Michelin vs Continental?

[In5am0us]

Looking to get new tires for my 2020 GT Premium. I keep hearing two brands every time: Michelin and Continental.

I was wondering, what is your personal recommendation between the two? More specifically the Michelin Pilots and the Continental Extremecontacts.
They both seem great but I wanted to hear from people who have owned and used them.

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[galaxy]

I have not done a direct back to back with the Uber popular 4S, but did with the SS. The conti leaps ahead of the SS. It is a very capable tire and its tread wear rating is deceiving, IMO. And I’m partial, but this is the best looking tire out. I don’t like the large sizing, square sidewall of the Michelin. And everybody and their brother has a 4S; I wanted something different. The 4S may be the better tire, but this sucker takes everything I throw at it just shy of a track day. Zero regrets. This is my second set in a row. Had the original EC Sport, and just got the updated Sport 02.

 

[barron64]

I have run both and they are both excellent hi-po summer tires. The Conti's feel basically the same as the Michelin's on the street and agressive driving in the mountains. The big difference to me was the Contis were totally worn out at 15K miles while the Michelins have plenty of tread left. Needless to say I just replaced the Conti's with a new set of Michelin 4S's. Yep they are more expensive but they last longer.

 

[MAGS1]

I’ve driven on both and I put the Conti ECS on both my 2016 (sold last year) and my 2022. I’ve got less than 500 miles on my current set as I only had them on for about a month last fall before I had to put the winters on. Had about 5,000 miles on my set on the 2016 before I traded in the car and they had plenty of tread left on them. Can’t go wrong with either brand IMO, the Conti’s are priced a little better. Both do really well in the rain too. In my experience in general terms, Michelin tends to wear out faster than some others (I got less than 20,000 miles out of the Michelins that were on my wife’s SUV, switched to Conti). Not an apples to apples comparison as they’re different tire compounds for an all season SUV tire vs a high performance summer tire, but I’ve had Michelins on several cars over the years and feel they just don’t last as long as they should. To me Conti is the better value but can’t go wrong with either one

 

[Velocityblue5oh]

Like others have already said you can't go wrong with either. In general the Michelin PS4S is seen as the gold standard for a grippy road tire. It is the successor to the super sport. Because of this reputation they sell for at a higher price. The Continental Extremecontacts are also a very well rounded tire offering much of the same performance that the PS4S do. It really comes down to preference tbh. I personally run the PS4s because I prefer the boxy look of the tire. Others prefer the continentals look and cheaper price. The PS4s do come with a 30,000 mile tread warranty for squared setups and 15,000 for staggered.

 

[dsiggi]

I have not done a direct back to back with the Uber popular 4S, but did with the SS. The conti leaps ahead of the SS. It is a very capable tire and its tread wear rating is deceiving, IMO. And I’m partial, but this is the best looking tire out. I don’t like the large sizing, square sidewall of the Michelin. And everybody and their brother has a 4S; I wanted something different. The 4S may be the better tire, but this sucker takes everything I throw at it just shy of a track day. Zero regrets. This is my second set in a row. Had the original EC Sport, and just got the updated Sport 02.

Are those 305/325?

 

[galaxy]

Yes.

 

[Jstang23]

Michelin all day every day! No offense to the Contis, they are fantastic tires. In my experience, on a track and in the mountains the Michelins simply outperform the Contis. I've never lost confidence in my MPS4s on the track even with 16k miles on the last set. Also the SS are a very old design, so its not surprising that the Contis were loads better.

But I'd highly recommend waiting for the Pilot Sport 5s to come out in our size. It will be more expensive but, rumor has it they will have a 30k mile warranty even for staggered setups!

 

[barron64]

New Michelin 285/35-19 4S on the left and a Conti Extreme 275/40-19 on the right with maybe 15k miles. Both perform great. Conti’s are cheaper but Michelin’s last longer.

 

[AZlb5.0]

Contis have a softer sidewall construction so you will get a “smoother” ride. The Micheline’s have a stronger sidewall construction which will give a stiffer over all ride. Both have great summer traction. What it comes down to is what you want to spend and what type of ride you’d like to have.

 

[stungjoe]

Contis have a softer sidewall construction so you will get a “smoother” ride. The Micheline’s have a stronger sidewall construction which will give a stiffer over all ride. Both have great summer traction. What it comes down to is what you want to spend and what type of ride you’d like to have.

I've run both and I'm of the same mindset. The Conti's are more air pressure sensitive probably due to the sidewall flex. The PS4S is a half tick above the Conti's. If, when the time comes, the PS4S's are not available (as was the case last time) I would have no problems putting on the ExtremeContact Sports but I would choose the PS4S (or the new PS S5 that replaces the PS4S) first.

If you want to save some money the Conti's are just fine, though.

 

[Bender]

Michelin all day every day! No offense to the Contis, they are fantastic tires. In my experience, on a track and in the mountains the Michelins simply outperform the Contis. I've never lost confidence in my MPS4s on the track even with 16k miles on the last set. Also the SS are a very old design, so its not surprising that the Contis were loads better.

But I'd highly recommend waiting for the Pilot Sport 5s to come out in our size. It will be more expensive but, rumor has it they will have a 30k mile warranty even for staggered setups!

may be waiting a while, at least to start the new Michelins will be an OE tire to start and not available for retail sale for some time.

 

[Jstang23]

may be waiting a while, at least to start the new Michelins will be an OE tire to start and not available for retail sale for some time.

You can actually buy them now! Just not in the same size as OEM. The closest they have currently is a 285/40/ZR19. I'm not sure if this would even fit on the OEM PP wheels. I'd start to expect to see more sizes in mid September and October. A buddy of mine is the design engineer that made them

 

[stungjoe]

You can actually buy them now!

They're around $100K for the set but you get a free Corvette!

 

[Jstang23]

They're around $100K for the set but you get a free Corvette!

Where are you looking?! Lol. Not much more expensive than the 4s...

All 4 running 1400 ish. No our size but definitely available.

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