First Bridgestone, now Michelin ... how come?
Written: Jul 12 '03 (Updated Jan 28 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Grip, good wet performance, relatively low noise, looks
Cons: price, precision
The Bottom Line: A pure breed summer tire for the performance oriented (and budget ignorant) driver.
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| theuerkorn's Full Review: Michelin Pilot Sport Passenger/Performance Tire |
Let me explain the title for a moment before I get into the review. My Honda S2000 comes originally with Bridgestone Potenza S02 tires. After 26,000 miles I was 'desperate' to make the change and picked the Michelin Pilot Sport. Here is why:
COMPARISON BASIS: Bridgestone Potenza S02
In order to understand why, let me give you a primer on the last 26,000 miles. In a nutshell, the OEM Bridgestone are the best good-weather tires I have ever driven. (My comparison base isn't that great but it serves for the Michelin since they're both Ultra Performance tires.)
The grip is great and despite the 240 HP (at 8300 rpm) I can rarely remember to ever spin my wheels on regular pavement. What really stands out though, is the exact handling and crisp response to slightest input of the steering wheel.
Wear under normal driving was within the expectation of Ultra Performance tires. The rear met the wear marker after about 12,000 miles and needed replacement, while the front lasts about 2x as long. In other words, the driven distance of 26,000 miles used 4 rear tires (225/50 - 16YR) and 2 front (205/55 - 16YR).
So if everything is perfect, WHY SWITCH?
As with many things in life, all one needs is one bad experience to loose trust forever. (Just think back to the last time you ate something bad, pretty much the same thing.)
So did the Bridgestone Potenza S02 for me. I found out the hard way that getting close to the wear marker is a screaming: "Need to change tires, NOW!". A combination of cruise control, a thin water layer on the road and somewhat worn tires caused me to spin off the road at 50 Mph, luckily without any side effects. (Straight road.)
Thinking, it was due to the wear, a new rear was installed quickly (a few days later). Improvements were significant, but already 8,000 miles later (little more than half worn) the rear began breaking out (very slightly) in strong rain.
Remember, what I said about a bad experience ... this was it. Too much excitement for my 'old' heart.
Note: The Bridgestone Potenza S01 don't seem to have this issue.
THE FIX: Michelin Pilot Sport
So I spent some time on www.tirerack.com and user forums to figure out a fix for that issue. While not always getting perfect reviews, one thing stuck out for the Michelin: "Excellent grip with good wet performance". Good enough for me ...
Looks: While looks are secondary to performance it might be noted that the tread looks great. However, the tires seem a little narrower than same size Bridgestone due to the rounded edges and the center grooves which essentially split a wide tire into 2 narrow ones.
Tread: These tires come in 2 versions. The V pattern (see picture) for everything below size 235 and W for the range above. Main reason is providing room for water to drain. The two center grooves were not existent in the Bridgestone, hence drainage should be better with the Michelin.
Grip: Since I had no issue with the Bridgestone, I just want to notice that either one grips very well. However, I cannot remember the Bridgestone squeaking under heavy accelleration, but the Michelin certainly seem to loose grip for a split second more often.
Response: A little surprise, but the Michelin feel a little bit less crisp than the Bridgestone. Very slight steering input is not conveyed with the same precision. Noticeable, but by no means dramatic.
Noise: Granted, new tires always are quieter, but the Michelin seem to be extremely low noise up to 55 Mph (on par with the Bridgestone, however). Above that I can interpret a slight "whining" which might be contributed to the tires. Then again, the Honda S2000 is not particularly known to be a quiet car anyway.
Wear: Given that I just installed these tires, little data is available. Please check back for updates. (However, a friend of mine used the same tires on his Z3 and got better than expected mileage out of them.)
Price: Using www.tirerack.com as a comparison basis, the Michelin are about 15% more expensive than the OEM Bridgestone. However, in July 2003 a $50 rebate for buying a whole set of four reduces the difference to under 10%. Given the short life, however, cost is fairly high compared to standard tires. (Average 45,000 mi. tires may be around $400/set, compared to about $1,800 one will have to spend on the ultra performance during the same time frame.)
BEST RUBBER ON THE ROAD?
Alright, this is too big of a statement for me to make with my limited comparison base. However, I can say that wet performance is great. (Duh, they're new tires! ;-) In dry weather, however it's about a toss-up between the Bridgestone and the Michelin.
Either tire might be overkill for standard passenger cars. Given the steep price, applications might be limited to sports cars. (Everybody else might pay for unused potential.)
Both are Ultra Performance tires, which translates into great driving in dry condition but limited usability under severe weather and practically no use in snow and ice. Tires from this category also seem to have the same fatal flaw: Very short life!
Look out for updates, how performance holds up and wear might skew or improve my perception. Right now I expect the Michelin to last about the same distance as the Bridgestone.
Manufacturer website ...
http://michelinman.com/catalog/tires/MichelinPilotSport.html?tiretype=3&tire=1
Note: Ultra performance tires may cheat physics a little, but too fast is still too fast. ;-)
Update (28-Jan-2004):
Had my chance of Winter driving and to my surprise these tires worked better than what I remember the pure breed high performance Summer Bridgestone. Still outperformed by any normal M+S tire, but doable if one absolutely has to drive in snow and ice. (Easy and slow!)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 575/set
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