Michelin PS4S - Another take

[DerekS]

So on my first Taycan, it shipped with Continentals which were straight trash. They didn't wear evenly (or long), and were downright dangerous in the wet.

I replaced them with "scary warranty-voiding non-N0" Michelin PS4S and was super happy with the result.

Fast forward to my Taycan GTS, which shipped with P-Zeros (EV flavor.). I had my beloved PS4S fitted again on Monday in preparation for my trip to PCA Palooza tomorrow and...well...

I have to admit the P-Zeros were quieter. I'm not unhappy with the PS4S per se, but I can definitely notice a sound difference that was not apparent last time.

I guess my updated assessment is:

P-Zeros > PS4S > Tying rubber bands around the rim > Continentals

When I run through these PS4s, if I still have the car, I will likely return to P-Zero EV tires.

Sorry for the folks I've convinced to go this route; I was overly enthusiastic because they were such an improvement on the Contis I guess.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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[Jonathan S.]

But have you tried the official Porsche OEM rubber bands?

 

[nischalr]

I have been surprisingly happy with the P zeros that came on my GTS so far, and am a die hard Michelin fan. I wanted to hate the pirellis from the beginning, other than wear, haven’t come up with anything. I’m curious to hear about the Goodyear assymetric 5 summer EV tire that is the other oem fitment. I have heard better things about them as compared to the pirellis. I am coming up soon on having to get some new tires and am trying to come to a decision. I only need summer performance tires, and was hoping the Michelin pilot EV tire would be available, but so far not in any sizes available in the US that would work.

 

[timc3]

I have the Goodyears on my summer wheels ( 21 inch ) and they seem fine until it gets cold which is to be expected. The thing is I have no reference to compare them against, apart from the Winter tyres but they are so different (Pirellis 20 inch) for a different weather condition and all the Taycans i have driven had the Goodyear.

They are wearing well enough I think, its possible to break traction with them but what wouldnt with that much power,, they don’t tramline badly, they performed really well in the wet on a fast drive.

 

[Dr.M.]

Did someone try the Hankook ion Evo tyre. It is a non NFO tyre, but has a triple A rating. Seems to be a great tyre.

 

[tigerbalm]

I too have been very happy with the factory fitted Pirelli PZero's on my Taycan. I had gotten unbelievably good wear and performance from the Michelin PS4 NF0 factory tyres on my previous Taycan 4S and was disappointed they were not going to be an option on my current Turbo S.

I was glad to see it came with the Pirelli's but since then the factory Goodyear's have had excellent reviews from @Scandinavian and others in this community.

I'm swapping over to my Pirelli PZero winter wheels today – so will be interesting to see how the wear has been on the summer PZero's. That is always the concern with these tyres: the wear.

My insurance stipulates I have to have approved (i.e. NF0) tyres on my car at the time of any claim – so can't consider PS4S or the likes. I was hoping that Michelin would bring some NF0 tyre to the 21" wheel range – but maybe we've been doing okay with Pirelli's after all.

 

[tigerbalm]

Oh, and shout out for the black magic that is the Pirelli PZero NF0 winter tyres. I can drive 200 km/h+ on the autobahn towards Norway and then drive over the arctic circle – with the tyre gripping into the snow and ice – on the same freaking tyre!

Roll on February for our next winter trip to Lofoten islands with them!

 

[ciaranob]

I stuck with the Pirellis for my replacement set too - def a quiet option but a compromise re thread wear.

 

[kempez]

The Goodyears on my summer set are excellent. Pretty quiet and incredibly grippy. Don't have the 'fall-off' that I've found with Pirelli where they suddenly let go of grip and you have to be really aware of it. The Goodyears are a bit like the Michelin where they give a bit of warning that you are near a limit and let you back off (if you want! )

Other than that, P-Zero's are excellent tyres and really you can't go too wrong with Pirelli, Michelin or Goodyear IMO.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

My insurance stipulates I have to have approved (i.e. NF0) tyres on my car at the time of any claim...

