Michelin pilot sport all season tires

mikshan · Jul 30, 2003, 12:35 PM

Anyone have any experience with michelin pilot sport all season tires?I live in the chicago area and will need something that works in the snow when my advans are shot and dont want the hassle of changing back and forth between winter and summer tires.Any opinions of people that actually use these tires on their evo's or other vehicles would be appreciated.

Neal@tirerack. · Jul 30, 2003, 12:44 PM

The Michelin Pilot Sport AS is an excellent performance all-season based tire, one of the best in its class. It has great dry and wet weather handling as well as great ride comfort. Its about 75-80% performance based with the rest all season. I would say this tire performs well in a light to moderate snow climate. If you stick mostly to city and suburb driving you should be ok. Your already step ahead of the game with AWD. You can read the reviews for this tire at the following link:

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S

mayhem · Jul 30, 2003, 12:52 PM

Good tire, with AWD and not TOO much snow and ice you'll be OK in the winter. It'll last longer than those Advans and will be quieter too. It's a good tire as long as you realize you're trading performance for life and multi-purpose. I always recommend Michelin Pilot tires!

Willyd · Jul 31, 2003, 10:33 AM

I'm also from Chicago and also interested in a more winter capable tire. Was checking the Rack and saw a Continental 'extremecontact' for $107 each in the stock size. Can you comment on them also? The ratings section puts them higher than some of the winter only tires in snow / wet traction, etc. and the wear seems to be super.

bone324 · Jul 31, 2003, 10:47 AM

I have the Pilot Sport A/S on my 2000 Maxima. There is NO better A/S tire in my opinion. If you have to have an A/S tire for limited snow capabilities and want the best performance you can get, the Pilot A/S can't be beat.

chrisw · Jul 31, 2003, 11:27 AM

A friend has them on his Impreza. He's on his second set, and swears by them for his weekly boarding trips to lake tahoe

jwtodd60 · Jul 31, 2003, 11:31 AM

I have them on my '91 NX2000 and like them quite a bit and was planning on looking at them as replacements for the 046s when I burn those up. Despite getting a whole bunch of snow last year though, I didn't get to drive them much in the slop, so I can't say too much about their snow performance...

I live in VA too, so snow is not that much of a concern for me now. When I lived in central NY (Syracuse area), I ran snow tires Nov - Apr and summer tires the rest of the time. Used my snow tire rims for R compound tires for autocross during the summer...

JW

Neal@tirerack. · Jul 31, 2003, 01:51 PM

The Extreme Contact is already proving to be a great tire all around. Because of its aggressive directional tread design, it will probably be the better all-season tire in the Ultra High Performance All-Season category (whew, thats a mouth full!) If you live in an area, like VA and want maximum performance with a touch of snow traction to get you by the mild winter, go with the Pilot A/S. If you live in a heavier snow climate, like NY or Chicago and want more bite with just a bit less performance, go with the Extreme Contact. In a climate like here in Northern Indiana, using AWD, I think the Conti might be the best way to go.
The thing to remember is the Pilot has already proven itself on the market, the long term results are already known. The Conti still has this winter to really show its true colors. You can compare these two tires at the following link

Ultra High Performance All Seaon Surveys

NOVA EVO · Jul 31, 2003, 02:11 PM

I'm probably gonna go with the Pilot Sport A/S as a winter tire...I had Pilot Sports on my Vette and they were awesome!

DGS · Jul 31, 2003, 02:24 PM

The consensus on the GT-Four list (and the tirerack surveys seem to show similar results) is that you get about as good performance from the Dunlop SP Sports A2s or M2s for less gelt.

Neal@tirerack. · Aug 1, 2003, 05:01 AM

DGS - you are correct, the Dunlop A2 does show similar feedback ratings, however, this tire is rated in a different category. The Michelin and Continental are Ultra High Performance Tires that show a lot of attention to performance and little towards all season driving. Almost an 80%perf 20% A/S split. The Dunlop Sport A2 is a High Performance All Season tire which falls in a performance category one below the Michelin A/S. More like 60% 40% The Dunlop is lesser expensive than the others, but it is also less performance oriented. They would be a bit better in a heavier snow climate verses the Conti and last a bit longer too. However, if you are a performance driver on a regular basis and dont see a TON of snow, the Conti or Michelin would be a better tire. You would really be able to tell a driveability difference, on a performance level, between the Sport A2 and Michelin A/S or Conti. You can see how the Sport A2 compares to other tires in its class at the following link:

High Performance All Season

Listed below is a link describing the different performance categories. See whats best for you

Differ Performance Categories

Chris in HB · Aug 1, 2003, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jwtodd60
I live in VA too, so snow is not that much of a concern for me now. When I lived in central NY (Syracuse area), I ran snow tires Nov - Apr and summer tires the rest of the time. Used my snow tire rims for R compound tires for autocross during the summer...

JW

I am moving to No. VA in a week and I was wondering about the need to swap for snow tires. We don't need to? My original plan was to get an all-season tire for the winter and then run Michelin Pilot Sport Cups or PZero Corsas in the summer. Any advice (both on the tires and No. VA weather)?

Thanks

Shahul X · Aug 1, 2003, 06:38 AM

what if you want a tire that will whoop ass is snow and rain....but wont be too horrible in performance/braking? Blizzaks?

-Shahul

Hammerli · Aug 1, 2003, 07:05 AM

I am planning on going with the LM-22 or Mich. Pilot Alpin in a 215 width on the stock rims. Since my Volks should be in sometime over the next couple of months, I will use Advans on them for summer use. I have been using the LM-22 on my Celica for two southwest MI winters (lake effect snow), and they have done well except for acceleration. Even 2nd gear starts suffer from a lot of slip, but that is because I am used to all wheel drive, and the front drivers just can't take off as quick.

Neal@tirerack. · Aug 1, 2003, 07:20 AM

Blizzaks are a dedicated winter tire, these would be a seasonal item. This means a couple of things. They are best used and designed for winter months only. If used in the summer (eg, 50 degrees and higher) they can wear very quickly. Truth is they only last 15K on average. Tires like this also have deeper tread debth and have more aggressive tread patterns. This results in a lot of tread squirm and loss of performance handling. However, there are performance versions of dedicated winter tires like the Blizzak LM-22, Michelin Pilot Alpin, and Dunlop Winter Sport M3. All these tires have directional tread designs, higher speed ratings, and less aggressive tread. They work very well in urban and suburb areas where you see more plowed roads. Although performance based, they are still dedicated winter tires and the rules of tire wear still apply.