Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Reviews - Page 8

I’ve owned an F10 535d M Sport for around 6 months of which I love however, one thing that was letting me down was the ride quality. Moving from an older (E90) 3 series, I had higher expectations in reference to ride quality when buying the F10. From the research I did, people attributed the poor ride to a combination of runflats, 19 inch wheels and M sport suspension. I moved from Michelin run flats to Michelin PS4’s and my word, what a transformation! Naturally, the ride is much smoother, doesn’t crash and the tyres are much more quieter when in operation. What came as a surprise was how much feel now comes through the steering wheel inspiring confidence when getting a move on. The steering is now notably lighter and when you plant your foot, the car doesn’t seem to squirm for a split second before deploying the power. Even the rolling resistance when not applying any throttle feels smoother and more natural. These tyres are not cheap but are in comparison to traditional oem runflats. You take a risk when moving away from runflats but a pump and tyre seal in the boot makes the risk worth it for myself, especially with all the benefits I’ve felt so far. In hindsight, my previous setup was unacceptable from a ride perspective and I now understand some of the criticism M Sport suspension receives in comparison to other manufacturers. In summary, spend a little more and you should feel the value.

Bought a new set to replace worn out PZeros on my wife´s 230hp 4WD BMW X1 25i Sport (gas, not diesel), currently with 48K/km. The car has L-IIIA armoring, thus 330lbs. of ballistic protection which puts some extra load on suspension, brakes and of course tires. Incidentaly, the PS4s are XL rated which gives a nice yet slightly firmer ride, perfect for the BMW considering the extra load. Car feels perfect, very pleasant to drive. Also changed original size 225/45R19 for 235/45R19 which increased ~5% sidewall profile, slightly above the 3% recomended by OEM. This made it much more comfortable and probably less prone to damage from potholes, in case we hit one which may happen a few times during its life really. But didn´t interfere with hodometer readings, handling, fuel consumption nor mechanics (shifting gear, the Haldex, etc.), so it´s OK. Looks great too, slightly wider than originals and still low profile enough to keep that sporty look with the 19" wheels. Original rubber was RFTs, too hard and terrible on our badly maintained tarmac. The profile was too low, nice for looks (though not exactly a sport car...) but awful for comfort, safety and performance. Almost ruined the rims. It´s weird because the X1 came with spare emergency wheel, I honestly can´t stand RFT tires and can´t see why BMW specs them here. It´s just not a good match for our terrible streets. Roads are better but still they´re too noisy and fragile. Michelins are great, but depends on model and size. PS4 is a high-end, high-performance tire no matter how we look at it. Maybe not the same feedback as some other sport tires, but in this case it´s a family car - I´m not taking it to the track nor doing crazy stunts with it so doesn´t matter. It certainly offers more performance than I´d ever need, and probably most normal driving people too. Absolutely much more than my wife will demand lol. I was looking for Hankooks but hard to find here in that size I wanted. These PS4s were in promotion and came for almost the same price or lower brands, certianly much cheaper than Contis and even Yokohamas here. Not all sizes, brands and models of tires are currently easy to find so I grabbed them. So far only a few thousand miles of city/road mixed driving, not spirited (wife´s a careful driver and the armoring takes the edge of it), but I´m more heavy footed and I like to accelerate it a little bit whenever possible. Perfect balancing, no funny behavior anywhere, just predictable, smooth handling and overall driving in all conditions (we don´t have snow here). Performance is impressive in both dry and wet. Can´t fault these tires for sheer high-level performance and safety. Can´t comment on wear, I expect them to last a good 20-30% less than normal due to the extra load but plan to sell the car before they wear out anyway so there´s that. But it just grips in wet, even under heavy storm. No acquaplaning, but that would be hard anyway because of the XDrive and also the extra load. They´re not super silent, though a sensible improvement on the worn out, hardened and beat-up PZeros they replaced. I´ve had better with Yokohamas and Contis and even SK and TW made tires, like Hankooks, Kumhos (also good tires). But it´s not a deal breaker, I still prefer the performance and safety over comfort but with all the insulation you still can hear the "rrrrrrrr" especially in bad asphalt. It has some sidewall protection, not too aggressive as with somer other sport tires but enough to give some peace of mind. Our sidewalk curbs are horrible and irregular and if you´re not careful, it can destroy rims and tires while parking. And 19" tires and rims can be expensive, so I´m always asking her to be careful lol. I´d say this also improve the looks and match the "familiar" style of the X1. Overall I´m very satisfied with the PS4, I´ve had Michelin on other cars (and bicycles and motorcyles too) including some sport ones and have always been impressed with their performance. Can´t really go wrong with top tires from top manufacturers really, and now there´s a lot of good offerings from other asian producers as well, with great designs, excellent rubber and matching performance. Sure, their price has also increased but still slightly cheaper than Michelins, Contis and similars. Anyways it´s great to have more options.