Summit Ultramax HP vs GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tires

Summit vs GT Radial: Which UHP all-season tire is right for you?

The race to pace is inevitable, especially when you have hot wheels to support. Not all can afford tier 1 brands like Bridgestone, Continental, or Pirelli, so budget brands like Summit and GT Radial come into the picture. Offering a solid lineup of high-performance tires, they offer dependable grip, traction, durability, and tread life in different driving conditions.

Falling in the budget category, the Ultramax HP from Summit and the Champiro UHP A/S from GT Radial are great UHP all-season tires that not only offer great grip, traction, steering response, stability, and durability but also deliver excellent tread life. The Summit Ultramax HP focuses on combining budget-friendly performance with comfort. Utilizing a silica-infused rubber compound and four circumferential grooves, it offers solid wet traction and low rolling resistance.

Conversely, the GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S is on the sportier side, focusing on sharper handling and wet grip. Its Nanometer silica compound and full-depth siping deliver extra biting edges while solid shoulder blocks boost cornering stability. Lastly, both UHP all-season tires are backed by great mileage warranties.

So, which is a better option? Let’s do the Summit Ultramax HP vs GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tires comparison on the basis of their performance in SimpleScore. It’s our in-house scoring mechanism that rates each tire on a scale of 0 to 10 for traction, handling, and longevity. Let’s dive in to ease your buying decision.

Summit Ultramax HP tires

Designed for CUVs and passenger cars, the Summit Ultramax HP is a UHP all-season tire delivering fantastic year-round grip and high-speed stability. Thanks to its four high-angle grooves, the Summit tire quickly removes surface water to prevent hydroplaning and ensure confident wet braking.

Its advanced silica-blend rubber compound lowers rolling resistance for improved fuel economy while resisting uneven wear. Additionally, a continuous center rib gives drivers accurate steering response and enhanced stability, while a computer-tuned footprint reduces noise and vibrations for a smooth and quiet highway ride. It is backed by a 50,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.

Securing a decent 7.8 overall SimpleScore, the Summit Ultramax HP assures confident grip, handling, traction, stability, and longevity in different driving conditions.

Get Summit Ultramax HP tires at the best deals for your vehicle here

GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tires

Engineered for sports coupes and sedans, the GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S is another reliable UHP all-season tire that offers great year-round performance with responsive handling. Its optimized tread design provides dependable grip on dry and wet surfaces, while retaining enough all-weather capability to manage occasional light winter conditions.

The GT Radial tire curbs road noise and vibrations to return a quiet and comfortable ride. Designed for drivers wanting sharp handling without sacrificing practicality, it is backed by a 45,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.

Scoring 7.9 in overall SimpleScore, the GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S is an effective performer in dry, wet, and light winter conditions.

Get GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tires at the best deals for your vehicle here

Summit Ultramax HP vs GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tires on traction

With the overviews of both tires covered, let’s move on to the first category of comparison: traction. The Ultramax HP and Champiro UHP A/S offer solid performance in the grip test, with one of the tires winning by a whisker. Let’s dive into detailed traction analysis.

With an 8.1 traction score, the Summit Ultramax HP returns effective grip and bite on dry, wet, and light wintry conditions. Featuring four wide circumferential channels and high-angle grooves, the Summit tire quickly clears water from its contact patch to avoid the risk of hydroplaning. Its advanced rubber compound ensures consistent road contact in changing weather conditions.

Securing an 8.0 in traction, the GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S assures dependable year-round braking and grip in different driving conditions. Built with an advanced Nanometer silica compound, it improves wet traction and road holding on rain-soaked pavement. Additionally, full-depth siping creates extra biting edges across the tread pattern for surefooted grip round the year, including mild snow.

With slightly better performance, the Summit Ultramax HP starts off with a win.

ADVANTAGE: Summit Ultramax HP

Summit Ultramax HP vs GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tires on handling

High-performance tires are designed to deliver confident handling and cornering on tracks and streets alike. Summit and GT Radial UHP tires are spot on here. The fight to dominate is fierce. Let’s see who nails it.

