Summer Tire Test by ACE — 2026
Although the calendar winter has not yet reached its midpoint, the publication of summer tire tests has already begun, and the first to be noted were the experts from the European Automobile Club (ACE), who compared the characteristics of ten models in the 225/40 R18 size.
List of participants:
Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo
Nokian Powerproof 2
Tests on dry and wet surfaces were conducted at the Spanish "Jacco-Ring" polygon, owned by Nokian Tyres, and rolling resistance was measured in the company's laboratory in Finland. The tires were installed on the Volkswagen Golf 8.
In the first discipline, the braking efficiency on a dry surface was evaluated, and the driver stopped the car from 100 km/h, which should simulate an emergency situation, for example, when a deer or another animal suddenly jumps onto the road. According to the test results, all tires showed good results, and the best ones with a braking distance of 32.85 m were the recently introduced Bridgestone, which were closely followed by Continental and Michelin, while the result of Nexen was more than two meters worse, but it was also considered acceptable.
In a similar test on a wet surface, the balance of power changed, and the leader was Continental, followed by Bridgestone and Linglong, the only Chinese brand tires among the participants. Nexen again finished last, but now the gap from the best tire was about four meters, which is almost the length of a car.
Another very important factor is resistance to aquaplaning, and in the straight-line test, Nexen were able to partially rehabilitate themselves, taking a place on the podium along with Pirelli and Falken. At the same time, in the tests for resistance to aquaplaning in a turn, Falken were the best, "surfing" at 71.5 km/h, while Pirelli can only withstand speeds around 68.3 km/h.
In the handling test on a dry surface, parameters such as lateral grip, steering sensitivity, etc. were taken into account, and the best ones were Pirelli, Falken, Continental, and Michelin, and Nexen and Linglong were at the end of the rating. A maneuver of sharp lane change ("reconfiguration") was also performed, and here Pirelli again scored the most points, while the rest of the tires showed approximately the same results, and the only exception was Nokian, which lacks reliable grip on the rear axle.
On a wet track, the rating was again "reshuffled", and Pirelli and Falken, which showed themselves well on dry asphalt, found themselves at the bottom of the list. According to the driver, both tires behave less stably than the others and tend to both understeer and oversteer due to reduced lateral grip. At the same time, Linglong unexpectedly surpassed all their competitors, and the experts noted that, along with Nokian and Michelin, the Chinese brand tires impressed with a very high grip when exiting a turn.
The overall rating was also affected by the level of external noise and rolling resistance, and in the first case, the first place was taken by Nexen, and in the second case - by Nokian.
Verdict
This time, there were no outsiders among the participants, and all tires were recognized as worthy of recommendation, and the gold was received by Michelin, which outpaced Continental by just one point. What was somewhat unexpected, Pirelli were unable to receive a "Highly Recommended" rating, while Linglong earned the same number of points as Goodyear, which, of course, will be a reason for pride among the developers of the Chinese company. The last place was taken by Nexen, which have a "Recommended" rating, but the testers noted that, although the Korean brand tires have, for example, excellent resistance to aquaplaning, their braking properties need to be improved.
Source, including photos: ACE