2020 FiST Tire Options - Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4?

[CSM]

OK, do you know if the 215/40/17 will fit on the OE Ford Rado 17" wheels?

yep i ran that for a bit years ago

 

[jreederphoto]

OK, do you know if the 215/40/17 will fit on the OE Ford Rado 17" wheels?

oops looks like you already answered that

 

[CSM]

Anyone try the new Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4? (OE tire for new C8 corvette).

Also just general tire nerd knowledge here, but the OE tire on the Corvette is actually bespoke to that car. Even though it's labeled as a Pilot Sport All Season 4, it has tweaks to the compound to give it a little more grip in warm weather while sacrificing some cold weather performance (The logic being that >95% of C8 owners will have a second car for snow duty, so the need for the tire to perform well in the snow is pretty minimal). So its actually a bit different than the off the shelf tire you can buy from your local tire shop.

Not that this helps anything, but thought it was kind of interesting.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^Hell, 99.9999% of all C8 owners' rides will never even see a drop of RAIN! LOL

 

[M-Sport fan]

Nope as long as you stick to 215/40/17. 215/45/17 can rub depending on tire

IF you slam it to the ground low enough (by dropping it 2" plus from factory ride height), everything (ANY tire size) will rub.

 

[SteveS]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6342C4CRo

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Just like the A/s 3's they are a 3 season tire. The 3's came on my FiST OEM and they would spin all day in anything above 1 inch of snow and you'd better be good at guesstimating your stopping distance at all lights and stop signs. The 3's were the primary reason I bought SNOW tires. Sure they were fine in cold and rain But like I said....Any thing more than 1 inch of the white stuff...DUNBAR...complete ice-skates on a car. I also have seen people complain about a mileage drop with them also over the course of their life. In the end they are most likely a great tire in a warmer climate in all 4 seasons, But in inclement weather with ice and snow with 1 inch + they are a NO-GO. I'm sure whatever you pick will be just fine and dandy! Good luck and get what you want!

 

[Zormecteon]

I agree, the AS tire is not good in snow, but.... The summer only tires are downright DANGEROUS in the snow.. NO GRIP and I mean none. You may be able to get rolling, but god help you if you need to stop.

They did a test (road and track) using summer only, all season, and snow tires under conditions of dry, wet, and snow. .. timed acceleration runs to 60 mph and stopping tests from I can't recall the speed. .. The summer only tires couldn't even get to 60 mph in the snow with a 1 mile test length.

If you're expecting your all seasons to perform like summer only in the summer, or like snow tires in the winter, you'll be disappointed, but if you need the ability to get around in light snow, have great grip in the wet and very good performance in the dry, you'll be happy. A jack of all trades is a master of none.

YMMV
My 2¢

 

[Zormecteon]

What wheels are you running these on, another set of factory 17x7s?

Stock size but not stock rims. View attachment 36950 View attachment 36950

 

[CSM]

If you're expecting your all seasons to perform like summer only in the summer, or like snow tires in the winter, you'll be disappointed, but if you need the ability to get around in light snow, have great grip in the wet and very good performance in the dry, you'll be happy. A jack of all trades is a master of none.

Couldn't agree more. This is 100% why I've been so impressed with the AS4 - I came into ownership of them with that same mindset and set of expectations.

 

[Cartman]

I am running Yokohama Advan Fleva 701 summer tires in the stock size from Discount Tire Direct. Almost as cheap as the Indy 500s and work very well for DD.

 

[Heavy_D]

OK, do you know if the 215/40/17 will fit on the OE Ford Rado 17" wheels?

I run the 215/45/17 indy 500 with mountune springs. They dont rub unless you hit a bit bump or you have a bunch of people in the car.

 

[skold]

Great thread OP!

Not trying to hijack, but what would be considered the best replacement for the OEM tires on stock rims for someone who lives in Houston, TX (no snow, plenty of rain, and hot most of the year)? These would be for daily spirited driving on a stock FiST. I thought I heard that the OEM tires for say a 2019 are no longer widely available? Thanks!!!

 

[Capri to ST]

I am running Yokohama Advan Fleva 701 summer tires in the stock size from Discount Tire Direct. Almost as cheap as the Indy 500s and work very well for DD.

I didn't know those were available on the stock size, Tire Rack is the main place that I look and they don't carry them in that size. How is the turn in and the quickness of the handling feel on those tires? I had their predecessor, the S.drive, on my other car and was quite impressed with them.
I have the Firehawk Indy 500 now on the ST, and while ultimate grip is really good, they give up something of the quick turn in that the OEM Potenza RE050A had.

 

[Capri to ST]

Great thread OP!

Not trying to hijack, but what would be considered the best replacement for the OEM tires on stock rims for someone who lives in Houston, TX (no snow, plenty of rain, and hot most of the year)? These would be for daily spirited driving on a stock FiST. I thought I heard that the OEM tires for say a 2019 are no longer widely available? Thanks!!!

You're correct, the OEM Potenza RE050a is pretty much unavailable now. They wore out quickly, but had fantastically quick turn-in and handling feel. I currently have the Firehawk Indy 500, and I would say they are about 90% as good, but I would have gone back to the Potenzas if they were available just to get that last little bit of handling feel. I called Bridgestone /Firestone, and they did say that local dealers can special-order them, I checked with my local dealer and the price was ridiculously high, over $1,600 mounted and balanced for 4 and I want a tire that's readily available if I damage one and need a new one. Since they're not readily available, I'll probably stick with the Indy 500.
I have avoided Extreme Performance summer tires because it doesn't snow enough here to justify dedicated winter tires so I like to run one tire year round, but it does get pretty cold and the extreme tires can be pretty awful in really cold weather.