To my surprise, mine doesn't, but I won't assume that will continue to be the case when renewal time comes, so I'm not considering non-approved alternatives.
Does yours mention winters v summers v all-seasons?

 

[Zcd1]

So on my first Taycan, it shipped with Continentals which were straight trash. They didn't wear evenly (or long), and were downright dangerous in the wet.

I replaced them with "scary warranty-voiding non-N0" Michelin PS4S and was super happy with the result.

Fast forward to my Taycan GTS, which shipped with P-Zeros (EV flavor.). I had my beloved PS4S fitted again on Monday in preparation for my trip to PCA Palooza tomorrow and...well...

I have to admit the P-Zeros were quieter. I'm not unhappy with the PS4S per se, but I can definitely notice a sound difference that was not apparent last time.

I guess my updated assessment is:

P-Zeros > PS4S > Tying rubber bands around the rim > Continentals

When I run through these PS4s, if I still have the car, I will likely return to P-Zero EV tires.

Sorry for the folks I've convinced to go this route; I was overly enthusiastic because they were such an improvement on the Contis I guess.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Pirellis are very slightly quieter than PS4S, but the Michelins are very quiet already.

The tradeoff, IMO is that the Pirellis aren’t as responsive and don’t have quite the lateral grip of the Michelins. I miss the performance of the Michelins I had on my previous car.

When my OEM Pirellis are ready for replacement, I’ll likely go with PS5s…

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Jonathan S.]

Curious which P-Zero model?
Our i4 M50 comes with one of those models ... but Pirelli seems to call about half its models the P-Zero something-or-other.

And was the much-derided Continental model the ProContact RX?

My 2019 VW Arteon came with the similar ProContact TX which struck me as generally innocuous.
Although definitely one of those tire models that are sold as OEM only and also for when you need to replace just one or two tires. Otherwise, nobody would ever buy a set of four of those!

I kept running them since I had a separate setup with the Vredestein Wintrac Pro for my expansively defined winter.
Plus the Arteon came with a full-size spare, so fun to do five-tire rotations to keep even wear on all five.

I was then surprised that spending ~2x for my 2022 Audi A6 Allroad got me exactly the same Continental ProContact TX tires!
But I replaced them before the first winter with the Michelin Cross Climate 2.

I was even more surprised that the Taycan apparently often comes with the Continental ProContact RX.
I suppose the idea is to optimize comfort and rolling resistance even on pricey vehicles?

The other advantage of the CC2 is that it leaves really cool tracks in the dirt, as shown here after skiing last week:

 

[Zcd1]

Curious which P-Zero model?
Our i4 M50 comes with one of those models ... but Pirelli seems to call about half its models the P-Zero something-or-other…

P-Zero ELECT:

https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us...new-p-zero/235_35-r20/92y-xl-tesla-elect-pncs

 

[SergeyIndy]

@DerekS, I would like to see if you could clarify if your Conti tires were Summer or All Season. Mine came with Conti ProContact All Season on 21 MissionE wheels and I like them so far at 2k miles. I am all in on the Michelin and that would be my next tire no question because that is what we have on other rides (SUVs) and your tests and preference. However, it seems like you like PZeros now. However, I would not be going Summer as I want to ride year around. My question is then what would be the best All Season alternatives to the Conti Pro Contacts?

 

[WuffvonTrips]

From experience of 6 other Turbo or Turbo S in addition to my own, I have to say that the tyres have never drawn my attention- I've not noticed any difference*, even though I doubt that they've all been on the same brand (but I assume they were all factory-fitted N approved).
*Disclaimer- my own runs 20", no PDCC, not driving at track speeds, whereas the others were all AFAIK 21" with PDCC and driving exclusively on track. I expect that the 21" with PDCC had a significant performance advantage, but I was surprised that they felt no less comfortable, though I didn't experience them on public roads to allow direct comparison.
Also, I'm overlooking one case of emerging delamination, that I attributed to regular track abuse rather than normal wear.

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