Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 87 vs 91

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by krayzie

I drove the entire duration of my break-in with the stock Primacy HP tires and they almost killed me on wet tarmac when cornering a little faster than normal. Once I got the Pilot Sport A/S3 installed I can feel a difference instantly in steering response and grip without even driving fast down the street. These tires have so much grip in the wet they are amazing!

The stock tires are intended to make oversteer easier to provoke. However, the stock tires are also not progressive in their handling.

This car benefits immediately from fitting better tires, and almost anything is better than stock.

I think I'm getting a set of those A/S3 fit my BRZ. The Primacy is not going back on, that's for sure.

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by Pete156

ANY tire is a better match than the stock rubber. I can't believe Michelin makes such a shitty tire.

It's actually quite a decent tire, just not on this car.

The breakaway characteristics of the Primacy are designed for more pedestrian cars. They are unsuited to this car except, as intended, to promote oversteer.

[utekineir]

be thankful you guys got the primacies and not the turanzas.

[AsianStyle]

Anyone try the A/S 3 in the snow? I know they are getting rave reviews everywhere, but since they were released around summer time nobody seems to have any snow reviews.

I'm actually debating on getting these or winter tires, but since I rarely see snow I was leaning towards the A/S 3.

[Bg8780]

Originally Posted by AsianStyle

Anyone try the A/S 3 in the snow? I know they are getting rave reviews everywhere, but since they were released around summer time nobody seems to have any snow reviews.

I'm actually debating on getting these or winter tires, but since I rarely see snow I was leaning towards the A/S 3.

I'm very curious of this as well. I'm military and move around so I need a tire that can handle summer and a bit of snow. I've been reading about this tire a lot and hope it's exactly what I'm looking for.

[krayzie]

I've got the A/S 3 in 215/45/R17 87V on stock rims for use primarily during below freezing temps. I've ran it on ice and light snow and it's really only good enuf to keep me from wrapping a pole, it will make heavy use of the vehicle stability control system (i.e. more brake wear). On wet slush they actually have pretty good grip and stopping ability.

I've ran Dunlop SP Sport 01 A/S on a Golf GTI before for 2 winters (225/40/R18) and even on deep snow a few times. Never got stuck ever but it also relied on heavy use of ESP to keep the car tracking straight. Once I switched to dedicated snow tires the ESP only came on during icy conditions / fast turns.

These ultra high performance all seasons are great if you primarily drive on plowed or dry roads in the winter. They will get you home no problem if you suddenly get caught up by that snow storm, just drive cautiously at a slower pace.

[reeves]

The stock Primacy tires only have a load rating of 87 too, even though they're W-rated on speed. Unless you track or autocross heavily, or plan to go faster than 149mph, the 87V version of the A/S 3 is perfectly fine. Most people will never even use up to 75% of the "max" rating for an 87V tire.

Interestingly, I find it laughable that Michelin (on their own site) gives the Primacy HP a BETTER rating in 'Braking' and 'Handling' than it does the new A/S 3. Note: it also lists the A/S 3 as an "All-season" tire, while the Primacy HP is listed as a "Summer" tire.

I say it's laughable because I just put on a new pair of 87V A/S 3 tires on my rears (the fronts are still Primacy HPs) and have been testing them out the every day this past week, on which most days it's been raining. The A/S 3 easily out-performs the Primacy in handling, it's not even close.
> I did several hard U-turns in the rain (by myself on rural roads) where I stomped on the gas in mid-turn. The Primacy HP ALWAYS spun out, lost grip, or had trouble getting immediate traction (until the traction control kicked in). Testing out the A/S 3, I've yet to get the traction control to kick in yet. It may lose grip for a split-second, but always caught on immediately afterwards during mid-turn.

Can't say I've tested out the braking yet, but a hundred bucks says the A/S 3 will win in that too.

[Nevermore]

I'm curious about the speed ratings now because of this. Getting a lower speed rated tire doesn't affect the quality, does it? They don't come in V for the size I want, at least not on tirerack, but they do have a 91H that costs about 100 bucks less than the 91Y for a set of 4. The only difference in specs I saw was the tread width. For some reason the H was .5" wider.

[zdr93523]

I recently installed a set of the A/S 3s on my BRZ and agree with everyone here that they are exceptional. I had Hankook V12s on my RPF1s before these and the A/S 3s are much better in the wet or dry.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

[YW-Slayer]

Originally Posted by Suberman

It's actually quite a decent tire, just not on this car.

The breakaway characteristics of the Primacy are designed for more pedestrian cars. They are unsuited to this car except, as intended, to promote oversteer.

I entirely agree. I have had the privilege(?) of driving 2 cars with Primacy HPs. One is my BRZ, the other is a Ford S-Max (240hp from the 2.0 Turbo ecoboost engine). Interestingly enough, I think the Primacys come in identical sizes on both cars.

The Primacys are hateful and, yes, dangerous in the wet on the BRZ. I have found the Pilot Super Sport replacements to be far better.

However, the Primacys are actually surprisingly good on the S-Max. Yes, the amount of torque on tap means that the tyres do spin when flooring it from a stop, and I am considering a change to Pilot Sport 3s when their time is up in order to slightly decrease roll and increase grip in the dry. But they handle very predictably and safely in the wet (including serious tropical rainstorms with flooding) and it's difficult to see what more one could ask for in the Ford's tyres if I were to constantly drive in extremely adverse wet weather conditions.

[SuperDave]

never go for a speed rating lower than what's recommended for your car, it's got a certain speed rating for a reason.

[5hairpins]

When I got my A/S 3's, they only make the lower one of those ratings in our stock size. From what I was told by Tire Rack sales support, the larger tires come in the higher rating. Either way, a big upgrade in rubber from the Primacies.

[Khyron686]

Can you guys post some pics of the tires (from the front or back) - trying to get a feel for stretch vs width. They run narrower than the PSS but by how much?

225 vs 245 is what I'm debating (on an 8 inch wheel).

[OICU812]

I'd have no hesitations using AS/3. I had AS+ and they were excellent. Currently I'm on MPSS which are excellent however a few downsides to them for sure. Below 45 Degrees F they're skittish, need warm up time before you do anything erratic. Secondly and may not bother some but does me is they pick up "everything" on the road all grit, tiniest of pebbles etc. So when you're cruising around slow sounds like you're driving on a gravel road even when you're not lol.


All said my next set will be AS/3 100%