Bridgestone Turanza ER300 RFT wins Run-Flat Tyre test
13 Oct 06
Emily Henry
Contributing Writer Auto Express Magazine has named
the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 RFT tyre as "Best Buy
2006". The run-flat tyre tests were conducted
independently by Auto Express, as part of their annual
tyre test which asseses a variety of the top-name brand
tyres in areas such as handling and rolling resistance.
The tests were conducted using a BMW 320i, a car
renowned for durability and style.
The marketing manager with Bridgestone UK, expressed the
company's satisfaction with the results: "We have worked
hard for many years to develop a run-flat tyre that
offers consumers the best in performance, safety and
comfort, and this test shows that we're the best at
doing just that." In addition to the Auto Express award
for "Best Buy 2006", last year, Bridgestone UK was
awarded the Product Innovation Award from NTDA for its
run-flat tyres.
The Turanza ER300 RFT beat both Continental and Michelin
run-flats, with Auto Express commenting that they were
"the best performer in the wet". The Turanza ER300 RFT
exceeded all competition in the wet categories such as
wet cornering, and matched competition in straight and
curved aquaplaning. In addition to superb handling in
diverse conditions, the Bridgestone Turanza tyre also
proved to be the cheapest tyre as well as the
outstanding participant for rolling resistance.
The final results showed the Bridgestone Turanza ER300
RFT as top of the rankings, with the Continental
PremiumContact SSR coming in a close second, and the
Michelin Primacy HP ZP in third. Despite its second
place position, the Continental PremiumContact SSR
performed outstandingly in the tests for wet braking,
wet handling, dry braking and interior noise, surpassing
even the Bridgestone Turanza. In the dry braking
category, the Continental tyre stopped 2 metres ahead of
the Michelin Primacy HP ZP, and a full 3.4 metres ahead
of the overall winner, the Turanza ER300 RFT.
Securing third place, the Michelin Primacy HP ZP racked
up points in the noise category, beating the noise level
of the Bridgestone Turanza tyres by 5%. The Michelin
tyre also performed well in the wet braking tests.
However, in the Auto Express report, the Michelin tyre
failed to win a single test and scooped a low place of
15th in the standard tyre test. Although the Auto
Express tests formed disappointing results for Michelin,
a spokesman suggested that the company was not affected,
believing the results to be inconsistent in light of
other independent research. Research conducted by both
Michelin at MIRA, and by the TUV in Germany and the
Czech Republic, contradict the results found by Auto
Express. |
