Michelin Pilot Super Sport

[anthros]

Unfortunately, I can't speak to how the new tires affect tramlining--Arizona roads tend to be in very good condition (which makes sense given how car-centric this state is). Also, I've got less than 1000 miles on the new tires, so my impressions are preliminary.

Braking "feel" is unchanged--in theory, the only difference in braking would be higher maximum deceleration--feel shouldn't change much at all.

I'm always a bit dubious whenever people rely on their intuition to tell them how their cars are performing. Before installing the Pilot SuperSports, I did a braking test from 50-0 mph using Dynolicious, an iPhone app. The JSW on stock tires stopped at around 0.90 Gs. (The Mini Cooper S on RE11s stopped at ~1.05 Gs on the same surface). I have yet to do the same test with the new tires in place--I've been waiting for them to break in. They're certainly broken in now; I just need to make time to do the test.

Subjectively, turn-in feel is a bit better, probably due to stiffer sidewalls. (I ran 36 PSI on all four corners both before and after). More substantially, the car's tendency to understeer on turn-in is much reduced. Once the turn's been initiated, the rear tires (stock) begin squealing long before the fronts do. On the stock tires, the JSW regularly produced ~0.83 Gs on one particular corner. I'll get a lateral acceleration number for the new tires at the same time I do the braking test.

I'd like to clarify one thing from my previous post: I mentioned "better balance through sweeping turns." IMNSHO, that's due to the mismatched tire compounds. I don't mean to say that a set of four PSSes will magically reduce understeer. My car might be very well balanced while pulling 0.94 Gs, but it's still going slower than a car with PSSes on all four corners pulling, say, 0.97Gs while on the verge of understeer.

The Bridgestone RE-11s on our Mini seem to be on track to last ~20,000 miles, which is quite good. The JSW is 400-600 lbs heavier and produces a little more torque than the Mini. I expect the Pilot SuperSports to last ~30,000 miles on the JSW, which is astonishing for such a high-performance tire. Realistically, I'll probably get a new pair at ~20,000 miles, install those on the front and put the worn PSSes on the rear.

I don't think any of this undercuts ChittyChittyBangBang's opinion--most drivers don't care about sticky tires, or they don't think the decreased stopping distances are worth the extra expense. That's not my position, but it's a reasonable one. Our JSW is over-tired insofar as the tires force the suspension out of its optimal "operating range" when cornering hard. In these situations, we get a lot of body roll and probably substantial (and sub-optimal) camber changes. For a competition car, you'd want to change the suspension so that its limits match those of the tires. I'd argue you'd want to do the same for a fun-to-drive road car.

In fact, that's exactly what we've done for our Mini: We installed Koni FSD shocks/struts and a stiffer rear anti-roll bar to take maximum advantage of our sticky RE-11s. That setup is nearly ideal for a road car that gets autocrossed. But sticky tires alone allow our JSW to dodge road hazards it otherwise couldn't, even if the suspension takes a second to settle down after a fast transition. Since the JSW carries my wife and children, the agility/stopping advantage is worth the cost (at least to me).


I hope this helps!

Jason

P.S. We've been very, very pleased with the Koni FSD dampers on our Mini. If Koni makes them available for the Jetta Sportwagen (ideally for its stock springs) I'd install those sooner rather than later.

[MischievousMk6]

Originally Posted by Daniel L

They're actually less expensive than some OEM tires currently, Maybe Michelin is pricing them to promote sales of their new tire design? I'm curious how they compare to less sporty tires in regards to noise and comfort. Supposedly they're quiet but in comparison to what?

I will be picking up a Golf soon and am contemplating putting these tires on immediately, especially after reading complaints about the OEM tires.

IMHO, there is no need to replace the OEM tires on a new car. The stock Contiprocontacts have been pretty good for me. Now, when they NEED replacing, sure I will try something different. To toss perfectly good new tires because a few people complain about them seems silly to me. See how you like them first...

[Daniel L]

Originally Posted by MischievousMk6

IMHO, there is no need to replace the OEM tires on a new car. The stock Contiprocontacts have been pretty good for me. Now, when they NEED replacing, sure I will try something different. To toss perfectly good new tires because a few people complain about them seems silly to me. See how you like them first...

It's too late now but I was planning to sell the tires off the new car to recoup the costs of the upgraded tires. At least I have a baseline now.

[anthros]

I have some updated numbers. After installing Pilot SS tires on the front axle only, my peak braking acceleration increased from 0.90 Gs to 1.08 Gs. My peak lateral acceleration increased from ~0.83 Gs to 1.01 Gs.

Nota bene: these peak values are not comparable to the numbers you'd see in a car magazine. Realistically, steady-state lateral acceleration would probably be around 0.94 Gs. But braking distances should be about 20% less than with the stock tires, and I'm very happy with that.

Cheers,

Jason