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Picking up a set of takeoff wheels from a buddy locally, from his 2018. They're the gloss black wheels with Michelin all seasons. Since they're sitting in storage and he doesn't remember, did the 2018 cars still come with the A/S 3 or did they get the A/S 3+?
 


M-Sport fan

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^^^Probably depends on whether Ford had old stock laying around or not.

I am unsure of the actual date of WHEN the 3s were not produced any more, and the 3+es took over. [dunno]
 


danbfree

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Picking up a set of takeoff wheels from a buddy locally, from his 2018. They're the gloss black wheels with Michelin all seasons. Since they're sitting in storage and he doesn't remember, did the 2018 cars still come with the A/S 3 or did they get the A/S 3+?
For the record, I have the same setup with my '17 with AS non plus and they are DAMN good tires themselves, respond well to higher air pressure (40psi mainly cold) with better handling and noise and no additional harshness.... otherwise damn good question, I'm curious myself!
 


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For the record, I have the same setup with my '17 with AS non plus and they are DAMN good tires themselves, respond well to higher air pressure (40psi mainly cold) with better handling and noise and no additional harshness.... otherwise damn good question, I'm curious myself!
That's odd, my boyfriend had them on his 2017 and we both absolutely hated them in comparison of the Potenzas that I had on mine and the Firehawks we've both since replaced our factory tires with.
 


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That's odd, my boyfriend had them on his 2017 and we both absolutely hated them in comparison of the Potenzas that I had on mine and the Firehawks we've both since replaced our factory tires with.
Honestly it's probably a combination of myself never having UHP summer tires but also I didn't like them as much until I got the PSI up to 40...
 


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Honestly it's probably a combination of myself never having UHP summer tires but also I didn't like them as much until I got the PSI up to 40...
For a 500 tread wear rated, all season tire they are pretty damned good!
Truly a mistake to compare them to ANY actual, summer ONLY, UHP/Max performance tire.

About the only better handling in the warm/dry 'all season' labeled donut out there is the 280 tread wear, Nitto Neo Gen, but I would be VERY hesitant to take those out in even 1/16th of an inch of snow, whereas I've had the Pilot Sport AS/3s out in up to an inch, and did not feel my life was in danger. [wink]
(YUP, NEITHER should be used in any real snow, but in an emergency, I'd trust the Michelins over all of the rest, save for maybe the Conti DWSes, or whatever they call their latest/greatest all season, which is not even made in our exact OEM size anyway.)
 


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For a 500 tread wear rated, all season tire they are pretty damned good!
Truly a mistake to compare them to ANY actual, summer ONLY, UHP/Max performance tire.

About the only better handling in the warm/dry 'all season' labeled donut out there is the 280 tread wear, Nitto Neo Gen, but I would be VERY hesitant to take those out in even 1/16th of an inch of snow, whereas I've had the Pilot Sport AS/3s out in up to an inch, and did not feel my life was in danger. [wink]
(YUP, NEITHER should be used in any real snow, but in an emergency, I'd trust the Michelins over all of the rest, save for maybe the Conti DWSes, or whatever they call their latest/greatest all season, which is not even made in our exact OEM size anyway.)
440 wear aren't they? Either way close enough... I find they handle great, I've actually 3 wheeled once so they held enough grip to actually oversteer that way, so I doubt their handling is too horrible overall even compared to summer tires. Besides, I very much could use the tiny bit of snow capability in a pinch so regardless if summer tires handle even a ton better, I'm definitely happy overall and would have replaced them with the + eventually but I really want to bump up to 215 so we'll see. I also like I have the low dust brake pads with them, to me they are very grabby, more so than any other car I've had before, so happy with that too.
 


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Picking them up today so I will find out for sure, hoping they are the + but not the end of the world if they aren't. I'm basically looking for a tire that can perform well when it's below 60* outside, without going to a dedicated winter tire as I still want good handling and response. I went through last winter on the Potenza's and it was ok, they hate the cold of course but that is to be expected.

