Continental DW vs. Bridgestone S04 vs. Michelin PSS

[B8_Jim]

So... I'm upgrading to 19" wheels, and am looking at these three tires.

Currently have 18" DW's with 12,000 miles and measuring the wear rate with lots of rotations looks like I'll get 25,000 miles before they are down to 2/32 tread left.

Considering these vs. the Bridgestone S04 pole position, and the Michelin pilot super sport.

These are listed in order of price - with the DW at about $225, the S04 at $250, and the PSS at about $275. The S04 and PSS get slightly better reviews than the DW but both have lower tread wear ratings. The S04 has a tread wear rating of 280, the PSS 300, while the DW is 340. If the ratings were accurate (I know they differ brand to brand) they would last 25000 (DW), 20500 (S04), and 22000 (PSS) miles using my current set for wear rate.

The PSS is the only one with a tread wear warranty - 30,000 miles. Assuming it went 30k it would be the same cost per mile as the DW.

I'm leaning toward the PSS just to see what all the fuss is about over them, but wondering if it's worth it.

Thoughts, comments??

[NuVega]

My vote for the Michelin PSS. Going to 19s chances are the weight will increase in wheel alone, and the Michelin PSS and Conti DWs are around the same weight tire, the Bridgestones are quite heavy and has the worst tread life. Michelin PSS as you said is suppose to be the best summer tire for the price.

[B8_Jim]

My vote for the Michelin PSS. Going to 19s chances are the weight will increase in wheel alone, and the Michelin PSS and Conti DWs are around the same weight tire, the Bridgestones are quite heavy and has the worst tread life. Michelin PSS as you said is suppose to be the best summer tire for the price.

Good point, thanks. For some reason I didn't notice the S04's were 5 lbs heavier each than the DW or PSS (29 lbs for the S04, 24lbs for the DW/PSS). Knew the DW/PSS were the same, missed the S04 specs.

[Doc@tirerack]

Here's the results of our most recent test ;




Tread wear (UTQG) numbers are subjective, and should never be used for comparison. Given what we know about the tires, the Conti would have a slight edge over the others for durability with many of our customers getting over 25K miles of street use (little to no track). We'd expect the Michelin's to be pretty close to those numbers with the Bridgestone just a little behind. As always, a keen eye on pressures combined with very regular rotation (every 3k miles for the first 15k) and a recent alignment will help extend the life of any tire.

[D's Avant]

I've got the Conti DW's on my wifes daily driver and for the money, theses are a really good summer tire. We ran the P Zero's before and the older Bridgestone's before that. Conti's are my favorite so far.

[B8_Jim]

Here's the results of our most recent test ;

Given what we know about the tires, the Conti would have a slight edge over the others for durability with many of our customers getting over 25K miles of street use (little to no track). We'd expect the Michelin's to be pretty close to those numbers with the Bridgestone just a little behind.

Thanks Doc

So sounds like the PSS treadwear warranty is a calculated gamble on the part of Michelin? i.e. that people won't meet the requirements of having them inspected/rotated at a authorized michelin dealer every 7500 miles?

If they only last 25000 miles - michelin would be paying out a little over 16% of the price at that point right? (5000/30000=16.7%) $275*.16 = $45. Is that only good toward another Michelin tire? Maybe a way to lock you into the brand ;)

I've got the Conti DW's on my wifes daily driver and for the money, theses are a really good summer tire. We ran the P Zero's before and the older Bridgestone's before that. Conti's are my favorite so far.

I was pleased with my DW's as well - until they started getting noisy from some "heel-toe" wear - likely my fault as I didn't rotate them since one was replaced due to a road hazzard after about 1/32" of wear and I wanted to keep that tire on my highest wear rate corner (right front). Had it aligned, but it came back well within spec so start with and the after spec was hardly any different. So, I think it's just normal wear for my car/driving that caused the wear. Rotated and swapped rotational direction to try to start reversing it.

Hmmm... Still on the fence.... With Michelin offering a $70 rebate starting soon, the price differential drops to only about $30 a tire...

[Doc@tirerack]

Michelin is the only vendor we have that offers a mileage warranty on Summer compound tire, and I'd agree that you would have to be almost fanatical about PSI / rotations / alignments / etc to get to the 30K mile level. Having said that, its more than anyone else offers !