Installed Michelin Pilot Sport AS4

[SBR70.3]

My last ride was a loaded 2018 GT PP1 6 speed with all the handling enhancements. That was a damn good car. And then along comes this Mach 1 and just stomps it!

I have the same experience. I have put a crap ton of money upgrading my 2016 GT and, with the exception of raw power, my stock Mach 1 is simply better.

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[20CanadianBullitt]

TIme for a tire change!

I got 28K miles out of the OEM Pilot Sport 4S (summer only) tires. They wore even, and had plenty of treadlife, but at 4.5 years, the tires had become dryrotted and cracked where the sidewall and tread face meet, the tires also seemed to have become a bit glazed, and got very loud.

Though I loved the spring/summer traction and performance of the 4S, I hated not being able to enjoy the car year round, especially on those beautiful dry winter and fall days. So when it was time for replacement, after doing tons of reading and research, I decided to try the new AS4 version of the Pilot Sports - PS-AS4 verses PS-4S.

Total cost out the door mount/balance/tire removal was about $1148, and that included 100% NITROGEN filled tires - - - wooooooo - - - - . Because I am a sicko, I harassed the tire tech by telling him I wanted them to fill it with 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, and just a tad of Argon and Co2. So much fun.............. Anyway, I digress...... I did tell them to NOT put green caps on the valve stems.

OK, so first drive feedback.

Noise and Comfort - TIres are very quiet and improved comfort. This has more to do with the tires and compounds being new. I was always very impressed with how quiet the original tires were and the level of comfort they brought compared with the performance. But the ride and noise this year made the car unpleasantly loud and the ride was super harsh. SWMBO and I took a 4 corners tour of Kentucky this summer on mostly (very nice) secondary and state roads. The tires were always loud, but almost intolerable on some of the rougher surfaced roads. Not a big deal for me tearing around with the exhaust in Sport+, classic rock blasting and windows down, but this is not how we drive with SWMBO and the rat dog, at least for any length of time. First impressions are very good, surprisingly so.

Steering Feel - I am running Steeda Struts and lowering springs along with the Lower K brace up front. I also had a loca speed shop dial in a bit more aggressive alignment to sharpen the steering and give more steering feel. Initially the setup was spot on perfect the first 2 years, but recently, the steering felt too sharp, and had lost the nice center feel they dialed in. I had suspected it may be the tires and I was right. The new tires brought the nice neutral solid feel on center, gives good feedback and accurate control.

Grip - Hard to tell, and as it was 40 degrees and raining, not much opportunity, but hoping to get out there today as it will be in the 60's.

Looks - Treadface has more siping, and the 'rash protector' seems a bit smaller, but overall looks are almost indecipherable.

I'm sure that I will give up some roadholding and grip at the upper limits with the AS4's, but I think the tradeoff of being able to drive and enjoy the car year round (no snow/ice thankyou) will be worth it. Let's hope I don't turn into 'Mustang Guy'.............. Unlikely, as I have been driving high performance RWD cars for 40+ years and haven't had a problem hanging the @$$ out since I was 19.

Will report back after some summer fun on my annual Deals Gap area run....

Interesting…. I thought it was only me!

I just replace my OEM PS4 summer tires with the AS4 Pilot. OE’S had 33,000 kilometres on them, tread was still great but over the last 2 summers they had gotten very loud, particularly at 70 KPH and over. I went to the Ford dealer, took a ride with the service manager who agreed the rear end was very loud. I asked if it could be the tires and he said no, this is a rear end problem. So I left the car with them for a week and they replaced the main gear and all kinds of other parts. I picked it up and I knew immediately what they’d done hadn’t helped a bit.
This summer I talked to 2 different tire stores and both assured me that no, the problem definitely wasn’t tires. But I’m an old timer and my gut feeling was, it’s the tires.
In September I ordered a set of OE Pilot 4’s. I left the tire store and immediately knew the tire noise was gone. Quiet and smooth!! It wasn’t till I got home and went out to detail the new tires that I realized they had messed up and installed the All-Season version of the tire. I was so pissed off and called them right way They apologized and said come back next week and we will make this right. I spent the weekend driving the car and to end this long story I was so happy with the new ride that I didn’t go back to have the tires changed.
The AS tire is, as I said, quiet and smooth. What a difference!!! I know I gave up a bit in cornering but I tracked my Bullitt only once and I won’t do that again.
My ONLY regret is…. why the hell didn’t I go out and try the Line lock function while I still had the old tires on?
The AS tire won’t be for everyone but if you do opt for it, you won’t be disappointed.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

