We’ve seen plenty of highly informative, detailed tire reviews from Jonathan Benson at Tyre Reviews, but we haven’t seen one quite like this. Usually, he’s exercising the latest tire tech on a range of sporty vehicles, but now we’re getting some proper tire torture. His latest review on ultra-high-performance all-season tires brings a 717-horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat to a rather small track. We can already smell burning rubber.
To Benson’s credit, he keeps the big Dodge surprisingly composed as he shares his findings through wet and dry laps. For this round of testing, the Challenger is shod with seven sets of tires including the BFGoodrich g Force Comp 2, Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus, Atlas Force, General G Max AS 05, Vredestein Hypertrack, Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3, and the Falken Azenis FK460. Benson notes that the Pirelli and Falken tires are brand-new models this year, with this test basically being a first look at how they stack up to the competition.
As per usual, the test looks at wet and dry handling along with braking, comfort, and noise. On that last bit, if you’re thinking it might be hard to gauge tire noise in a throaty muscle car with gobs of supercharger whine, you’re not wrong. Benson acknowledges it’s very tough to reach a consensus there, but he does give a parting mention to Continental in this segment. And it’s not the only nod to Continental in this review – the tire ranks at the top for wet handling and dry braking, and second for dry handling and wet braking.
The newcomer in Pirelli’s lineup also garnered high marks, notably with wet braking and dry handling where it ranked first. The other new tire – the FalkenAzenis FK460 – made a good showing by consistently ranking third behind Pirelli and Continental save for dry braking, where it snickered into second.
In fact, the overall performance of these three tires led Benson to effectively break them into a group of their own for the final evaluation. In the conclusion, he considers other factors such as treadwear, warranty, and cost, and offers multiple interpretations of a winner based on the subjective needs of buyers. He also plugs all of this info into the Tyre Reviews website, allowing folks to tweak the system and use the data to find the best tires for individual needs.
As for the Hellcat, some say folks are still trying to clear rubber from the rear fenders. All in a day’s work, right Mr. Benson?
