Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3

Name: Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
Brand: Michelin
Rating: 4.2 (303 reviews)

The Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 is a Ultra High Performance Summer tire designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

Tire review data from 303 tire reviews averaging 83% over 4,030,387 miles driven, and 24 tests with an average result of 5th.

Dry Grip 90%

Wet Grip 88%

Road Feedback 84%

Handling 84%

Wear 73%

Comfort 82%

Buy again 80%

First On Market	January 2010
Wheel Size	15 - 19"
Width	195 - 245mm
Profile	40 - 50

Rolling Resistance	C - D
Wet Grip	A - A
Noise (dB)	70 - 72
Winter Rating	Not Winter Rated

The Pilot Sport 3 PS3 is ranked 15th of 147 Summer Ultra High Performance tires.

This tire replaced the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 and this tire has been replaced by the Michelin Pilot Sport 4.

Tests Included

Best Result

2nd

Worst Result

10th

Average Result

5th

Latest Tire Test Results

Michelin Pilot Sport VS EV Specific Performance Tires

3rd of 3 tires

[Tesla OE Tire] Very good aquaplaning resistance, good handling on dry and wet roads.
Long wet and dry braking distances, average rolling resistance, limited ride comfort.
Ok.

View Full Test >>

2016 Test World Performance Tire Test

7th of 13 tires

High resistance to aquaplaning
Poor lateral grip on wet surfaces, longer braking distance on dry roads

View Full Test >>

2016 ADAC Tire Test - 225/45 R17

10th of 16 tires

Particularly good on dry roads, good in the wet
Relatively high wear

View Full Test >>

Size	Fuel	Wet	Noise
15 inch
195/50R15 82 V	D	A	71
16 inch
205/50R16 87 V	D	A	71
195/45R16 84 V XL	D	A	71
205/45ZR16 87 W XL	D	A	71
17 inch
205/40R17 84 W XL	D	A	72
205/45R17 88 V XL	C	A	70
18 inch
215/45ZR18 93/0 W XL	D	A	71
225/40ZR18 92/0 W XL	D	A	71
225/45R18 91 V	D	A	71
19 inch
245/40R19 94 Y	D	A	71
245/40ZR19 (98Y) XL	D	A	71

View All Sizes and EU Label Scores for the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 >>

Questions and Answers for the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3

2016-05-25 - Currently I am using 235/45/18r and planning to change all 4 tires. Can I replace all 4 tires to 235/50/18r?

Whether you can make the swap depends on your vehicle suspension layout offering clearance. Usually there should be enough room, but remember changing tire size affects your vehicle speedo, and is classified as a modification so will need to be declared to the insurance company.

2018-12-31 - Which tires are better for those who tried these 3? RE003 potenza by bridgestone or michelin ps3 or Hankook Ventus 12 evo 2? There is no ps4 option for 15 inch rims.

As far as I'm aware, no one has tested all three officially. The RE003 gets great reviews in America, but the people I know in the UK tend to prefer the Michelin.

2022-05-21 - I have mazda mx5 nb with 195/50/15 and looking for best tires performance and feel(balance) wise. Comfort/noise/fuel are low on priority. Looking for best grip on wet and dry and best balance on wet and dry. Currently stuck between Michelin PS3, Dunlop sport bluresponse, Hankook ventus prime 3 and Hankook ventus prime v12 evo2. Of these 4 the michelin, hankook v12 and dunlop are in uhp range, though ventus prime 3 seems to beat dunlops in most tests and dunlops beat v12 in one test. There is little data on ps3 as they are old now. So could ventus prime 3 (which is basically touring tire) beat older models of uhp tires?

Newer tires generally have better wet grip and braking results which are high priority tests in an overall test result, which is why you might see the Prime 3 doing well. If available we recommend looking into the Maxxis HP5 as that is a nice handling tire in the smaller wheel sizes.

2022-12-22 - Between the Pilot Sport 3 and the Pilot Exalto PE2, which is Michelin’s best performing sporty tire in a 15 inch size in the absence of a 15 inch PS4? Or would a 15 inch Primacy 4 offer similar levels of performance due to it being a newer tire compared to the PS3/Exalto?

This is a question I get asked a lot, but sadly haven't tested it myself. I know a lot of Clio RS owners love the Pilot Sport 3 in their small wheel size so that might be the best option from the Michelin range.

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Size	Price Range
225/40 R18	$318.97 - $318.97 (1 Prices)	Compare Prices >>
245/40 R18	$286.96 - $286.96 (1 Prices)	Compare Prices >>
Available in 17 tire sizes - View all.

