More info on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

I have a 2016 GT (non-PP) which i purchased approx 1 year ago. I have 14k miles and my perelli's in the rear are showing noticeable wear......... I did rotate them to the front so trying to get by until next spring as it will be in storage for the winter. Want to upgrade from the stock 18" wheel to a 19" and get the better tires...I am from WI and want to drive my stang from mid march until early november... I keep thinking I need to still purchase an all-season. Do you think the new 4S will still be manageable for me? I will not drive in snow or ice....

The original wheels and tires are not wide enough. They just spin in all of first and second gears. I bought my 2017 about a month ago and the wheel/tire swap was the first thing I did. I went with MPSS 295/30R19 fronts and MPSS 325/30R19 rears based on price/rating. I am not sure if I should go with 345/30R19 or the M/T 325/30R19 when these wear out. Does anybody know how long the M/T tires will last on normal 'street' driving? I would assume they are much better than the MPSS 345/30R19 for dry condition grip, but I fear they will only last a thousand miles or so of driving. Also, very wide tire widths might actually cause more wet-condition slipping since the water channels in the center of the tire don't really go outwards. When the water gets trapped, you slide more resulting in fishtailing during 'slight' turns in wet conditions. In dry conditions, they work better with extra grip. My new wheels spin less than the old ones, but I drive extra slow on wet turns. Here's the MPSS and M/T tire info I used to pick my tires:

If anybody wants my new 2017 original PP wheels and tires, PM me. Local pickup in South Florida only. I put them in the classifieds section, $1000 obo.

Mustang_Owner said:

Also, very wide tire widths might actually cause more wet-condition slipping since the water channels in the center of the tire don't really go outwards. When the water gets trapped, you slide more resulting in fishtailing during 'slight' turns in wet conditions.

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I WOULD NOT drive street slicks in wet weather. If in doubt, youtube it.

I've had them for a few months now - they are great tires.

Keep in mind that a tire doesn't need to be specifically made for a specific car to happen to be a great match. The way they worded their press announcement is pretty telling - makes it sound like the tire was not made "for" the Mustang but as they say it, "A variety of factors make the Pilot Sport 4S tire uniquely tuned for Mustang." The way they worded it is a little confusing. IF the tire was made specifically for the Mustang, I'm sure that would have read differently.

I came from the 55g2 nitto to the mpss, the mpss are far far better in every measurable aspect, wet traction, dry traction, and tread life. I picked up .2 10ths 0-60 with the mpss.

bjstang said:

It seems for many it boils down to personal preference :shrug:, others in the racing business including Steeda are pretty high on the Nitto 555G2.

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Steeda helped Nitto build their brand - they go waaaay back. I've had many high-performance tires and none of them have been so heavily-marketed and poorly performing as the Nitto tires I've owned. I didn't know any better back then, now I do.

bjstang said:

I still think a lot of it has to do with personal preference. Since .2 10th of a second isn't going to put me on the top ten list with the 405 Street Outlaws I'm going back to the Firehawk https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...tireModel=Firehawk+Indy+500&partnum=74WR9FHI5 Just my preference with the Firehawk sidewalls over the https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+4S

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When comparing two tire manufacturers of similar quality, yes. My personal preference is to not have a hard, noisy tire that trades a trendy tread pattern for horrible ride quality. My Nittos were that bad. Granted, that was 3-4 years back - but I've had GREAT Michelins and Pirellis since then so now that I understand what my Nitto tires were leaving on the table.

bjstang said:

Was the Nitto 555G2 one of the tires your tried out?

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In the post you just quoted, I said this was 3-4 years ago, so no, I didn't try those. It seemed like they were frequently the least expensive tire (back when I cross-shopped them...and bought them) but I don't mind spending the extra money now. They lost me as a Brand so it's not a tire I'm going to just try out - they would have to come out with something that everyone I know switched to because of how good it was....until then, they will be second rate, to me.

I did youtube the mustang crash in rain videos, most were not on slicks but accelerating too quickly on turns and losing control. Once the rear starts to fishtail as the road turns (at somewhat high speeds around 70+) a crash was mostly unavoidable, especially in the rain. I think hitting a puddle was causing the rear differential to put more power to the wheel that didn't slip causing the rear end to spin sideways. Slamming the brakes just causes the front end to slow down but forces the rear end that doesn't have any traction to continue to spin forwards. Driving 'fast' in rain is not recommended for anybody. Of course, I've seen people doing 80+ in the rain many times, even on slight turns with no issues. I slow down to no more than 60 ish on slight turns while they pass and never put down any power in the rain on a turn at 60 ish. It's all about probability. What are the chances somebody hits a puddle or one rear wheel spins faster than the other due to the rear differential - causing the rear end to slide sideways? With extra wide tires, what are the chances the rear hydroplanes because the water can't escape from the middle?

I was able to handle the moderate rain today in my MPSS without any real slipping at 60 MPH. Nobody was around on a multi-lane highway, so I "briefly" accelerated to see the point the rears slip. They actually didn't slip in 3rd at 60 MPH with around 300 HP (3400 RPM with WOT) applied, but slipped at around 400 HP (4000+ RPM with WOT). Changing to the M/T ET Street might not produce as good wet traction, but is the dry traction significantly better on asphalt? Is the wet traction significantly worse? I think I bought the best tires for a balance of both wet & dry traction, but the dry traction is not as good as I hoped. So does anybody think the difference of going from 325 to 345 wide MPSS rear is the same or better than a softer compound (like the M/T) for dry traction asphalt street use? Is the Mich 4S comparable to the MPSS ? I thought for the same tread pattern and width/thickness, the lower the treadwear the better the dry performance but the worse the wet performance. Two rear tires cost between $600 to $900 for my wheels, so I am trying to spend some good analysis time to get the best traction tires that don't get me in a crash when the road is somewhat wet. Should I stick with MPSS or change?

bjstang said:

Article on Nitto 555G2 from. http://www.fordmuscle.com/tech-stor...55g2-wows-on-steeda-new-edge-in-sebring-test/

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I wouldn’t call that an article, it’s an advertisement. Most websites like that are funded by manufacturers who pay to have articles written about their products.