At PPMC, we understand the confusion many drivers face when buying tires for their vehicles, given the myriad options and brands available on the market.
With that in mind, we have tested dozens of tire models from different brands to assess their summer, all-season, and winter performance.
Check out the details of our evaluations below. Hopefully, they’ll help you pick the right option for your driving style and budget.
PPMC Tire Test Information
- Event: PPMC tire test in 2023
- Took place within: Two weeks, from Sep 4 to Sep 18, 2023
- Location:
- 6850 Indian Mound Rd, Waterloo, SC 29384
- Gulches Off Road Vehicle Park- 6850 Indian Mound Rd, Waterloo, SC 29384
- Testers: PPMC team (Steven Schiller & Henry Speciale)
Both of us evaluated each tire and averaged the results for every category of performance. We aimed to make the scores as reflective of real-life conditions as possible.
Tire Quality Evaluation Process
1. Tested tire models
We selected tires from well-known brands at different price ranges: premium and affordable. Notable names include industry giants like Michelin, Continental, and Bridgestone to less popular brands like Nitto and Yokohama.
You can see for yourself how each company performs, depending on the tire model.
2. Tested tire sizes
Due to time and budget constraints, only common sizes were used for our evaluations. There are limitations for each tire type and car, but we aimed to have a variety of widths and diameters here:
Passenger tires | Light Truck tires | Crossover tires | 4×4 and SUV tires |
---|---|---|---|
205/55R16 | LT225/75R16 | 215/70R16 | 215/60R17 |
215/55R17 | LT235/80R17 | 225/65R17 | 215/55R18 |
225/65R17 | LT245/75R16 | 235/65R17 | 215/60R16 |
235/45R16 | LT245/75R17 | 235/55R18 | 235/65R17 |
235/60R18 | LT265/70R17 | 235/55R19 | 235/50R18 |
245/60R18 | LT275/65R18 | 245/60R18 |
3. Tested vehicles
Similar to tire sizes, we’ve picked popular car models to perform our tests on. The vehicles are all in good condition and come with modern technologies, all to provide a realistic expectation of how the tires will perform when you drive on them.
Brand | Model and Release Year |
---|---|
Honda | Civic (2022) |
Accord (2022) | |
Ford | Escape (2022) |
F-150 (2022) | |
Chevy | Silverado 1500 (2022) |
Colorado (2022) | |
Toyota | RAV4 (2022) |
Highlander (2022) | |
Tacoma (2022) | |
Camry (2022) | |
Hyundai | Tucson (2022) |
Nissan | Altima (2022) |
Tesla | Model Y |
Tire Quality Evaluation Process
Here are the criteria used in our evaluations. It’s important to note that winter performance won’t be an essential part of summer tire scoring, similar to how off-road criteria are largely reserved for all-terrain and mud tires.
We’ll use a 10-point scale, in which 6 is above-average, 7 means good, and 8 and higher mean excellent performance.
Dry performance
Traction and braking – how well the tire grips the road and how quickly it stops
Handling – how easy the tire is to steer and control, including during corners and at high speeds
Wet performance
Traction and braking – how well the tire stops and retains stability
Hydroplaning – the tire’s ability to evacuate water and resist drifting or loss of control
Winter performance
Snow performance – Snow has more grip than ice, which is why snow performance is separate from ice performance.
Wider tires with siping tend to do better in winter conditions than those without these features, and thick snow traction is also considered here in addition to light snow.
Ice performance – This category is important for winter tires, as it shows their ability to perform in the most extreme conditions. Ice is slippier than snow and much more hazardous at high speeds.
Comfort
Noise – How quiet the ride is and how well the tires keep noise from entering the cabin
Smoothness – This is most obvious when driving on bumpy roads. Comfortable tires will eliminate vibrations and make rides more enjoyable, so you don’t feel like you’re being jerked out of your seat at all times.
Off-road performance
This category involves different terrains like dirt, sand, mud, and rock. A versatile tire will work well on all surfaces and remain durable.
Treadwear
Since tire durability is only discernible after we put more miles on it, tread wear is evaluated based on customer feedback in addition to our test results.