Top 3 Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 Reviews

Given 96% while driving a Volkswagen Polo 6R 1.6 (215/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 50,000 average miles

The best tires ever. Has been drive total of 800,000km with my 3 cars. RE003, ZE914, UC6, Pilot Sport, my fav still PS3. Best handling and Price worthy.

Helpful 97 - tire reviewed on December 30, 2022

Given 73% while driving a BMW (275/30 R20) on mostly town for 20 average miles

20,000km distance, Rear tires due for change now. Normal driving, not trashing tires. Good tires for comfort and handling , wear was even. One tire has slow puncture split in tire. Split is on upper surface towards edge, not the side wall. Would use again but will try Hankook next.

Helpful 54 - tire reviewed on February 7, 2023

Given 54% while driving a Nissan Juke (225/50 R17) on a combination of roads for 12 average miles

With these four tires from 2014 to 2022, a total of 19,600 km was driven in the summer (April to October).
Excellent handling and stability on both wet and dry surfaces. Even with strong cornering. Also with the turbo in sport mode.
Big minus. Completely rejected in 2022 at the APK inspection. Profile depth okay.
But all four tires had cracks all the way around the tire sidewalls inside and out. Such that you could see the canvas.
Big disappointment and bought four new tires (Vredestein Ultra Satin).
So never again these Michelin tires!

Helpful 40 - tire reviewed on June 15, 2023

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Latest Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 Reviews

Given 86% while driving a Honda DC2 Integra Type R (195/50 R15) on mostly country roads for 6,000 spirited miles

Really good all rounder for a sporty fwd car. On heavy acceleration a lot of tires just give up and spin freely against the road, car inert.
These make much more of an effort. Sure, there’s still wheelspin but I’ve done a 6.34 to 60 in my stock ITR with these so can’t complain.

Handling is also strong. I feel like I can go round corners as fast as I want - as fast as my ageing 1.8 motor will let me

Helpful 5 - tire reviewed on December 7, 2024

Given 57% while driving a Citroën C2 VTS (195/45 R16) on mostly country roads for 2,500 spirited miles

I drive a citroen C2 VTS and the only size available is 195/45/16. I decided to test the PS3, coming from 3 sets of Yokohama Advan Fleva v701, and i'm quite disappointed. I use the car only for fun (mainly "touge driving") so my review is only for the sportiness of the tire. The grip is ok at slow speed , but the sidewall are very soft and the car moves a lot. In the wet they are pretty good. After 4k kms my fronts are already at the legal limit... for the (high) cost of the tire in relation to the grip they offer, i'll consider something else for sure.

Helpful 9 - tire reviewed on September 16, 2024

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Given 81% while driving a Nissan Micra (195/50 R15) on a combination of roads for 20,000 easy going miles

the michelin pilot sport 3 was fitted on my micra k12 1.2 and i was super satisfied with them. all four tires were fitted at the same time on new wheel rims. i drove around 33k kms with them and still plenty of tread left. it was around approx 4mm tread across all tires. so i guess may be 40% of its life remained.

the first 15k kms were insane. the tires were very responsive and you could feel that they would not let you down. i was very happy with stability especially in fast corners and quick steering where the car remained stable at high speed and the tires responded. I felt much more comfortable driving in the wet with them, i could feel the tires had more grip that in the dry. The tires needed to be fired up to good temperature in order to perform well and once u drove normally around with them, you could easily start going into fast corners at high speed without feeling that the tires would slide. in fact in wet conditions, you could afford to do things you don't normally do when it's raining.

the performance started to drop as the tires started to wear out but it was hardly noticeable. hitting the 20k km mark, driving was still very pleasant and still plenty of tread left but i would say its performance compared to when its new, may have drop approx. around lets say 75%. i think that one could take its life tread away completely and still feel comfortable driving around because their drop in performance is at low rate. well road noise is there like any other tires so they didn't disturbed, in fact it was pleasant hearing them as i could say to any1 'hear my pilot sport roaring' lol will definitely recommend these tires and will buy again in a heartbeat/

Helpful 13 - tire reviewed on April 7, 2024

Tire Reviews Replies

A white bib is a great look :)

Given 83% while driving a Toyota Corolla E11 G6 (195/50 R15) on mostly country roads for 7,000 spirited miles

Changed my tires back in 2015 from Toyo Proxes 4, which I always had in high consideration but after crashing because of understeer and smashing a wheel making it impossible to salvage that tire, I decided to try a pair of Michelin Pilot Sport 3... and what a change and a pleasant surprise it was! Never had another episode of understeer since I'm using PS3's. They have good dry grip but once they are warm they are even better. Wet grip is where these tires really shine and I trust them even more then in the dry, also never experienced aquaplanning. Braking is also very good in both dry and wet conditions. Comfort is ok and they don't make much rolling sound. In my opinion their only weak point is the wear but the grip never gets exasted from brand new till they finish and even if I go below the recommended tread level they're still better then the Toyo Proxes 4. My car has a swapped 4E-FTE engine producing around 200bhp so I abuse from it around 80% of my driving, these tires always make me feel safe in any situation, have been using them for over 8 years now and don't intend of changing to another brand or model.

