Michelin Pilot 4s's v Sport Contact wear experiences - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

I'm ver soon going to be buying a set of new tyres for my Cayman GTS on 20inch wheels. I have been for years a PS4s convert, but with the large price differential between them and SC7's i'm starting to lean towards the SC7's, particularly with the great reviews they seem to enjoy. However the one thing that puts me off is the odd story of quite poor wear rate making them not so cheap as might first seen. Has anyone got real world experiences of the SC7 wear rates?

The Michelin PS4s's are an XL tyre in the Porsche N spec actually.

If you are happy with those and you can save a few quid why not, is the SC7 also Porsche approved then?

981Boxess said: If you are happy with those and you can save a few quid why not, is the SC7 also Porsche approved then? SC 7's aren't Porsche approved, although that isn't a Porsche warranty requirement any longer. In my head, no point saving a few quid on tyres (circa £300) if they wear out significantly faster!

For me it is worth it to get the steering feel back. The Michelin's are just numb, the steering feels wooly and the that super sharp turn in is just gone. I only do 4-5k miles a year, I have long forgotten about a tyre purchase 2 years ago.

Ed.Neumann said: For me it is worth it to get the steering feel back. The Michelin's are just numb, the steering feels wooly and the that super sharp turn in is just gone. I only do 4-5k miles a year, I have long forgotten about a tyre purchase 2 years ago. I have a GT4 steering map that I installed with a ThinkDiag, steering feels pretty sharp to me, no wooliness. Obviously not as good as the slicks I used to race on back in the day though..

(718 GTS 4.0) I've had the PS4s previously and am currently on the Conti SC7. The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements. At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment. I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life. Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >) https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I'd echo the above remarks on steering feel. I've always been a big fan of the 4S but "feel" from the coninentals (and wet performance) is definitely better. Even if they wear quicker and that cancels out the initial saving, I'd still pick them as the car just feels better on them. The 4S was for a long time a no-brainer, but it is about 10 years old now and other tyres have caught and passed it.

Approaching 13k on SC7s in a 2.5 Cayman GTS, a lot of city driving but a fair amount of country roads too, pushing where conditions allow - still have about 3.5mm left on the rears.

M11rph said: (718 GTS 4.0) I've had the PS4s previously and am currently on the Conti SC7. The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements. At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment. I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life. Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >) https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... Fantastic thread, love stuff like this, brilliant, well done. Further to my conundrum on tyre choice, I have in fact fitted 2 SC7's to the front of my wife's GTI performance to replace a pothole damaged PS4s. Definately better in comparison to the PS4S, especially in the wet roundabouts of Milton Keynes. Much better traction, surpisingly when the youtube videos only report an incremental improvement over the Michelins. I'd suggest it's a bit more than 2/3%. Decisons, decisions...

I made the switch and do not regret it. I’ll calculate my mileage and check my tread depth and report back.

You might want to consider Kumho Sport PS72 S. I've got them, as good as the 4s if not better IMHO. https://www.blackcircles.com/brands/kumho/ecsta-sp...

M11rph said: (718 GTS 4.0) I've had the PS4s previously and am currently on the Conti SC7. The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements. At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment. I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life. Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >) https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... Can you post pictures of them fitted? I'd be interested to see the sidewall profile. Are you running stock sizes or gone wider at the rear?

AmoCS said: You might want to consider Kumho Sport PS72 S. I've got them, as good as the 4s if not better IMHO. https://www.blackcircles.com/brands/kumho/ecsta-sp... If you mean the Sport S PS72, please let us know how they wear.

scrounger73 said: Can you post pictures of them fitted? I'd be interested to see the sidewall profile. Are you running stock sizes or gone wider at the rear? Standard sizes. 265/35 R20 & 235/35 R20. I don't have a pic of the rears to show the degree of stretch, but here's the fronts. Rears are similar, perhaps a fraction more? They look similar to the Michelins in that respect. I've not explored any insurance implications for running 275 rears and am happy with the balance of the car. (On my GR86 insurers were a bit sniffy about going from 215 to 225, declaring it as a mod reduced the number giving me quotes and bumped it up significantly as a result). Pics. Hope they help.

I've had/have PS4S on 718 Spyder, 458 Italia, Golf Clubsport. I've had/have ContiSport 7s on Alpine A110, BMW M135i. Without doubt, the CS7 wears faster and is hugely better in the wet - it copes with standing water effortlessly. And on the road it is quieter and far more comfortable, due to the softer sidewall. But the CS7 really doesn't have the steering feel or initial turn in of the PS4S, due I'd guess, to those softer sidewalls. For road-only use I'd probably go with the CS7, especially if used all year round, despite the higher wear. If tracked occasionally, I think it's 50/50 which I'd go with. On my Alpine, which is tracked 10-15 times a year, I'm going to move away from the CS7 as although it is sensational in the wet I find it really starts to lose control under high lateral loads and braking. The grip is there but the stability isn't

