So I really like the performance of the Michelin PSS tires that I just put on. I kept with the stock size of 225/50 18's. I expected the side walls to be a little more aggressive looking, but IMO they kind of look cheap. Side wall just has kind of a smooth curve shape. Then I was looking at the prices of different sizes and the 225/50 18's were by far the cheapest. Here are some prices right around my tire size:

225/45-18 $242
225/50-18 $172
235/50-18 $248

Is there a reason for that??? It just makes me wonder if they are made cheaper or something. And I saw some other pictures of the PPS (not sure what size) and the side walls looked more aggressive. I understand that side walls will look different depending on the side wall height, but I just wasn't expecting them to look like this.

 

The 225/50-18 are the least performing of the 3 sets you listed. They = narrowest and = the highest sidewall.

225/45 will perform a little better in turns due to the shorter sidewall.
235/50 will provide more grip because it's a wider tire.

 

So are you saying the price is dependent on how the tire performs? Should I have chosen a different size/tire?

 

I am very sure the sidewall design will not change with size of the tire.

Consider yourself lucky - the 225/50/18 is currently priced well.

The 245/45/18s for the rear of my car are $269 each (tirerack).

Enjoy them.

 

You bought some of the best performing tires available in the world, period. My advice is to enjoy them for what they are!

 

As mentioned, sidewall design is the same across the board. However, shorter sidewalls tend to look more aggressive mainly because it's so svelt.

As for the rounded shoulders. A lot of Michelin's are like that, it's by design i guess. However, you can somewhat counter that effect by properly matching the widths of the tires to the widths of the wheel.

 

I hate my supersports, I'll trade them for RE-11s if anyone wants

 

I got a PM asking more info on SuperSports, so I thought I'd share them with everyone.

The SuperSport has a very very soft sidewall, this is even apparent when you weigh them up, 25lb for the supersport and 30lb for the Bridgestone.

Because of the really thin sidewall, once the SuperSport is inflated, off the car its like a basketball. It bounces alot. When you compare the two tires side by side you'll be astonished at the rigidity of the Bridgetstone sidewalls vs the Supersport sidewalls.

Anyway, I'm mentioning sidewalls, because that is the achilles heal of the SuperSport. The SuperSport is quieter than the RE050A, its a softer ride, it takes little bumps 10x better(because the softside walls absorbs this vs sending it to your suspension), huge bumps it takes way worse, accelerating grip is better(marginally), they are better in the rain, and in day to day useage the tire is overall way more compliant over the RE050As. Oh and they are supposed to last 30k miles.

So to someone who daily drives the car, the SuperSport is a huge upgrade to the RE050A.

I don't like them because during HARD cornering, the occasional drifting, the frequent track day, the drive on them sucks. Entering a hard corner, my front tire always dumps and rolls over, never happens with my RE050A, it just slips if it lets go. The bouncyness of the SuperSport becomes instantly apparent on uneven surfaces. If you enter a chicane with a bump in it, your SuperSport, with the soft sidewall, and basketball-like bouncyness, will bounce up and roll the tire, losing traction. The Bridgestones never did. Highspeed stability, same problem. You enter a turn at a high rate of speed, bumps that the Bridgestone took and kept gripping, the SuperSport would start to lose grip. You also lose a tonne of feedback on road surface conditions, yeah the SuperSport absorbs all the little bumps and cracks at the sake of traction, but I actually like to feel of those cracks and bumps because it helps me determine apropriate speed.

Oh yeah, and I also got a chance to drive on a set of RE-11s, which are going to be my next tire, and I dont' make that decision lightly, I tried making the SuperSports work, I've got a full corner weighted and balanced car, I've tried different alignments, different tire pressures, even different damper settings.

Anyway take my review with a grain of salt, I'm probably not the intended market for SuperSports lol.

 

^ Thanks. I was going to ask you why you don't like them. Good explanation.

 

^^^
That was a great post, dimsler.

SS is an excellent street tire which doesn't work as well as the RE050A in Auto-X... got it. Thanks for the detailed explanation.

 

I believe those bulging/rounded sidewalls are by design to protect the wheels from curb rash.

 

dimsler,

Thank you for the review of the Pilot SS. I'm not sure that I want them now...

 

That's funny, because I want them even more now.

I value performance in a car, and absolutely adore the handling characteristics of my 6MT, but I realize that 99.9999% of the time, I'm not pushing the car to the extents in which it's capable... I'm just driving to and from work, or dropping my girls off at Dance Class. Even when I AutoX'd the car a couple months ago, it was more about driver than car. That became obvious as stock economy cars were consistently pulling in better times.

Will I ever attack a familiar corner without traction control, and play the oversteer around the bend? Um, yeah, that happens. But not so often or so much.

My guess is the majority of people here in the Sedan forum are average-guy, daily drivers, as much as we like to think of ourselves as Jeremy Clarkson.

 

I'm Italian, so I'd choose Mario Andretti... if for nothing more than the cool name.

I can drive. Very well, in fact. But I suspect that you're probably correct, in that I am not as good as I think I am.

 

Its a great tire if you daily drive the car, have to put on tonnes of mileage over the year, and live on pretty decent roads.

For what its worth;

My PERSONAL tire choices for the G37 for someone that enjoys driving the thing are as follows;

RE-11
S-04 Pole Position
RE050A Pole Position

and an NT05 or A005 Advan(only available in 18s) for an R-Compound.