I just slapped some new shoes on my ride, and I thought I'd post some info on them, seeing as they just came out a week or so ago, and not too many people know about them yet.

Michelin makes them, and their called the "Pilot Sport A/S". This is the new All Season version of the Pilot Sport. It's the first true ultra high performance all weather tire. It is also one of the most technologically advanced tires ever made. 3 different rubber compounds in various parts of the tread, kevlar belts, and a 400 treadwear rating. For those who don't know, 400 is absolutely unheard of for a high performance tire, as an example, my last tires were 160.

The downside of course, is the money. Mine were about $175 (USD) a piece for 205/55/16's. But, if they really last as long as their treadwear suggests, they should make up the difference in the long run.

I've only had mine for a few days, and already it's like driving a completely different car. Very sticky, amazing responsiveness, smooth, stable, and the weirdest part, completely silent. It took some effort, but when I finally got the car pitched into a nice 4 wheel drift, they didn't make any noise at all. Creepy.

I can't wait to try them in the snow! I go snowboarding allot, so I need all weather, but I didn't want to give up any street traction at all. Basically, I wanted to get the best all weather tire I could possibly get. I did some research a few months ago, and found out about these tires, so I figured I'd wait until they came out. I'll post some more info later, and let you guys know how they do in the rain / snow.

For now, you can get more info here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/michelin/mi_pilot_sport_as.jsp

Thanks for that review... i'm just about to need some new shoes for my Civic. Argh, i got all excited 'cause those sound exactly like what i want, but they don't come in 205/40/17. *sigh*

205/40/17. *sigh*


Dunlop Sport W-10's..

I upgraded my GS-R from the OEM Mich. (crappy AND expensive) to these.... OMG.

My size is $71 a tire now, and it easily beats the Mich in ALL conditions (well, maybe not snow... We don't see much of that here).

Rain grip is about as good as my Mich. were in the dry. Dry grip is wonderfull... It seems like there is less noise than the Mich, as well. Treadlife ... around 30k of VERY hard runs. I've taken turns at +90mph silently on these tires, while not being able to push 60 without a ton of noise on the Mich.

Maybe I just had a batch of REALLY bad Mich., but I'll not go back. I might look at the S8000's, but honestly feel like the W-10's is one of the better High speed tires out there. They lost a fair amount of grip in the last 10k, but still pretty damn good.

Tire Rack has your size for $91.

I'll check 'em out. Thanks for the tip. I'm running on a set of Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's right now that i'm pretty happy with. The tread is wearing well and they are squeeless and grip like mad. They do seem pretty bad on the road noise though. I'm looking at either the Yokohama Parada's or the Pirelli 7000's. I'll check out the W-10's too.

If you can get them: Bridgestone Potenza S-03's (which superceded the S-02's). Currently have these on my MX5/Miata (205/50-15s) and the rear of my NSX. Very nice :)

Hugo

OK, so I've had them a week now, and I finally got to try them in the rain today, and all I can say is...

OMG these tires are amazing in the rain!!!

It handles almost exactly the same as it does on dry pavement. It's like the water is not even there. I'm not even joking.

The only bad part, is now I can't spin the tires in the rain at all. Not even a little bit. I'm gonna miss that... Making a left hand turn from a stop sign, and gunning it off the line, crank the wheel to the left and dump the clutch into second with it floored, and pitch the car completely sideways... Damn that was fun! Oh well... I guess that's what I get for buying sticky tires...

Side note: My car is all wheel drive, and has a limited slip on the back, so it's always had really good rain grip, but never like this... Not even close...

So anyway, I can't say these tires are as sticky on dry pavement as SO2 Pole Positions or some nice Kumho's, cause they're not. But they are pretty close. Which to me is amazing, considering they also kick ass in the rain.

Only one test left... Snow! I can't wait!

To give you guys a little more background, I have a bunch of friends who are way into autocrossing, so I've been lucky enough to get to check out many different cars, and many different tires. Fun stuff! If you've never been to an event, I recommend it. It's a great way to get to know your vehicle better, and check out other sick rides.

