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[Team503]

I've been running Michelin Pilot Super Sports on stock wheels for a while now, but I've got some beautiful new forged wheels coming soon and I'll need new tires for them.

They're 18sx9 front and 18x10 rear, and I plan to run 245/40/18 and 275/35/18 on them respectively.

So what's your favorite tire? Are you running PSSes like a bunch of us or are you a rebel and run something different?

[Phyrexia]

I liked my two sets of Potenza S04s, though I didn't get much life out of them. You turbo dudes & dudettes have a lot more torque than I did.

[Joebie]

PSSs are top of the line for sure when it comes to a high performance summer tire, but they come at quite the high price.

I personally run Bridgestone S-04 tires on my car. They are significatly cheaper than the PSS but I really like how they handle. This is my first set on my latest BMW but in the past, they've lasted me about 25k miles of spirited backroad driving every day on my commute to work. So I might not be a great example of typical tire life.

I've also had Continental DWs and Ventus V12s on my cars as well. The Continentals are okay, but not super great. The Ventus V12 are absolute trash, I have no idea how so many people in the BMW forums like them. Perhaps they've never tried anything else. They are really cheap though.

At the end of the day if you are okay with the price of the PSS I would stick with those, but if you want something cheaper then I would definitely recommend the S-04.

[Emilime75]

PS4S, even though I haven't gotten them yet. It's the tires I'll be buying when I get wheels, soon.

[dsjr2006]

Love the PSS. I'm thinking about trying the Continental Extreme Contact Sport or PZero PZ4.

[6ixSpd]

I've exclusively ran PSS for the last 8 years. No regrets. I do drive my car's fairly spiritedly though, not just trudging along in city traffic.

I'd look at PS4S or Conti ECS which delivers almost the same performance but noticeably less expensive. I have the new Conti ECS on the 328i now and I love them, no discernible difference between PSS and these and they're cheaper than PS4S. Win-win.

[miker2013]

i agree the continental extreme contact sport are a fantastic daily driver tire.... have them on my 335xi

pros... amazing grip and feel and comfort and noise

cons... sidewall is a tad compliant and turn in is not quite as sharp as compared to a high performance run flat

if you are going to track the car, this is not the tire, if you are driving on street then its a great option

[chatch10]

Originally Posted by miker2013

i agree the continental extreme contact sport are a fantastic daily driver tire.... have them on my 335xi

pros... amazing grip and feel and comfort and noise

cons... sidewall is a tad compliant and turn in is not quite as sharp as compared to a high performance run flat

if you are going to track the car, this is not the tire, if you are driving on street then its a great option

How would you say they run compared to the PSS? Are they as wide and squared? Just wondering because I would like to go from 235 to 255 up front, but I don't want to rub.

[blau iii]

I went with the Hankook Ventis Evo 2 on my summer wheels, love them! In fact, I can't wait to take my snow tires off and put them back on this weekend. They're half the price of PSS and i've already gotten 15k miles out of them with minimal wear. They provide tons of grip, smooth enough ride. No complaints what so ever.

[miker2013]

Originally Posted by chatch10

How would you say they run compared to the PSS? Are they as wide and squared? Just wondering because I would like to go from 235 to 255 up front, but I don't want to rub.

i never ran the pss so i can't compare them for u... they do seem more squared than the bs re050 rft tires i ran previously

i had posted on a few other threads about the conti ecs vs pss so maybe others can chime in but it seemed the consensus was they were maybe a tad softer than the pss but otherwise quite similar

[dsjr2006]

Originally Posted by miker2013

i never ran the pss so i can't compare them for u... they do seem more squared than the bs re050 rft tires i ran previously

i had posted on a few other threads about the conti ecs vs pss so maybe others can chime in but it seemed the consensus was they were maybe a tad softer than the pss but otherwise quite similar

Tire Rack test doesn't indicate a significant difference between them, I'll give feedback though because I've had PSS on the track and will be trying the ECS this time around I think.

[KB7]

Originally Posted by Joester

PSSs are top of the line for sure when it comes to a high performance summer tire, but they come at quite the high price.

