What Are The Best 17 And 18" High-Performance Tyres?
If you’re running 19 or 20-inch wheels, there are some great tyres available to you. The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, Continental Sport Contact 6 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Super Sport are all tempting ‘ultra-ultra high-performance’ options, but if your car has 17 or 18-inch rims (depending on where you live, in some cases) you won’t be able to get hold of any of these in the right size.
Thankfully, each of these ‘UUHP’ boots has a ‘little brother’. The Michelin Pilot Sport 4, Continental Premium Contact 6 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 are each available in 17 and 18-inch diameters, but which is best? To ensure you’re best informed before going shopping, Jonathan Benson of Tyre Reviews has performed a long-term test of all three using a Skoda Octavia vRS.
So, which is best? We’ll let Jon fill you in, but it’s not a simple answer. Exactly what you’re looking for in your tyres along with how much you’re willing to spend will determine which you should probably go for. From the sounds of it, though, you can’t really go wrong with any one of these three hoops.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
For 17” there ar even michelin ps4cup2 (225/45r17 94y)
There is no Michelin Pilot Sport 4 for my Miata with 205/50 R16 :(
quietly whispers
RE71R
I have 12 inch rims for my Perodua Kancil. None of this fits. SMH
I just run mine until it pops
should’ve also tested 225/45R17, super common tires for sporty/average midsize/compact cars. Specially where I live, as streets are really bad (México) and few compact cars have larger than 17 inch wheels for ride quality reasons. Brands that favor this measurements include KIA Forte (Ceed), Hyundai Elantra (i30 equivalent), Audi A3, BMW 118i, Toyota Corolla, Mercedes A Class / CLA, Seat Leon, etc.
Can only share my opinion. My A3 came with Hankook Ventus S1 Evo (first version) in this dimension from the factory, wich were pretty nice tires. Originally I just wanted wanted to buy a new set of them but they are no longer in production and the newer version 3 had pretty average test results. So I went for Pirelli P-Zeros and I couldn’t be happier. Great grip wet and dry and it’s so much fun to drive windy roads with these. Would definately recommend. :)
It’s not just alloy wheel diameter that matters, but also the profile and tyre width.
I’m currently shopping for 215/40 R17 tyres and not only is there frustratingly little choice in that size but it’s more expensive than similar sized tyres such as 225/45 R17, 215/45 R17 and 225/40 R18.
None of the three tyres above (which are the best UHP tyres right now) are available in 215/40 R17 - at least not Australia.
End result, I am struggling to choose between the second rate options of Pirelli P-Zero Nero, Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE003, ContiPremium Contact 2, and Goodyear Eagle F1 Assy 3.
my dad runs p zero neros all around on his alfa, and has only good things to say about them.. sticky whilst also wearing more slowly than the pilot sport 3s he was running before
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