Recently got these for my RX-8 R3 in the stock size (225/40/19). I am blown away. EXCELLENT combination of grip, handling, and low NVH.
We shall see about treadwear -- I'm sure it'll be nowhere near what a lot of people on this forum get out of the tires they buy, but as far as I know there's nothing comparable that will last as long.
Another perk is that this is one of the lightest tires I could get. It's 3 lbs per corner lighter than the stock Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, which is really nice.
If there's anything bad to say, it's that there's arguably too much grip at the rear axle now. The car came to me with worn stock tires, and the handling balance was adjustable with the throttle even at semi-normal speeds. It was utterly intoxicating. To get the same effect with the Pilot Super Sport, I'd have to be pushing WAY harder than I feel like pushing on public roads. Bummer. I'm half-tempted to stick with Pilot Super Sports in front and get Pilot Sport A/S 3s in the rear next time...
IMO, though, the ability to stop and swerve (especially on wet roads) trump everything for a street tire, so I'm happy with my purchase overall.
As an aside, the fact that the car has this much grip with 225-section tires all around is astounding.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
- Thread starter d00df00d
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Great tire choice on a great chassis.
It is possible to power Michelin Pilots out with a judicious application of horsepower but they still remain very predictable.
Michelin got it right.
I don't know any other performance street tire that can match it.
My son's RX8 is wearing Goodyear Eagles right now.
We might have to look for the SAMS Michelin rebate next time we buy tires for that car.
I'm thinking I'll get 15,000 miles on the set on my BMW.
I'm running 225/45-18 Pilot Super Sports on my Mazdaspeed 3 and I am <span style="font-weight: bold">very</span> impressed. The suspesion is stock aside from a set of Koni FSDs and a James Barone Racing rear anti-roll bar(50% more roll stiffness than OEM). The engine is currently making @300 bhp and 320 lb.-ft. of torque and the Michelins take it all in stride if driven properly. I have yet to try them on the track, but I hope to do so in the very near future.
I had them on my 04 Volvo S60R and loved them. I plan on putting them on the '14 when the factory Pirellis die.
At 15k and at 3-4/32nds
Ive autocrossed on them multiple times 5+ they are squishy in slaloms but the grip is great.
Most likely buying them again for my new rims, they aren't too expensive
Originally Posted By: thescreensavers
Ive autocrossed on them multiple times 5+ they are squishy in slaloms but the grip is great.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
You know, I thought I felt some slight extra squidginess compared to the stock Bridgestones, but I wasn't sure...
Have you run a street-oriented tire that was less squishy without huge sacrifices in other areas?
PSS is absolutely my favorite, and my car eats tires for breakfast.
The longest any of my 7 (yes, seven!) sets of tires has lasted is about 17k miles, so the jury is still out on longevity. But mine are allegedly warranted for 30k!
Outstanding in the dry, smooth and quiet, less tire thump, and practically don't know the road is wet! If the treadlife is as they say, it is yet another coup for Michelin...
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I've had them on the M5 for two seasons now. Absolutely INCREDIBLE tire, blows the Toyo T1's that came on it out of the water. I could light the Toyo's up at 60Mph on a downshift, can't even chirp the PSS's.
Wet performance is INCREDIBLE. I've never had a tire stick like this in the wet.
Wear seems to be good so far. I'm definitely going to be going through the rear tires faster than the front, which is par for the course with this car. But at the price, I can't really complain.
Michelin hit it out of the park with these IMHO.
I've thought about giving these a shot after I blow through the Bridgestones currently on the GTI. I've heard that they're pretty incredible for the money.
About how many miles do you feel these can go for if you're not autocrossing, doing track days, or spinning up/sliding the tires every chance you get?
As SteveSRT8 mentioned, the treadwear warranty is 30k miles, for what that's worth.
I had Pilot Super Sports in the rear of my M3 before I sold it. The front still had some PS2s I had bought on clearance a while before. I sold the car 28k miles later, and the Super Sports were just at the wear bars. I never tracked that car and it had stock power (plus >200k miles of wear), but I did take every chance I got to powerslide it. And that's on top of the typical rear axle tire wear that RWD performance cars tend to get.
