new Pilot Sport 4S's

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Finally got a chance to put some miles on the new Pilot 4S tires for my sig car.

As you would expect they are terrific. The first 3 days I had them was solid rain every day, and they are simply amazing. They seem a bit better in every performance metric than the PSS's I had.

They are even supposed to last longer. My PSS did over 32k miles which in my car is by far the longest lasting tire ever.

Quiet, smooth and extremely capable is what I like, and these tires fill the bill.

Let the naysayers go to it!
 
They suck, boooooo! (because they only come in wagon wheel sizes!)
I look forward to when the compound is old enough to put into a BFG tire for those of us with old beater/miata rim sized vehicles...
 
Nice choice!

I'm one of the old guys on BITOG. I've always had high performance cars with sticky rubber. I'd say it's no exaggeration to say that I've bought 50 sets of tires in my lifetime. I've bought Yokohama, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Pirelli, Continental, Semperit (going way back), and Michelin (my first set being the iconic XWX).

Without question, Michelin has been the brand that has best met my expectations. One thing about Michelin, they are more likely than the other brands to remain balanced for the life of the tire.

Scott
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
for my sig car.


You keep saying that, maybe you should list your car in your sig?
grin.gif
 
Same experience here. Just stepped up to the Pilot Sport 4S after having run the Pilot Super Sport since it came out.

One always expects a tire to be better than the one it replaces, but the Super Sport was basically magic. Weight, dry grip, wet grip, feel, response, limit behavior, NVH, usable treadlife: you could pick almost any tire on the market, and the PSS would match it in one or two respects and crush it in the others. A few tires could beat it in one or two categories, but they always lost horribly in the rest. For Michelin to put out a tire that matches or beats that in every respect is no small task.

But somehow, they did it. The improvement in wet grip in particular is insane. That was already one of the PSS's strongest points vs. the competition, and somehow the 4S just crushes it.

I just wish the sidewall were a bit stronger. Had the same complaint about the PSS. Its softness dulls the edge of my car's handling responses. That's the one thing I miss about the OE tire.

Overall, though... Man, what an utterly dominant tire.
 
If that thing is better then PSS (I had it on VW CC) then Iw ill def. go and put on my wife's Tiguan. She does not need it, it is overkill, but I just want to see how that is possible. Plus we have snow tires, so no issues there.
 
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Except they only come in 19" and up dammit! Until they come in reasonable sizes, will have to go with the Conti Sports.

They have it in ONE 18" size! lol

Did you mean the new ExtremeContact Sport? If so, then yeah -- that or the Pilot Super Sport would probably be the best option for sizes that the 4S doesn't yet come in.
 
Originally Posted By: edyvw
If that thing is better then PSS (I had it on VW CC) then Iw ill def. go and put on my wife's Tiguan. She does not need it, it is overkill, but I just want to see how that is possible. Plus we have snow tires, so no issues there.

It's MUCH better. Which is insane. If it comes in a good size for your wife's car, you should go for it, no question.

I almost don't think it's possible for a tire to be overkill. If excess performance comes with too much of a downside in another area, then yeah, it's not worth it. But the problem there isn't the excess performance; it's the downside in the other area. For 3-season use, this tire doesn't really have such problems.

Two more points that might be salient:

1. Wet grip: You can never have enough, and this is the area of biggest improvement from PSS to PS4S. I'm struggling to think of a tire that might compete in this area.
2. Longevity: If you measure it from new to poorly performing instead of from new to the wear bars, this is probably one of the longest lasting tires you can buy.
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: edyvw
If that thing is better then PSS (I had it on VW CC) then Iw ill def. go and put on my wife's Tiguan. She does not need it, it is overkill, but I just want to see how that is possible. Plus we have snow tires, so no issues there.

It's MUCH better. Which is insane. If it comes in a good size for your wife's car, you should go for it, no question.

