Pilot Supor Sport 225/45 or Pilot Sport 3 215/45
 

I've seen a few people mention that they have got Michelin Pilot Super Sports in the stock tyre size 215/45/R17 but it seems to me like they don't exist... my local tyre dealer can't find them in that size and the Michelin website seems to agree. The only option I got (other than the stock tyre) for that size on the Michelin site is the Pilot Sport 3. The Pilot Super Sports only seem to be in 225/45/R17 not 215/45/R17.

I don't know that much about Michelin tyres, so I've no idea which would be "better" on this car and for what I want to use it for. Ideally I'd like a little bit more grip than the stock tyres but not much... I like the playful nature of the back end a lot, but I don't like the borderline dangerous nature of it in the wet (especially just going round a small roundabout and the front starts to push wide...).

So anyone that knows a thing or two about Michelins, would you recommend going for the slightly wider pilot super sports or going for the stock size pilot sport 3s?

Also anyone that has gone to the 225 width tyre, is there anything I need to be aware of? The tyre dealer said a wider tyre could possibly make the traction control system get a bit confused, although I get the impression the traction control on this car is not that advanced...
They also said the wider tyre will be a bit taller too (I never realised the second part of the tyre measurement was a percentage of the width, not an actual measurement in mm), so I'm wondering how well a taller tyre will work out especially when I've lowered the car with coilovers that are on their way. Any experiences from people who have gone down the 225/45/R17 route would be good

Cheers
Chris

You'll be increasing overall diameter by approx .4 inches with the 225s. This won't upset any of your electronics. Go with the PSS. Much better tire. Good in the wet also.

^ agreed with this. I run 225/45/17 Michelin PSS on my car. Love it.

Hey man, I confirmed that my tire is 215/45. That's odd how you can't seem to find them locally. I found them here on tirerack.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Some places only stock/list certain sizes. You have to check around a bit

http://www.onlinetires.com/products/...sport+91y.html

$138 each here

Made the switch to 225/45 PSS on stock wheels last week. Within the week, I got the chance to drive them in pretty wet conditions as well as 100+ mi of spirited driving in the hill country. Plenty of added grip in both conditions, especially in the wet, but the rear still steps out predictably if you want it to. I think they make for a great DD tire.

I have to agree, go with the 225s and you'll be happy. Personally I went with 235/45/17s on a wider wheel and love them so far.

Yeah I know not every tyre place has every tyre in stock or anything, but for the Michelin website to not even list them and my local tyre place rang Michelin UK and they said no they don't make them... maybe they just don't make them for the UK market but seems pretty weird.

Anyway, seems like going to 225 is going to be fine anyway judging by what everyone else here is saying. I'll get 4 ordered tomorrow :) Thanks!

Would putting the 225/45/17 on the stock wheel (17x7.5?) and then removing it to place it on a different wheel (17x8) have an abnormal fitment issues?

Asking because Costco has a deal for $70 off Michelin tires until tomorrow, but I'm not ready to buy new wheels yet until two months later probably.

Nope. I believe a 225 is good for up to an 8.5" rim. I know quiet a lot of people are running 225/45/17 on 17x8 :)

I found the 215/45 PSS at Costco last week. I'm preparing to slap the PSS in March. They quoted me @ 107.99 just in case u were curious about the price.

Hi Chris,

I believe that other people here have not checked your country: UK. Basically I think that Michelin Pilot Super Sport are not available in Europe in 215/45/17. I'm in the same situation, I'm in Italy and I want PSS in the stock size, but I cannot find any European dealer selling them. The only european solution in stock size for Michelin is the Pilot Sport 3.
I wanted PSS because they are Max summer tires, very good for DD + track, with the same performance of Extreme summer tires like Yokohama AD08. So they mix the best of Extreme tires (track performance) while they are safe for DD (rain) + the treadwear is 300 and they will last much longer then Extreme tires.

I believe that we have to buy a less performant Max summer tire like Pilot Sport 3 or Yoko Advan V105 if you prefer safety and longevity, or go with Advan Neova AD08R if you want max track peformance but fast wearing on the street.

Another possible solution is Kumho Ecsta XS, which is an Extreme tire sold at less then many much lower performant Max summer tires, so they combine performance and cost over time (fast wear but very low cost), however I'm worried about their performance on the rain.

If you can you can buy the 225 width PSS, but unfortunately in Italy they are not legal, the only legal 17 tires for our car is the 215/45.

Thanks, I thought I was going mad. I just tried to order the 224/45/R17 PSS and yeah they don't exist in the UK either... So I've just gone for the Pilot Sport 3s in the stock size of 215/45/R17. I figure they've got to be a little better than the Primacys that are on there even if they're not as good as PSS

What? Not legal?