Helpful 10 - tire reviewed on March 1, 2024

Given 86% while driving a Renault (205/45 R16) on a combination of roads for 250 spirited miles

Quality tires on a 182 Cup are a given. The PS3s are as close as you can get to the bespoke Michelin Exaltos the car came on from the factory. I've had this car for over 15 years, tried various tire brands, but having just put the PS3s on brings it alive & no understeer. Expensive but worth it.

Helpful 36 - tire reviewed on July 19, 2023

Given 87% while driving a Opel Calibra V6 (205/50 R16) on mostly country roads for 12,000 spirited miles

The PS3 was the perfect fit for my Calibra. Rides smoothly, yet grips very well and gives good feedback!
The wear (as most Michelins) has also been outstanding.

I will definitely fit them again, because this size doesn't get the newest tires and I'll happily run them again for another 6-8 years!

Helpful 28 - tire reviewed on July 8, 2023

Given 81% while driving a Renault (205/45 R16) on mostly country roads for 15,000 spirited miles

Performance tire choice in 205/46/16 size is limited, but I've always sworn by Michelin tires and the PS3 live up to my expectations fully for spirited country road driving in the summer and low temperature, wet motorway driving. The Clio 182 originally came on specially developed Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 tires, the Pilot Sport 3 replaced them in roughly 2013, so it's absolutely old tire technology, I don't do trackdays like most Clio Sport owners, mine is a daily, so a semi-slick isn't an option. Very happy with the performance, they're a little noisy and not all that fuel efficient, but that's the price you pay for good tire performance in the dry with this old tire spec. Highly recommended for anyone still daily-ing their old MK2 Clio Sport.

Helpful 36 - tire reviewed on February 11, 2023

Given 96% while driving a Suzuki Swift (205/50 R16) on a combination of roads for 13,000 spirited miles

Using these tires in my Suzuki Swift Boosterjet mostly on dry tarmac but whenever I get into wet tarmac they grip extremely good.

Helpful 39 - tire reviewed on September 6, 2022

Given 96% while driving a Alfa Romeo 145 1.6 Boxer (195/50 R15) on mostly town for 1,000 spirited miles

Amazing tires.. Had Falken Ziex ZE914 before and thought they were great until I tried the PS3.

Helpful 49 - tire reviewed on June 19, 2022

Given 86% while driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI (195/50 R15) on a combination of roads for 22,000 spirited miles

These tires were the perfect match for my GTi, they have a lot of controlled flexion of the sidewalls but when you start to trust them you can go very very fast, the lifespan is incredible for me, my car is all use like spirited driving daily use etc… and these are on 35k km and still going another round! For me the best tire for all round use if i could use some ps4 i would buy them asap because this is my best all round match since it’s awesome wet handling and also on dry surface when you warm them up

Helpful 38 - tire reviewed on June 2, 2022

Given 63% while driving a Ford Focus (235/40 R18) on a combination of roads for 0 spirited miles

Weak sidewalls but not the worst. Good grip in the dry. Have never pushed the tires in wet conditions so can't speak for that. Low noise. Nice comfort.

Helpful 54 - tire reviewed on May 9, 2022

Given 93% while driving a Westfield FW (195/50 R15) on a combination of roads for 2,000 spirited miles

Not many reviews for tires on a Westfield so here goes; I replaced my fairly fresh set of Toyo T1R's which were quite possibly the worst tires you could have especially on a car with 270 BHP per tonne, they understeer and oversteer and were generally terrifying. I picked up a set of second hand 5 year old PS3's which transformed the car. Even though these were 5 years old they offered more grip, were more comfortable and well priced. Only downside would be they maybe aren't the hardest of sidewalls, so handling could be slightly better. The tires are now 7 years old, and have 6mm of tread remaining, I will only be replacing them with a fresh brand new set next year as these are now past their best - however I am very happy with them considering they were still most likely past their best when I purchased them. I cannot comment on wet performance as I do not drive this car in bad weather, however I know these are used a lot as wet tires on track for Westfields and are raved about. If you cannot get PS4 for your car, these are the ones to have.