Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus: My Review

[SeattleLion]

I drove the first 1,000 miles in my Touring sport with the Bridgestone OEM tires. I live 25 miles east of Seattle, so we get a good deal of wet weather. During most of that first thousand miles it was oddly sunny. The Bridgestones stuck to the road like gum on your shoes. Then it rained. On Washington 18 crossing over Tiger mountain (only 1,300 ft high), I found myself hydroplaning in really shallow puddles, at 70 MPH.

Then, a thousand miles ago, I installed Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. Don't confuse these tires with the Pilot Sport PS2's. They are nothing at all like them. The A/S in the name designates all season. Unlike the Bridgestones, these tires are rated for low temperature use. The manufacturer says they will work in "light snow". Clearly these are not snow tires.

During the first thousand miles driving with the Pilots, there was a little sun, and quite a bit of rain.Unlike the Bridgestones, the Pilot A/S's never hydroplaned. In one notable puddle on Wa 18, I threw up a giant wake that went over the jersey barrier and splashed oncomoming cars. With these tires, wet roads feel dry. Handling is just as good (at least on roads) as the Bridgestones. Hard cornering at speed produced no tire squeal and the car stayed on a steady line.

Tire Rack rates these tires in the middle of their ultra performance tires. I selected the Pilot A/S because of their ability to operate at freezing temperatures. We don't get much snow here, but we do go down to about 20 deg F in December. My Z is my daily driver, but I can work from home or hitch a ride from my wife in ther 4WD Tacoma if it does snow.

The Pilot A/S's are expensive. Sam's club had theme at $326 for the 19X245 fronts and $345 for the 19X275 rears. Install and road hazard warranty adds another $15 a wheel. This is the first time I spent this much for tires; especially when the OEM tires were less than 2 months old.

The Pilot A/S tires seem to reduce road noise, but not to the the degree that the car is "civilized". You can clearly hear the road. But it feelx a bit quieter in the cabin. I didn't buy my Z for a quiet "pillow top" ride.

After a thousand miles would I do it again? Absolutely. If anything, the Pilot A/S tires make the Z more road-friendly and they take the worry out of cold weather.