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How on the Earth the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 is the best in comfort?!
I always find is very comfortable for its class.
Driving exactly the Bridgestone Turanza T005 mentioned in the test. This was my first summer (right now my car has the 16" Dunlop Winter Sport 5 equipped).
So long they have been very efficient (my Fiat has a 6.7 l/100km gasoline usage) compared to the Micheline Premacy 3 it's about 1.2l less every 100km and I manage to drive about 800km with a full tank, which used to be a lot less (~100km difference).
The tire is a bit noisy, but it's not relevant, I only hear the difference, while driving through a tunnel close to the wall and with my windows opened.
For me with an FF car the wet performance is more relevant and this tire gives me all I want.
To explain it in short: while I'm driving a street car and not racing, I do not drive close to the limit on a dry surface, but when the road ahead is wet and the conditions change randomly, my cars limit is blurry, so I want a reliable tire to drive on.
After one season the tires are down to 5mm (front) and 6mm (rear), which is ok for a summer tire.
Great information, feel free to put it on the site here :) https://www.tirereviews.co....
"If you average the dry braking and dry handling results, the Michelin
Pilot Sport 4 is the best dry weather tire overall, with a huge gap
during the dry braking testing."
Hmmm let me see, the best 34.2, the worst 37.1, that is about an 8% difference for dry braking for the two extremes, and no indication of error bars for accumulated different tests, or were they done once only ? Worse still, for dry handling, that is 115.3 worst versus 118.0 best, and is less than a 2.5% difference between so-called extremes. The graphs and conclusions are grossly misleading.
For dry braking as a test, 8% is huge. It's usually a very close test.
I have a set of the yokohama V701 Fleva's on my 2015 Golf GTD, Fantastic tire! if you ignorantly power everywhere... of course no grip but that will be the case with every tire! i find if i attack a corner properly and maintain load on the tires, they have tons and tons of grip. wet grip is a good, but obviously don't drive the car the same in the dry as you do in the wet. these tires are also very quiet and seem to be wearing very well at the moment, iv'e had mine on for 6 months now.
Ill definitely be buying more of these tires!
After reading couple of articles about these tires, it is a bit unclear to me whatever the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 are valid/approved tires for a BMW F10 530xd 2014 model.
Can anyone confirm this for me?
Thanks.
As the PS4 came out after 2014 it's unlikely they will have specifically marque approved this tire for that vehicle, however there's no reason you can't still fit them.
What is your experience with these test in terms - how applicable these would be to different wheel size/width or even load/speed index for tire of the same model and make?
Could you possibly make a video, or an article about the above + few more things?
- load index - how would that translate in your view into handling/comfort (assuming you can have exactly the one car manufacturer requires for the vehicle model, or say way higher than needed index)
- speed index - similar to above? How the construction of the tire changes? is it heavier/better balanced etc?
- thread width - this is something that is not mentioned anywhere, but the actuall thread width is influencing the contact patch with the ground.. yet, same width from different manufacturers differs for that, and it's not even same for different sized of the same tire model!! so 235/45 can have different thread with than 235/35 and so on.. (the only site where I saw this measured was www.tirerack.com, but those are US market tires, most differ to what we can get in europe...)
- tire pressure - what it can influence and how you can "balance" the car by changing the front/back pressure
Would really like to see something like that and learn more.
Thanks, appreciate the great work you are doing!
All good ideas, but the issue with this sort of test is what works for Tire A in Size A won't really apply for other tires of sizes. For example, some tires in 91/97 load rating can be different, or some can be exactly the same tire just with a different sidewall.
I will be doing a tire pressure video, and I've done a tread width video, but that needs revisiting.
This page has nowhere written what it means by "comfort" if it is not a noise level.
Fulda and Dunlop which I have have similar noise levels, but different comfort. What do you mean exactly by "comfort" ? Nothing explained. You should have a glossary of terms.
This is AutoBilds version of comfort, not mine. Subjective comfort scores generally mean how much road imperfection is transmitted through to the cabin.
https://www.autobild.de/art...
I'm also surprised Maxxis didn't put the new VS5 (Victra Sport 5) in the test instead of the HP5 as that would be more comparible to the likes of the asymmetric 5 or the PS4 as a uhp tire where as I was under the impression the HP5 was more like a primacy 4 or effecient grip touring style tire. It's a shame as I want to see some test for that tire as they are talking it up.
Maxxis are really pushing the HP5 at the moment thanks to some excellent internal test results.
Good internal results or not, when they released the VS5 they described it as there flagship tire. So you would think they would like to put that tire in a test like this unless it fails to deliver as well as the HP5 which would be strange. The HP5 compares well with other touring tires. If Maxxis are to go in the same direction as say Hankook for example and start becoming a more premium brand then they should use their most competitive tires.
Glad to see my Sava Intensa 2 getting in the mid field of the test with a good rating overall. So far I have found them to be very good value for money after completing 8k miles so far on the front of my Seat Exeo with 225/40/18. I would have gone for the Fulda of the two Goodyear sub brands but can't find any garages that actually stock them in England. Only seem to be able to get them delivered whereas the Sava is stocked by one major UK chain.
Both brands are difficult to find in the UK!
Hello,
I am currently looking for the best premium tires to suit my needs for my 2015 Volvo V70 T5 (245HP front wheel drive) in the size 235/40 R18. My priorities are above all comfort (damping & noise), as well as fuel consumption. Nevertheless, the tires should have the best possible grip on wet & dry roads to always have a safe feeling. Since I come from Germany, I sometimes drive at higher speeds, if possible ("German Auobahn").
Unfortunately the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymertic 5 are not yet available in size of 235/40R18. That's why I'm currently wavering between the previous GY Eagle F1 Assy3 and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4. Continental tires are out of the question for personal reasons.