Correct me if I'm wrong, i live in SOcal so it doesn't really matter. the michelin PSS is a summer tire, the Michelin Pilot sport A/S 3 is an all weather tire. i had these on my s2000. wouldn't those be better in the rain? and the PSS not perform well in the wet? I've heard from my uncle that the PSS are awesome. i just want to make sure they are as good or better than the Michillen A/s 3 in the rain if anyone can comment on this. Thanks!

Oops, tire name confusion here. The Michelin Pilot Sport 3 that is being discussed is a summer tire.

Michelin Pilot Sport 3

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 is a different tire and is and "all season" tire.

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is also a summer tire.

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

I think the Pilot Sport 3 is a bit softer than the Pilot Super Sport. The PSS is the successor to the PS2 which was Michelin's previous best performance tire. I think the PS3 was designed to be a bit "friendlier" but still have better wet performance than the PS2. From what I have read though, I get the impression that the Pilot Sport 3 would do better in the rain than the Pilot Super Sport. Also, the PS3 may be better for a lighter car such as ours, and perhaps better for a bit of "sliding" or playing around on the road due to lower overall dry traction.

It is virtually impossible to find a tire test with both the PSS and PS3, because such tests are usually done by magazines that ask each manufacturer to submit the best of their tires for a given test article. Each manufacturer is usually allowed to enter only one tire. Also, tire tests for wet performance are often difficult to interpret. Is the test track just a bit wet, or was the test conducted during rain where there can be standing water? Does the test differentiate between wet handling and resistance to hydroplaning? Both of these can vary due to different vehicle tire sizes, suspension setup, and weight.

Pilot Super Sports will far outperform the A/S 3 in rain.

Take a look at some of the test results, unfortunately they're not on the same chart but the point still stands.

http://i.imgur.com/Y3xf6PV.png

http://i.imgur.com/DoLHuhm.png

PSS are great in the wet *warmed up*. My experience has been that they have a surprising lack of grip when cold or even cool, though. But that's with much wider 245/275 tires on my FD, which probably never warm up in temps below 45F on the street.

My experience on the FR-S is that the PSS are better cold than the Primacy. Once heated up on the track, the Primacy grip pretty well, far better than they do when cold on the street. I've not taken the PSS to the track on the FR-S, but on my 550i, the PSS got greasy when heated up. There was also some driver here, can't remember who, who gathered data that said how, at the limit on the track, the properly warmed PSS and Primacy were equal in grip.

That is why, for the street, I use PSS. For the track, I use Primacy. Lightly used Primacy are cheap. If I wanted to go faster at the track, I'd go with something like the RS3.

Primacy are really fun track tires. When warmed up, they clearly communicate their limits.

PSS seem to be much more temperature and pressure sensitive which is a good reason to monitor both during your time at the track. I've not been able to overheat my 235s on the track yet (after getting pressure dialed in correctly) but I'll likely get there with more seat time. This may be a reason to get out of the 215/225 range and move up a tire size or two.

I played around with my Primacys once there and was definitely left wanting more grip. The progressiveness is nice but it feels much easier to outdrive traction on these IMO.

go with the PSS

In Italy can only fit tires of the sizes reported on the car's slip/document. Since the only wheel size the GT86 is sold with is the 215/45, we only have this size on the slip/document. To have different sizes you have to go through a process, involving an authorization from Toyota Italy and a test from the local Italian Automotive organism, moreover the new tyre have to be in the ±5% radius of the stock one and the whole process costs a couple of hundreds euro, that basically you won't do just to go from 215/45/17 to 225/45/17, you will do it to approve the 18 wheels directly.

Instead of the PS3 I would have chosen the Yokohama V105, since they are the most similar to the PSS on may of the independent tests. For the Yokohama Advan Sport V105 I've noticed the opposite behaviour of the Michelin PSS: here in Europe you can find them in the 15-17 inch sizes, while on Tirerack (US) they are only listed in big sizes.

The supply of Yokohama Advan Sport V105's at the Tire Rack seems to be diminishing rapidly in many sizes. Either the Tire Rack will stop carrying Yokohamas (or just this one), or Yokohama is readying a new tire for release this spring or summer. Ditto for the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2.

FYI it seems that Michelin PSS are now available in Europe (at least in Italy) in 215/45 R17. They are listed on our national Michelin website and available in some of the major online Europe dealers.

Now that's some good news. Shipping over pond from US to EU adds quite a lot due weight and size. +No extra hassle with VAT/custom duties, as it's from another EU country.

Is this a legit vendor? i was quoted for free shipping even to me here in Alaska!!!

I've bought from them numerous times before. Just call and make sure they're in stock. Placing orders over the phone is the way to go with those guys.