Amazingly, even at the wear bars, the Super Sports still gripped like crazy in the rain. As in, they didn't even seriously hydroplane in standing water on the highway. My friends have had similar experiences, even with literally zero recognizable tread left. Never seen anything like it. It's a total game changer, and really should factor into anyone's value calculations. If you compare based on usable tread life rather than how long it takes to get to the wear bars, the Super Sport could easily run with a lot of "higher treadwear" tires.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
As SteveSRT8 mentioned, the treadwear warranty is 30k miles, for what that's worth.
I had Pilot Super Sports in the rear of my M3 before I sold it. The front still had some PS2s I had bought on clearance a while before. I sold the car 28k miles later, and the Super Sports were just at the wear bars. I never tracked that car and it had stock power (plus >200k miles of wear), but I did take every chance I got to powerslide it. And that's on top of the typical rear axle tire wear that RWD performance cars tend to get.
Amazingly, even at the wear bars, the Super Sports still gripped like crazy in the rain. As in, they didn't even seriously hydroplane in standing water on the highway. My friends have had similar experiences, even with literally zero recognizable tread left. Never seen anything like it. It's a total game changer, and really should factor into anyone's value calculations. If you compare based on usable tread life rather than how long it takes to get to the wear bars, the Super Sport could easily run with a lot of "higher treadwear" tires.
Gotta be the compound.
This reminds me: a while back, I remember reading a review of some BMW in a car mag. They said that whatever BMW does with their suspensions must be magic, because if it were science, someone else would have measured it and copied it by now. Can't help but have similar thoughts about Michelin...
I just put my second set on my '09 Nissan 370Z. The OEM tires (I can't remember if they were Bridgestones or Yokohamas) only lasted 17,000 miles. The Michelin Pilot Super Sports went 27,000 miles and I probably could have gotten another 2000-3000 miles out of them but they were getting noisy. I was very pleased to get over 25K miles on such a high performance tire and when it was time to replace them I had no doubt that I wanted the same tires. They do grip like crazy. I have the stock rims, tires are 245 x 19 on the front, and 275 x 19 on the rear.
Have them on my CC. Incredible tire. This is probably their last season, but definitely getting them again.
I think usable tread wear is 20-25K maximum. They grip like crazy, and as overkill said, incredible wet grip.
Thing I do not understand is that they are pretty worn out, but still have good hydroplaning resistance.
Cannot believe they go for some $182 in Costco before discount.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
As SteveSRT8 mentioned, the treadwear warranty is 30k miles, for what that's worth.
I had Pilot Super Sports in the rear of my M3 before I sold it. The front still had some PS2s I had bought on clearance a while before. I sold the car 28k miles later, and the Super Sports were just at the wear bars. I never tracked that car and it had stock power (plus >200k miles of wear), but I did take every chance I got to powerslide it. And that's on top of the typical rear axle tire wear that RWD performance cars tend to get.
Amazingly, even at the wear bars, the Super Sports still gripped like crazy in the rain. As in, they didn't even seriously hydroplane in standing water on the highway. My friends have had similar experiences, even with literally zero recognizable tread left. Never seen anything like it. It's a total game changer, and really should factor into anyone's value calculations. If you compare based on usable tread life rather than how long it takes to get to the wear bars, the Super Sport could easily run with a lot of "higher treadwear" tires.
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Siping does help a little with the squeegee effect, but the most important thing would probably be mass evacuation of liquid water, along with adhesion of the compound. I'm pretty sure that the compound is also good at adhering to water, as most of the research suggests that cohesion with water will improve wet traction.
I remember the Dunlop SP Sport 9000 tires I had in the 90s were ridiculous in rain. They had a completely radical tread design that was meant to evacuate water and increase the amount of edges to bite through water.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Siping does help a little with the squeegee effect, but the most important thing would probably be mass evacuation of liquid water, along with adhesion of the compound. I'm pretty sure that the compound is also good at adhering to water, as most of the research suggests that cohesion with water will improve wet traction.
I remember the Dunlop SP Sport 9000 tires I had in the 90s were ridiculous in rain. They had a completely radical tread design that was meant to evacuate water and increase the amount of edges to bite through water.
I think I am going to have to go to 18" diameter wheels just so I can run these tires, such has been the effect of all of the raving about them on here! 
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