I just received my November '07 issue of Consumers Reports that included a section on all-season ultra high performance (UHP) radials and summer UHP radials. They tested 15 sets of all-season and 22 sets of summer radials using an Audi A3 3.2L test vehicle equipped with 225/40ZR18 tires. Here are the top six all-season and their overall score w/ listed price:

1. Falken ZE-912 (85) - $126
2. Nitto Neo Gen ZR (85) - $92
3. Yokohama Advan S4 (75) - $170
4. Falken Ziex ZE-512 (73) - $96
5. General Exclaim UHP ((73) - $80
6. Continental ContiExtremeContact (72) - $106

Top six summer UHP radials:
1. Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (85) - $209
2. Pirelli P-Zero (84) - $234
3. BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2 (78) - $141
4. Bridgestone Potenza RE 50A Pole Position (77) - $167
5. Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (76) - $158
6. Continental ContiSportContact 3 (76) - $182

CR based their ratings on the following characteristics/categories:

All-season:
* Braking (wet & dry)
* Handling (wet & dry)
* Hydroplaning
* Snow Traction
* Ice Braking
* Noise(both smooth and rough pavement)
* Rolling resistance

Summer:
* Braking (wet & dry)
* Handling (wet & dry)
* Hydroplaning
* Noise (both smooth and rough pavement)
* Rolling resistance

and finally, treadlife (both categories) over a 12,000-mile mixed driving run.

FYI, noisiest tire of those listed (and tested!): BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2.

 

Been running Yokohama S.4's for about 6k miles. Excellent UHPAS tire!

 

wow I've had both Extremecontacts and Falken 912's. What snow and ice did CR use? :-) The Contis were far far better in sub zero temps.

 

I'm inclined to believe the auto enthusiasts at evo over the guys at CR. I'll post a result summary if anyone wants to read it.

 

let's see it

 

First place: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asym.

2nd. Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta
3rd. Contisport Contact 3
4th. Bridgestone RE050-A (NOT the pole position)
5th. Michelin PS2
6th. Pirelli Pzero Nero
7th. Kumho Ecsta STP KU31
8th. Dunlop Sport Maxx
9th. Yoko S.Drive

Tires were tested on a VW GTI, categories were wet handling, hydroplaning resistance (in a straight line and then on a curve), braking, rolling resistance (fuel economy), dry handling, road test (noise, comfort, etc)

Each category scored separately and then results were pooled in the end. This was an interesting test to me because I WAS considering the PS2 but it totally bombed in all the wet tests, and as a Seattle resident that's a problem.

 

The Falken 912s had "Fair" snow rating and "Good" ice rating. The article doesn't state how they tested the tires in snow or ice.

Currently, I have Falken Ziex ZE-512s on both my '96 A6 Avant and '00 VW Passat sedan. Since we get both some snow and a lot of rain here in Western WA, these all-season tires work well for us. But it looks like I should switch to the Continentals next time I need tires.

 

I purchased the 512's fron Discount Tire Direct and ran them for about 6000 miles. Very noisy from the first day. All 4 tires feathered very bad on the shoulders and the noise got unbearable. At first, the tire mounter blamed the alignment. The alignment shop said alignment was fine and said that the tire was probably not the best selection for a 4,000 lb. quattro car.

I called Falken and to their credit, they sent me to Sears Auto Center and exchanged my 512's for the ZE-912 at an 80% pro-rated replacement price. The 912's are night and day better. Much quieter, outstanding dry/wet grip and wear has even.

However, the 912's do flat spot considerably (as did the 512's), even after only 8 hours of sitting! My other problem was trouble balancing the tires. The initial tire balance was very poor (the left front had no weights, while the right front had almost 3 oz of lead!) I took them back to Sears for a rebalance that didn't stop the shimmy. So I ended up taking them to a local dealer that had a Hunter GSP9700 high harmonic road force machine, which did a much better job than the Coats balancer at Sears.

IMHO, for the money, the Falken ZE-912 is a great choice for an Audi.

 

Which tire is that? Is there some other F1 GSD3 version apart from the symmetrical one that we all know?

Interesting to see CSC3 scored much higher in this test. I'm considering them for my next set of tires. I owned CSC2 in the past and was very pleased with them.

 

This link I found is to a UK website. Interesting.

I hated my ContiSport 2s that came with the car, as I think we may have discussed before, but this test certainly has me considering the 3s.<ul><li><a href="http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/repository/Eagle_F1AS/index.jsp">http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/repository/Eagle_F1AS/index.jsp</a</li></ul>