Summer Tires

Best tires for ultimate warm-weather performance

Ultra-high-performance summer tires and max-performance summer tires are a step up from all-season tires. These are for driving enthusiasts who want the best tires for pure performance on wet or dry roads. They are not equipped for snow and ice at all. Ultra-high-performance and max-performance tires come in 15- to 22-inch wheel sizes. As you'd expect, they have high speed ratings and, usually, high prices. Speed ratings top out at 186 mph with ratings of W, Y or Z.

The highest-rated max-performance summer tire, the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (*Est. $185), is one tire upon which consumer testing experts and real-life users agree. Standard equipment on the likes of Porsches and Corvettes, the pricey Michelin tire delivers good all-around performance in more than one top-ranked test. Which? magazine, a British consumer-testing organization, names it "class leader" in dry grip, adding that it's also competent on wet roads. TireRack.com experts declare it "a benchmark for performance tire driving feel and feedback -- taut and responsive without feeling nervous or edgy. It's a real treat for any driver wanting to be engaged in the driving experience."

Although the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 gets more nods from reviewers than any other max- performance summer tire, it has close competition. In one leading test, it only barely edges out the Pirelli P Zero (*Est. $185), which is also a close runner-up to the Pilot Sport PS2 among consumers posting their own feedback at TireRack.com. The P Zero places last in TireRack.com's most recent expert test of four max-performance summer tires -- but its score is still within a hair of the first-place Pilot Sport PS2. Experts and users don't find any real weaknesses in the P Zero, except they note that it's noisier than the Pilot Sport PS2 and carries higher rolling resistance (which can hurt gas mileage).

CanadianDriver.com reviewer Tony Whitney is also impressed with the latest P Zero tire's wet- and dry-track performance, after testing it at Pirelli's world media launch of the tire at the Dubai Autodrome in the United Arab Emirates. "If you buy a new sports car or sports sedan at the very top of the market, there's a good chance it will be fitted with Pirelli P Zero tires," Whitney writes. He adds a long list of the cars that come fitted with P Zero tires, from Lamborghinis and Ferraris to Volvos and a new Audi model.

Car and Driver testers once considered the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 their benchmark tire. But after a head-to-head test, they now prefer the cheaper Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec (*Est. $130). "The only flaws we could find with the Dunlops were slight: above-average noise and a slight ride penalty, things we are regularly willing to sacrifice for performance when it comes to cars," Car and Driver concludes after putting 10 summer tires through their paces in an exhaustive comparison test. The Star Spec delivers "staggering dry performance" and the best lap time in the wet, feeling "head and shoulders above the other tires, including the benchmark Michelin PS2s."

TireRack.com places the Star Spec in a slightly higher performance category than the Pilot Sport PS2 ("extreme performance" rather than "max performance") and owners rate them both as best in their respective categories, with almost identical scores. Several owners report that the Star Spec grips tightly enough on dry roads that they race on it in autocross events. However, TireRack.com experts rank the Star Spec only third in their recent test of four "extreme" summer tires. The Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 (*Est. $155) wins that test, but it's a close finish, and testers find little to criticize about the Star Spec except the amount of noise it generates. The Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec has a very low government treadwear rating, and several TireRack.com customers originally feared it would wear out too quickly. However, after a year on the market, the Star Spec has unexpectedly earned the highest treadwear rating in its class at TireRack.com.

Fuel-saving summer tires

Recently, all of the major tire companies have rolled out at least one eco-tire -- a low-rolling-resistance tire designed to conserve fuel.

TireRack.com experts decided to test these tires to see if they really do save gas without scrimping on traction. They test two summer-only eco-tires -- the Yokohama dB Super E-spec (*Est. $150) and Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 (*Est. $100) -- against the Toyota Prius's original-equipment tire, the Goodyear Integrity (*Est. $90), as well as some fuel-friendly and regular all-season tires (see our All-Season Tires section for more on how those tires fared in the test).

The verdict? Efficiency-oriented summer tires from Bridgestone and Yokohama really do use less gas than the Toyota Prius' original-equipment tire -- and about 4 percent and 3 percent less, respectively, than a standard all-season tire. The eco-tires also grip wet roads much better than the original-equipment tire, although they give up some dry braking performance and cornering grip.

The Yokohama dB Super E-spec takes eco-friendliness one step further: It's made largely from orange oil, not petroleum. The orange oil is a by-product of the citrus industry and would otherwise be thrown away, InsideLine.com reports. Yokohama also replaced most of the petroleum-based synthetic rubber with natural rubber for an 80 percent petroleum-free tire. InsideLine.com tests the orange-oil tires on a Prius and finds them "mostly fine" on an autocross course, which is much more demanding than the street use they're intended for. Yokohama is already using orange oil in some of its racing slicks as well. "If the focus on renewable tire materials continues to grow, it could result in a significant positive impact on our environment," InsideLine.com concludes.

One summer tire designed specifically for luxury sedans is a particular favorite among European reviewers, and it's available in the United States. TireRack.com classifies the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 (*Est. $155) as a "grand touring summer" tire, noting that it was developed as original equipment for Mercedes-Benz sedans. It also carries Bridgestone's Ecopia symbol, signifying low rolling resistance for better gas mileage. Testers at one U.K. consumer organization find that the Turanza ER300 does save a bit of fuel compared with the average tire, while keeping its grip on dry and wet roads (it's rated just behind the venerable Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 there). It's also a favorite among owners posting reviews at TiresTest.com, including European users. However, we found only two user reviews for this tire at the best U.S. source, TireRack.com, and no U.S. expert reviews.