[JABCAT]

After the debacle last weekend where a BMW tech destroyed one of my tires dismounting it from the wheel, I had to purchase a new set of tires.

2022 330e MSport with staggered 19" Pirelli PZero Summer Performance RFTs. The Pirelli's had 28,600 miles on them and had 5/32nds of tread remaining on all tires. I was really happy with the ride comfort, handling, and road noise of the Pirellis.

The PZeros were not available and I needed a tire that day to get back on the road. I went with Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4, non-ZP. I have Pilot Super Sport ZP on both my supercharged Z06 & my wife's '22 X3MC. These tires have an excellent rating and come with a 45,000 mi tread wear warranty. I've got about 700 miles on them and the initial impressions are favorable.

Road noise: about equal to the Pirellis (avg 70 dB at 85 mph on the highway).

Ride comfort: I give the nod to the Pirellis. The Pirellis were a little smoother, a little more forgiving over bumps in the road.

Handling/grip: Here I also give the nod the the Pirellis. My daily commute consists of a 2-3 mi section of very curvy road up/down hill. I like to push the car a little through this section as it adds a little bit of fun to the commute. I noticed I could take the curves just a little faster with the Pirellis, even at 5/32nds of tread remaining compared to the brand new Michelins. That could also be due to the Michelins being brand new (though they had 250 mi on them from my initial drive home). Will re-evaluate when I get more miles on them.

I'm not thrilled about them being non-run flat only because I commute 500 mi round trip every weekend consisting of a 250 all highway drive each way. The RFTs gave me some peace of mind knowing I could get off the highway if needed.

The Michelins were cheaper than the Pirellis by about $200 for the set.

[dhock_holiday]

I'm suprised to read this, everyone I know says the Michellin's are far superior in ride comfort and road noise than the Pirelli's or Bridgestones that come stock.

[zazzau]

Originally Posted by dhock_holiday

I'm suprised to read this, everyone I know says the Michellin's are far superior in ride comfort and road noise than the Pirelli's or Bridgestones that come stock.

I have Michelin PS4S high performace (summer) tires and they are more superior in my experience. OP has all-season so that could be a factor.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by dhock_holiday

I'm suprised to read this, everyone I know says the Michellin's are far superior in ride comfort and road noise than the Pirelli's or Bridgestones that come stock.

I think a lot of people just feel the Michelins are superior because they're told they're superior - placebo effect. I really liked the Pirelli PZeros that came on the car. I had no issues with them at all. With 4 vehicles, I go through a lot of tires. On my wife's previous Grand Cherokee the Pirelli Scorpions I thought were much better than comparable Michelins.

I had a set of Continental Extreme Contact Sports on my Z06 that I felt handled better and were quieter than comparable Michelins. In the case of my Z06 and my 330e my only reason going with the Michelins was availability and need of tires in that moment. I've had a lot of experience with Michelin tires on more than a dozen vehicles. They are definitely good tires, but I don't think they live up to the extreme hype they receive.

[Jbrock22]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

After the debacle last weekend where a BMW tech destroyed one of my tires dismounting it from the wheel, I had to purchase a new set of tires.

2022 330e MSport with staggered 19" Pirelli PZero Summer Performance RFTs. The Pirelli's had 28,600 miles on them and had 5/32nds of tread remaining on all tires. I was really happy with the ride comfort, handling, and road noise of the Pirellis.

The PZeros were not available and I needed a tire that day to get back on the road. I went with Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4, non-ZP. I have Pilot Super Sport ZP on both my supercharged Z06 & my wife's '22 X3MC. These tires have an excellent rating and come with a 45,000 mi tread wear warranty. I've got about 700 miles on them and the initial impressions are favorable.

Road noise: about equal to the Pirellis (avg 70 dB at 85 mph on the highway).

Ride comfort: I give the nod to the Pirellis. The Pirellis were a little smoother, a little more forgiving over bumps in the road.

Handling/grip: Here I also give the nod the the Pirellis. My daily commute consists of a 2-3 mi section of very curvy road up/down hill. I like to push the car a little through this section as it adds a little bit of fun to the commute. I noticed I could take the curves just a little faster with the Pirellis, even at 5/32nds of tread remaining compared to the brand new Michelins. That could also be due to the Michelins being brand new (though they had 250 mi on them from my initial drive home). Will re-evaluate when I get more miles on them.

I'm not thrilled about them being non-run flat only because I commute 500 mi round trip every weekend consisting of a 250 all highway drive each way. The RFTs gave me some peace of mind knowing I could get off the highway if needed.

The Michelins were cheaper than the Pirellis by about $200 for the set.

You are comparing a Summer Tire to an All
Season tire. The Summer tire should be superior.

[zazzau]

Originally Posted by Jbrock22

You are comparing a Summer Tire to an All
Season tire. The Summer tire should be superior.

My thoughts exactly. I don’t think the PS4S high performace tire is a placebo effect or the result of over hype from marketing. Personally, it’s the best tire I’ve had in a car in a long time. The fact that it’s OEM - designed with and for BMW counts for something.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Jbrock22

You are comparing a Summer Tire to an All
Season tire. The Summer tire should be superior.

It's interesting to see what people read into comments. I didn't give an opinion on which tire was "superior", I simply compared the two regarding three criteria, road noise, handling/grip, and ride comfort.

