steelymatt

iTrader: (1)

I wanted to get your opinion on Michelin Pilots. I'm gonna toss my stock Toyo 215/55/16 and I'm thinking of getting 225/55/16.

Matt

see5

Have 275/40/17 and 295/35/18 them on my Chevy and they are so much better than the Goodyear Eagles! Grip better,ride better,track better just a bit pricey.
For the money in the warmer weather Kuhmos are a great value.

mattattax

yeah what he said

I had the A/S for awhile and loved 'em, now that I have 18s i have Kumhos and I love them too, I'm just not ready for a commitment

Max_Gator

I have 225/50/17 and they are outstanding tires. My wet traction is almost as good as dry.

Blackgums100

GD for almost two bills they had better be good.

Max_Gator

True. But consider this - the stock pieces of **** are $170. I'll gladly pay $30 more.

Keh mon

I have the same ones and would definately agree. IMHO, the dry traction is a little better than the stock RE92s, but the wet weather traction is amazing. It grips much better, and it is a lot easier to start moving from a stop without spinning in the rain.

ripper

They are great wet and dry. A very good addition for a front driver with 255 horses.

Dan4614

S-03s! S-03s! S-03s! Why pay more for the michelin a/s when the are clearly inferior?! I have 215/55/16 S-03s on my max, and I have my second set of S-03s comming in the mail soon. This is as good as it gets on your stock 16s folks!

sleepermax

iTrader: (5)

The S-03's are the best sticking tire out there. Their tread life is not the greates though - the A/S's have a treadwear rating of 400! But if this isn't that important then yeah go with the S-03's hands down!

nddst

Who makes the S-03's?

Dan4614

They are made by BRIDESTONE. The full name is Proteza S-03 Pole Position. These are the sickest tires! BUT as sleepermax pointed out and as I can tell you, the treadlife is short (not to mention that they are addictive and you'll probably never go back). If youre interested, check out tirerack.com. They cost $142 each. Check out the reviews; they blow away the competitors.

y sleep

The S03 are not available in the stock 17" size of 225/50/17. I'll be getting the Pilot Sports in a few months so I am interested in this thread. I don't want to change the rims.

Dan4614

Yeah, that sucks. Y2kse (AKA master of all things rubber ) was explaining to me the other day about the stock 17s and the s-03s. The pilot sports are the next best thing; I'm sure you'll like them.

02MaximizedVQ

I have heard that some tires run alittle narrow for their size compared to others. Maybe there is a 235/45/17 tire out there somewhere that will fit a rim with a width of 7 inches. It sucks to only have one alternative for a tire.

Jesse

Keh mon

I tried checking... but didn't find anything with a small enough width.

ohmitr

Tire Rack.com, as I'm sure you all know, has the section where their customers rate the tires they have bought. These poeple rate the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S quite a bit ahead of the Potenza RE92s. There is another internet site though called 10 10 Tires.com that does the same thing and their customers actually rate the Bridgestones slightly ahead of the Michelins. Their system is only on a 1-5 scale. For those of you who have switched from the Potenzas to the Pilot Sports A/Ss what would you say is the difference between the two tires in ride and noise comfort?

y sleep

If you do a search on this topic you may find an answer to your question about these 2 tires. What I recall from prior posts was that wet traction was better for the Michelins. This is enough of a reason for me to switch at the end of summer. Noise level was said to be similar but I would welcome comments from actual users.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

All right. I'm going to go out on a limb . . . but not too far. Let's compare the 215/55R16 Toyos to the 225/45R17 S-03s and see how they stack up.

According the tire size calculator at http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html, the speedometer error between the 215/55R16s and the 225/45R17s is only 1.4% . . . well within the 3.0% guideline. In addition, they both have the same load rating . . . 91. So in terms of upsizing from the 215/55R16s, the 225/45R17s look pretty darn good.

So what about replacing the 225/50R17 RE-92s with 225/45R17 S-03s. Well there's where things get a little sticky. The minimum rim width for the 225/45R17 is 7.0", so you're OK there. But the speedometer error between those two tires is 3.4% . . . slightly over the accepted maximum of 3.0%. In addition, the 225/50R17 RE-92 has a load rating of 93 while the 225/45R17 S-03 has a load rating of 91. And the general rule is that you shouldn't reduce the load rating when selecting new tires.

Now I suspect that among you, the brighter bulbs in the chandelier are going to look at this scenario and ask, what the hell is up with that? Why should it be all right to upsize to 225/45R17s from 215/55R16s and not be all right to downsize to 225/45R17s from 225/50R17s on the SAME DAMN CAR? Thus we enter into something of a gray area when it comes to making a decision regarding tires.

My own PERSONAL view is that it's probably OK to run 225/45R17s whether you're upsizing from 215/55R16s or downsizing from 225/50R17s. Just keep an eye on the load rating for the 225/45R17s you're planning to purchase and make sure that it doesn't drop below 91.

For those of you who currently run 225/50R17 RE-92s and share my view, I've just opened up a world of tire possibilities. For example, Kumho ECSTA Supra 712s in size 225/45R17 carry a load rating of 91. They also cost $100 apiece at Tirerack.com.

Enjoy the ride.

Maximus1000

I have Kumho 712s on my car right now (235/45/Z17 on SSR Compeitions) and am very satisfied with them. I've used them during one auto-x event and dragged in them one time. Both times I was impressed. During auto-x the car didn't understeer as bad (I had stock suspension still) as when I had the OEM wheels and RE92s. As for the track, I got similar 60fts both times, so the jury is still out on that one.

By this fall I'm sure I'll have them worn out (plan on doing six more autocross events and alot of dragging) so I'll switch to a performance all season tire during the winter months. I'm going with either the Pilot Sports of S0-3s, so I'm interested in this discussion as well.

Max_Gator

Sports are noisier but no more harsh.

srbarnes4ever

Are you saying there are intelligent people out there somewhere who rate the RE92 as BETTER than the Pilot Sport A/S?! I hope to God they are referring to a different Potenza and possibly different rating parameters because that thought is preposterous, ludicrous, ridiculous....need I say more...

sleepermax

iTrader: (5)

Performance-wise there is absolutely no comparison. The A/S's are far better. If the criteria these people used were noise level and ride comfort - then I'd give a very, very slight edge to the RE-92's. Both tires are quiet AND provide good ride comfort.
But high speed stability, dry and wet traction, cornering, braking, ect ect ect are all waaaaay better with the A/S's. The A/S's also have a very respectable tread-wear rating of 400! I'd say they are the best value, all things considered with the Kumho's possibly a distant second value-wise. Although there are some very positive reviews from long-time board members about the Sumitomo's, so you might want to check these out. I'll probably try the Sumitomo's next time.

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

Search around on this for threads by both myself and rubman. There were some pretty well-developed reviews on them. I love the Pilot Sport A/S myself. A little rougher ride at first, but they will break-in. The wet traction and bad-weather traction in 100% better than the stock RE92's. Worth every cent in my opinion.