Very disappointed with the so4
 

I replaced Michelin A/S3 (ultra high performance all season)with the so4 (max performance summer) about 2000 miles ago and had nothing but disappointments.
1. The tire contact patch is 1 inch smaller compared to the michelins and the overall circumference is shorter, thus making my tire/wheel look "mismatch and small" to the car
2. The tires will not warm up to performance standards unless it's in 90 degree Florida heat. Today after driving 40 miles on I95, the tires still broke loose for a good 3 seconds at WOT from a stop light on a clean unsandy street. Indicated temp on dash was 75 degrees
3. But the tire is so soft that even with mild acceleration to 3k rpm from a stop will leave a trail of tire marks on the pavement. I can see it from my rear view mirror. Doubt they will last over 8k miles
4. The SO4 also tend to hydroplane much easier going through a puddle.

With the A/S3 those issues weren't existent and the rears lasted over 12k with over 50 drag race runs with burnouts. Best time 12.91 1/4 mile.
Reason I bought the so4 was based on the cheaper price and PSS is on a long wait list since every high performance car is using it from the factory.

I also had the Hankook v12 evo before the michelins. I would give them a higher initial rating than the so4

2011 stock 7AT. 255/35/20 front, 285/30/20 rear

/rant over

This is good to know. I had the S04 on another car and was happy with them, but they were a huge upgrade from the crappy tire they were replacing. I'm picking up my new Z in a few hours and I've been looking at replacement tires for a while now trying to gauge what people tend to love. Guess i'll be staying away from the S04.

Very good to know. Was on the fence with either the RE-11s or the S04s, my choice has now been made.

Bridgestone RE11 I heard good reviews too.

Mich PSS is a good tire

I tried that tire and the Bridgestone RE11 and I can tell you from experience that the Bridgestone RE11 is alot better

Fixed!

I wanted the re11 after finding out PSS is on back order, but they don't make it for 20' wheels:shakes head:

How many miles do you have on the S04's? If they are new it takes some wear on them as well. Also, they are not a tire I would recommend for drag racing. There are much better, but if you are looking for performance running canyon and such they will hold their own with PSS's and the alike. In a straight line any real performance tire will need a decent amount of heat in them to perform. I ran S04's while being boosted and they worked just fine!!!

yep, as you said, probably not broken in yet. S04's are great tires, i have a few sets for my G.

2000 miles isn't broken in? 50 miles most it takes. I didn't take it to drag racing, yet. It was on the street after driven a long time to warm up on i95. Read my post...

I highly doubt the so4 didn't spin out at WOT with boost. Any non China made tires can pull without slipping while the car already moving in high speed. Note that I didn't complain about carving corners but traction during WOT while stopped, AFTER driven for a long time to warm up. The all season A/S 3 performed MUCH better in similar circumstances

You went from an Ultra High performance to a Max performance tire. Big difference. The S04's were great in the wet. I had no issues there. Where they lacked was dry grip. RE-11's are much better but you give up some traction in the wet sometimes. By the way, I don't slow down in the rain. I am the guy passing everyone complaining of them not being prepared.

I'm sorry if you felt like I was attacking you, I'm just providing my perspective on the tire given the information you provided. Yes, I can spin any tire on the market from a stop or shifting to 2nd gear. If you expectation is no wheel spin then you are going to have to upgrade to the best of tires on the market. Those that are N/A on a R rated tire will out perform you all day long of AS tire given normal daily driving. AS tires are middle of the road and do nothing very well generally speaking. Part of the game is learning how to modulate the throttle to limit wheel spin as well. Good luck on the search for the perfect tire.:tiphat:

This is surprising to say the least ...

until I noticed that the OP is comparing them to all seasons.

Just a few of my thoughts ...

1. It is well established (at least on this forum) that the S04 run narrow, and you should go up a size (this will keep the tire diameter closer to OEM diameter).

