Michelin Primacy HP

These were the OEM tire on my Scion FR-S. And I hate them. I genuinely think they ruin the car. The limits of grip are low - which is what the engineers of the car claim was the point of choosing this tire - but the handling characteristics on these tires makes the whole car unpredictable and difficult to drive, especially approaching the limits of the tires. Oversteer can happen suddenly, and dangerously when driving spiritedly. The car will snap from understeer to oversteer due to the limit characteristics.
The best thing you can do with these tires is take them to a drift event at your local track and destroy them as quickly and smokily as possible. And it will take a very long time, because they have a *very* long life. Hopefully you can learn some drifitng in the process though.
Ride comfort isn't all that good either.
But I think they are dangerous in the wet.
And this car feels better on winter tires than on these eco-crap-tastic tires.

The current high price of the Primacy HP forced me to choose another tire as a replacement. During my research, I saw a comparison of the Yokahama A052 and AD09 that suggested the stiffer sidewall of the AD09 inspired confidence. I believe the best feature of the Primacy HP is its confidence inspiring stiff sidewall.

Just like the A052 compared to the AD09, my new Yokohama V701s have much higher grip but softer sidewalls than the Primacies. The Primacies always let me feel when they were losing grip and I could control the understeer/oversteer balance with the throttle. A mid-corner dip or bump was easily handled. In contrast, the new tires have higher cornering limits but a mid-corner dip or bump gives an abrupt shift in the understeer/oversteer balance that is a little unsettling.

I normally drive sedately in the wet but when I first bought the car I did confirm it is easy to break the Primacies free and drift in the wet.

The Primacies are no noisier than my new tires on a smooth surface. However, I now know that it was not the stiff suspension of the GT86 that had me avoiding potholes and rough patches, it was the stiff sidewalls of the Primacies.

In conclusion, do not assume the Primacies have a soft sidewall because they are in the Premium Touring category. I replaced them with an Ultra High Performance tire and ended up with a softer ride. Perhaps I should have bought the AD09?

Very solid tyre. I was suprised on how long the tire lasted and held its original grip level. Not until the fifth season of usage did i feel a significant decline in the grip level. Very good all round grip for a normal car and an enthusiast driver ;)

Have YOU got experience with the Michelin Primacy HP? Help millions of other tyre buyers

Review your Michelin Primacy HP >

I am currently on my 3rd set of these OE Primacy HP tires and have tried several other tires (Conti ECS, Michelin PS4S, Hankook RS4, Bridgestone RE-71RS, and Pirelli P0AS+2) on the BRZ. These are the most fun, comfortable, and quietest tires I've had on the car. The quick steering response and linearity makes the car feel lighter on its feet than any of the other tires I have tried. The instant response to direction changes and ability to hold a reasonable rear slip angle without losing lots of speed makes this tire great fun on street or an autocross course. These were the perfect tire for a recent trip to tail of the dragon where I greatly appreciated their millimeter precise ability to place the car and enjoyed feeling the balance of the car at reasonable speeds, then on the 550 mile trip home they are comfortable and quiet. Wet grip is good for the first 10-15k miles, but degrades with wear more than some other tires. I put 31k miles on my first set of Primacy HP, then 23.5k miles on the second with wear accelerated by a season of autocross events, and now have 3500 miles on my 3rd set. I'm glad to be back on a set of Primacy HP after trying a few other tires that don't suit this car as well for street driving.

I have a sporty to very sporty driving style, but I can enjoy a long drive to relax. However, my current tire that was on the car upon delivery, the Michelin Primacy HP does not give me the right characteristics that I would want from a tire. On the long relaxing rides, very good. In the sporty to very sporty driving style, NOT. Even in the rain this tire does not give me the right grip, you get to the point where it loses its grip and turns into understeer without any sign. In terms of safety, he is just too short for me. I can't wait to replace them and finally fit the Michelin Pilot Sport 4!

These came fitted to my car from new. I drive mainly on country roads and motorway. Excellent in every way apart from snow where they are not great, but just as good/bad as other summer tyres. Replaced the fronts at 2mm after 33k miles and the rears are still on at 3mm after 43k miles. These lifespans justify the premium price of the tyres.

These tyres last ages, but that's because they are low grip. They came standard on my GT86 entirely BECAUSE they are low grip and you can drift the car at low speed.

As a performance tyre they are rubbish, as a fun and go sideways tyre, great. A bit scary in the wet at high speed.

My W213 Mercedes came with these as original equipment. As the tyres wore down, the ride and handling deteriorated noticeably. Car felt a bit unstable, moving slightly sideways, when driving through small potholes. Never had this strange feeling with other cars. Increasing air pressure didn't help. Tyres were rotated and lasted about 25,000 miles then I changed to Goodyear Eagle Assymetric 3, which I found quiet, smoother and generally much more pleasant to drive on.

Best tyres I have ever had.I do about 40K miles a year and they served me well. Did 55K miles on the front tyres and the rear ones are on 85K miles at the moment, still about 10K left on them. What more do you want?

I had the tyres on my vectra when bought 8 years ago, the rear are still on it, they have covered about 45k miles and still going, I had 2 sets of different tyres at the front but ended up going back to the michelins, I like their feel, they have decent grip in the dry and the wet and they last a good while.

Everything you would expect from Michelin. Superb Grip wet or dry. Lasted over 40,000 aggressively driven miles. Started to feel pretty horrible once worn down but still gripped well. Replaced with Toyo CF2's which are half the price and to me feel better and grip nearly as well in the wet.

I drive a Ford Grand C-Max 1.6 Eco boost with these fitted on front and back. Have had car from almost new (780 miles) and covered 25000 mls so far - The tyres are still going strong! Even the fronts should last me a few more months until they get down to 3mm. The rears have got loads more tread left on them.
The grip feels good in both dry and wet and they don't seem excessively noisy. Have always gone for mid-range rubber before, but even though these tyres are on the expensive side I reckon they are worth it, so will be buying some more.

Comes as the default tyres set from the authorized car dealer. Been testing out various driving styles on straight roads, corners, slopes, off track, in both dry and wet. Good performance, reasonable comfort, but slightly low mileage on wear particular on sides. Maybe it is due to the regular cornerings in Multi-Storey Car Parks.

This has to be the worse wear rate to the tires I've driven.. worn pretty bad after 35,000km.

Summer : ( All around very good)
Winter : ( Wet not that like i was hopping (7/10) ) for a premium needed be better
Tyres lasted (46,000) Miles on rear had bit left more .
overall very good but on wet feel the difference not like dry .