Like all other summer track tires, the Achilles ATR Sport 2 is built for one purpose — optimal performance. This tire makes no compromises on performance in exchange for all-year usability, unlike all-season tires. It’s an ultra-high performance summer tire, which means it’s supposed to be the driver’s dream on dry roads. It’s also designed to be grippy enough on wet roads.
Overall, it’s meant to be a star performer for sporty uses, and that too, at a pretty humble price point. So if you’re in the market to find the most amount of performance for the least amount of money, the Achilles ATR Sport 2 deserves a close look. In this review, we’ll look at its features, merits, demerits, and whether or not you should buy it. Let’s get started!
Achilles ATR Sport 2 — Features
1. Solid Center Rib
The tire has a solid center rib built into its tread. It forms a straight line for added stability and control at high speeds.
2. Four Wide Circumferential Grooves
Hydroplaning resistance is important in all tires, but it’s especially critical for ultra-high performance tires like the Achilles ATR Sport 2. Hence, it has four deep and wide grooves circling the whole tire that help keep the water out in wet driving conditions.
3. Directional Tread Pattern
The tire’s directional tread design helps improve its dry and wet traction. It’s a pretty common design feature in most tires within the high-performance category.
4. Interlocking Tread Block
The tire’s design features interlocking tread blocks that improve cornering grip and enhance directional stability.
Dry Performance
Just as you’d expect from an ultra-high performance summer tire, the Achilles ATR Sport 2 is outstanding on dry tarmac. It has tons of grip and stability for high-speed driving. Unless you’re in a heavily tuned muscle car with a stupid amount of horsepower, you won’t get any traction struggles, wheelspins, or squealing.
The steering response is thrilling, and any driver would have a fun time behind the wheel with these tires installed. There’s plenty of cornering grip to work with even if you don’t slow down much for sharp turns. The tire brakes sharply too — so not much to complain about in dry conditions.
But dry tarmac is the natural habitat of the Achilles ATR Sport 2. How does it perform in relatively uncomfortable conditions like rain and snow?
Wet Performance
Even in heavy rain, the Achilles ATR Sport 2 provides acceptable levels of traction, braking performance, and cornering grip. Sure, it easily gets bested by competitive high-performance offerings from premium brands, but you shouldn’t compare them with those tires since there’s such a massive price gap.
Even on rain-drenched highways, if a budget performance tire offers usable handling and traction, that’s a win in our books. On that criteria, the Achilles ATR Sport 2 didn’t fail to impress us in wet conditions.
Thanks to the four wide circumferential grooves, the tire has strong hydroplaning resistance. The solid center rib provides great directional stability. Braking distances aren’t too long either. Overall, the tire is pretty good as a daily driver even on rainy days.
Winter Performance
For general cold weather driving, the Achilles ATR Sport 2 remains usable for daily driving. However, if it snows a lot where you live, the tire won’t be of much use in terms of traction, stability, and braking performance. That’s because its tread compound and design aren’t meant for snowy roads — especially if it’s thick snow or icy pavement. In those conditions, you’re much better off with a set of winter tires to avoid accidents and getting stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Ride Quality
You don’t generally expect a plush ride or reduced cabin noise from a full-blown ultra-high performance summer tire. Well, the ATR Sport 2 has a bumpy ride since it’s designed to offer optimal steering response. However, its noise reduction is surprisingly good — especially for a performance tire.
If you’re going at slow to moderate speeds on a smooth road, your passengers won’t have any significant complaints about the ride quality — and that’s pretty rare for summer track tires!
Conclusion
The Achilles ATR Sport 2 is meant to provide uncompromised driving pleasure in the summer. If that’s what you’re looking for, then this tire certainly deserves to be shortlisted for your purchase decision. It’s not as good as its premium alternatives, but it’s also massively more affordable than the industry leaders in its category.
The Achilles ATR Sport 2 offers tons of performance per dollar, and if you’re a value-seeker, this tire could be a solid buy. Unless you get extremely harsh winters where you live, you can’t go wrong with getting a set of these summer tires for your sports car. You’ll have a thrilling driving experience on dry and wet roads at a significant price cut. All the best!