Orangecurry said: If you mean the Sport S PS72, please let us know how they wear. Yes, wear is similar to 4s, had them for 1 year still got lots of grip and tread. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJJ4bpWYAx8

worldwidewebs said: I've had/have PS4S on 718 Spyder, 458 Italia, Golf Clubsport. I've had/have ContiSport 7s on Alpine A110, BMW M135i. Without doubt, the CS7 wears faster and is hugely better in the wet - it copes with standing water effortlessly. And on the road it is quieter and far more comfortable, due to the softer sidewall. But the CS7 really doesn't have the steering feel or initial turn in of the PS4S, due I'd guess, to those softer sidewalls. For road-only use I'd probably go with the CS7, especially if used all year round, despite the higher wear. If tracked occasionally, I think it's 50/50 which I'd go with. On my Alpine, which is tracked 10-15 times a year, I'm going to move away from the CS7 as although it is sensational in the wet I find it really starts to lose control under high lateral loads and braking. The grip is there but the stability isn't Interesting, I think we need to compare apples with apples here. I found on the Porsche the total opposite, as have many who have swapped them over. My daily car is an Mercedes and on that the PS4S is too firm, too crashy for a daily driver and makes the car crab like mad. I wish the ones in the Porsche sizes were a bit more like that!! I think it was Jonathan Benson who did a video showing how much softer the PS4S sidewall is compared to the CSC7, simply by pressing down on a tyre off the rim, you could see the Michelin flex like mad where as he could hardly get the Conti to flex. So maybe that is why some people have completely different experiences between the different tyres, size, load rating etc. etc. all matters. The BMW star marked PS4S has a much, much stiffer sidewall and outside 1/3 of the tread compared to the off the shelf version, as does the Porsche one according to a Porsche Club Of America video, but some of the N rated ones are for the 911 and 982 and others are for the Cayenne, Macan, Panamera so again probably have different properties and design briefs.

Ed.Neumann said: Interesting, I think we need to compare apples with apples here. FWIW, a friend with a 981 Boxster (previously fitted with PS4S and now CS7) and an Alpine A110 (previously PS4 DT1 and now CS7) finds exactly the same as me

worldwidewebs said: Without doubt, the CS7 wears faster and is hugely better in the wet - it copes with standing water effortlessly. And on the road it is quieter and far more comfortable, due to the softer sidewall. But the CS7 really doesn't have the steering feel or initial turn in of the PS4S, due I'd guess, to those softer sidewalls. That's curious as it's the opposite of the likes of the Tyre Reviews site group test and my own experience where steering feel has been the thing the CSC7 is praised for over the PS4S. Have you you had both tyres on the same car?

I have run all these tyres on various cars, and have gone back to PS4S's Steering is fine on these tyres, these have won awards for years, it's def not vague ! PS4S's last for ever ie, 20k miles not and issue vs conti 7 getting 1/2 that. Turn in, well people who moan in the main maybe run stock cambers ! I run -1.7 and turn in on the PS4S is nothing to worry about. OK yes the Conti 7 feels more sporty, is that a good thing ? not imo the roads are too rough. But the big one for me if you take wear out of it was hitting standing water in a conti 7 was scary. !! once on the water you are ok, hitting a puddle rips the wheel out your hands a PS4S hit's a puddle no drama. It has been talked about on other forums after a few years out there and also the conti7 don't win awards like it used to, the tyres not changed so do reviews hype up a new tyre then change their mind later !!! then once worn the conti 7 is crap in the wet also, the PS4S performance even at 17k miles in the wet is a non issue, it works till it dies. Any new buyer coming to a PS4S, give it 400 miles also, they seem slimly new and it's not the normal few hundred miles, for me 400 miles in and the tyres gets better, Also the ultima WET track day tyre as you run it as a daily and if it rains you can just keep them on for wet tracks. Is the conti 7 more sporty, yes, but at ride comfort cost, wear and terrible at hitting water !!! esp when a few mil has been worn off which don't take long. PS4S for the win imo, it's quiter will last you 20k miles, water is a none issue, turn is is fine if you don't run daft -0.3% oem cambers !! run at least -1.5 on any Porsche if you like to drive. And don't post till you have 400 miles out of them. it's a top end tyre and in the UK a much nicer tyre than the Conti7 imo. Every one loves a tyre review, some people love P Zero's , some love conti 7 some love PS4S'S I don't agree with any one saying the PS4S is rubbish, I love this tyre and have tried every thing. Warm dry smooth road and if you don't mine the extra noise the conti wins, but that's rare in the UK these days. BUT then nice turn in on the Conti 7 when news soon fades off also when worn a bit :-( Add in when it's down to 4mm it's also then a really really BAD winter wet tyre !!! I actually binned mine off well above 1.6mm I run my PS4S till they are not legal. I saw a "well know tyre reviewer" placed the PS4S above the conti 7 in a review when before the Conti was top for ages, this is odd. All conti reviews were fixed imo, always at Conti test track or with EVO paid for test sponsors by Conti !!! fake reviews ALso no one tests these tyres with 2 mil off them and no one tests hitting standing water !!! they drive on water !! this is NOT real life ! Now the new P Zero R seems to win !! dare we try it ? I hate that brand of tyre. People will like what they like and subjective people also like what they like. Hence even in the VERY bad years of the P Zero, still people here loved that tyre ! Edited by 911_Speedster on Monday 18th May 09:58

I have had CSC7's on for 3 years and 10,200 miles I currently run -2.3 degrees front and -2.1 degrees rear, over their life I have been over -1.5 F and over -1.7 R, I run 31 F and 34 R tyre pressures Front just over 5mm left rears just under 3mm and some feathering of the inner edge on the RH rear Edited by Adrian-9iafn on Saturday 23 May 10:03