Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 215/45/17 Impressions
 

So I just installed Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 215/45/17 on my FRS and I figured I would give my first impression. (Figured it might help someone just like me!)

First, they look different than stock!

I'm not sure I prefer the look.. but for some reason they look more like winter tires than summers. (Am I weird for saying this?). Anyhow, no big deal.

First drive...

They feel noticeably softer. The car is still responsive but now when I turn there is much more body roll which I dislike.

On the plus side, there is definitely more grip! I used to lose the backend of the car relatively easily before (The car is supercharged) and now it there is a significant increase in traction.

Turning is better, accelerating is better (Less wheel spin) and I don't feel the small road imperfections as much. (The softer compound absorbs more!)

On the downside... I kind of enjoyed the rigidity of the previous tires. I really don't like the extra roll that I feel with the tires and I feel as if I've lost some of the confidence I had in the car. (Although perhaps that's because they are new).

I'm thinking maybe a sway bar is in order? I don't even know.

So am I happy? It's too early to tell. There is definitely more grip but the car handles differently now.

sway bars are the way to go. once you improve your tires to something softer and with more grip, the tires wont give and slide so the body roll will be way more noticeable.

I have just installed Pilot Super Sport (summer tires) 225/45/17, the ride quality and sound level is same as the stock, there is significant improvement on grip and traction.
Steering response improved too but not as good as the R1R that I had but it's on 245/40/18 (straight from my 2011 WRX).

I would suggest a good quality spring set like RCE yellows or Swift over sway bars. They should have a much bigger increase in performance and feel than sways and will cost less if you're upgrading front and back.

Wouldn't springs be much more than sway? And a more difficult installation? Aye... I just wanted more grip, not to have to do more mods!!!

Try adjusting pressures as well. You may find 40psi gives you less roll and better feel.

Thanks, that's a good idea!

Update #2:
So after driving with them for 3 days, I now feel much more comfortable with them. I honestly didn't realize how much my FRONT tires were slipping in the past. (It was obvious to me that the back ones were because your ass is sticking out drifting... but now I understand that the front ones were as well during tight cornering.)

Suffice to say, turning as vastly improved and I can now take the same turns at a much higher speed. (I'm going to give a "bro-science" estimate of about 5-10kph faster cornering speeds due entirely to the tires. In context, this means that I can take turns at around 60kph instead of 50kph.

I feel the roll difference a little less now that I have gotten used to it... but it would still be fun to regain some of that solid stability. I suppose I'm off to find a sway bar now!

Please post some pics - even cellphone! Also I assume you're on the stock 7 inch wide wheels?

I'm looking at the same tires but in 245/40 on an 8 inch wheel.

Good quality springs can be had for around $300, which is more than replacing one sway (which would drastically change the handling characteristics) but probably less than replacing both. Beef up the front sway and you'll have much more understeer, beef up the rear and you'll have much more oversteer. I personally had an easier time replacing the springs (following the DIY on here) than the front sway by itself but I also hit some snags in the bar installation.


Honestly I wouldn't touch the sway bars until you have a quality set of springs on there. You'll see way better results from springs and if you only end up replacing one sway bar, I really don't think you'll like the resulting handling.

I run 245/40R17 PS A/S 3's on a 17x9 on the street. Had 225s on a 17x8. Do you want pics of the 245s?

@kaybee123 for the handling question... @was385 is right. If you're open to mods: Springs first, and then alignment, then sways. I run RCE Yellows with an aggressive alignment (HVT top hats, front camber bolts, and rear LCAs) and Eibach Sways front and rear set to soft. The car is beautifully balanced with this setup.

If you don't want to do mods to the car, install some SPC camber bolts and get it aligned with the camber bolts maxed out and zero toe all around. It will make a world of difference.

Tirerack lists the A/S 3 as two pounds heavier than the PSS, and 3 pounds heavier than the OEM tire.. that's the only thing I don't like about the A/S 3. Other than that, it's been doing fine for me so far too. Much better grip than OEM tires for sure.

Did you get the W-rated version or the V-rated version? I noticed Tirerack sells the V-rated one for ~$30 cheaper. The sidewalls on the cheaper version could be less reinforced (softer), hence the lower load rating.

I got the W version. Made sure of that!

I just installed 225/45R17 A/S 3's on the rears (215/45/R17 on the fronts). The 225's come in a Y-speed rating, and are actually lower in price than the W-rated 215's on tirerack right now.

I was concerned about the 225's having a taller sidewall than the 215's, but it's barely noticeable, if at all. They're look identical from the side actually (225's on the rear tire, 215 on the front tire).

http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps878afe1f.jpg