New All-season testing...Fresh!

[Spencer@tirerack]

I literally just got back inside from our snow covered test track (pic coming soon for those who haven't seen it before).

Location: South Bend, In
Site: Test track, outside lanes, split in two, wide-oval formation
Temp: 22 degrees
Conditions: Medium wind and cloudy
Track: 2 lanes, 1 packed snow, 1 deeper snow
Vehicle: 06 BMW 325I Sedan (4 cars, same options on each)
Used options: Traction control, ABS
Test subject results: Acceleration, cornering, gradual and sudden braking
Tires Tested: Michelin Pilot Sport AS, Goodyear Eagle F1 AS, Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position, Pirelli P Zero Nero MS

FYI - These posted results are from one person, me, and not reflective of Tirerack as a whole. For those results, they will be displayed on the website at some later point after they calculate the results from each individual who tested them in this facility.

Initially, I had high hopes for some, and expect what I got out of others. From the initial takeoff, I honestly liked the Michelin Pilots the best. They had exellent get up and go from a standstill with little pull out from the back end. The slip and understeer in cornering was noticable, but not overbearing, and was easily made up for by the traction control and good driving skills (yea, thats right).
The Potenzas and the Eagles had a slower initial takeoff time than the Pilots, but held well, especially in the deeper snow areas. The Eagles could grip very close to the slalom on the packed snow potion with little pullback from the gas. They did, however, need more stop time after the hard acceleration and hard stop on the second lap. The Potenzas stopped the shortest distance of any of them.
The Pirelli tires did not impress me even a little bit. The car had to work very to accelerate and maintain speed without the back end pulling out, and I had an exessive amount of understeer on every corner. The hard stop time was ok, however.

I know this is short, but just an initial review before the calculated word gets handed down.