I've heard many people repeat that the P-Zero tires the car comes with are garbage.. but would like to hear more about WHY they are garbage. Aside from the rear tires being almost gone at 13k miles, I've not been dissatisfied with them. What does the Michelin Pilot 4S do better than the P-Zero? What about other tire options, like a Continental Extreme Contact DWS?

I am daily-driving the car except for when it snows or is icy, which is pretty rare where I'm at. Although it would be fun to drive it even when it snows if I have decent tires...!

 

I personally find them very loud. And over last weekend I drove over less than perfect highways where there were some divots in the road. I found those tires to make the car very "squirrely". Granted, mine were over inflated by the dealer. On the way back, after adjustment, the noise was a bit less, but still too loud.

 

 

I had the P zeros on mine until I changed to bigger wheels and got michelins. Personally I had no issues and racked up about 20,000km on them. There is still heaps of meat left on them. I have done about 1000km on the Michelins and I cant really say whether they are better or worse lile for like because they came on 21 inch wheels when the P zeros were on 19"s, and the new wheels are heaps lighter than the old. I would say though that the ride on the 21"s is really good - bumps are a little more noticeable than they were on 19"s but barely moreso. I'd imagine that is due to the better tyres. Handling wise I thought the P zeros were really good, I could throw the car around plenty and the steering was dead on, whereas the back end could flick around a bit which I dont mind at all.

 

I pretty much agree with your assessment. On top of it, I think my car is wearing them unequally on the rear. I posted another thread on it. I will be going to the MPS 4S as well.

 

There's a reason I don't have much tread left now...

Anyway, I guess that was part of my concern - if the MP4S are actually MORE grippy, I'm probably not interested, but if they fix other problems, I'd like to know. So far, it sounds like loudness is the overall complaint, and I'd have to say that I'd agree - the tires aren't exactly quiet.

Keep the comments coming folks, thanks for the feedback so far!

 

For me it was all about traction during acceleration - the Michelins could handle significantly more power than the Pirelli's, they were in a whole other league, worlds apart I'd say.

As for other benefits, I did notice the Michelin's were smoother and quieter too, but I was going from 50% worn Pirelli's so its not a fair comparison.

 

 

 

Approx -

Since you are also here in Oregon, apparently the 4s tires are much better in the wet. That is, if you venture out into the cold Oregon rain.

I treat my car pretty well, baby it, but I agree - the rare burn off sure is fun. I discovered how to enjoy a certain kind with the P-Zeros and my RWD R the other day and it really created a huge smile.

Disengage traction control ... head up Taylors Ferry Road at about 20-25mph and then lay into it full throttle in sport mode. I mean wowza! So much fricking fun. Hanging on for dear life like you are riding a very angry bronco.

This is why this is the perfect car for me. Pure excitement and fun. I love watching videos about Supercars like the McClaren and all that they can do speed wise, but what will that do for me except extract my license? Pretty sure 150+mph down an empty night highway is a crap shoot.

No crazy sounds, no drama. The analogy would be enjoying riding a loud Harley or a super crotch rocket. The Harley isn't as fast, but who cares. It is just FUN.

I really do want to go to the Michelins because the RWD R in the wet/cold is really a dangerous ride. It wants to kill me, and it means it.

Charmed life.

 

There have been a number of threads about the superior grip of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S compared to Pirelli's P Zeros, many owners including myself replaced P Zeros with P4S on the basis of recommendation of forum members..

I haven't read any posts from owners who expressed regret at fitting P4S to their F type

 

Hey I'm in Oregon as well, but in a much sunnier area but the car sits out the snow. Hated the Pirellis Love the 4Ss. Change was like night and day. Wasn't a fan of the Continentals on my AMG either replaced them with those racing Dunlap tires they were burning out for $100 a tire. Likely scary when wet (I have snow tires for that car) but in the dry they stick impressively well.

 

 

Do you find that there is excessive road noise, especially from the rear tires? My F came with SportContact 2 Continentals and the road noise from the rears is very annoying, to the point I'm thinking of installing some sound dampening material or something.

 

I recently went with a fresh set of Michelin PS4S and the difference is night/day. I wouldn't run any other tire on a performance car. It rides better, it's quieter and far more glued to the road. Money well spent. The Pirelli's hard compound made it seem as though I was driving on an ice rink with wagon wheels.

 

 

 

My P-zeros, like many people above, just felt very slick compared to the Dunlops.

 

I am on my second F-Type with P-Zero's and fully understand where the ZERO came from. They have zero rear grip, especially on the R, and zero ride quality. The only place that the zero doesn't apply is noise - they have plenty of that. I used Pilot SS's on my last two Corvette's, my SLK55 AMG and Z4 M Sport, and they were great. From what I read, the new Pilot Sport 4S's are even better. Unfortunately, my first F-Type S had brand new P-Zeros and I'm too cheap to throw away $1400 worth of tires, so I suffered with them for over a year. The R, with 16K miles has well worn Zeros and will be replaced with Michelins within two weeks.

BTW, someone asked about the Extreme Contacts. I read on Tire Rack that these tires were the reason Michelin replaced the SS's with the new 4S's. They must be pretty good if they forced Michelin to design a new tire.

 

Costco had a sale through Sunday on Michelins w/ free install and a couple promos so I decided to order the 4s tires finally.

Someone's comment about driving an expensive car on crap tires finally got to me. My fronts have some deep gouges and those have bothered me especially in the 100mph+ spirited drives (in Mexico, on a track of course).

I showed my friend how I had rubber cemented the front fires to fill in the missing chunks and now he wont ride in the F-Type with me. Pansy.