2023 PPMC Tire Test Results
1. Summer tires
Model | Overall | Dry | Wet | Road Feedback | Handling | Wear | Comfort | Buy again | Snow grip | Ice grip |
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 | 82.14 | 91 | 87 | 82 | 84 | 72 | 79 | 80 | ||
Michelin Pilot Sport 4s | 86.43 | 92 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 83 | 87 | 82 | ||
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 | 86.43 | 94 | 93 | 82 | 80 | 86 | 85 | 85 | ||
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 | 78.14 | 96 | 58 | 82 | 93 | 60 | 76 | 82 | ||
Michelin Pilot Super Sport | 86.43 | 95 | 83 | 90 | 86 | 83 | 82 | 86 | ||
Continental Extremecontact Sport | 86.71 | 91 | 82 | 84 | 81 | 87 | 88 | 94 | ||
Continental Extremecontact DW | 78.14 | 93 | 89 | 68 | 58 | 69 | 84 | 86 | ||
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 | 81.11 | 91 | 87 | 84 | 88 | 65 | 68 | 77 | 90 | 80 |
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 | 78.57 | 85 | 70 | 81 | 85 | 73 | 76 | 80 | ||
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 | 85.57 | 91 | 88 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 88 | 82 | ||
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 | 86.86 | 93 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 81 | 86 | 87 | ||
Nitto NT555 G2 | 84.71 | 94 | 79 | 91 | 85 | 89 | 81 | 74 | ||
Pirelli Cinturato P7 | 72.86 | 84 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 70 | 74 | 61 | ||
Bridgestone Potenza Sport | 82.71 | 92 | 87 | 92 | 92 | 63 | 75 | 78 |
2. All-season tires
Model | Overall | Dry | Wet | Road Feedback | Handling | Wear | Handling | Buy again | Snow grip | Ice grip |
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 | 81.56 | 91 | 92 | 77 | 87 | 79 | 79 | 88 | 73 | 68 |
Michelin Premier A/S | 68.11 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 81 | 49 | 83 | 43 | 56 | 41 |
Bridgestone Turanza Quiettrack | 58.67 | 78 | 73 | 63 | 73 | 36 | 75 | 42 | 46 | 42 |
Continental Purecontact LS | 66.11 | 87 | 81 | 81 | 85 | 69 | 53 | 45 | 47 | 47 |
Continental Surecontact RX | ||||||||||
Continental Truecontact Tour | 89.89 | 87 | 97 | 71 | 81 | 99 | 94 | 98 | 98 | 84 |
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring | 65.43 | 71 | 64 | 56 | 56 | 99 | 56 | 56 | ||
Cooper Discoverer SRX | ||||||||||
Cooper Discoverer Rugged Trek | 88.20 | 91 | 71 | 81 | 99 | 99 | ||||
Dextero DHT2 | ||||||||||
Firestone Destination LE3 | ||||||||||
General Altimax 365AW | 77.25 | 81 | 81 | 71 | 76 | 76 | 76 | 76 | 81 | |
General Altimax RT43 | 72.00 | 80 | 79 | 82 | 72 | 78 | 71 | 62 | 66 | 58 |
Goodyear Eagle Sport All Season | 72.67 | 93 | 89 | 76 | 80 | 76 | 67 | 60 | 54 | 59 |
Goodyear Assurance Comfortdrive | 66.71 | 64 | 53 | 54 | 76 | 81 | 71 | 68 | ||
Goodyear Assurance Maxlife | 71.71 | 70 | 61 | 51 | 61 | 91 | 69 | 99 | ||
Firestone Weathergrip | 65.25 | 76 | 76 | 81 | 81 | 39 | 49 | 41 | 79 | |
Goodyear Assurance Comfortdrive | 66.71 | 64 | 53 | 52 | 78 | 81 | 71 | 68 | ||
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate | 73.00 | 89 | 81 | 79 | 82 | 78 | 77 | 60 | 58 | 53 |
Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT | 75.89 | 91 | 81 | 83 | 81 | 71 | 90 | 65 | 81 | 40 |
Hankook Roadhandler | ||||||||||
Kumho Crugen HP71 | 67.43 | 61 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 81 | 59 | 60 | ||
Kumho Crugen HT51 | ||||||||||
Michelin – X LT A/X | ||||||||||
Michelin Agilis Crossclimate | 91.44 | 95 | 94 | 81 | 94 | 84 | 90 | 99 | 95 | 91 |
Michelin Crossclimate 2 | 85.56 | 88 | 83 | 76 | 72 | 92 | 95 | 94 | 89 | 81 |
Michelin Crossclimate Plus | 83.44 | 88 | 88 | 83 | 75 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 83 | 75 |
Michelin Crossclimate SUV | 78.67 | 85 | 85 | 76 | 75 | 76 | 79 | 75 | 83 | 74 |
