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
Michelin seems to have found the perfect balance between grip in the dry and the wet; these tyres gripped very well on dry tarmac, yet also managed to avoid understear on wet surfaces, leading the water away to the sides quickly. The dry grip might have been a little bit better if the tyre had been harder, but then I think the wet-weather abilities would have suffered.
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I had these on one of my cars for 20kmiles then when that car went to the graveyard I put them on the Fairmont which has slightly softter suspension. I had to put some more air in as they had lost a little. This caused a high road noise but as the tread blocks wore down the noise went away.
On the Falcon SR Wagon I never found their limits on cornering in fact the SR suspension likes hard acceleration to increase cornering ability. The grip in the wet is also very good, The Pirelli's I had once would fish tail down the dry road if they touched a wet spot. I can't break traction in the wet.
I usually get 70-80k km from a set in 8 months of driving.
Definately recommend them for spirited driving on all types of roads. They have saved me many times from Kangaroo's on the road.
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Not bad tyres, but not exceptional either. Too soft and squidgy for really decent handling but at the same time it's not sliding out of shape on every bend, wet or dry. Similar to Uniroyal Rainsport 2/3 and Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance in feel, slightly better then the Goodyears maybe not quite as nice as the Rainsports. Wear is truly terrible, less than 5000 miles on the front of my FTO. Don't think I'll buy again but for something small and light or a shopping wagon I think these could be a real winner. For a FWD Sports Coupe, find something else. Sadly there's very little choice for the OEM wheel size for me.
Probably the best tire I have ever fitted in my car. Exceptional dry and wet grip, exceptional handling.
What really impressed me the most was the road feedback they give. On slippery surface on open turns (average 80-90km/h) when they begin to reach their limit BEFORE they start to lose grip they sent a subtle, yet noticeable tik-tik, or tapping, feeling to the steering wheel. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but tested it again and again I had the same results. Really impressive, hats off to Michelin engineers.
Not even once was I able to make them squeak. I turned hard, but in the end I stopped trying because the odometer was reading 3-digit figures on country roads. In other words, not once did I feel that I brought them to their limit; rather, they broke ME in ;)
Wear was what a lot better than what you'd expect from a sports tire. At 35.000km when they were replaced, there was still 4.5mm of tread, really nice.
For comfort, I cannot comment, as I seem to be the only one around here not being able to understand whether the tires are comfortable, the sidewalls soft or hard etc. What I can comment on though was the rather high noise they made.
As for fuel economy, they gave me the same consumption as the Energy Savers I had before, increased by a 2%.
If they hadn't been replaced, I would totally recommend them. PS4 should be a better tire, but if I found the PS3s at a considerably lower price than the PS4s, I'd honestly go for them, you can't go wrong.
Good all rounders, not the best at anything but not the worst either. Reasonably flexible so some squirming about in the twisties and a bit too eager to lock up in the wet under heavy braking for my liking but not a bad tyre at all. Wear is pretty bad, Been on less than 6000 miles and down to 2mm, a little bit worse than other similar tyres (Rainsport 3 for example).
Overall a good tyre. Wet and dry very confident but in the tight stuff on the limit produce bad understeer which lets the tyre down in my opinion.
Member
195/50 R15
6,000 miles
A Combination of Roads
Spirited
I cannot fault them in the wet. I can throw it into corners like a lunatic and it sticks like glue. In the dry, once they have warmed up, fantastic. Holds on hard, and let's you know she's gonna let go a good bit of bravery before she does. Love them! Little bit noisy, but pretty good, tread wear has been outstanding. 1mm of tread gone in about 4k miles of hard driving.
I have an Audi A6 Avant Quattro, and these tyres seem to wear fairly quickly compared to my previous experience of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asym.2. For a premium tyre, there is quite a lot of road noise from them, but grip is very good in all conditions. However, when it comes to the next replacement set, I will be going back to the Goodyear's as they are £25 a corner cheaper, quieter, better fuel economy and last much longer than PS3's. For anyone with Quattro / 4WD you need to ensure you have the same on each corner / front and back to ensure the best overall handling, plus a proper 4-wheel alignment.
Coming from Bridgestonet turanza, I needed and found more wet tracktion. Also much more grip in both wet and dry. These tires just claw into corners and roundabouts. Amazing andere fun. Unfortunatelly I miss the precise steering and wear is high when you have fun.
