperature and moisture ranges. Making that substance work in a complex design like a tire is even harder. That’s why you’ll find the titans of the industry on this list of the best UHP All-Season tires, as tested by Tire Rack.
Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus led the field on a dry track, but lagged in the wet
Pirelli has been in the rubber business since 1872, and they’ve been using it in car tires since 1901. Suffice to say, the company’s engineers know a thing or two about making treads. Tire Rack’s testing in 2021 found the P Zero All Season Plus to have low noise and sophisticated ride quality. It also set the fastest dry lap on the track and earned the highest cumulative score in the test.
Wet braking performance and traction for the Pirelli were slightly behind others in the test group. The entries from Continental, Goodyear, and Michelin seem to have focused more on this area. Overall, the Pirelli is a solid choice that could use slight improvements for maximum performance in the rain.
Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 is a great all-rounder
The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 also earned high marks for road manners, though not as smooth or quiet as the Pirelli. Traction during braking and cornering in the dry was also impressive. It tied with the Goodyear for the best wet braking manners and came in second behind it for wet traction.
Tire Rack testers did note that the steering feel wasn’t up to par with other tires in the test. Lap times in dry conditions were also slightly behind the pack.
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate has the best wet traction
The Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate was the clear leader in wet conditions. It also clinched the second-fastest dry lap time on the race track. Dry steering feel and cornering traction were the best of the group as well. The Goodyear’s cumulative score was second only to the Pirelli.
True to its ultimate performance on the race track, comfort was a weaker area for the Eagle Exhilarate. The ride was on the firm side and transmitted broken road surfaces through the sidewalls.
Pilot Sport All Season 4 is a solid performer and comes standard on the Corvette C8
The Michelin had admirable scores in many areas, but wasn’t really a standout in any one except for max g-force and dry braking. There it tied for first place with the Continental. It is interesting to note that the run-flat version of the Pilot Sport All Season 4 was chosen for the Corvette C8‘s factory fitment.
Considering the naturally high requirements for this segment, it’s hard to go wrong with any of these tires. For a driver with high standards that is unwilling to compromise, the Ultra-High-Performance All-Season tire category is surely one to watch.
