Michelin Pilot Sport 4 vs Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5: When it comes to the sport or ultra high performance segment, 2 products comes to mind. The ever consistent Michelin Pilot Sport 4 & also the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5. Both have been around for more than 5 years now and even though the successors of both products were announced , we thought that we will make a one last dance to appreciate these 2 products. Pilot Sport 4 was launched in 2015 while the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 was launched 3 years later.
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from the 2019 Auto Bild tire test press test results. A whooping 53 tires were tested to find the top 20 tires. The graph below shows the comparison between Pilot Sport 4 vs Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 based on the relevant performance category. The Pilot Sport 4 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
Note that for subjective comfort evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if the tire A is graded 7 while tire B is graded 6, A is better than B by 5%. The natural scaling does not really make sense in evaluation whereby the max number is 5. The tire size of interest is 225/45 R17 which is a common tire size for Audi A3 and Hyundai Elantra. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information.
Dry
When you think a about a highly sporty tire, you will immediately picture a “racing car” driving at the limit on a race track. This has transcended into a strong requirement for dry performances especially dry braking and dry handling which was incorporated in both our 2 tires. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 performs slightly worse compared Pilot Sport 4 in both categories. In dry braking, Pilot Sport 4 managed to brake 0.5m earlier than the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 which could potentially provide huge savings in terms of lap time. Both tires were the top 2 ranking tire in dry braking which demonstrates the competitiveness of both products.
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5:
- -1.4% in dry braking
- -0.8% in dry handling
Wet
When it comes to wet, the key theme has also been about safety safety safety. Apart from having the longest braking distance conditions during wet, the possibility of loosing control due to aquaplaning phenomena is also a threat. After losing in dry, Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 managed to claw back some pride by being 2.8% better in wet braking compared to Pilot Sport 4. However the handling criteria belongs to Michelin with also a clear advantage in aquaplaning at +4.7%. From a pool of 20 tires, both the tires are in the top 5 in the wet braking & handling performance.
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5:
- +2.8% in wet braking
- -2.3% in wet handling
- -4.7% in aquaplaning
Noise & Comfort
The biggest difference observed when it comes to the testing results comes in the form of comfort. The Pilot Sport 4 is an extremely comfortable tire scoring a subjective rating of 9/10. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 was -3 points down at a rating of 6/10. While the Pilot Sport 4 is also better in exterior noise by being 1 dB quieter than Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5.
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5:
- –1.4% in exterior noise (+1 dB)
- -15% in comfort
Wear
Tables were turn in the wear segment as Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 took the best wear tire having an expected mileage of 54,000 KM. The Pilot Sport 4 only managed an expected mileage of 51,000 KM. Michelin has been a pioneer in handling the wet braking vs wear target conflict but this time they were beaten hands downs by Goodyear. Not only is the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 better in wet braking but it is also stronger in wear. Kudos to to Goodyear !
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5:
- +6.1% in wear
Rolling Resistance
Rolling resistance was not both tires forte as they were ranked in the bottom half of the table. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 was just slightly better in terms of rolling resistance at about 2% of Pilot Sport 4.
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5:
- +2% in rolling resistance
Price
Being the undisputed technology leader, we would expect Michelin to command the highest priced tire in the market. However it was Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 that was the most expensive tire costing 8% more than Pilot Sport 4. It is definitely not often you see any tire being priced much higher than Michelin 🙂
Tire size: 225/45R17
Pilot Sport 4: €120
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5: €130
Difference: +8% more expensive for Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5.
Summary
This is truly one of the closest fight between 2 top premium tires in the ultra high performance segment. For once Goodyear managed to beat Michelin on both wear & wet braking hence clearly demonstrating their capability as a premium top notch tire manufacturer. Pilot Sport 4 also put a good fight being better in dry ,aquaplaning & also in comfort/noise. From our point of view there is no clear winner right here and both tires are equally amazing on a various front. The final decision depends your main requirements and the willingness to accept the rest of the deficits.