If these Michelin's can be sure-footed in colder temps and not kill me in light snow, while retaining 90% of the warm weather traction that the Potenza's have on the street (not track), I will be a happy camper. Might be asking too much, but we shall see.
 


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Picking them up today so I will find out for sure, hoping they are the + but not the end of the world if they aren't. I'm basically looking for a tire that can perform well when it's below 60* outside, without going to a dedicated winter tire as I still want good handling and response. I went through last winter on the Potenza's and it was ok, they hate the cold of course but that is to be expected.

If these Michelin's can be sure-footed in colder temps and not kill me in light snow, while retaining 90% of the warm weather traction that the Potenza's have on the street (not track), I will be a happy camper. Might be asking too much, but we shall see.
Like I was saying, try pushing the PSI on them... sidewall says they can take up to 50 psi, I'd give 40 psi cold a try, especially for the summer and maybe back it down 5 psi for the winter/rainy season.
 


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Like I was saying, try pushing the PSI on them... sidewall says they can take up to 50 psi, I'd give 40 psi cold a try, especially for the summer and maybe back it down 5 psi for the winter/rainy season.
I run mine at even higher pressures than that, during the few times I have had them on during the summer season (like 43 cold PSI front, 39 cold PSI rear). ;)
 


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If these Michelin's can be sure-footed in colder temps and not kill me in light snow, while retaining 90% of the warm weather traction that the Potenza's have on the street (not track), I will be a happy camper. Might be asking too much, but we shall see.
I can absolutely confirm the cold (down to -5*F) , but no icy precip 'sure-footedness' of the A/S3s, as well as their function in LIGHT (under 1" depth) snow (LIGHT being the operative word here!). [:)]

I cannot comment on how they compare to the Potenzas in warm dry weather, since I've never had those tires, but, I will estimate that they have about 70% of the ultimate warm dry grip of my 200 tread wear, BIG tread block, 'cut slick' tread pattern, semi road race, Federal RS-RRs, which are slightly wider in tread width, and mounted on a 1" wider wheel, as well. ;)
 


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I can absolutely confirm the cold (down to -5*F) , but no icy precip 'sure-footedness' of the A/S3s, as well as their function in LIGHT (under 1" depth) snow (LIGHT being the operative word here!). [:)]

I cannot comment on how they compare to the Potenzas in warm dry weather, since I've never had those tires, but, I will estimate that they have about 70% of the ultimate warm dry grip of my 200 tread wear, BIG tread block, 'cut slick' tread pattern, semi road race, Federal RS-RRs, which are slightly wider in tread width, and mounted on a 1" wider wheel, as well. ;)
Thanks for the comparison, and that makes me feel good about them. I have to imagine the RS-RR has a lot more grip than the Potenza's.

Last October when I bought the car, I told myself I wouldn't end up with 3 sets of wheels and tires for it. Yet here I am, with two sets and actively looking for a third...I have a problem.
 


danbfree

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Thanks for the comparison, and that makes me feel good about them. I have to imagine the RS-RR has a lot more grip than the Potenza's.

Last October when I bought the car, I told myself I wouldn't end up with 3 sets of wheels and tires for it. Yet here I am, with two sets and actively looking for a third...I have a problem.
Well, we do have 3 seasons here: Summer, rainy season, rainy season with a chance of snow so I can feel your dilemma. :)
 


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Well, we do have 3 seasons here: Summer, rainy season, rainy season with a chance of snow so I can feel your dilemma. :)
Exactly! It's a tough situation. If our spring and fall weren't so cold I'd just run a summer set and winter set, but the weather really does call for 3 sets.

Picked up the wheels/tires, they are the non "+" version. Oh well.
 


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Exactly! It's a tough situation. If our spring and fall weren't so cold I'd just run a summer set and winter set, but the weather really does call for 3 sets.

