| Test Summary | |
| Wet Braking |
Dunlop Sport BluResponse |
| Dry Braking |
Continental Premium Contact 5 |
| Wear |
Continental Premium Contact 5 |
| Rolling Resistance |
Dunlop Sport BluResponse Michelin Energy Saver Plus |
| Noise |
Dunlop Sport BluResponse Toyo Proxes CF2 |
Results
Best braking and cornering stability on wet and dry track, high safety reserves.
Low load change sensitivity and low accuracy in the dry.
Cost: 98 Euros
Total: 43.2
Dry
8.6
Wet
9.6
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
8
Overall
9
In the wet, the rain tyres do not make a slip, and respectable performance on dry roads, stable cornering.
Mild deficits in dry braking.
Cost: 83 Euros
Total: 42.8
Dry
8.4
Wet
9.5
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
8
Overall
8.9
When it comes to cornering, the Pirelli is strong in the dry, and on a wet track it is top.
Blemishes in wet braking, aquaplaning and rolling resistance.
Cost: 94 Euros
Total: 41.8
Dry
9.2
Wet
8.8
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
7
Overall
8.8
Balanced handling on wet and dry track, very good dry braking, very low rolling resistance.
Weak in wet braking and aquaplaning.
Cost: 92 Euros
Total: 45.1
Dry
9.3
Wet
8.1
Comfort
9
Rolling Resistance
10
Overall
8.7
Easily controllable and safe tyres with good wet grip and steering precision. Good ride comfort.
Mild deficiencies in aquaplaning and steering response.
Cost: 79 Euros
Total: 42.6
Dry
8.2
Wet
8.9
Comfort
9
Rolling Resistance
8
Overall
8.5
Balanced tire with excellent resistance to aquaplaning, good lateral guidance and good steering feedback
Slight weakness in wet braking and rolling resistance.
Cost: 81 Euros
Total: 40.5
Dry
8.7
Wet
8.4
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
7
Overall
8.4
The Michelin is easy to master and optimised for mileage and rolling resistance, top in the braking on dry roads.
Limited wet performance.
Cost: 101 Euros
Total: 42.3
Dry
8.7
Wet
7.5
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
10
Overall
8.1
The newcomer from Ukraine surprised with good Wet braking and comfort.
Shortcomings only aquaplaning and rolling resistance.
Cost: 65 Euros
Total: 36.1
Dry
7.7
Wet
7.8
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
5
Overall
7.6
Plus points in dry handling through direct and accurate steering.
Serious weaknesses in wet braking and pronounced load change speed sensitive on wet roads.
Cost: 91 Euros
Total: 35.1
Dry
8.2
Wet
6.6
Comfort
6
Rolling Resistance
7
Overall
7.3
At a low level a balanced, quiet tyre
Weak wet and dry performance, low-precision steering, wet roads load change sensitivity issues
Cost: 81 Euros
Total: 34.7
Dry
7.2
Wet
6.6
Comfort
7
Rolling Resistance
7
Overall
6.9
Acceptable properties on dry roads.
Too long wet braking distances. Pronounced oversteer during load changes in wet cornering.
Cost: 71 Euros
Total: 32.7
Dry
7.4
Wet
5.1
Comfort
7
Rolling Resistance
7
Overall
6.2
It is a shame that T001 is not that good as a premium tyre from Bridgestone should be. In several tests it achieved only moderate-low score. Predecessor ER300 was used for many many cars as OE. Is there any car using T001 as OE tyre? I know only about Mazda 6. On the other hand OE tyres are usually tailored to suit the selected vehicle.
Apart from that, you mention Golf 8 in the text. I thought the 7th gen is the latest.
The T001 does have a good number of OE fitments, but we agree it's a shame the tyre generally doesn't test well.
Thanks for the note on the Golf, you are of course correct!
hmm! That was about how I read it. So it would be unduly twitchy on mid-corner lift off & load transfer to the front or, depending on vehicle application, tend to too unlinearly lose grip at one end or the other in a sudden load transfer lateral manoeuvre like a slalom or an "Elk test" lane change. All in all, my inclination is to move it down my "short list". I'd be better off with a less grippy but less snappy tyre.
Bridgestone tyres usually have other advantages covered in this test, notably wear, however at that price point it wouldn't be our first choice of tyre, when the range of tyres on offer in this size is so vast!
My problem is that I live in Australia. Current tyres are Conti EC3 ( a nice wet tyre but no longer available). Short list (after rubbish is excluded) is: Cinturato P1 (the later Verde is not available), Yoko C-drive 2, Kumho KH17 & the T001. That's it! Not a very nice list to choose from.
They're to be rears on a modified rear engined Renault & (unsnappy) lateral wet grip in (compound dependent) merely slick conditions is the only significant criterion applying. I'd love PC5s or PC2s or BluResponse Dunlops or Efficient-grip Performances or Rain sport 3s or P7 Blues... . But 185/60x4 is an obsolescent size in 0z.
Care to recommend on my criteria from my lousy short list?
... bigger wheels? :)
Unfortunately we've no direct experience with any tyre other than the T001 so can't help. For what it's worth, the T001 never felt bad during our own wet testing, but when you're comparing it to such competitive and close rivals, a small weakness can be magnified to a big drop in positions.
Check out the wet braking overview: http://www.tyrereviews.co.u...
yes, I've read all of your listed tests on each of my shortlist (and some you haven't posted but Laneks has).
One thing that was giving me some comfort about the T100 and why it was at the head of my short list until the last two posted tests was the Auto Bild report on their Top 15. To quote:
14th: Bridgestone Turanza T001
Total: 35 / Dry: 7 / Wet: 7 / Rolling Resistance: 6 / Comfort: 6 / Noise: 7 / Wear: 2
Positive: Good performance on a wet track, good safety reserves to aquaplaning
Negative: Very high wear, high price, restricted economy
Sounded awfully like Bridgestone had done what Kumho & Michelin seemed to have (KH17 & Energysaver Plus respectively) & softened off the compound to get a good Euro Wet Braking score. Note the 'high wear' remark. Then the latest two tests came & dented my confidence.
(Yes, the 4CV has wider wheels & quite a lot more done to it. Email me if you're at all interested & I'll send you an article written for a car club.)
Regarding the T001. Maybe I can help with some experience. I bought it for my last car but then sold the car half year later so I cannot comment on wear. I switched from Turanza ER30 to T001. The new tyres felt softer, quieter, more comfortable and with more grip in the wet. On the other hand the steering was notably less sharp. Actually I liked them quite a lot. They were good for long relaxed journeys. Not very good for fun behind the wheel though. Car was Mazda 3 1st gen.
Hmm! Interesting. What is odd is how "soft" you found them in comparison with the fairly consistent mention of good dry handling in a range of tests.
I don't much mind a slighter sloppy structure (my current EC3s are like that) as I simply tauten them with increased pressures. Your remarks on wet grip (& Tyre Review's) are mildly reassuring & I don't care at all about tyre life & wear (if anything, poor wear is a good sign of a nice soft compound).
Maybe, the softness I felt was caused by switching from ER30 which were Mazda OE tyres. I have had several Mazda cars and their OE tyres always felt like they are tailored to provide improved steering response. Or it might be caused by switching from 4 years old tyres to new ones. Hard to say, its just my hypothesis.
I assume that you've read the whole test so can you clarify cum expand upon the t001 comment that it suffered "pronounced load change speed sensitive on wet roads".
Without being part of the test it's hard to fully explain, but it looks like the T001 has issue with direction change in the wet, notably with sensitivity to direction change, which would likely manifest in oversteer.