Installed Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 21" tires on Taycan 4S -- my review & results

20231110 Update

Having used the tires for over a month now, I'm quite happy.

Unscientific Observations:

• Car handles a LOT better in the wet and dry performance is quite good as well.
• I have seen a small decrease in range, but I cannot tell if its the new tires or the change in seasons. Regardless, its small enough that it doesn't worry me.
• Road noise is basically the same as before.

Conclusion: Would I buy Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires again for my Taycan? Definitely. Recommended.

-----
Introduction

I have a Taycan 4S with the Mission E 21" wheels. After ~25,000mi, the original Continental Procontact RX tires were worn enough that they hydroplaned on a light rain. Its replacement time. This is what I did. I searched the forums and didn't find this info anywhere else, so I'm sharing it. I hope its useful!

Use Case

Car is a daily driver. It is not tracked. I live in the Seattle WA area and I want to be able to drive the car most of the year. So, summer tires are not appropriate. We do get some snow in the winter, but not enough to justify a dedicated set of snow tires. Lastly, the Procontact RXs were never that great in the wet even when newer, so I would like to upgrade to something better.

Result

Go with a set of all-season tires to better deal with the weather. Spend the money to get GOOD ones so they will perform decently during wet weather and during "spirited" dry-weather driving. So, what all-season tires are available? In the stock sizes, you get Continental Procontact RX All-Season NF0. That's it. So, how do we improve on this? <Cue hold music here...> After doing some homework, its the rear 305/30-21 tires that are the limiting factor. So, what if we go up in size a bit to 315/30-21? Bingo! I can now get Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires with the proper load ratings.

Data

OEM Mission E 21" Wheels

Original OEM Tire: Continental Procontact RX All-Season NF0
Front Size
21" - 265/35-21 - Load Range: 101H XL
Rear Size
21" - 305/30-21 - Load Range: 104H XL

New Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 - Non NF
Front Size
21" - 265/35-21 - Load Range: 101Y XL
Rear Size
21" - 315/30-21 - Load Range: 105V XL MO1 (Yes - Mercedes AMG Spec...)

So - Do they fit?

YES. I had them installed by Discount Tire in Kirkland WA and they took the time to verify the clearances. The extra 10mm width is not a problem. The change in rear tire diameter is very minor - 28.2" (stock 305/30-21 tires) to 28.4" (315/30-21) - a change of 0.7%. For reference, the front tires are 28.3" (265/35-21) in diameter - right in the middle. I have the tires inflated to partial load pressures. Per the manual, this is 38lbs front / 36lbs rear for a Taycan 4S with two rear seats.

Initial impressions

NOTE: This is completely unscientific since I'm comparing new tires to worn out tires.

• The tires have stiffer sidewalls so there is more road feel in the steering wheel.
• Highway noise level in the cabin is not noticeably different.
• Rolling resistance feels slightly lower (better).

I'll comment again in a few weeks once I have some road time with them. In particular, I will be looking for any changes in range.

Last Thought - To use or not to use NF tires

For my use case, this is a non-issue. I'm not pushing the car to get the last few percent out of the tires. I'm much more worried about pedestrian issues like not hydroplaning, good grip in a variety of conditions, decent wear, and having fun driving this wonderful car.

Good stuff. I love those tires too.

Curious why you didn't go with the 305s for the rear? They have the same XL load rating.

Great info thanks.

DerekS said:

Good stuff. I love those tires too.

Curious why you didn't go with the 305s for the rear? They have the same XL load rating.

Click to expand...

I would have preferred to stay with the stock size in the rear, but Michelin doesn’t make them. They jump from 295 to 315 on 21” rims. https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-pilot-sport-all-season-4?tyreSize=21

jasonh said:

I would have preferred to stay with the stock size in the rear, but Michelin doesn’t make them. They jump from 295 to 315 on 21” rims. https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-pilot-sport-all-season-4?tyreSize=21

Click to expand...

Oh, because all-season. Got it.

I've used those tires in some nasty ice storms. They are excellent.

How much did you pay ?

You’re playing with warranty fire….
There are multiple stories of Porsche refusing warranty claims for drivetrain issues (Taycan or ICE) when tyre that aren’t rated by Porsche are used (I should know - they balked because I had unrated tyres on the front of a RWD 911, and they balked at a PDK issue!).
Having unmatched and nonstandard sizes between axles is also tickling the Porsche drivetrain voodoo in funny places…. Any issue and you can be sure that Porsche will make your life very difficult.

tutis said:

You’re playing with warranty fire….
There are multiple stories of Porsche refusing warranty claims for drivetrain issues (Taycan or ICE) when tyre that aren’t rated by Porsche are used (I should know - they balked because I had unrated tyres on the front of a RWD 911, and they balked at a PDK issue!).
Having unmatched and nonstandard sizes between axles is also tickling the Porsche drivetrain voodoo in funny places…. Any issue and you can be sure that Porsche will make your life very difficult.

Click to expand...