 

[Snrub]

People on the Pilot Sports he is talking 4’s which are a big step up from 3’s . Ya they are more expensive but they are seriously a much better tire than the Firehawks. I personally would not even consider Firehawks. Sure the price point is better but you will also feel that in how they perform. To me losing turn in feel is like a lose lose situation. Turn in feel is a lot of what makes these cars a blast to drive.

I would also add that while they are listed as a UHP they are an older design and tech . Newer tires that perform better are out there for the money.

Friends don’t let friends buy Firehawks.

I'm struggling a little with your comments. Based on what I've read, I'm reasonable sure the PS4 A/S is an excellent tire in its class, but I've seen no direct objective comparison test between it and the Indy 500. I would argue the FiST's party trick is turn in. Here's what tire rack said about the Indy 500 in their last review of it.

With ultra-quick steering response and an authoritative front end, small inputs were all that was required to dive down to the apex, and strong lateral grip made it easy to hold the intended line

Seems to describe a nice match to me. Read hard-core enthusiast feelings about the tire, they're consistently very positive. Regarding the responsiveness, etc. I suspect this characteristic is due to the Indy 500's massive tread blocks. They've actually raised the price of the tire and I suspect that's due to demand/reputation. Clearly this makes its value proposition a little less convincing in the past. That said, the turn in response is really good. I don't think there's a direct alternative in 205/40/17. In 205/45/16 I could see considering the Conti ECS, but even though it's an overall better tire, I'd hate to risk losing the turn in. The Indy 500 is really freaking good and reminds me of a 200tw tire... Take a look at the tread blocks in the PS4 A/S. No matter how good the several year newer compound is, I can't see how there wouldn't be more tread squirm, less response with the PS4 A/S.

 

[Dpro]

I'm struggling a little with your comments. Based on what I've ready, I'm reasonable sure the PS4 A/S is an excellent tire in its class, but I've seen no direct objective comparison test between it and the Indy 500. I would argue the FiST's party trick is turn in. Here's what tire rack said about the Indy 500 in their last review of it.

With ultra-quick steering response and an authoritative front end, small inputs were all that was required to dive down to the apex, and strong lateral grip made it easy to hold the intended line

Seems to describe a nice match to me. Read hard-core enthusiast feelings about the tire, they're consistently very positive. Regarding the responsiveness, etc. I suspect this characteristic is due to the Indy 500's massive tread blocks. They've actually raised the price of the tire and I suspect that's due to demand/reputation. Clearly this makes its value proposition a little less convincing in the past. That said, the turn in response is really good. I don't think there's a direct alternative in 205/40/17. In 205/45/16 I could see considering the Conti ECS, but even though it's an overall better tire, I'd hate to risk losing the turn in. The Indy 500 is really freaking good and reminds me of a 200tw tire... Take a look at the tread blocks in the PS4 A/S. No matter how good the several year newer compound is, I can't see how there wouldn't be more tread squirm, less response with the PS4 A/S.
View attachment 36951
View attachment 36952

Pics do not tell the whole story given all circumstances . The Pilot Spec AS4 is one step up from a tire that was spec’d on our cars. The Indy 500 on the other hand is actually a Bridgestone RE30 in disguise which while praised in its day was outpaced by the Factory Spec’d RE50 .

Hmmmm OP wants a nice all season tire . Lives in San Jose which sees 33 inches of rain a year on average. Ya I grew up in Palo Alto 35 miles from San Francisco and 25 miles from San Jose 33 inches of rain a year is fact.

Given that OP might possibly be in a better decision to run the AS4. You need to asses what I wrote before just making a tire to tire comparison as well. I mentioned he sees a lot of rain which was the basis for my recommendation. In the rain not many tires can hold a candle to the AS4 In the rain!!!

Notice I bolded Rain. Ya Indy 500 not going to hold a candle to the AS4 in the rain. If you want a high performance tire that will you are getting up to the A052 which is ultra high performance tire and a bit more expensive. lol

Oh and on another note when I went to Octane Academy the cars were equipped with Pilot Sports AS3 or 4’s . Kinda interesting anecdote that a performance track driving program would run and not say the RE50’s.

So ya

 

[M-Sport fan]

What are we going to do next, compare a blocky/heavily treaded/'sipey' pure winter tire's warm weather dry road handling to a 100 tread wear pure track tire's?!?! LOFL

 

[Dpro]

What are we going to do next, compare a blocky/heavily treaded/'sipey' pure winter tire's warm weather dry road handling to a 100 tread wear pure track tire's?!?! LOFL

Well what some people fail to realize was the OP was looking for an all season tire and most are recommending what amounts to Summer tires. lol
I agree with you that the snubs response to my response to to OP’s inquiry did not take that into account which is why I bolded rain.
I was just pointing out the A052‘s excellent wet weather performance as its probably better than the Indy 500.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Well what some people fail to realize was the OP was looking for an all season tire and most are recommending what amounts to Summer tires. lol
I agree with you that the snubs response to my response to to OP’s inquiry did not take that into account which is why I bolded rain.
I was just pointing out the A052‘s excellent wet weather performance as its probably better than the Indy 500.

You meant the PS A/S4's correct?

As the A052s are a pure, semi-slick track/autocross tire (with probably even a MUCH stickier compound than their 200 tread wear rating would suggest) which even at their FULL (but very shallow 7/32") molded tread depth, I would not want to be on the car while out in a heavy downpour, even in the middle of summer.