Tire Rack Consumer Review of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 (H- or V-Speed Rated)

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
July 10, 2014

For my aggressive, but not performance oriented, nor extreme driving style, these are a great match. Cornering grip is excellent, wet or dry. Highway cruising has been great, as has been wet weather performance at both low and high speeds, including 75mph during downpours through minor standing water. The tires seem to slice through this without considerable pull away from the direction of travel. Not sure how much quattro comes into play, but the car always feels very stable, wet or dry.

Regarding road noise, about which I’ve read a number of less favorable comments: I just did 3000 miles roundtrip between Toronto and Dallas, coming into which, I’d already put a few thousand on the tires and was concerned about the amount of hum I was hearing. At the halfway point of the trip, the hum was to the point where I expected to find a problem with one of the tires. But it was OK. The hum was always there, changed pitch depending on speed, but became most noticeable during the sweeping curves of exit and on ramps. Replaced a wheel bearing in Dallas and the last 1500 miles of mostly highway driving, on combinations of extremely new and old pavement, and varying conditions of concrete roads, was quiet at all speeds, relative to surface conditions. Wind noise was now much more prevalent, whereas before I always heard a hum. It was as if I’d gone from old, worn out tires to brand new ones. Perhaps these tires are louder than other brands/models, or on certain cars than others, but it could also be a problem elsewhere, such as a mechanical problem with the car itself.

It’s summer currently, so no idea how they’ll be in the snow, but I doubt they'll match my dedicated winter set. Went for these A/S instead of dedicated summers for the better tread life/durability and in case I get caught out during a freeze in the fall, when I do a lot of driving, before getting the winters on.