The GT Radial Champiro is made with a large amount of silica, which improves wet-weather grip and reduces rolling resistance, aiding fuel economy. Large shoulder blocks increase tire stability in corners, and variable-depth sipes are designed to maintain wet-weather performance into the life of the tire.

All of these features are now common, but GT Radial claims greater value due to a lower price of entry compared to most of its competitors, a list which includes the Pirelli and Hankook offerings on hand, but also a host of offerings from Goodyear, Michelin and many more.

First up, I ran the Champiro UHP, listening for road noise, feeling for braking grip on the watered down skid pad and feeling for lateral grip in both the wet and the dry. I also wanted to gain a sense of acceleration grip in the wet.

With stunt driving laws as draconian as they are and modern power being what it is, you’re only one miscued take off from a stop light away from an impound and a license suspension here in Ontario. So that ability to maintain traction from a standing start is important.

The Champiro has a tread pattern designed to reduce road noise, using different sized tread blocks and channels to help manage the sound of the rubber over the road. Next to the two competitors supplied I found it hard to pick a difference in noise. The trio returned about the same results.

Under braking, the Champiro pulled up as well as the Pirelli Zero Nero and fared a smidge better than the Hankook.

The GT Radial couldn’t match the Pirelli in dry braking, and the Hankook tire took the dry corners in its stride best. In the wet slalom I couldn’t split the difference between those three, despite my best efforts.

I should point out that the official government ratings contradict my findings.

UTQG ratings are a broad brush of tire traction ratings mandated by the government. The Champiro UTWQG rating is 500 A A. The number is the treadwear rating with lower worse and higher better. Ratings come in three segments, the first is the treadwear rating described, the second is the traction rating and the third is the temperature rating.

Temperature ratings cover how the tire dissipates heat at high speed. So a rating of C (the worst available in Canada) means the tire dissipates heat at speeds of up to 160 km/h, B up to 185 km/h and A more than 185 km/h.

Connect with Autos.ca