Not in the USA. Porsche would have to prove the different tires caused a problem.

Vercingetorix said:

Not in the USA. Porsche would have to prove the different tires caused a problem.

Click to expand...

That won’t be so hard for them to do; they‘ll say that differential tyre rotational speed is off by more than their tolerance, and that the systems got confused because GPS speed was different to wheel rotation, causing the traction control to intervene etc. Etc. It’s’ one thing for them to try and prove that 3rd party floor mats caused an issue with the drivetrain, but really easy to have reasonable cause with the changes mentioned here.

I was waiting for the N-rating people to start their doom and gloom

jasonh said:

I have a Taycan 4S with the Mission E 21" wheels. After ~25,000mi, the original Continental Procontact RX tires were worn enough that they hydroplaned on a light rain. Its replacement time. This is what I did. I searched the forums and didn't find this info anywhere else, so I'm sharing it. I hope its useful!

Use Case

Car is a daily driver. It is not tracked. I live in the Seattle WA area and I want to be able to drive the car most of the year. So, summer tires are not appropriate. We do get some snow in the winter, but not enough to justify a dedicated set of snow tires. Lastly, the Procontact RXs were never that great in the wet even when newer, so I would like to upgrade to something better.

Result

Go with a set of all-season tires to better deal with the weather. Spend the money to get GOOD ones so they will perform decently during wet weather and during "spirited" dry-weather driving. So, what all-season tires are available? In the stock sizes, you get Continental Procontact RX All-Season NF0. That's it. So, how do we improve on this? <Cue hold music here...> After doing some homework, its the rear 305/30-21 tires that are the limiting factor. So, what if we go up in size a bit to 315/30-21? Bingo! I can now get Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires with the proper load ratings.

Data

OEM Mission E 21" Wheels

Original OEM Tire: Continental Procontact RX All-Season NF0
Front Size
21" - 265/35-21 - Load Range: 101H XL
Rear Size
21" - 305/30-21 - Load Range: 104H XL

New Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 - Non NF
Front Size
21" - 265/35-21 - Load Range: 101Y XL
Rear Size
21" - 315/30-21 - Load Range: 105V XL MO1 (Yes - Mercedes AMG Spec...)

So - Do they fit?

YES. I had them installed by Discount Tire in Kirkland WA and they took the time to verify the clearances. The extra 10mm width is not a problem. The change in rear tire diameter is very minor - 28.2" (stock 305/30-21 tires) to 28.4" (315/30-21) - a change of 0.7%. For reference, the front tires are 28.3" (265/35-21) in diameter - right in the middle. I have the tires inflated to partial load pressures. Per the manual, this is 38lbs front / 36lbs rear for a Taycan 4S with two rear seats.

Initial impressions

NOTE: This is completely unscientific since I'm comparing new tires to worn out tires.

• The tires have stiffer sidewalls so there is more road feel in the steering wheel.
• Highway noise level in the cabin is not noticeably different.
• Rolling resistance feels slightly lower (better).

I'll comment again in a few weeks once I have some road time with them. In particular, I will be looking for any changes in range.

Last Thought - To use or not to use NF tires

For my use case, this is a non-issue. I'm not pushing the car to get the last few percent out of the tires. I'm much more worried about pedestrian issues like not hydroplaning, good grip in a variety of conditions, decent wear, and having fun driving this wonderful car.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that write-up.
I currently have a 4S with the Continental Pro contacts and would like to change them out but ran into the same problem you did, no options. I only have 5k miles on the current set so didn't push the issue but will have to at some point and I wanted to get the Pilot Sports.
Nice to know there is a way.

My car came with the Goodyear Eagles on the 21” wheels…all seasons. I like them. I will most likely replace them with the same thing. Assuming they are still available.

tutis said:

That won’t be so hard for them to do; they‘ll say that differential tyre rotational speed is off by more than their tolerance, and that the systems got confused because GPS speed was different to wheel rotation, causing the traction control to intervene etc. Etc. It’s’ one thing for them to try and prove that 3rd party floor mats caused an issue with the drivetrain, but really easy to have reasonable cause with the changes mentioned here.

Click to expand...

I agree with you in principle, but I think it may indeed be a USA thing. In my experience I've had warranty suspension work done on my 911TT with non-approved michelin ps4s and had 0 questions asked (Bellevue WA dealer). Same for helping me test boost performance when I had an Europipe exhaust on - absolutely 0 questions or eyebrows raised.

tutis said:

That won’t be so hard for them to do; they‘ll say that differential tyre rotational speed is off by more than their tolerance, and that the systems got confused because GPS speed was different to wheel rotation, causing the traction control to intervene etc. Etc. It’s’ one thing for them to try and prove that 3rd party floor mats caused an issue with the drivetrain, but really easy to have reasonable cause with the changes mentioned here.

Click to expand...

With stock sizes, the front tires are .1" larger than the rears. With the 315's on the back, the front tires are .1" smaller than the rears. We're literally playing in the "decimal dust" here.

Also, in the US, consumers are protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.