Across driver feedback, the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 (PS3) is widely seen as a strong ultra-high-performance all-rounder with standout wet grip, confident braking, and very good hydroplaning resistance, often making cars feel more stable and secure. Dry grip and handling are generally praised too, with many noting a comfortable, relatively quiet ride for the category. The most consistent downside is rapid treadwear for the price-especially on powerful or hard-driven FWD/AWD cars-along with frequent comments about soft sidewalls that can make steering feel a bit numb or delayed at the limit.
What owners mention most counted across 248 reviews
Bought these for my T Sport after having binned it on the dodgy tires it came with losing all grip in the rain and I must say these are pretty much the best value for money tire you can get for these cars.
I elected to fit wider wheels as well as these so this isn't a like for like comparison, previous wheels only allowing me to go up to 185 safely.
The dry grip is excellent, I drive spiritedly and have never been in a position where the tires are the limiting factor.
For wet grip they're not as good but I've never felt sketchy driving spirited in damp conditions, night and day over the old tires which spun up even looking at rain.
Road feedback and handling is very good, the car doesn't feel disconnected from the road surface. I can't say how these feel on stock suspension, but on lowered suspension and with performance bracing you can most definitely feel everything.
I've not got measurements for the wear specifically but I can say that after 6000 miles there's still a lot of meat left, I'm not worried about them running out of life for a long while.
They are somewhat more noisy than what I had but personally this doesn't bother me, however it may bother you if you just want a sensible daily driver, in which case I'd recommend something else.
All in all, I would definitely buy these again. I recommend them to loads of people as being the best value road tire for these cars.
Excellent hydroplaning resistance, good in dry, numb handling feel, comfortable, soft sidewalls. As long as you're not the type that pushes the car to the limit, this is an excellent tyre. Perfect for family car.
I drive a proton waja fitted with coilovers and stiffen anti roll bars. Needless to say, road feedback is determined mostly by the tyre due to stiff characteristics of the suspension setup. I touge my car up Fraser's hill, Ulu yam,...etc occasionally. Driven on these tyres until it reaches the markers
Here's my opinion, the sidewalls are too soft and causes a delayed response for corner entry or sudden lane changes. This gives the impression of losing control but it's actually all fine. Therefore it's not as predictable at the limits in the dry.
The grip on these are superb and it can almost match semi slicks when it's warmed up. In the wet is where these tyre shine, it gives you full confidence in the wet. Never once hydroplaned in these tyres even after accidentally hitting puddles on highway speeds.
In terms of comfort, it made my car feel very comfortable even though I'm on coilovers, some of my friends and family didn't even notice I'm on stiffen suspension. Noise level is also very low.
It tends to wear on the outside due to the sidewall flex. But running some negative camber managed to balanced it out.
Overall an impressive tyre and would buy again for a family car. For car enthusiasts, you probably want some other tyres which has stiffer sidewalls.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Bought Clio Cup in 2017 with 2 x Uniroyal rainsport 3 and 2 x Toyo T1R fitted - Then fitted new 4 x new Toyo T1R as they had been recommended by a hard core clio nut. I couldn't resist a bargain (having picked them up for £30 per corner).but was never happy with the performance. The dry grip was OK but in the wet they were lethal. Having already switched from T1Rs on my Accord Type R to Michelin Pilot Sport 4 I decided to bite the bullet and get Michelin Pilot Sport 3 for the Clio. Better grip in the dry and now pretty good in the wet too, a great all year round tyre. After 5000 miles the average usable tread depth remaining is 4.6mm (to the legal limit bars). My main criticism is that feedback from the tyre is a little numb. My next tyre upgrade (for summer and track use only) will be Dunlop DZ03G and reduction in wheel size to 15". Moral of the story, never scrimp on tyres, it only costs in the long run. Buy the best available regardless of cost otherwise you never reach your car's potential.
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Weak handling and feedback in dry, they feel spongy all the time. To make it more sharp, buying new Bridgestone T005 (same size) gives you totally different league driving experience.
I bought my 2012 C180 CGI AMG about 6000 miles ago and it came with PS3s in the front. They were DOTxx15, so very high points on wear!
They had about 3 mm of thread when I bought the car and when changed them for the PS4s 10 days ago they still had 2 mm of thread! Main reason of changing before getting to the legal 1.6 mm is that I had a bolt stuck in one of the tire. (Yes, I drove the car for the last 2 months - about 1000 miles - knwoingly that I have an allen bolt stuck in one of the tires).
I was amazed how good they were even at the end of their life - 4 years old and only 2 mm of thread - going hard around roundabouts or cruising at high speeds on the motorway - no issues!
Originally had Pirelli Rosso Tyres on my 2015 A5 S-Line 1.8TSi, seemed to grip ok but first outing out on a motorway revealed terrific tyre noise roar which having been used to a almost deafly silence in a previous car which happen to have Michelins on was quite alarming. Although the Pirelli's were no where near worn I quickly replaced them with some PS3's, straight away this cut the road roar down to an acceptable level, don't have to turn the radio up so much now! The Michelins have also made the suspension a little more forgiving on the S-line's harsh ride and the dry grip is what you would expect from a Michelin.
The one thing it hasn't completely cured is the tramlining which probably is more to due to the width of the tyres and suspension set up,(appears to be a common complaint on the Audi) I have found that reducing the tyre pressure a couple of LBs has slightly improved that issue. Wet grip on quick get away is probably not as good as the Pirelli but again the car is crying out for traction control especially when the weight of the engine/gearbox on the A4/A5 is forward of the front axle.
Worst tyres I have ever used. Bought a Kia cee'd 1.6 gt as an ex demonstrator in July 2018 as a 6m old car. Front tyres replaced at 7300miles. Shocking, I dont drive the car hard nor throw into corners.
Bought Vredestein Ultrac as replacement and will report on longevity. PS3 are shockingly bad
I bought my 2017 Focus ST3 with Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres fitted as standard. The grip of the tyres were very amazing, especially in the dry. In the wet they don't perform as good, but when they road is really wet with standing water, the tyres feel very sketchy and the car feels skittish. The comfort and noise levels are good and the they are remarkably comfortable for such a low profile on such a stiff chassis. I have put about 42'000 km on my set and I am yet to see serious signs of wear. My driving style is dynamic, I do not ever, not drive on the limit whenever I find a great or flat stretch of tarmac, just kidding, but I am an enthusiast. However, when the tyres are cold, they struggle for grip when have more the 400 ft.lbs. Overall, it is a really great tyre.
Iv had 2 sets of these PS3s now, one set on a Ford Fiesta mk6 1.242 and the other on a Ford Fiesta mk6 1.6tdci. These cars arent fast but fun and great to drive. The PS3s have always been amazing in all dry and wet conditions. The wet grip is amazing and compared to some other brands iv used it almost turns wet roads dry.