I've had the P4 AS on for little over 2 years.

As much as I liked the PS4 summers (even though they didn't last long, but I also did 2 track days), the all-seasons don't seem to last too long. They have been wearing a tad uneven on me (despite checking alignment and rotating them properly considering staggered setup).
I'm not super impressed with them. They're about to reach 30k, which arguably isn't that much even on all seasons. They feel slick until they get some heat in them still and in wet they are not steady.

All of this is with having put on Sottozero 3s for each winter (so 2x, about to do it for the third time).

I'll be trying the DWS06 that are on my NC Miata, I think. If they fail me, I might be back, but I'm ready to try something else.

 

[rwp50]

TIme for a tire change!

I got 28K miles out of the OEM Pilot Sport 4S (summer only) tires. They wore even, and had plenty of treadlife, but at 4.5 years, the tires had become dryrotted and cracked where the sidewall and tread face meet, the tires also seemed to have become a bit glazed, and got very loud.

Though I loved the spring/summer traction and performance of the 4S, I hated not being able to enjoy the car year round, especially on those beautiful dry winter and fall days. So when it was time for replacement, after doing tons of reading and research, I decided to try the new AS4 version of the Pilot Sports - PS-AS4 verses PS-4S.

Total cost out the door mount/balance/tire removal was about $1148, and that included 100% NITROGEN filled tires - - - wooooooo - - - - . Because I am a sicko, I harassed the tire tech by telling him I wanted them to fill it with 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, and just a tad of Argon and Co2. So much fun.............. Anyway, I digress...... I did tell them to NOT put green caps on the valve stems.

OK, so first drive feedback.

Noise and Comfort - TIres are very quiet and improved comfort. This has more to do with the tires and compounds being new. I was always very impressed with how quiet the original tires were and the level of comfort they brought compared with the performance. But the ride and noise this year made the car unpleasantly loud and the ride was super harsh. SWMBO and I took a 4 corners tour of Kentucky this summer on mostly (very nice) secondary and state roads. The tires were always loud, but almost intolerable on some of the rougher surfaced roads. Not a big deal for me tearing around with the exhaust in Sport+, classic rock blasting and windows down, but this is not how we drive with SWMBO and the rat dog, at least for any length of time. First impressions are very good, surprisingly so.

Steering Feel - I am running Steeda Struts and lowering springs along with the Lower K brace up front. I also had a loca speed shop dial in a bit more aggressive alignment to sharpen the steering and give more steering feel. Initially the setup was spot on perfect the first 2 years, but recently, the steering felt too sharp, and had lost the nice center feel they dialed in. I had suspected it may be the tires and I was right. The new tires brought the nice neutral solid feel on center, gives good feedback and accurate control.

Grip - Hard to tell, and as it was 40 degrees and raining, not much opportunity, but hoping to get out there today as it will be in the 60's.

Looks - Treadface has more siping, and the 'rash protector' seems a bit smaller, but overall looks are almost indecipherable.

I'm sure that I will give up some roadholding and grip at the upper limits with the AS4's, but I think the tradeoff of being able to drive and enjoy the car year round (no snow/ice thankyou) will be worth it. Let's hope I don't turn into 'Mustang Guy'.............. Unlikely, as I have been driving high performance RWD cars for 40+ years and haven't had a problem hanging the @$$ out since I was 19.

Will report back after some summer fun on my annual Deals Gap area run....

Installed the same on our ‘17 GT. Very nice.

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