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Evaluating Ultra High Performance Summer Tires

Tires tested:
Avon Tech M500 Ultra High Performance Summer 225/45R17

• What We Liked: Quiet & comfortable road manners along with good wet & dry traction
• What We'd Improve: Sharpen dry road steering response somewhat
• Conclusion: A well-rounded Ultra High Performance Summer tire that is easy to live with everyday
• Latest Test Rank: 1^st
• Previous Test Rank: 2^nd (April 2005), 1^st (Fall 2004), 1^st (May 2004)
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BFGoodrich g-Force Sport Ultra High Performance Summer 225/45R17

• What We Liked: Good dry traction & sporty cornering
• What We'd Improve: Increase wet traction and reduce tread noise
• Conclusion: A responsive tire that performs well in dry conditions
• Latest Test Rank: 3^rd
• Previous Test Rank: 2^nd (Fall 2004)
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Dunlop Direzza DZ101 Ultra High Performance Summer 225/45R17

• What We Liked: Responsive road cornering
• What We'd Improve: Some more dry grip & much more wet traction
• Conclusion: A responsive tire that needs improvement in wet & dry traction
• Latest Test Rank: 4^th
• Previous Test Rank: Not previously tested
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Fuzion ZRi Ultra High Performance Summer 225/45R17

• What We Liked: Good wet & dry traction
• What We'd Improve: Reduce tread noise, slight improvement in steering response
• Conclusion: A good all-around Ultra High Performance Summer tire that really does perform well
• Latest Test Rank: 2^nd
• Previous Test Rank: 2^nd (Fall 2004)
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Vehicles used:
2006 BMW E90 325i Sedan

It seems that nearly all of today's Ultra High Performance Summer tires are going in a new direction. Many of the popular tires in the category have long featured stylish & functional directional tread patterns designed to look as good as they perform in the wet, by aiding hydroplaning resistance & enhancing wet traction. Sporty cornering & good dry grip were also standard characteristics. But often, all but the most expensive tires in this category tended to be a little unrefined when it came to ride comfort & road noise. Drivers of sports cars & sporty coupes & sedans had to accept a little more tread noise & ride harshness to get the level of summertime cornering they were looking for.

Fortunately for driving enthusiasts, tire designs & tire manufacturing technologies of the lower-priced tires haven't stood still, elevating capabilities & refinement while retaining the value-oriented price point. Most new products benefit from advancements in computer-aided design, test simulations, internal components & better manufacturing techniques, bringing with them more wet & dry performance along with improved road manners.

To get a better understanding of the direction the Ultra High Performance Summer tire category is headed, The Tire Rack team conducted a Real World Road Ride & Performance Track Drive on several of the newer & more popular mid-priced tires in the category. We compared the AVON Tech M500 & its asymmetric tread design with three tires featuring directional tread designs, the BFGoodrich g-Force Sport, Dunlop Direzza DZ101 & Fuzion ZRi. Our evaluation used four identically equipped 2006 BMW 325i sedans, with new, full tread depth 225/45R17 tires mounted on 17x8.0" wheels.

What We Learned on the Road

Our 5.6-mile loop of expressway, state highway & county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city & highway speeds, smooth & coarse concrete, as well as new & patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality & everyday cornering, just as you would during your drive to school or work.

Our ride revealed some noticeable differences, & notable surprises among the group.

Of particular note was the AVON Tech M500's relatively low amount of tread noise when driven across all of the road surfaces along our route, without any of the usual fixed tones or pitches generated by the aggressive directional tread patterns of most other Ultra High Performance Summer tires. The tread noise of the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 was a little louder than the AVON, but also did not have any distinctive pitches or tones. The BFGoodrich g-Force Sport & Fuzion ZRi were rated third & fourth respectively, both generating some noticeable noise at several distinct pitches.

The AVON was also found to offer the best ride comfort of the group, doing an impressive job (for an Ultra High Performance Summer tire) absorbing the bumps along the rougher sections of our route. The Dunlop was rated second, somewhat behind the AVON, while the BFGoodrich was found to be a close third, allowing some impact harshness into the car. The Fuzion was forth overall, but still not objectionable.

In the cornering department, the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 & BFGoodrich g-Force Sport both offered sporty cornering & crisp steering response, with our team giving a slight edge to the Dunlop. The Fuzion ZRi felt somewhat less responsive than the Dunlop or BFGoodrich tires. The AVON Tech M500 delivered overall road cornering appropriate for an Ultra High Performance Summer tire, but as a by-product of its comfortable road manners felt a little less precise or responsive as the other three tires in this test.

What We Learned on the Test Track

Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, lane changes & simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry & wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, cornering & drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.

This group of tires really showed their stuff by performing well during the dry track test. Subjectively, the BFGoodrich g-Force Sport felt the most responsive of the group, with crisp, precise steering. Its hint of gentle understeer may have been the limiting factor, keeping its average lap time just behind the first place AVON Tech M500. The AVON did not feel as responsive as the BFGoodrich, but its better overall balance allowed for faster cornering speeds & a slightly quicker average lap time. The Fuzion ZRi also lapped our test track quickly, but did not have the responsiveness of the BFGoodrich or comfortable balance of the AVON. The Dunlop Direzza DZ101 was responsive on initial turn-in that would transition to gentle oversteer on corner exit, but lacked the ultimate grip of the other three tires in this test.

In the wet, grip levels & overall track performance differences were even more noticeable. Our wet track test is designed to simulate the water depth & conditions found during a moderate rain shower, & is not designed to challenge the hydroplaning resistance of the tires, so we could not evaluate if the directional versus asymmetric tread pattern had any distinct advantage. The Fuzion ZRI & AVON Tech M500 managed to run virtually identical average overall lap times. Without knowing which tire you were driving it would be difficult to tell them apart, as both tires possessed very good grip along with poised, balanced cornering. The Fuzion did demonstrate a small advantage in hard, straight line braking, while the AVON was able to slice through the slalom slightly faster. The BFGoodrich g-Force Sport was a distant third for average overall lap time, displaying moderate understeer as well as plenty of wheel spin under acceleration, & lacking the ultimate grip of the AVON & Fuzion tires. The Dunlop Direzza DZ101 struggled to keep up with the other tires, feeling very slippery during every maneuver (acceleration, braking & cornering), & lapping the course nearly 3 seconds behind the first place AVON.