Writing about the
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S given
100% (255-35-19-)
Driving on
mostly country roads for 230
spirited miles
This is an initial impression of the tire as I am finally happy to obtain these tires especially when switching from 16 inch wheels to 19 inch wheels so this should provide an excellent take. With reading some reviews about PS4S having marginal to no differences to PS4 I opted out for PS4S BMW star spec for improved subjective feel as I found regular PS4 lack in feedback under load and inert feel at yaw changes. Dry grip was exhilirating as hell. I am under impression this is a semi-slick tire with more tread! It bites onto the tarmac harder than PS4 ever could which is also heavily influenced by 255 width vs 205 width. Braking feels like having swapped 2 piston calipers with 6 piston calipers which felt similar with the way PS4 was but this tire transmits you every little detail of what you do with the car on the road leading it to inclusive fun as well as having the advantage of a wide tire. Wet wasn't as bad as I had expected, barely any slip unless really hooning it but that is mainly due to lack of heat during the single rainy day however it has so much stick I never felt nervous even when braking. I expected wet braking to be bad but it wasn't, only slightly worse than PS4! Handling is definitely the best I had experienced! It's all I ever seeked of and it really DOES feel like a SEMI-SLICK. While PS4 reduced body roll moderately the PS4S * reduced body roll significantly. It fears no corners at any speeds. The most flat experience I ever had in a car as it has no roll like a go-kart, completely surprised me and it feels so tight on the road. Dry handling is full neutral and can rotate to oversteer if you over-rev and break the balancing in corners. You're never reaching the limits of this tire in the streets ever. It killed the nose heaviness Audis are known for - push to understeer at adhesion is absolutely eliminated and rotates without hesitation whereas PS4 near the limit liked to push the understeer from neutral handling. Wet handling was neutral to oversteer but I hope to experience wet performance more. It was a lot more fun to throw my car around the wet roads but I believe PS4 is better in this field as the oversteer was a lot more controlled and allowed to mash the throttle at wet roads without any slip. Road feedback...like what the hell this is the best tire for it ever! The only tire that ever got a 10 from me. Previous highly scored tires in this category are PS4 and Blizzak DMV2 on another car which got an 8 and the current winter tires WinterContact TS870 P would get only a 7 much like Turanza T001 instead of a 5 this time around. This has all of it! It is so heavy even when variable steering overboosts the assist at low speeds it feels great and makes it fun to drive. On lower levels of assist it feels as heavy as or heavier than the steering I tried on E90 BMW 3 series. The inputs are sharp but quite progressive so it doesn't feel too darty but enough to drive like a maniac. You feel the road perfectly - all that force feedback, yaw changes, braking, slip angle, load up etc. The stiffening of the compound and strenghtening of the sidewalls is a definitive plus for this tire and vastly improved something that was missing in the regular PS4! Regular PS4 had decent heft but it was so lackadaisical it wasn't always fun to drive even if it inspired you to drive spirited. They simply were plagued by the sidewalls and only under limit they felt blissful. This tire massively begs to be pushed and communicates with the driver like no other, it gets me excited! It truly complements my upgraded sport suspension as if they were made for these tires. Can't comment on wear yet but comfort surprised me. For such a chatty tire, feeling so tight and heavy on the steering and with sheer amounts of grip it is shockingly comfortable. Noise is pretty low, I personally felt that regular PS4 tires were a little louder. Rides and drives smooth rounding up the bumps quite well for a 19 inch tire. I really expected worse from this profile of the tire but it does feel due to compound of the BMW star spec tire like you would have highly uprated springs on your car. I suspect PS4 on 19 inch feels exactly the same or similar but without the tight feel because I barely noticed any differences so no issues with comfort even on a wild tire like this! Overall this is the best tire I have ever owned and having the star spec allows it to be on its own level. This is the real deal it feels like a semi-slick even more than regular PS4. I rated it quite low than expected before so regular PS4 tire would get somewhere nearly a 9 from me this time around as it really was a fun tire with tremendous grip especially in the wet but it lacked ultimate handling and feedback due to their touring level sidewalls. This one is a perfect 100% for the time being as it deals with all the tasks and commands I throw at it. It eats the roads like no tire ever and the dynamics of it improved my car to levels I have never thought they were possible. BMW definitely knows how to tune their stuff. Came in with a moderate expectations ended up being highly optimistic. This will be educational for me to find out how they will last over long term because I really see no competition that can beat this tire. It really is a tire that has all-in-one deal and although I want to try other tires, ultimately Michelin has been consistently the best brand for me. Can't wait to find out how mindblowing the PS5S are going to be in the near future.