Picked up the wheels/tires, they are the non "+" version. Oh well.
For all-seasons they are VERY good, the +'s are just the newer version, not sure how much better they are supposed to be. I know they are improved some but it's not like the originals are bad in anyway, average to above average in everything, try running higher pressure in the summer a little less for the rainy seasons.
 


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For all-seasons they are VERY good, the +'s are just the newer version, not sure how much better they are supposed to be. I know they are improved some but it's not like the originals are bad in anyway, average to above average in everything, try running higher pressure in the summer a little less for the rainy seasons.
The plan tomorrow is to clean them up/mount, drop some ethanol in the tank, and load up the E30 tune to really put the tires to the test.
 


M-Sport fan

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Last October when I bought the car, I told myself I wouldn't end up with 3 sets of wheels and tires for it. Yet here I am, with two sets and actively looking for a third...I have a problem.
HA! I currently have three sets, and IF I had the 'disposable' coin, I would probably have FIVE sets (or more) total!
(Although at that point I would probably just sell the factory wheels, and put some all seasons on the Pro Race 1.2s, since the Dekagrams I would buy would get some 200 tread wear, 225/45-16 stickies on them [wink]).

I am REALLY jonesing for a set of those nuke-proof, OZed/M-Sport gravel rally spec 'disc' style wheels in 4x108, 15x6.5, with a REAL set of gravel tires on them, but that IS a waste just to use them for working on 2 rallies a year, plus a little bit of rallycrossing.
 


danbfree

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HA! I currently have three sets, and IF I had the 'disposable' coin, I would probably have FIVE sets (or more) total!
(Although at that point I would probably just sell the factory wheels, and put some all seasons on the Pro Race 1.2s, since the Dekagrams I would buy would get some 200 tread wear, 225/45-16 stickies on them [wink]).

I am REALLY jonesing for a set of those nuke-proof, OZed/M-Sport gravel rally spec 'disc' style wheels in 4x108, 15x6.5, with a REAL set of gravel tires on them, but that IS a waste just to use them for working on 2 rallies a year, plus a little bit of rallycrossing.
So treadwear rating obviously indicates not only how long the tire will last but also how "soft" it is, but does that pretty much ALWAYS mean better grip at the expense of treadwear? Some people want their tires to last longer, some want more grip, is this universally the rating to look for to determine which direction we want to go? I know it's been assumed a lot, but was just curious others thoughts...
 


M-Sport fan

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So treadwear rating obviously indicates not only how long the tire will last but also how "soft" it is, but does that pretty much ALWAYS mean better grip at the expense of treadwear? Some people want their tires to last longer, some want more grip, is this universally the rating to look for to determine which direction we want to go? I know it's been assumed a lot, but was just curious others thoughts...
It is NOT a 1:1 indicator of either a tire's 'stickiness', nor how long it will last, but generally it holds somewhat true (there are SO MANY variables which go into those two disparate traits, but the one seeming 'physics defier' tire is the Michelin Pilot Super Sport/4S, which sticks as well, or better than, as most 200 tread wear donuts, but wears like a 500 tread wear all season, but is BIG $$$$, and NOT available in sizes we can use [mad]).

To make it even MORE confusing, the manufacturers are NOT required to test their tires against a DOT/NHSTA STANDARD test tire for the tread wear ratings (like they are for the "ABC" rated, braking/wet braking tests).
In most cases they just test against their OWN brand other tires in their lineup, or whatever they want. [???:)]

There are also 400+ tread wear tires which burn up much quicker than that rating would belie, and 200 tread wear rated stickies which shock their owners with how long they last. ;)

Add to that the few autocross super glue deals (like the RE71R) which are stamped 200 tread wear for rules meeting purposes ONLY, but grip more like an 80-100 tread wear rated road race type 'velcro stick' tire, and do not get 'greasy' even when very hot.
(NOT sure how they wear on the street, you would have to ask some of their owners/users on here.)
 




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