Michelin PSS.....how many miles?
 

How many miles should I expect to get from Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires? I have less than 15k on mine and the rears are worn down to almost like slicks. The fronts are a bit better. My driving style is not aggressive and I never spin the rears. I use my Z as my DD putting about 80 miles on it m-f. Because of this, it hasn't even been a year yet since I had these tires. Not too happy about buying new tires already and I doubt if I would get these Michelins again. I was hoping for more miles on these tires than this. Anybody have any thoughts and recommendations for other more duarable tires for the Z?

When I got my car, it had 25k on it with new-ish rears (Hankook Ventus v4s) I believe. They lasted all the way until I hit 65k. Thats DD'ing everyday with a little longer commute then you have.

The new rears (Falken 452s) I have had on for around 8-10k and still have 70-80% tread life. I probably spin the rears almost everyday with spirited driving.

Are you lowered?

No...all stock! Looks like I read too many "good" reviews on the PSS before I bought them. Not only the mileage either, I never thought they handled as well as the Potenzas that were OE. Now I don't know what the heck to buy! I also live in the North East where snow is a factor.

How's your alignment?

Good question.....perfect as far as I know!

Might be worth having that looked at since your mileage is well below what others report on the same tires.

You're probably right...thanks!

I saw about the same amount - about 12K miles total. Alignment done when tires mounted in March of 2012 on stock suspension. Alignment redone about 2-3 months ago when dropped on H&R and brought to within factory specs.

Fronts are currently good but rears are really worn on the inner edge. I do have a bit of neg camber (about 2 degrees but within factory specs) and have 275/30s stretched on a 10.5 rim with a consistent 38psi. I suspect the over inflation due to excessive stretch lead to premature wear.

That said I'm still switching to Continental DWs or DWSs at either 295/30 or 285/35. For me it's the road noise that is killing me and pushing me toward the Continentals. Even with 80lbs of sound deadener the tire noise is really bad with my MPSS. Since I don't track my car ever and have been driving pretty slowly since having a baby I'm thinking the all seasons (DWS) may be the best choice for me now.

Very interesting...thanks!

BTW I'm pretty sure 15K miles is about average for staggered setups where you can't rotate front to back & corner to corner. I know with the new ones I've been researching most that have a 30K warranty only allow for 15K miles on staggered setups.

The Continentals DWSs all seasons are rated at 45K miles so should last quite a bit longer than the PSSs. From what I've researched they are much quieter without giving up too much performance. Softer sidewall but that can be helped with increased air pressure. Won't be as good as a dedicated summer tire but will last longer. The DWs are the summer only version but probably won't see much increased tread life over the PSSs.

I suspect you also have a winter tire setup. The DWSs will cut through light snow so you can run them longer (I could run them year round) but I doubt it would make it through a full Connecticut winter.

I see you're on base wheels. i can't remember if these are a square set up, but if not you will also see longer life if you switch to one and do proper rotations.

Excellent advice, tips, and info. I was thinking of switching to a more all weather tire anyway and the DWSs might be the answer. I had considered them before I bought the PSSs. Thanks so much! The next beer is on me!
:tiphat:

Just bought a new set of Continental DWSs. After reading the posts above about only getting 12 to 15k on the Michelin PSSs I decided I wanted a tire that is proven to last at least last a couple of years.
Thanks to all for the advise and tips on tires.
They won't be in for about 5 days. My baby is a DD and I am not too concerned with performance.
Will let you know what I think about road noise as soon as I get them on the road.

I'm glad my thread was helpful. Mine too is a DD and I'm also not concerned all that much about performance. I'm looking into them now to get a good price. I was quoted from one tire dealer the price of just under $1000 for the 4 tires, mounting, balancing, valve stems, 4 wheel alignment, and all taxes. I hope I can do better than that. I'm anxious to hear how you like them. Good luck!
:tiphat:

I got 20K miles on the rears before camber wear took 'em out. I'm pretty hard on them, but they really hung in there. Fronts were pretty much shot at 25k miles. Nice even wear on the fronts.

Well my tires came in and I am gonna have them mounted Saturday.

Before I do I am gonna conduct a noise test of the Potenza re050a with 25k on them. I downloaded 3 decibel meter apps for my phone. I am going to take a run down a stretch of highway I think is pretty loud on Friday night. I will measure it 3 different times once with each app. taking the same route and maintaining same acceleration and speed. Then I will conduct a Metallica test and play Blitzkrieg, slowly raising the volume till I feel the road noise is cancelled out. I will document and then run the same tests when I get the continentals mounted.

Will report findings Saturday afternoon or evening.

I sooooo love Z sciences.

Ok so far I have driven about 5 miles on the Continental Extreme Contact DWSs. I must say they are really quiet compared to the Potenza RE050A and a lot smoother ride. You can definitely feel the loss of performance though. For a DD and someone who is not looking for performance I like them and would recommend them so far. I still need to take them for sound tests on the highway, but so far you can definitely hear the difference.

I do have one Potenza that has at least half life left on it for someone in the SA area who might need one. It is a 275/35 R19.

Very happy with my decision on the Continentals.

They're going to be slippery for the first few hundred miles. You've got to burn the mold release off of them. Most likely they'll be grippier as you break them in.

I've put about 15 miles on my continental DWSs. Initial thoughts:

Spirit street driving. Comparable to the Pilot Super Sports. I haven't tried pushing them very hard yet, but for everyday quick, legal street driving I don't notice much of a difference. Some, but not bad. I'd say prob 90% as good as the PSS when driving at 80% - but that would probably rate lower if I got closer to the limit.