What recommondation would you give me?
Both options are perfectly safe and very close in performances, but it seems the Asym 3 might have the slight edge if comfort and noise is your priority.
Thank you very much for the quick feedback!
So you think that the relatively old Assy 3 can still compete with the PS4?
With regards to comfort and noise, yes. It might be a few % behind in other areas, there should be data on the site
Hi again,
the GY Eagle F1 Assy 5 would NOW be available in 235/40R18 as well!
What is your early opinion - will it be as comfortable as the Assy3?
Or should I take the predecessor at the moment to be on the safe side?
Having just tested the 5 compared to the 3, I can tell you it's a more comfortable tire
Thank you for your very fast and helpful reply!!
So would you basically recommend the Assy 5 in comparison to the 3 for now?
Did you find any noticeable drawbacks in your tests?
Now I just ordered the Assy5. I'm looking forward to testing them on my car!
Thanks for all the help. :-)
Let me know how you get on :)
Kumho Ecsta PS71 225/45 r17 comes in the 94Y XL version or 91Y without reinforcement? Because there is a major difference between the two variants. 94Y XL has A Brake and C fuel consumption, and 91Y has A brake and E fuel consumption!
The 245/45 r18 XL also comes in A/C and B/C. So it's interesting to consider this aspect.
I stated that, too. Auto bild says what version they used at their site. Most of the tires were 91Y but there where 94s and Ws. Khumos were the 91Y version. Maybe the differences in label scores are because of different margins according to category.
Auto Bild also do classic tire tests (almost uniquely). Would it be possible to include your standard test report style summaries of them on TR's menu? (The 2018 test was interesting in showing how relatively well a poor modern tire, the Maxxis MAP-I, did in comparison to a suite of classic tires.)
I've not seen these classic tire tests, but would certainly summarise them if I had a copy of the article. I'll look into it!
The 2018 one was in issue #6 with tire size 205/70-14. If you decide to doit, then a backlog of past tests (4 years of?) all at once is my advice.
Whilst I'm in suggestion mode, then please revisit summarising tests from the Australian mags Wheels, Motor & Which Car (all one stable).
Any joy on this yet?
I'll try and pick this up this year if I see any!
Thanks. The merit (for you) of you hunting is that it is a new element for the site.
Thanks for posting this review. I'm considering the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (245/40 R18) but noise and comfort are a top priority for me. Would I be better off with a premium touring tire instead of a high-performance one?
In that sense it seems surprising that the Continental Premium Contact 6 is not better rated for noise and comfort. What about something like the Michelin Primacy 3, would that fare better than the PS4 in terms of noise and comfort?
The issue with noise testing is this test is external noise, which is different from external noise.
This compounds with the fact every car and tire combination behave a little differently, you shouldn't use one test to made your choice. I'd suggest finding similar cars to yours, or at least the same wheel and tire size and seeing which tires are rated highly
I'm quite surprised, as I have read many reports of people complaining about the poor comfort of the PS4 and giving positive feedback on comfort after switching to various equivalents.
Thanks for the great article, once again. I was wondering: we see a lot of summer (dry) tests and winter (snow/ice) tests, but even though the summer tests always include wet braking distances, etc, we never really see a test focused on rain/wet conditions.
Where I live we never get snow or Ice, so what I would like to use is a set of UUHP tires for the summer (considering mainly semi slicks) and the best possible tires in the wet for the winter. So even though Michelin Pilot Sport 4 got great results in the wet, I can't help but think there must be a better set of tires for wet conditions... After all, they're made mainly for dry handling.
Any advice?
Nope, PS4 is pretty much it. It sounds like you're thinking about a rain specific tire as they use in racing, an ultra soft compound, but as we don't have the luxury of changing tires just for when it rains, and they have to work in the dry, they don't really exist. Uniroyal RainSport 3 used to be the rain tire, but it's been best now. Maybe wait for the RainSport 4 ;)
Yeah, RainSport would be the kind of tire I was thinking about. Or Nokian WetProof, featured in this test... I was baffled to see them being best by PS4 on both wet categories(!), however in the "Positive" section of the Nokian, we can read "Wet specialist with the best wet cornering, precise steering, short wet and dry braking distances, low noise." so I was a little confused by that. For an imaginary always-wet winter (hi London!), would you still go for the PS4?
Thanks a lot for your reply, by the way!
Depending on the vehicle and what you wanted from the tire, the PS4 is great. If it's not a sporty car, something more touring orientated like the RainProof is also a good option, or anything inbetween!
Alright thanks for everything! Will probably go for the PS4 ;)
I'm surprised with the good wear results of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4.
I've always considered its purchase but was discouraged by several comments in forums about its very quick wear.
Maybe the wear varies depending on size and/or load and speed rate?
The tire wear depends on many parameters, including the vehicle used for the test. in fact, the kinematics of the suspension/load/tire pressures have a big influence on tire wear (+driving style).
So it's difficult to get an objective answer on forums, that's why these tire tests are very useful with only one car/driver etc. It's even more interesting if the review is done with several tire sizes.
By the way, the Michelin looks excellent and I can't wait to purchase them !
PS4 are great. Michelin is best option for summer tire.
Michelin usually lead the way with wear, so the reports of low mileage on the PS4 was more a surprise than this to me. As Ben says, wear depends on many factors, but these highly controlled tests are usually the best market indicator.
I'm curious how the mag estimates tire life? Surely they don't run each tire on identical cars on the road for the life of each tire? Or do they run for a set period, measure tread depth compared to when new, then calculate likely life?
Exactly that, which is why it's so expensive and so few people do it. They usually run convoys on the road for 15,000 miles rotating the drivers and position of cars in the convoy and then extrapolate the total wear from the starting and remaining tread depth.