Quote:
Originally Posted by VIERsr
True, you have to compare tires belonging to the same class.
That said, I found the 4S much superior to the PZ4 and the PA4 much better than the Sottozero 3 (especially on wet), and we can say that all these tires belong to the same class and era.
I cannot speak for the other tires mentioned, but if I could choose tires for the M2, I would choose Michelin every day and every night.
It is also important to mention the specific compound, the Porsche NA P Zeros are nothing like the regular P Zeros, just like the Bmw's starred Michelin's perform better than the regular Michelin's.
When I had the 1M my father had a Cayman S, both cars with Michelin PS2s but one NA and the other normal (I don't remember if starred or not but it doesn't matter), and despite the greater weight and torque of my 1M and a couple of trackdays, my tires lasted 50% longer, but the grip was also significantly less.
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It is interesting that the Tirerack latest summer tyre tests found the P-Zero PZ4 somewhat better than the PS4S in wet conditions and a higher quantitative rating overall, indicating wet grip as the MP4S's weak spot. From initial tests it sounds like the PS5 has lost some dry grip to improve the wet grip, becoming more like the PZ4;
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=269
I would say for the max performance summer tyres wet grip should be a major consideration for use in all-round conditions, as if dry grip is the focus an Extreme performance or road-legal R-compound tyre would be a better choice. I've found the Max performance tyre class (Michelin or other manufacturers I've tried) doesn't do well on the track, going off after a few hot laps, followed by tread chunking if you keep pressing once the tyre has gone "greasy". The tyre also needs to be matched to the car, for example the Pilot Sports have not done well when used on Caterhams in the past, gaining the nickname "Michelin Pile-up" in the community due to the poor match.
With the Sottozero 3 tyres, there is a sub-class due to different rubber compounds, so the "W" or "V" rated tyres have better handling than the "H" rated ones. The "H" rated ones are much closer to the Michelin Xi3 in snow and ice grip, but far superior in wet and dry grip and handling. The higher speed rated tyres are closer to the PA tyres. With winter tyres it depends on the most prevalent winter conditions encountered, I have found the Sottozeros to be more suited to -35 to -20C conditions that we often see here than the PAs. Also, the Sottozero range of sizes is generally better than the PAs, for example, there is no Porscehe N0 rated tyre for our Macan S in the PA range, only in the Sottozero range.
Overall as I said before there is no magic tyre from either Michelin or Pirelli, they both have good and bad ones. The supercar manufacturers tend to use the P-Zero Corsa and Trofeo more than any other tyre and also have the most exacting needs for summer tyres.