Owners broadly agree the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S delivers standout dry and wet grip, with over half mentioning strong dry traction and nearly half praising its wet confidence. Comfort is also a common plus for a max-performance tire, though noise is more mixed, with a noticeable minority finding it loud. Longevity gets a more divided reception: many report solid tread life, but around one in eight complain about faster wear or uneven wear, and a smaller group say performance drops off as it wears. A further recurring criticism is a soft sidewall feel, with around one in ten owners reporting less support or precision than expected.
What owners mention most counted across 154 reviews
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on my 2010 VW Jetta 2.0 turbo....The best all around summer tire I have ever driven on. I had never spent $200 per tire in my life, but I can say it was worth every penny. Heavy braking with lots of grip, cornering with a very good feel which took a little time to get used to so I could trust it. Once I got used to it I felt comfortable pushing it in the corners and realized that it has excellent grip cornering. For me, they were not too noisy. The two piece rotors make a little noise, so that may cover up some tire noise. The only down side is that living up here in northern new hampshire, usa, it gets cold in the winter, so I have to remove the wheels off the car and store them in the basement because apparently the tire compound does not like to be exposed the the cold temperatures ( I have these on my summer car which I don't drive in the winter). Highly recommended for Jettas or GTIs.
Coming from runflat tires these are like night and day difference they give much better feedback through the steering wheel the front and feels more planted and the best of all when you go over put all you don’t feel like your teeth are going to be knocked out they do take care of the pumps in the stride. As soon as my rear tires get low I will be putting these on my back as well I have these fitted to the front of my 335D they came with runflat tires are standard What sounds like they’re good idea but they’re really uncomfortable and every time we have a pothole it feels like you’re smashing the room compare to these they take it in their stride front and feels planted give me much more confidence people have been advising me to get these times for a long time I can see why if your BMW owner I can hundred percent recommend these tires dry and wet weather.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
I have always had “performance” cars from Porsche 911, cayman R, Bmw x5m(2017) to name few, so I’ve tried quite a lot of Tires. I have had for 9 months a 18plate C63s coupe, best car I have ever had! Had Contis to start, but replaced Michelin PS4’s and these tires are exceptional, 10 out of 10, these tires are in my opinion unbeatable
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Excellent grip and longevity (As well as reasonable comfort & noise), but let down dynamically by the extremely soft sidewalls - They leave the tire feeling a bit detached and laggy; At the limit it's easier to come quite badly unstuck (With a strong understeer balance on these) due to a lack of feedback, causing you to go direct to terminal understeer without feeling the dropoff - Not a bad tire by any means, but rather boring.
They do fairly well in wet / cold for a UHP summer, but as above, their lack of information at the limit can cause you to find out too late that you're in a bit too hot.
I've replaced these with Cup2s which have done a fantastic job of restoring dynamics and neutrality (Though I've yet to test the wet grip on those!)
I drive the e61 M5 so although I've entered 255.40.19, I also run the 275.35.19 on the rear. I had PS2 on before as I really liked them on my e39 that I had for 8 years and didn't initially want to step away from BMW * rating. However, I'm happy with my set of PS 4 S. Happy that they combine exceptional grip with low road noise. Sad that this pandemic means I can't drive the car as much as I would like. The rim protection is very good and saved the diamond finish on two have to avoid oncoming idiot moments. They seem to have a squarer profile and MoT tester noted a slight rubbing on full lock one side, but they got +ve comment from my garage and people in the know. I can't fault them.
These tires came with the car and to be fair to them, they are very good. Only at the end of life did the all wheel drive with 400hp or so break traction. Cornering was very precise, confidence inspiring in the wet and dry. Even in the cold they performed well. They lasted 25k by rotating them half way. Mine were the acoustic type with a foam band inside. I felt this made zero difference and some report problems getting a repair. I repair my own with tire strings and had no issues with further loss of pressure. The problem I have is justifying £800 for a new set where the tire I have gone to is £160 a set and certainly doesn't have a quarter of the performance. From previous experience the cheaper brand last longer, perform to at least 75% of the Michelin and since I don't tend to drive like an utter t*t I haven't oranges a car in over 25 years.
After purchasing my Golf R estate just over a year ago I have found the need to replace the tires.
The car was originally equipped with Pirelli P-Zeros. With P-Zero fitted the driving experience felt numb, the grip levels low and ride quality can only be described as poor.
I initially believed this was due to the suspension and set out to upgrade the suspension for more spirited driving. I'm doing so this only exaggerated the limits of this tire.
After reading and watching reviews of the Michelin PS4S I decided to change the tires.
The tires have completely transformed the car. Dry weather grip and feel is in a different league. It no longer feels like the sidewall is going to surrender when you start to get enthusiastic on some twisty stuff.
The tire is very progressive in transfer to losing traction and feels very stable under braking. The wet weather capabilities of this tire are just as incredible, they provide so much confidence and grip.
There has been a real Improvement in ride quality by fitting this tire at both high and low speed.
Even throwing more power at the tarmac has yet to effect the dynamics of how this tire performs.
Its hard to see how this tire could be bettered for any enthusiast who enjoys a spirited drive but requires a good all round tire.
I couldn't recommend enough.
Member
Mercedes Benz
255/35 R19 R
6,835 miles
A Combination of Roads
Easy Going
Comfort and handling are good, but high price and non-wearing is the biggest flaw
The best and most outstanding thing of ps4s is wet braking, if not pushed too hard, it feels as if the road is dry. My car is just a 2018-20 c-class diesel with 400NM of torque but weights around 1,600kg(kinda heavy), ps4s is not troubled at all in acceleration (ofc my 4 cylinders cant do a thing to it haha) (lil bit slip on first gear when the tires aren't freshly new) and the highlight is that I can go full brake on wet surface without the feeling that the car is unstoppable, it really surprises me on first impression.
To give this review some context; a full set of the 4S 255/40 and 275/35 went on to the 19" M-167 wheels on my 2007 e61 M5 in May, but what with Covid lockdowns and driving three other cars they have only done 1,118 miles. It had PS2 on before, which I was very happy with and had been happy with on several warm BMWs in 17" and 18", anyway.
The PS4 S were bought after extensive research on Tire Reviews, the Fest and Ferrari Chat etc. They balanced with few weights. I run factory pressures 2.4F and 2.8R but have not lost any air in eight months. I am very happy with the lower levels of cabin noise as I'd rather hear the engine.
I haven't tracked the car since or exceeded the speed limit (officer) ;) ;) but they give me such confidence with steering and in the wet that I'm completely happy with them. On two occasions I have clipped kerbs and the rim protection has saved me from embarrassment. They look as good now as the day they were fitted - no bad points to make.
Just buy them. Wet grip is nearly as good as dry grip. Quieter than I thought they would be. The car feels awesome compared with the ditchfinders the previous owner had fitted. I will be fitting these to all of my cars in the future. I've driven my Cayman over 100 miles in the snow with these on and only had one slide which is unbelievable for a tire that offers this sort of dry performance.