2. 90 degrees? Probably a little hyperbole there. Plus, you should be able to light up just about any tire going WOT in 1st gear in the Z :driving:

3. I seriously doubt that the acceleration is mild if you're leaving 11s on the asphalt :twocents:

4. You are comparing all seasons vs max performance. Of course the wet traction isn't going to be as good :rolleyes:

The Michelin might be all seasons but it performed better in both DRY and wet. I pulled the fastest stock Z 1/4 mile time on this forum with those. After warming up, the "all seasons" does not chirp nor spin out WOT off the line. Do some research and watch a few comparison videos and you would see the A/S 3 should be categorized in a higher class based on their performance.
I'm actually running the largest size so4 they manufacture btw

This review is obviously based on my own experience, and there will always be diehard fans saying otherwise. I actually bought the tires becuase the high praises, But I can't wait to replace those for my stock Z

Actually "max performance" is a performance level higher than "ultra high performance" based on how tirerack.com catagorize tires

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=G-MAX+AS-03

Never regretted getting these.

I have debated getting the G Max's the past 3 sets of tires I have purchased. I was going to pull the trigger this go around but General didn't have the sizes I needed for 19" wheels.

I went with the S-04's instead and have loved the tires. I purchased the tires for a few reasons but one being that I had heard good reviews in dry and wet conditions, prior to my purchase. I have been pleased so far but in heavy rain, it could be a bit better.

I'd buy the S-04's again, but that's just me.

of course its going to break loose on cold weather, theyre summer tires. iv been running s04 with no issues, def cheaper than MPSS

I purchased the s04's about 2 months ago and I been happy with them. I daily drive my car and never had issues on the rain and even on cold weather they perform well.

But I'm actually kind of worry right now because I live in NC and winter is here. I need winter tires lol good thing it hasn't been too cold. Hopefully I can find a good deal on here.

Should have gone with Michelin PSSs

Do you consider 75 degrees cold weather? I see Texans are much more cold sensitive than Floridians :rofl2:

Maybe I drive my Z like i stole it. But breaking traction on a tire with such soft performance compound is just unacceptable, especially given enough time to warm up

PSS were on back order for 1-2 month. Every high end car (M3, RCF, S line...) is using it in the show room floor

Love my s04s! They work well and especially for the price you can't go wrong. In weather that's 70+ the car hooks well on 20+ roll. Dig is a different story but the car is lowered and boosted so I don't expect them to work like my drag radials do. For a street tire I don't see why anyone wouldn't like these tires.

RE-11 FTW!

my current rears are getting worn down and I have about 11k miles in them. they still grip. temps have dropped up north and when it's 50 degrees the cold worn tires will slip and spin at full beans but they catch and grip still. even in the recent rains they've been fine. as with all tires if it's bad rain and standing water they let go a bit but no performance tire really does well in that situation.

RE-11's on the rear and S-04's up front...ran the Dragon with them last year and had much fun. Seems to me that everyone is looking for mo grip including the big boys in F1. The deal is if you got any kind of power you will always be chasing grip, even them that dive those cute little BRZ's and such won't more grip.

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Re-11's here too. Came from PSS. The performance of both are astounding. I ran the PSS on the dragon and the RE-11 on the track. I prefer the grip and the stiffer sidewall of the RE-11 more but both were great all season (Florida). Rain traction is good on both.

I ran pss and the next year re11 on the dragon and the re-11 won the comparison. I had a pss sidewall roll on me. Talk about a clenching moment lol

Have the G-Max on the back of my Z.......definitely the tire for all season in
the North West if you drive most of the year!

To the OP, what psi (cold) are you running?

32psi

I love my S04 tires. When I bought my Z it had some really crappy Kumho Ecsta tires on it. The transition from the Kumho to the S04 was amazing. The temps around here are in the 40's and while they have lost some traction, they still are not bad.

I think I will try a set of RE11 next just to check them out.

I've been on the dragon on my bike but not the Z yet. That will most likely happen this summer. What a ride!!!!

is the SO4 the replacement for the RE050A? read that on Jalopnik (?)

I would consider them an upgrade from the RE050A.

Tire Rack is your friend when it comes to doing tire research. I always read the reviews before buying tires.

The S04 tires that I have were purchased from TR and a local installer mounted and balanced them. The left front tire had a flat spot on it that the installer noticed. He recommended that I drive the car a couple of days and see if the tire would get better. It didn't. I called TR and they sent me a replacement and had UPS pick up the bad tire from my house. Fantastic customer service. They even reimbursed the installer for the remount and balance.