I personally run Bridgestone S-04 tires on my car. They are significatly cheaper than the PSS but I really like how they handle. This is my first set on my latest BMW but in the past, they've lasted me about 25k miles of spirited backroad driving every day on my commute to work. So I might not be a great example of typical tire life.

I've also had Continental DWs and Ventus V12s on my cars as well. The Continentals are okay, but not super great. The Ventus V12 are absolute trash, I have no idea how so many people in the BMW forums like them. Perhaps they've never tried anything else. They are really cheap though.

At the end of the day if you are okay with the price of the PSS I would stick with those, but if you want something cheaper then I would definitely recommend the S-04.

I'm interested to hear why you feel the Ventus are trash? I've had them on several cars personally and think they are great tires in dry and wet (I live in rainy SFL). I haven't had PSS or S-04 so I can't compare them.

[Joebie]

Originally Posted by KB7

I'm interested to hear why you feel the Ventus are trash? I've had them on several cars personally and think they are great tires in dry and wet (I live in rainy SFL). I haven't had PSS or S-04 so I can't compare them.

I feel like confirmation bias is a huge thing when it comes to tires.


I have had both the Ventus and other tires like the S-04 and Conti DW on very similar cars and the Ventus tires just didn't grip anything like the others. They are fine tires for the price but you absolutely get what you pay for. They just can't perform like the PSS and the S-04, in my opinion.

[tetsuo111]

Another vote here for Bridgestone S-04 for daily, street duties.

For context, I've used PSS, RE-71R, S-04, and WS-80 (fantastic snow tires but not relevant for this discussion). All the above are excellent in their own ways, while having dramatically different feel.

PSS is fine on the street IME, but lacked endurance on track, becoming greasy and loose early in the day. At the same time, PSS seems overkill for a pure street application. So too much for street use, and not enough on the track.

RE-71R is the real deal on track - believe all the hype. These stick like glue, last the entire day, and don't break the bank, especially in a optimally sized 17" spec. On the street however, they are super loud. Whether or not this matters is subjective. The noise was a distraction for me on street. I would happily use the RE-71R all day on track. I simply have no desire to listen to an almost R-compound tire the other 98% of the time.

So that leaves the S-04. Still an 'extreme performance" tire like PSS, it ranks second in the Tire Rack tests behind PSS, is quieter and more comfortable than PSS on the street, and has a higher performance threshold than I plan to ever use off-track. The S-04 offers extreme performance levels of grip in the dry and rain, superb levels of comfort on the street, and is priced hundreds of dollars less than PSS. This makes the S-04 a "no brainer" as a street tire.

There seems to be a renaissance happening now in tire technology. I wish I could log drive time on Conti ExtremeSport Contact, PS4, and Firestone Indy 500 as newer candidates than the S-04 for street driving.

[r4dr]

I drive an E91 a lot that has ExtremeContact Sports for its summer set, and so far they're great. I don't think PSS or PS4S are worth the price difference over them. Like so many things in life, I believe Michelin is getting by on their brand/product recognition more than anything else. Sure, when they came out, they were a step above everyone else. But other tire companies have caught up and aren't charging the $$$. I had looked into S-04 PPs but the word was that they wore very quickly (though this is all up to driving style IMO, some people love to gas it constantly on the street) and Conti came out with the EC Sports so I went with those.

I liked the RE-71Rs on the track as well, I just burned through them very quickly. I used Hankook R-S3s before my RE-71Rs and I'm back on R-S4s. I like that they have 85-90% of the stickiness but seem to wear much better. I'll probably shift back into R-comps when it warms up consistently this season, but I'll be looking at NT01s because I can get a set of 4 shipped for $660 off eBay (15" tires FTW). Everyone has told me those get *better* as they wear, and that they're at their best right before the wear bars (they're essentially slicks at this point). This was not the case with the 71Rs.

But I digress. DD tires are a very different story from track tires. I think the PSS is great on the track for novice through middle of intermediate, but I expect a high intermediate or advanced driver to have to manage them more than a dedicated track tire. My vote for DD tires is Conti ECS. I got PSS for my E92 but only because everyone seems to be clearing them out in preparation for the PS4S to be widely available in 18" sizes. Deals are out there on eBay.

