www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=257 TIRE TEST RESULTS Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4: Winter Preview Drive February 29, 2020 Vehicles Used 2020 BMW 430i Gran Coupe So often, when we think of Ultra High Performance All-Season tires, we tend to focus on the "Ultra High Performance" portion. We picture enthusiast drivers installing UHPAS tires on their vehicles to provide some modicum of cold weather or light snow capability so their sporty vehicles can be driven year-round. With this grand image in our minds, we can't help but dream of a UHPAS tire that pushes the envelope in dry and wet traction and handling, and we tend to overlook the "All-Season" half of the equation. In reality, most UHPAS tires are used for day-to-day driving, including in the depths of winter. They're equally likely to be installed on a mass-produced family sedan as they are a niche sports car. The typical consumer of a UHPAS tire is far more concerned with traction in inclement weather than in adding a few mph to their speed on the on ramp, and it shows in our Consumer Ratings. Products that score highly in light snow traction consistently rank near the top of the category. Knowing this, tire manufacturers have placed an emphasis on improving the all-season performance delivered by their latest UHPAS products. Michelin stepped up the light snow traction considerably when transitioning from the Pilot Sport A/S 3 to the Pilot Sport A/S 3+, so it would be understandable if the latest generation, the Pilot Sport All Season 4, made modest improvements over its predecessor. Yet Michelin wasn't willing to settle for "modest improvements," and our team noticed a very intriguing figure in the company's performance claims for their new product - 10% better light snow traction than the outgoing tire. In the world of tires, a 10% improvement is monumental, so performance like that could potentially disrupt the status quo and change expectations from the category for the better. To get an early impression of the light snow traction delivered by the Pilot Sport All Season 4, select members of the Tire Rack team went to Circuit Mecaglisse in Quebec, where we performed some controlled testing in snowy conditions. Testing Acceleration and Braking Tires Tested Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate Our first test involved instrumented acceleration and braking runs on a groomed flat of hard-packed snow with a small layer of medium-packed snow on top. Our driver accelerated from a standstill up to approximately 22mph and then quickly applied the brakes to use the vehicle's ABS to bring the car to a stop. To help eliminate variables introduced by the surface and the ABS, our reported figures are from 5-20mph for acceleration and 20-5mph for braking. Tire 5-20mph Acceleration (seconds) 20-5mph Braking (feet) Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 6.7 61.7 Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate 6.2 60.1 Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 5.3 50.2 Subjective Track Drive Knowing that straight-line acceleration and braking traction are only part of the equation, we also performed a subjective drive around a short, rally-style track. Here, the Michelin again impressed our drivers. When driving the car equipped with the Pilot Sport All Season 4, the vehicle responded to inputs more directly, with less delay or imprecision that often results from a snowy surface. The front end authority was matched by lateral grip, as well, allowing the vehicle to hold the chosen line more confidently and carry more speed through all sectors of the track than when driving the other tires. With our unmodified BMWs on a tight, snowy track, understeer is more of a concern than oversteer. The Michelin tire helped mitigate front-end push experienced around the turns, though it wasn't completely eliminated, especially where the snow was deeper and had been churned by previous laps. Has Michelin changed the landscape of light snow traction in the Ultra High Performance All-Season tire category? We can't yet say with absolute certainty, but this initial impression indicates the Pilot Sport All Season 4 could be a game-changer. It's important to note this was a preview drive only, and we will reserve final judgment until we have the opportunity to perform a full Tire Rack test. In the meantime, we can confidently say Michelin's new UHPAS tire is a strong performer in light snow.

superb testing, work and vdeo editing. I'm a bit confused by the fact that in most tests we don't see Run Flat tires ? I would never go back to a normal tyre even if much less comfortable.

​@@2Drezik There's not a huge amount of people interested in runflats due to lower levels of comfort and usually decreased wet performance and mpg, but I do plan on testing runflats vs normal tyres soon!

@@tyrereviews i do agree, but still, most BMW's, Mercedes's and stuff come Factory standard with RF's since more than 10 years 🙄

Cool can't wait. Also our DMV weather is similar to your UK weather. July does tend to be +90°

There is a review of 2WD all season vs AWD summers already and all season smoked AWD

In snow

@@sszhao11Seen that. Not the same at all as UHP summer and UHP All Season on same wheel size and drivetrain. They used to always add a "standard" tyre for comparison. Pity they didn't on this one

Yeah I would love to know how much slower/less reactive an AS4 is compared to the PS4S and what not. Could be a series for every brand lol Conti dws vs extreme contact

I'd like to see pilot sport all season 4 vs. pilot sport 4s in winter on a sports car.

Glad you like them :) If you get the time it would be great if you could leave a review at www.tyrereviews.com :D

Hello Jon, that is the size of my Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S on my front for my 370Z. My rears are 275/35/19. What car do you run those Exhilarate on?

@@richeyrich6855 Hey brother. Not really comparable - I have them on a 1992 Chevrolet Silverado 1500.

@@JeLifeCoach Hello again Jon. Thank you for the quick response!

Let me know how you find them :)

Snow testing next week

Glad you liked it!

Thank you very much!

I too live in Oregon. I had the Conti before and honestly a great tire. Unfortunately mines are worn to the Dry/Wet marker. I just got the Michelin AS4 so far they feel great but only time will tell.

Thank you!

I hope you enjoyed it!

