Last week, we witnessed a comprehensive comparison of winter tire braking distances conducted by Autobild, serving as a qualifier for the major test. Autobild’s serious commitment to tire testing is further demonstrated by the fact that a few days later, a similar braking distance test was conducted, this time focusing on the increasingly popular all-season tires. The test included a total of 37 tires, which Autobild evaluated under both wet and dry braking conditions.
Before reviewing the results, let’s recap the methodology. This time, Autobild measured braking distances on both wet and dry surfaces from an initial speed of 100 km/h, significantly differing from its winter variant, where braking is conducted on snow and wet surfaces from speeds of 50 km/h and 80 km/h, respectively. The test serves as a qualification round for the detailed test, which will feature the top 15 tires.
Autobild also evaluated winter and summer tires to provide reference values within each tire type. The summer tire stopped in 45.6 meters on wet pavement and 34.9 meters on dry pavement, while the winter tire stopped in 54.7 meters on wet and 42.3 meters on dry surfaces.
Examining the winner of the braking distance test, the Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 (★89) tire, which stopped in 50.5 meters on wet pavement and 36.8 meters on dry pavement, we observe that summer tires perform significantly better on wet surfaces, whereas winter tires perform considerably worse. This somewhat defines all-season tires—their weakness is not performance on snow, as one might assume, but rather on wet roads. This is primarily due to having fewer grooves in the tread for water evacuation to optimize snow traction.
It is noteworthy that Bridgestone has long excelled in wet braking. In this test, it stopped 3 meters earlier than the second-placed Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 (★91) and the third-placed Continental AllSeasonContact (★83) 2 (★85), both of which are recognized from other tests as reliable all-season tire models. Bridgestone also performed closely on dry pavement; the difference with Pirelli was only 0.1 meters, while Continental took 3 meters longer.
Test winner
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 (★89)
Dimensions: 185/35R16 - 275/70R21
Number of sizes: 92
Number of tests: 5
Show more details ...The quality of the winner is further evidenced by the fourth-placed tire, the legendary CrossClimate 2 model, which took 6 meters longer to stop on wet pavement compared to the test winner.
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Michelin CrossClimate 2 (★93)
Dimensions: 155/35R15 - 275/70R21
Number of sizes: 121
Number of tests: 5
Show more details ...Other notable positions include Vredestein Quatrac (★92), Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, and Kleber Quadraxer 3 (★86), as well as the unexpected newcomer GT Radial ClimateActive, which we are very curious about in the final test. We are also interested in comparing with Kleber, currently considered one of the few affordable all-season tires.
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GoodYear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 (★79)
Dimensions: 155/30R14 - 315/70R21
Number of sizes: 129
Number of tests: 5
Show more details ...In conclusion, we look forward to the final results, where an interesting competition is sure to emerge. It is also worth mentioning that although Bridgestone won by a large margin, this is partly due to the test methodology, which does not focus on snow performance. Similarly, in last year’s Autobild test, Bridgestone won the braking distance test but had to settle for third place in the final test due to somewhat poorer performance on snow and lower durability.