Now, if you really want to check out some sticky tires, go to an autocross event, and get a ride along in a juiced up car that's got a nice set of race tires on it... Street tires ain't got nuthin on those!

Loren-

Damn, that sucks! I guess since these are so expensive, they are only able to make a limited number of sizes. Maybe they will come out with more sizes later...? I hope so. I already know two other people that want to get a set, but can't 'cause they don't make their size... Lame.

Also, If you want to stick with all weather, you might want to check out the Pilot XGT Z4/V4. Those are supposed to be really good all weather tires. I've heard nothing but good things about them, and I know they come in more sizes. I was going to get a set of the Z4's until I found out about these ones.

Ah! i just realized it's almost snowboarding season! yoiks... my Kumho's definitely won't cut it for trips up to Tahoe. I definitely need to look into the high performance all season's soon. Most of the all season's made in my size have horrible ratings on snow... but some is better than the "n/a" that my Ecsta's have. Thanks for the tips!

Mmmm... Tahoe...

I got a season pass to Kirkwood again this year...

Damn I can't wait!!!

Standing invitation to BBS'ers on their way to Tahoe to stop by and say hi and shoot the [censored]. I'm in the vicinity of Grass Valley/Nevada City, which is about a 30 minute detour off of I-80 on the way to Tahoe. E-mail me if you're planning to be in the area.

It rained hard for the first time since the beginning of the year here in the Bay Area. I had new shoes put in during the dry season, Yokohama Paradas (http://www.yokohamatire.com/04b2k.html). I used to be able to spin my "all season" stock tires, but can't any more. Even in the rain. I tried a couple of hard stops in the wet that would normally slide the car, but nope! Solid and controlled!

Calvin

Haha, i did the same today on the way to work. This has been the first chance i've really had to try out my Kumho's in the rain. Sticky little bastards they are. Man i really don't wanna have to buy new tires just to make it up the pass to Tahoe without sliding off the road.

I have Kumhos on my other car. I gotta try them out too! :-D

Calvin

I'd be interested in hearing your comparison.. Paradas are on my list of possible replacements for my Kumho Ecsta's.

Two different cars, too many variables to make an honest comparison. But we'll see. :-)

Calvin

Hey Tony... Did you sense the presence of another empeg in the area?

I just drove through your vicinity last night, right down 49...

Me and a buddy started yesterday morning in South Lake, with plans on going to Kirkwood. Massive amounts of snow were falling, and after about 4 hours of driving and waiting in traffic on 89, we finally got to 88, only to be turned around, because they were closing it. So we drove all the way back to South Lake, only to find 50 was closed. We thought, well, 80 should be open, so we headed around the lake. Several accident induced traffic snarls and about 3 hours later, we got to 80, only to find that it too, was closed. We consulted a CalTrans employee and a map, and decided to take 49 around, because for whatever reason, it was actually open. The trip over 49 would have been uneventful, if a Durango hadn't decided to crash into a Suburban right in front of us. Insane. Add another 2 hours or so dealing with that whole situation. So, around midnight or so, we finally made it out of the snow, and through Grass Valley, and finally ended up back in Santa Cruz around 3:30 last night.

So, to sum it up, I drove in the snow for about 12 hours yesterday, and these tires did awesome!

Well, I wanted to test these out in the snow, and I guess I got my wish... Just not exactly what I had in mind...

Yeah, this last weekend was a pretty bad one to be traveling in the Sierras. The storms were pretty serious.

Although I will tell you from experience, if you don't have to get back to civilization right away, being snowed-in at a cabin in South Lake is a pretty cool thing when you're with the right person.

I would be totally down with getting snowed in with some saucey little tart, but unfortunately, the person I was with was just one of the guys from work.

Not that exciting...

I would be totally down with getting snowed in with some saucey little tart, but unfortunately, the person I was with was just one of the guys from work.

Well, I guess it all depends on which way you swing, as to whether or not one of the guys from work is a saucey little tart.

Personally, my wife and I took our honeymoon in Tahoe, and that's why I said it that way.