Skip advert
Advertisement

Best tyres: evo Tyre Test 2015 - Braking and rolling resistance and Aquaplaning

The best performance tyres should make your car faster, safer and more enjoyable. Which should you be fitting?

BRAKING AND ROLLING RESISTANCE

The dry braking test was conducted from 100kph (62mph) and the wet test from 80kph (50mph). This was an objective assessment only, based purely on stopping distances. Generally the correlation between dry and wet results was strong, although, notably, the Dunlop ranked fourth in dry braking, but only seventh in the wet test.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The Continental, Pirelli and Goodyear emerged as joint victors. Despite the Continental’s overall superiority in other wet tests (wet handling, aquaplaning, etc), it finished behind both the Pirelli and the Goodyear in the wet braking test. It did, however, win the dry braking test. Conversely, the Pirelli finished first in the wet and third in the dry, just behind the Goodyear.

Curiously, the Vredestein – which generally performed strongly throughout the various tests – managed only eighth in both the wet and dry braking assessments. The Toyo brought up the rear in both tests. 

A tyre’s rolling resistance indicates the amount of energy that is required to roll it along the road. High rolling resistance equals reduced fuel economy. This particular test counts for only a very small amount in our final reckoning as we’re much more concerned with outright performance, but for the record the Goodyear scored its only victory here, while the Yokohama ranked in last position.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

DRY BRAKING

TyrePercentage
1Continental100
2Goodyear98.8
3Pirelli98.4
4=Dunlop98.2
4=Michelin98.2
6Yokohama97.7
7Bridgestone96.4
8Vredestein95.1
9Hankook94.4
10Toyo91.1

WET BRAKING

TyrePercentage
1Pirelli100
2Goodyear99.6
3Continental99.3
4Michelin98.5
5Yokohama94.1
6Hankook93.3
7Dunlop92.0
8Vredestein91.9
9Bridgestone89.8
10Toyo81.7

ROLLING RESISTANCE

TyrePercentage
1Goodyear100
2Dunlop92.7
3Hankook90.6
4Toyo90.5
5Michelin84.5
6Bridgestone83.7
7Pirelli81.8
8Continental81.3
9Vredestein80.1
10Yokohama76.0

AQUAPLANING

If you’ve ever hit standing water on a motorway and felt your car twitch, the steering go light and your heart rate rocket, you’ll understand the importance of this test. 

A tyre aquaplanes when it meets more water than its channels can clear at the given velocity. We tested aquaplaning performance both in a straight line and around a gentle curve, with a water depth of 7mm.

The Continental performed best in a straight line, but it was beaten by the Michelin in the curved test. Curiously, however, the Michelin actually ranked last in the straight-line test, behind even the Toyo, which did lose the curved aquaplaning test.

STRAIGHT AQUAPLANING

TyrePercentage
1Continental100
2Dunlop99.1
3Hankook98.8
4Yokohama98.2
5Vredestein98.0
6Goodyear97.9
7Pirelli97.4
8Bridgestone96.5
9Toyo96.0
10Michelin95.5

CURVED AQUAPLANING

TyrePercentage
1Michelin100
2Continental97.5
3Yokohama91.2
4=Goodyear89.0
4=Hankook89.0
6Dunlop87.9
7Pirelli86.2
8Vredestein83.6
9Bridgestone82.8
10Toyo81.3
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Two new Gordon Murray supercars set for summer reveal
GMA T.50
News

Two new Gordon Murray supercars set for summer reveal

Gordon Murray isn't stopping at the T.50 and T.33, with two new ‘Special Vehicle’ commissions set to be unveiled in August at Monterey Car Week
16 Jun 2025
£15k off an Audi RS6 – 621bhp super estate discounted by over 10 per cent
Audi RS6
News

£15k off an Audi RS6 – 621bhp super estate discounted by over 10 per cent

Audi’s V8 titan is near the end of its life and high-spec examples are now available with big discounts
10 Jun 2025
£8000 savings on Skoda’s Octavia VRS, and you still want an SUV?
Skoda Octavia vRS
News

£8000 savings on Skoda’s Octavia VRS, and you still want an SUV?

Skoda’s Octavia vRS has never been marked down for being too expensive, but with the latest savings to be had it’s even more of a performance car barg…
13 Jun 2025