I was looking at tire options again and see that Michelin has yet again made some changes. I run lemans 4 (Group 4 inspired) style wheels. I am wondering if anyone has tried the Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires? I see they offer 315/35/17 and 225/45/17 and 235/45/17 (not sure if those would work under our fenders). They are considerably cheaper and easier to find than Michelin ps2 and the 335/35 rears.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Seriously? All-season radials on a Pantera? This is what people in the tire business say about all season radials: “Jack of all trades; master of none”. If your priority is handling and braking, use high performance summer tires. Only use all-season radials if your priority is long tire life and low price.
David, those were initially my thoughts, however I saw a few gt euro cars using them, even on amateur tracks and the specs aren't much different than the ps2 they are still a speed rated performance tire. Their claim to fame is the first all season performance tire that came on the Corvette.
Otis,
I’m surprised GM would put ASR’s on a Corvette but if they do, it’s because they anticipate the Owners driving the cars in any and all weather conditions. People drive their Corvettes daily and I suppose they might have to deal with the occasional snow flurry and/or freezing temperatures. Corvette owners might also get upset if they have to buy new tires every 6,000 miles and/or they need to buy snow tires in the winter.
I can assure you, there is no comparison between tires of the same size, one being an ASR and the other being a high performance summer tire, as it relates to handling, braking and most of all, steering response. Every circumferential groove decreases steering response, directional stability and grip. The deeper the grooves, the worse it is. Also, pay attention to the UTQG rating on the tire. That tells you how soft or hard the rubber compound is. A tire with a UTQG rating of 220 is much softer than one with a rating of 540. A racing tire would have a UTQG of 0 (zero) and 200 is about the softest you’d find for a street, summer tire. Street Legal, DOT approved racing tires, such as the Nitto NT01, have a UTQG of 100. A new Toyota Corolla probably comes with ASR’s with a 600 or even 700 rating. All Porsche 911’s come from the factory with summer tires, in fact, the Pilot Sport PS2 was OEM for many years. It's a great tire and where it's really great, is in the rain. Porsche tells it’s owners, if you drive the car in the winter months, in a climate where it may snow or the temperature drops below freezing, use snow tires in the same sizes as OEM. Pantera owners should leave their cars at home in those conditions!
I suppose it all depends on how you drive. If all you do is putt around in your Pantera, ASR’s will be fine, assuming you’re happy with the sizes. There have also been times in the past when ASR’s were the only tire available in the correct size. In those cases, an ASR was better than driving around on 25 year old P7’s. Fortunately, that is not the case any longer.
I spent about 10 years of my life in the Wheel & Tire business. I can assure you, I dealt with many 911, NSX, Corvette, etc., owners who drove their cars daily and were tired of buying a new set of tires every 6,000 miles. Many insisted on trying a high performance ASR in an effort to lower their tire expense. Most went back to summer tires when the ASR’s wore out.
My 2 cents!
Not sure where you are shopping but Tire Rack has PS2 in 335/35-17. They also have the Pirelli P Zero in the same size.
Even Amazon has the PS2's in stock!
Yes the ps 2 335/35/17 are available again right now on both sides of the border in multiple places. Finding a matching set of ps2 fronts is a problem in my area of Canada currently. 225/45/17 ps2 are listed on tire rack but even on the Michelin site they are no longer listed. So I would be back to running mismatched fronts. I currently have 335/35/17 ps2 with 225/45/17 pilot super sports also now discontinued in that size. I really do prefer the ps2 335 over the nitto 315