What did you buy? :)

@@tyrereviews I got good year exhilarate! I’m pretty happy with it! Ive already driven it for 5k within a month. 😂

^^ This is pretty well known. The summer UHP tire will always have the edge in warm dry surfaces while wet performance and road manners are very similar to the A/S UHP. Once temps drop below 40*F the summer tire grip fades quickly while the A/S UHP stays viable down and below 20*F. If you have 4 seasons that dip well below 40F in winter and want a good all around tire choose the A/S. If you live in SoCal, AZ, FL, with mild winters typically above freezing the summer UHP will serve you well.

Great review, if you get the time please share on www.tyrereviews.co.uk/submit.htm?match=Goodyear-Eagle-Exhilarate :)

Thanks :D

Blimey, they are only all season tyres....

I hope it was worth the wait!

TBH none of these tires are designed to handle any more than a light dusting of snow. You really want an all weather tire like the Michelin Cross Climate. That said, it would be interesting to see just how poorly they either did or didn't handle snow. Maybe there is a UHP AS that might not be the outstanding performer here that does just well enough in light snow to be worth going for? Could be interesting to see.

@@Adamk24 DW06’s are the only ones rated for heavy compacted snow. Although it comes at the cost of handling during dry conditions.

@@KinaestheticDmaw I ran the DWS 06 on my cars. Great tire in the snow but sloppy in the summer. I'm now worn out pilot sports A/S 3+ They were actually good in light snow, not as good as the DWS 06. I'm trying something new with the Goodyears.

@@Adamk24 not every car can run every tire.

Thanks :) I didn't get time to check out the city this time but hope to go back

Feel free to leave a review over at www.tyrereviews.com sometime :)

it should be similaracross different drive trains

Thanks again!

Great info, if you ever get the time feel free to leave some info at www.tyrereviews.com :)

Much appreciated!

I appreciate it!

Coming next week :)

that's pretty good mileage!

Glad you like them :) If you get the time it would be great if you could leave a review at www.tyrereviews.com of your experiences!

Be careful. I'm in Dallas so I have the same obnoxious weather and cold morning commutes. If possible I would just avoid going out in the ice. It seems only winter tires do much of anything and our weather swings far too much to invest in a set of winter tires unless we have a lift and are prepared to do many swaps through our bipolar "fall" and "spring" seasons. How are the PA-51s treating you?

Wait for next weeks video

@@tyrereviews I’ll keep my eyes open. I went with the new Pilot Sport and have been loving them. Very pleased.

How do you find them compared to your summer tyre?

It must be a reentry because I had a set of Vredestein Sprint tires on my GTI in the 1980's. Good to have them back.

Thought about Goodyear until I remembered how they treated conservatives. They went woke. They banned everyone from wearing a Trump or MAGA apparel at work, but allowed workers to wear BLM and LGBT and out of left wing propaganda messages on the walls. I will never support any company that does that, left or right. Michelin or Bridgestone for my next tire.

yes please! my pilot alpins are due for a replacement next season.

@@mogwix go for new Pilot alpin 5

@@vollcare4076 Agree - I got them in 245/40/19 after they ranked #1 here on Tyre Reviews and I love them 11/1 - 4/1 year 2 now 6,500 miles on them still like brand new...

@@davem4959 Great to here In which car do you run these ?

@@vollcare4076 2019 Infiniti Q50S Red Sport AWD. I hated the Dunlop Runflats and took them off after month 1.. Went with Continental Extreme Contact Summer tires 4/2 - 10/31 and Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 for winter 11/1 - 4/1 now in my 2nd winter. I live in Virginia, USA with all 4 seasons.

Let me know how you find them!

We sometimes do measured noise tests but couldn't this time. Fuel is usually done too, wear is very expenisve to do though

Same here: NOKIAN STUDDED HAKI, AN good ( GOODYEAR AND NOKIAN, SUMMER tires... )....here in HELENA Valley MT...though I have not digested all high PERFORMANce tires informations

Glad you like them! if you get the time please leave a review at www.tyrereviews.co.uk/submit.htm?match=Goodyear-Eagle-Exhilarate as we don't have any yet!

OK will do

I believe the replacement has just come out - www.continentaltire.com/product/controlcontact-sport-srs-21545-r-17-91w

@@tyrereviews I laughed when I realized that instead of having the letters DWS in the tread as in the old, it has pictograms for Dry, Wet, and Snow arranged in the same order.

Glad you like them :) If you get the time it would be great if you could leave a review at www.tyrereviews.com :D

Still holding up well?

@@FAUNASO Yeah, they're still outstanding. They're good at everything. Even kept me alive during some unforecasted snow.

@@corystansbury awesome! I want a tire that is quiet on highway and still has the sportiest feeling possible so it seems these Goodyears are the ones.

@@FAUNASO Yeah, they're shockingly quiet for a performance tire. More like a grand touring tires in that regard. But they stick very well at any temperature above 60F.

They seem to be pretty hit and miss at the moment but they just tested really well in a European test

i did about 4 track days 3 sessions each day and they crap out after about 3 laps when they get hot. when its cold they are good

I have, he beat me to it by a few days, great video, I''d work with Jason anytime.

I've thought about showing tyres after testing, but given we push them so hard, it's not really a fair display of how they'll be in the real world, as some tyres which will be great on the road, really don't take track punishment well

@@tyrereviews Well, yes. Surely these tyres will hardly see the track, but still UHP. Overheating may be an issue for a 4 season one during hot summers, at least in south Europe. Even if all completely destroyed, still indication that none shall be considered for a sporty-summer use.

See the UUHP tyre test form last year

Let me knw how you find them!

@@tyrereviews just got them put on today so far so good. Glad I picked these out.

OUt next week :)