I almost don't think it's possible for a tire to be overkill. If excess performance comes with too much of a downside in another area, then yeah, it's not worth it. But the problem there isn't the excess performance; it's the downside in the other area. For 3-season use, this tire doesn't really have such problems.

Two more points that might be salient:

1. Wet grip: You can never have enough, and this is the area of biggest improvement from PSS to PS4S. I'm struggling to think of a tire that might compete in this area.
2. Longevity: If you measure it from new to poorly performing instead of from new to the wear bars, this is probably one of the longest lasting tires you can buy.

Overkil meaning not sure how fast they warm up. She is super slow driver, so not sure how is their cold performance?
 
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Overkil meaning not sure how fast they warm up. She is super slow driver, so not sure how is their cold performance?

I can't say for sure yet, but here's my feeling.

If you're trying to switch to your winter tires as late as possible, and then switch back as early as possible, then it might be worth looking at the A/S 3+ or something. It might have the edge on stone-cold mornings in late fall or early spring. Maybe.

Otherwise, I'd be completely comfortable on a cold 4S. Or at least, no less comfortable than I would be on any other tire.
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Overkil meaning not sure how fast they warm up. She is super slow driver, so not sure how is their cold performance?

I can't say for sure yet, but here's my feeling.

If you're trying to switch to your winter tires as late as possible, and then switch back as early as possible, then it might be worth looking at the A/S 3+ or something. It might have the edge on stone-cold mornings in late fall or early spring. Maybe.

Otherwise, I'd be completely comfortable on a cold 4S. Or at least, no less comfortable than I would be on any other tire.

Of curse, A/S 3+ is that sweet spot for cold October mornings or evenings. I ran PSS until November of CC, and never felt that they are problematic.
And generally, A/S 3+ might be better option for Tiguan, but PSS were soooo [censored] good, that if these are better, then why not
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Nice to see you know who not thread pooping on this one. A first for everything.


He just hasn't found it yet!
 
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
for my sig car.


You keep saying that, maybe you should list your car in your sig?
grin.gif



Anyone who's been around here knows my car. Chrysler 300C SRT8. I have many other cars and trucks but I see no need to list them. Just not me...
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Same experience here. Just stepped up to the Pilot Sport 4S after having run the Pilot Super Sport since it came out.

One always expects a tire to be better than the one it replaces, but the Super Sport was basically magic. Weight, dry grip, wet grip, feel, response, limit behavior, NVH, usable treadlife: you could pick almost any tire on the market, and the PSS would match it in one or two respects and crush it in the others. A few tires could beat it in one or two categories, but they always lost horribly in the rest. For Michelin to put out a tire that matches or beats that in every respect is no small task.

But somehow, they did it. The improvement in wet grip in particular is insane. That was already one of the PSS's strongest points vs. the competition, and somehow the 4S just crushes it.

I just wish the sidewall were a bit stronger. Had the same complaint about the PSS. Its softness dulls the edge of my car's handling responses. That's the one thing I miss about the OE tire.

Overall, though... Man, what an utterly dominant tire.


I stepped my sidewall down a bit to a 35. 275/35/20 to be exact. My car shipped with 245/45/20. The lower sidewall seemed to sharpen things up nicely. I can change my tire sizes in my tuner so everything remains happy like ABS and ESP.

You forgot to mention their long life. I typically get 20k miles or less on a set, my last PSS's went almost 35k! These may last even longer.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I stepped my sidewall down a bit to a 35. 275/35/20 to be exact. My car shipped with 245/45/20. The lower sidewall seemed to sharpen things up nicely. I can change my tire sizes in my tuner so everything remains happy like ABS and ESP.

You forgot to mention their long life. I typically get 20k miles or less on a set, my last PSS's went almost 35k! These may last even longer.

Have you tried any other high-end tires with better sidewall support?

Part of me really wants to like the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R for my car. I've never run it myself, but from what I've heard it's basically a model for how steering response should feel on a sporty street tire. If its performance weren't so much worse in low temps and on wet roads, I'd have seriously considered it.
 
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