Generally speaking, all-season tires are said to be quieter than summer performance tires due to differences in compound. As summer tires wear they typically get louder as well. I used the same decibel app on the same highway, at the same speed to compare the noise inside my cabin. I found it to be nearly identical for both tires even though my Pirellis were 60-70% worn.

Handling/grip: the summer tires should be better in this category. They do handle/grip better on dry even at 5/32nds than the all-seasons, but the all-seasons handle better in wet conditions - as they should.

Ride comfort: All-seasons are generally regarded as more ride compliant/more comfortable. I think. The Pirelli summer performance tires were more comfortable. I have close to 1k mi on the Michelins now.

Re: a tire being OEM, that primarily has to do with $$ and contracts. Michelins are OEM on Corvettes as well, but many people ditch them for better tires. There are plenty of threads here from people wanting to change from summer performance to all-seasons, and I provided a comparison.

I'm sure the Pirelli PZero all-seasons would be as good as the Michelins. For my Z06 the Michelins were $1k more than the Continentals & they sure as heck don't handle, grip, ride $1k worth more. My opinion from, again, having experience with Michelin tires on over a dozen different vehicles is that they are good, but not as amazing as people make them out to be. Others opinions might be different.

Like I said in the op, 3 of my 4 vehicles currently have Michelin tires.

[Chubbiejones]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

It's interesting to see what people read into comments. I didn't give an opinion on which tire was "superior", I simply compared the two regarding three criteria, road noise, handling/grip, and ride comfort.

Generally speaking, all-season tires are said to be quieter than summer performance tires due to differences in compound. As summer tires wear they typically get louder as well. I used the same decibel app on the same highway, at the same speed to compare the noise inside my cabin. I found it to be nearly identical for both tires even though my Pirellis were 60-70% worn.

Handling/grip: the summer tires should be better in this category. They do handle/grip better on dry even at 5/32nds than the all-seasons, but the all-seasons handle better in wet conditions - as they should.

Ride comfort: All-seasons are generally regarded as more ride compliant/more comfortable. I think. The Pirelli summer performance tires were more comfortable. I have close to 1k mi on the Michelins now.

Re: a tire being OEM, that primarily has to do with $$ and contracts. Michelins are OEM on Corvettes as well, but many people ditch them for better tires. There are plenty of threads here from people wanting to change from summer performance to all-seasons, and I provided a comparison.

I'm sure the Pirelli PZero all-seasons would be as good as the Michelins. For my Z06 the Michelins were $1k more than the Continentals & they sure as heck don't handle, grip, ride $1k worth more. My opinion from, again, having experience with Michelin tires on over a dozen different vehicles [...]

Always great information and a good read

[resident]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

Handling/grip: the summer tires should be better in this category. They do handle/grip better on dry even at 5/32nds than the all-seasons, but the all-seasons handle better in wet conditions - as they should.

Actually summer tires handle wet conditions better than all season in temps >45F so it really depends on where you live for which is better for year round driving.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

Re: a tire being OEM, that primarily has to do with $$ and contracts.

I think DT can only sell you the non-BMW PS4S, which is very different than PS4S* from the dealer.

You may want to compare the Pirelli* from factory versus PS4S* from dealer for OE vs OE.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by resident

Actually summer tires handle wet conditions better than all season in temps >45F so it really depends on where you live for which is better for year round driving.

That is correct, OP mentioned in other threads that his PHEV was losing range in 35F, which is is likely below the operating temp range of his non-BMW PS4S.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

I think DT can only sell you the non-BMW PS4S, which is very different than PS4S* from the dealer.

You may want to compare the Pirelli* from factory versus PS4S* from dealer for OE vs OE.

No, Discount Tire and Tire Rack (now of course part of the same company) can sell you any OE specific tire you want like the BMW Star specific tire you mention. Here's the link for the PS4S BMW Star version for the M340i for example.

[zazzau]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

I think DT can only sell you the non-BMW PS4S, which is very different than PS4S* from the dealer.

You may want to compare the Pirelli* from factory versus PS4S* from dealer for OE vs OE.

I believe stores like Tire Rack (dunno about DT) carry the star-branded tires — it’s a question of whether the purchased tires have it or not but seems OP picked up regular ones. But to your point: apples to apples comparison.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

No, Discount Tire and Tire Rack (now of course part of the same company) can sell you any OE specific tire you want like the BMW Star specific tire you mention. Here's the link for the PS4S BMW Star version for the M340i for example.

I haven't seen local AT stores carrying star tires in the past(on their webpage) that I can order and install in a day or 2, maybe u can special order but that can take some time.

Tirerack does carry star tires but that also can take a few days(while OP needed the tires right away)

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by zazzau

I believe stores like Tire Rack (dunno about DT) carry the star-branded tires — it’s a question of whether the purchased tires have it or not but seems OP picked up regular ones. But to your point: apples to apples comparison.

OP also didn't mention the operating temp, e.g. comparing summer max tires and all season tires at 35F likely is also not apple to apple.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

OP also didn't mention the operating temp, e.g. comparing summer max tires and all season tires at 35F likely is also not apple to apple.

It's only been in the upper 30s/low 40s here in the mornings this week. It's 60-70s in the afternoons. Re: loss of range on my 330e from another thread. It happened regardless of tires. Last winter was the same when the temps dip below 50.

Re: operating temps. The Pirellis say not below 45 degrees and the Michelins say not below 40.