Michelin Defender LTX | 73.67 | 81 | 81 | 79 | 79 | 61 | 89 | 51 | 71 | 71 |
Michelin Defender T+H | 82.86 | 89 | 74 | 84 | 88 | 80 | 86 | 79 | ||
Michelin Latitude Tour Hp | 65.78 | 80 | 65 | 65 | 69 | 74 | 79 | 60 | 57 | 43 |
Michelin LTX M/S2 | ||||||||||
Michelin Primacy MXM4 | 66.56 | 79 | 71 | 79 | 68 | 75 | 66 | 49 | 58 | 54 |
Michelin Primacy MXV4 | ||||||||||
Michelin Primacy Tour A/S | ||||||||||
Vredestein Quatrac Pro | 82.78 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 80 | 80 | 90 | 87 | 71 | 69 |
Michelin X Tour | ||||||||||
Nitto NT05 | 69.71 | 85 | 64 | 84 | 85 | 60 | 44 | 66 | ||
Nitto Ridge Grappler | 88.43 | 96 | 86 | 84 | 84 | 74 | 96 | 99 | ||
Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus | 46.29 | 45 | 27 | 46 | 52 | 52 | 56 | 46 | ||
Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 | 164.00 | 80 | 89 | 89 | 56 | 889 | 64 | 38 | 85 | 86 |
Pirelli P Zero | 68.43 | 85 | 70 | 76 | 72 | 59 | 64 | 53 | ||
Toyo Celsius | 79.00 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 63 | 84 | 82 | 79 | 89 | 84 |
Uniroyal Tiger Paw | ||||||||||
Yokohama Geolandar CV G058 | 85.50 | 90 | 81 | 90 | 72 | 90 | 90 |
3. Winter tires
Model | Overall | Dry | Wet | Road Feedback | Handling | Wear | Handling | Buy again | Snow grip | Ice grip |
Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 2 | 92.11 | 90 | 89 | 90 | 90 | 97 | 95 | 97 | 91 | 90 |
Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 | 81.56 | 71 | 81 | 71 | 70 | 76 | 71 | 99 | 99 | 96 |
Michelin X-Ice Snow | 84.44 | 79 | 80 | 79 | 70 | 85 | 86 | 96 | 95 | 90 |
Firestone Winterforce 2 | 73.56 | 71 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 89 | 76 |
4. All-terrain tires
Model | Overall | Dry | Wet | Road Feedback | Handling | Wear | Handling | Buy again | Snow grip | Ice grip |
Goodyear Wrangler AT Adventure with Kevlar | 77.33 | 85 | 78 | 75 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 67 | 81 | 79 |
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 | 76.11 | 87 | 68 | 74 | 76 | 85 | 74 | 72 | 82 | 67 |
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KM2 | 84.29 | 89 | 69 | 67 | 89 | 93 | 84 | 99 | ||
Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac | 80.56 | 83 | 72 | 80 | 78 | 95 | 72 | 85 | 85 | 75 |
Bridgestone Dueler | 71.43 | 84 | 78 | 78 | 73 | 59 | 76 | 52 | ||
Falken Wildpeak AT3W | 77.00 | 84 | 83 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 85 | 82 | 68 | 65 |
General Grabber ATx | 73.44 | 71 | 81 | 51 | 66 | 99 | 76 | 71 | 65 | 81 |
Goodyear MTR Kevlar | 68.33 | 66 | 54 | 51 | 57 | 84 | 56 | 66 | 100 | 81 |
Goodyear Territory MT | #DIV/0! | |||||||||
Goodyear Trailrunner AT | 53.43 | 61 | 71 | 30 | 40 | 21 | 52 | 99 | ||
Goodyear Wrangler Ultraterrain | #DIV/0! | |||||||||
Goodyear Wrangler Authority | #DIV/0! | |||||||||
Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse AT | #DIV/0! | |||||||||
Michelin LTX AT2 | 87.22 | 91 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 88 | 89 | 86 | 84 | 76 |
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 | #DIV/0! | |||||||||
Toyo Open Country AT3 | #DIV/0! | |||||||||
Cooper Discoverer AT3 | 78.44 | 86 | 81 | 76 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 61 | 89 | 89 |
Conclusion
The right tire ultimately comes down to your driving preference and location. For warm locations with no snow, winter tires are not at all necessary; drivers in these places will be better off with a summer or all-season tire instead.
Meanwhile, opt for snow tires if you frequently drive on ice, and all-terrain models if there’s a lot of rock, mud, or sand where you live.
Check out the top-rated models listed above, and see which one piques your interest the most.