Achieving an 8.0 in handling, the Summit Ultramax HP offers predictable steering feedback and control in wet and light snow. Designed with tapered tread edges and reinforced sidewalls, the UHP all-season tire delivers high structural stiffness for precise steering feedback and reliable cornering during high-speed drives. A continuous solid center rib improves vehicle stability while returning predictable handling response.

Contrarily, the GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S scores the same 8.0 to deliver sportier handling and cornering year-round. Designed for precise high-speed control, the tire features large tread blocks that increase overall pattern rigidity to maintain structural stability. A solid center rib works alongside these robust blocks to improve steering response and stability, resulting in confident cornering performance during spirited driving.

With the neck-and-neck handling performance, this section ends in a tie.

ADVANTAGE: Tie

Summit Ultramax HP vs GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tires on longevity

Longer tread life is what makes a true value tire, at least for most drivers. Being UHP all-season, both tires have service life to their advantage and also offer impressive tread wear warranties, which further assure their long-lasting nature. Let’s see who wins the longevity battle.

Boasting an 8.2 in longevity, the Summit Ultramax HP utilizes a specialized rubber compound and tapered tread edges to evenly distribute driving forces across its contact patch. By strategically spreading load pressure, it prevents early or uneven tread wear, which improves its overall service life. Providing impressive value, this UHP all-season tire is supported by 24/7 roadside assistance and a 50,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.

The GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S maintains its fantastic score in longevity too (8.0). Engineered with an advanced Nanometer silica formulation and an optimized tread footprint, the Champiro UHP A/S balances driving pressure across the footprint to reduce irregular wear over time. Backed by a 45,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, the GT Radial tire’s uniform wear pattern also improves handling precision and wet grip.

The Summit Ultramax HP claims the last round and wins this comparison 2-0.

ADVANTAGE: Summit Ultramax HP

When to use each

UHP all-season tires are designed to offer superior grip, traction, handling, and tread life in different driving conditions on tracks and streets alike. For drivers who want to enjoy longer tread life and better traction, the Summit Ultramax HP is the tire to go for. Similarly, the GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S is designed for those drivers who prefer sporty handling and improved stability.

However, these tires cannot be used in extreme winter conditions as they are not Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified and hence cannot withstand the harsh environment of freezing temperatures.

While the Summit Ultramax HP is available in sizes ranging between 16, 17, 18, and 20 inches, the GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S offers rim choices from 15 to 20 inches.

Which one should you choose?

To sum it up, both tires are equally matched in their overall performance. However, the Summit Ultramax HP has a slight advantage in traction and longevity. Before buying any tire, it’s always advised to consider your requirements, driving habits, and budget.

That said, let’s see how these compare on price. For the 275/40R20 tire size, each Summit Ultramax HP tire costs around $120, which means the cost of four such tires will be $480. On the other hand, each GT Radial Champiro UHP A/S tire costs around $180, which means four such tires would cost you around $720. The catch in these prices is that the Summit one is speed-rated as ‘W’ (168mph) while the GT Radial earns a ‘Y’ (186mph) rating.

Based on SimpleScore, you may choose the Summit Ultramax HP if you:

• Drive a vehicle like the Chevrolet Impala, Dodge Charger, or Jaguar X Type
• Want a tire that’s offered with a longer mileage warranty (50,000 vs 45,000 miles)
• Want a set of UHP tires that offer better traction (8.1 vs 8.0) and tread life (8.2 vs 8.0)
• Need a UHP all-season tire that’s affordable

On the other hand, you may choose the GT Radial Champiro HPY if you:

• Drive vehicles like the Chevrolet Camaro, Mitsubishi Lancer, and Acura TL
• Prefer a set of UHP all-season tires that comes with a wide range of tire sizes
• Need a set of UHP tires with sportier steering feel and enhanced high-speed stability

Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help, as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.