[Unknown_Car]

Conti DW for low noise and smooth.
Nitto nto5 for good traction. (I have them now).

Had pss and didn't like them at all.

[r4dr]

To clarify for anyone reading this, the Continental ExtremeContact Sport is the successor to the ExtremeContact DW. Improved compound but they rebranded for whatever reason.

[drunkenup]

I went from V12s to PSS and to be brutally honest I didn't notice a discernible difference in grip on the road or on autocross. The V12s were louder IIRC. PSS sidewall is just as soft whereas I hear the S04 is stiff. I was pretty disappointed, I guess the hype train set my expectations high.

If I were doing a street car build the tire would probably be S04s. I can cave an unmounted PSS sidewall with my hands (of which I took after my mom- small), can't say the same about the Star Specs I have, or even the RE050A rfts (I mean RFT, but still).

[6ixSpd]

The problem is for the price of SO4, you can get Conti ECS which are extremely similar and last longer, all at a lower price price. Continental completely fixed the old problems of their venerable DW (super soft sidewall, not as much steering response, less dry grip vs. PSS) with this Extreme Contact Sport replacement. It's right up there with PSS, yet much cheaper. I wouldn't bother with PSS/PS4S anymore for a street driven car.

Originally Posted by r4dr

I drive an E91 a lot that has ExtremeContact Sports for its summer set, and so far they're great. I don't think PSS or PS4S are worth the price difference over them. Like so many things in life, I believe Michelin is getting by on their brand/product recognition more than anything else. Sure, when they came out, they were a step above everyone else. But other tire companies have caught up and aren't charging the $$$. I had looked into S-04 PPs but the word was that they wore very quickly (though this is all up to driving style IMO, some people love to gas it constantly on the street) and Conti came out with the EC Sports so I went with those.

I liked the RE-71Rs on the track as well, I just burned through them very quickly. I used Hankook R-S3s before my RE-71Rs and I'm back on R-S4s. I like that they have 85-90% of the stickiness but seem to wear much better. I'll probably shift back into R-comps when it warms up consistently this season, but I'll be looking at NT01s because I can get a set of 4 shipped for $660 off eBay (15" tires FTW). Everyone has told me those get *better* as they wear, and that they're at their best right before the wear bars (they're essentially slicks at this point). This was not the case with the 71Rs.

But I digress. DD tires are a very different story from track tires. I think the PSS is great on the track for novice through middle of intermediate, but I expect a high intermediate or advanced driver to have to manage them more than a dedicated track tire. My vote for DD tires is Conti ECS. I got PSS for my E92 but only because everyone seems to be clearing them out in preparation for the PS4S to be widely available in 18" sizes. Deals are out there on eBay.

100% this.

[dublin14]

Just got my Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s in - reviews of this tire seems to be the best tire/money bargain.

Dont let the name fool.you. They're made in Japan by Bridgestone and in every other country other than the US are called Potenza RE003's.

[AoS810]

I had Firehawk Indy 500s installed on my 18" ARC-8s this past weekend. First impressions are great compared to my old 17" Continental DW, the tread pattern looks very aggressive and I'm not rubbing at all in the rear (stock sport suspension normal camber) with 18x9" ET15 (ET30 w/ 15mm spacer) on my pre-LCI E90 255/35/18.

The only thing I've really noticed different from the DW is the road noise, at highway speeds I'm noticing a more audible noise on certain road surfaces that wasn't present with the DW but I'll see if that goes away after the tires break in (driven only ~150 miles so far).

Overall I'm pretty happy for the price.

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by dublin14

Just got my Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s in - reviews of this tire seems to be the best tire/money bargain.

Dont let the name fool.you. They're made in Japan by Bridgestone and in every other country other than the US are called Potenza RE003's.

I don't think "yours" are made in japan, but may be it is. I know mine are not, made in Thailand.

My favorite was PSS, then it was Indy 500 (current tires phasing out soon). May be my new favorties will be Federal RS-R, waiting to be mounted, lets see lol.