I've always regarded tires as machinery that must be cared for in a certain way. You put a car in a power slide with tires smoking or on fire, a la "Top Gear", it can't help but damage /ruin the tire for street use.

More subtlety, you do a high speed brakes locked stop of sufficient duration and your tires are toast. Run your car on an oval track on a hot day for X number of circuits and you get what you deserve. Use your street tires at the drag strip and ditto. Drivers who do this sort of stuff and then complain about the brand of tire and poor service do make one smile.

Certainly tires are expendable and consumable but if you want good service you take care. Hoo Boy. Let the games begin.

 

No argument from me in this regard. Could add that tires "age" even if not used or even if carefully driven. The chemicals that make the compounds soft evaporate with time, leaving a brittle tire that rides harshly and will not provide much traction any more. That means that for best performance and ride comfort people should get new tires every so often, even if the threads are hardly worn.

Extreme example; racing slicks that loose those chemicals in a matter of a handful of laps and become harder and slower with each lap.

Albert

 

I agree about "aging." The XK I just bought is 5 years old and still has the original tires on it The car only has 15,000 miles on it and the tires still have half the tread. But, they have spent many hours sitting idle. Although they don't show any dryness or cracking I'm still not comfortable with them at highway speeds. So, regardless of tread wear, new tires are in order. I'm still down to the DW or PSS options and my goal is to see how many miles I can coax out of them. I just wish they made 19" tires like the ones I have on the XJ8 and XJS. The Michelins on those cars run smooth, quiet, and are very comformtable. Of course, they're not 19" wheels and that makes a big difference. Thanks everyone for the feedback.

 

I wonder if someone who has the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports could comment on the treadwear they have experienced?
It's hard to believe that Tirerack's survey results would still give them the highest rating on treadwear, (8.9), if people are experiencing the dismal
6,000 miles or so as stated on these threads.
Anyone?
Thanks

 

No one??

No one getting any decent tread life on these tires?

 

I'm not sure where you got 6000 mi tread life from, but I don't believe it. Too many factors affect wear, and it's probably too new to get enough feedback to know anyways. You obviously don't need such a high performance tire because, like you said, you don't care how good it is if it's going to wear quickly. Why not just buy what you can get favorable feedback on and has long life?

Or you could say... OMG, the grip must be awesome on these tires if they wear quickly, and it'll be worth the price of admission just to find out! Hang on...better order a second pair for the rears if they're that good! I know I can benefit from a little extra grip from time to time so it's a no-brainer for me, and the price is very reasonable for that extra measure of goodness.

Good luck,

Bruce

 

Bought our '07 XKR used (50,000km) with Yokahama S-Drive's on it. Like other posters, I don't think I need the last 1% of grip to drive to work! The S-Drives seem perfectly adequate. This post will go on for days!

 

My apologies. This must have been the reference to the 6,000 that I was referring to...
Do we really have to make a such a sacrifice of treadwear for grip?
Again, these are supposedly warrented for 22,500 miles. Seems there should be some sort of compensation or credit for such a reduced return on promise. Am I being totally naive about this?
Sorry if this is an annoyance to some, but I'm curious why Michelin won't stand behind their product? And leery then of those who sell them.

 

That quote has no bearing on the tire you're considering. If warranty is a concern then speak to a Michelin dealer and let us know how you make out. You might also try searching other forums to find feedback on the PSSS.

 

I have about 800 miles on my new Pilot Super Sports on the rear. If they only last 6K miles, I know a tire shop that will be replacing them with new ones.

The performance, quiet and smooth ride is worth the money (in my case).

 

Based on what I read on the manufacturer's web site the PSS have a pro-rated treadwear warranty of 30K miles. However, if installed as a staggered set (read cannot rotate tires) then the treadwear warranty on the rear tires only is reduced to 15K miles.

 

Last question about Michelin's Pilot Super Sports. A friend of mine installed new PSS's on his '03 XK8. After two weeks he couldn't stand the road noise! He thought he had a bearing problem but it was the tires! He is running 18's and was able to trade them out for Primacy Touring tires which were much quieter. Granted, the Primacy tires are not a high performance tire. I'm running 19" wheels on my '07 XK and the user reviews about PSS noise has me spooked about buying a set of these. The car currently has Dunlop Sport 01 tires with 15,000 miles on them and the noise from them is so loud not even the radio drowns them out. While it is hard to predict what level of noise is accaptable to each individual I'm perplexed when someone writes that these tires are whisper quiet. I may have to resort to Conti Extreme DW's just because eveyone states they are so quiet and bite the bullet on treadwear complaints. What is your experience with the PSS's?

 

Michelin Pilot S/S... Best ride I've ever experienced....less than 3K in though...but as far as performance and ride quality... AWESOME... I'm almost scared to even try anything else when they wear thin. (And I've never felt this way about ANY tire) My 2 cents.

 

They are very quiet on my car.

 

I have a couple Dunlop SP Sport 275/35 ZR 19 that are real close to new condition. $250 for the pair.

 

A friend of mine has an NSX with 19s was saying tires are a little harder to come by and the deals are not as good as 20s. Maybe these will help someone ease the pain a little. Let me know. I also have 1 245/40 ZR 19 same brand and tread condition but there is a tear in the tread. It doesnt go all the way through but it's there.

I posted a picture of a burned 2007 XK Convertible about 2 weeks ago. I've been stripping the burned parts off and I may send the shell down the road to get sand blasted. There was a comment on how bad the car looked and I admit it does look horrible right now. I'd like to post pics as I go through the process but I dont want to bum you guys out. Some feedback please.

 

Assume you will have a separate thread for this...I'd love to follow your build. Will undoubtedly learn quite a lot, and maybe we can help you out along the way as well.

We'll need all the details, however - no detail is too small, including cost. Need the info!!!

 

Has anyone tried the Vredestein Utrac Sessanta? I heard they were a lower cost alternative to the PSS and similar in performance, handling and ride to the PS2.

 

Got a irreparable puncture in the OEM Dunlop tire on my '12 XKR...one new tire was $540...so instead I swapped on 4 new PSS tires.

Granted, I only have a handful of miles on them. However, so far I can...without doubt...say they run circles around the Dunlop tires in the rain / wet conditions in general.

Stay tuned for more...

 

I asked member on an S2000 forum about the new Bridgestone Potenza S04's and one member works for TireRack and had this to say:

Below is a test that we did here with the S04. Overall the only tire better was the Pilot Super Sport. They are and excellent handling tire in both wet and dry.
If I can help let me know.


Clash of the Titans: Testing Two New Max Performance Summer Heavy Hitters