Comfort: Night and Day difference. It should be noted that I went from a 245/35 to a 245/40 in front and from a 275/30 to a 285/35 in back. But there is a huge difference here. I'm on H&R springs with Hotchkis sways (rear at stiffest setting). With the PSS tires the rear would jump anytime I changed lanes and went over the reflectors. Or anytime I hit any bump over 1/2" tall. I also felt every single bump in the road. With the DWSs I can change lanes without the car shifting, can go over small bumps and the tires eat up everything. These are very comfortable. Cruising on the highway at speeds up to 95mph they held true and tracked perfectly. No grooves where I was so not sure on tramlining yet but so far so good.

Sound: nice drop in road noise. Not an "oh my god" difference, but noticeable. Much of this could be because they are new vs my old rears being worn to the cords on the inner edge.

All in all really happy with the purchase. Since I don't track the car I think these will give me as much performance as I need for the street with an elevated level of comfort that will make the car more enjoyable 90% of the time I drive it.

If you don't drive aggressively or spin the rears, you should expect PSS's to last 15-20k. They have great life under normal driving.
It's under aggressive driving where they start to die fast. I only got 7k from my rears. Front still have over 50% tread life though.

ive gotten about 20k miles or so with 1 track day and -2.5 degrees camber. i'm at the wear bars and can safely drive in some water still. not the best, but im guessing i could easily get another few thousand from them. if i didnt do the track day, id probably end up with 25k miles on the DW's. not too shabby

I'd say 15k miles.

Do you guys "rotate" the rears by having them dismount and switch sides? I have done this with the stock ADVANs and my previous V12s. Discount Tire charges me a few bucks to do it, but I get the most out of my rears before they are toast (If I remember to have it done, lol). I am looking into a set of Pilot SS all around since my fronts need replacing soon. Now just to decide on tire size.....................

what do you mean by dismount? ie - remove rear left wheel, put on rear right, and vice versa?

or

remove rear left tire, put inside wall facing outside on right tire and vice versa?

PSS sucks that bad? :ugh2:

DWS are all season tires i use on my honda fit. they are great tires for that car to use as my winter set, but i SERIOUSLY doubt it would be comparable to even its own DW summer tires...let a lone PSS?

that's like saying DW's are better than PSS. really?

i dont rotate tires on my RWD cars especially when tires are staggered. :)

and especially worthless to do dismount/mount from wheels on asymetric tires like your advans.... just take the wheel off your right side and place them on your left side without dismounting the tires from the wheels.

there's only OUTSIDE direction on asymetrical tires.

Yes they are comparable when driving the car at about 85% - like I said, every day spirited driving. I've been able to take turns just as fast on the DWS as I was able to on the PSS on the street. As I said, only pushed the car to about 85%. I did get some tire squeal with the DWSs, but they didn't lose any grip. The PSS never had any squeal, even at 100% my driving ability (past the point of traction loss and drifting occurring). So I imagine then pushing the car really hard the DWS would start to understeer/plow in the front where the PSS would still hold on, but I haven't come across this limit yet.

But seriously, I love these tires. The car feels so much better now going over small bumps and is quieter too. It's a much more refined ride than the PSS gave me and in my opinion befitting of a street car of this caliber.

Also the PSS ALWAYS had flat spotting for me. Every morning I'd get these random shakes like an unbalanced tire somewhere between 65mph and 85mph. Sucks when our highway speed limit is 70mph. I had them rebalanced twice but it never went away. Haven't had that issue a single time with the DWSs.

With the Michelins I was really second guessing if the car was right for me and starting to search for a used CTS-V to replace it with. The tire noise was too much and the ride was stiff every time I drove it. To the point that I left it at home when I could and took my SRX. Now with the DWSs I really like my car again and look forward to driving it whenever I can. For me it's perfect. I'm not looking to replace the Z now, and have started buying parts to rebuild my Mazda so I can have another 4 seater.

Again, I don't track my car. I'm not looking for 100% performance. I'm 36 with a wife and kid and my street racing days are in the past. I want a nice balance of performance and comfort in this car. I've spent a lot of money on sound deadener and stereo equipment and want to enjoy the car when I drive, without getting out with ringing ears from road noise and a sore ***. For me, these tires are perfect. They let me out-handle most other cars on the road when I want to push it, but when I'm just cruising I don't feel like I'm in a go-cart sitting on a 1/2" piece of styrofoam.

Maybe they aren't right for everyone, but I love them and do not regret the purchase decision at all.

good review, TXSpeedDemon :tup:

i guess i should have more respect for my continentals. lol :D

i run DW's on my Z (weds wheels) and Advans on the nismo wheels naturally.
was thinking about getting the PSS on my other car but now that you mentioned flat-spotting easily, i should just get advans instead. currently that car is running S04's and they are great tires. i just want wider/bolder shoulder tires.

one tip for your DWS that might come in handy after driving in rain. these DW's and DWS tends to bloom easily (browning). rub the sidewall on occasion using a rag and this product. you dont need to do it all the time, but when you get blooming, use this every other time, and your dressing will stick better extending the dressing.

Goof Off FG659 Heavy Duty Spot Remover and Degreaser, Trigger Spray 22-Ounce - Amazon.com

:rofl2: hahaha!

Thanks for the tips guys. So far no issues with mine through a few days of rain. I use the Adams All Purpose Degreaser on them when I wash the car and then put on some tire shine (have 3 different types in the garage I'm trying to use up before ordering VRT for them. They're washed pretty often so continually black and glossy so far :)

sounds good! :tup: keeping them clean is the best way to keep the ugly blooming away forsure. :D

Are the DW or DWS able to do max acceleration from 0-60 without slippage? My stock Bridgestones slip after 18k miles. Just wondering about the performance comparison. Was thinking about PSS but I do not want to change my tires every year

DW, yea. DWS, probably. i'm at 20k or so, and DW's are still gripping like new, just slightly bald in the rear (wear bars)