Semi Slick Showdown ! Michelin Pilot Sport 4S vs Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S vs Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2: When you think of a top max performance tire you might recall the Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4S and also Continental’s newly launch Sport Contact 7. These are indeed household names which have been dominating the max performance summer segments. What if you would like something more? A tire which is legally allowed on the road but still able to have the characteristic of a track tire.

Michelin’s answer to that is the Pilot Sport Cup 2. This tire only has one goal in mind which is to deliver the best dry performance tire either on the track or on the road. In this article we will pit the ultimate max performance tire from Michelin “Pilot Sport Cup 2” against its popular Pilot Sport 4S. Pilot Sport Cup 2 was launched in 2013 with the main focus on the semi slick track segment while Pilot Sport 4S was launched in 2017 with the max performance segment in mind.

Results

Results below were taken from the 2020 Auto Bild UHP 19 inch Tire Test. A total of 10 tires were tested this time around including a semi slick track day tire which is Michelin’s Pilot Sport Cup 2. The testing was done in Contidrom, Germany with a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG as the test vehicle. The graph below shows the comparison between Michelin Pilot Sport 4S vs Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 based on the relevant performance category. The Pilot Sport 4S was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.

Note that for subjective handling evaluation, the average lap time speed was used instead of the normal lap times or subjective rating. The tire size of interest is 245/35 R19 and 265/35 R19 which is a common tire size for Audi Tts Quattro & Mercedes-Amg Gt C. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information.

Dry

With a semi slick track day tire of Michelin’s caliber, it is obvious that Pilot Sport Cup 2 has its eyes solely focused on the dry performances. The Pilot Sport 4S is also not a slight push over as it also has the main focus on dry but not to the same extreme as the semi slick tire. True to our expectation, Pilot Sport Cup 2 managed to out-brake Pilot Sport 4S by 0.7 meters. The advantage was not huge as the Pilot Sport 4S is already an excellent dry braking tire. Pilot Sport Cup 2 was the best in the competition when it comes to dry braking as it beats all the other 9 competitors.

However the differences were small in objective dry handling as the Pilot Sport Cup 2 has an average lap speed of 124.5 km/h compared to 122.9 km/h of Pilot Sport 4S. The average speed does not do justice to how well the Pilot Sport Cup 2 performed subjectively, as according to the driver it has “precise steering, exemplary feedback and excellent grip”. This could be attributed to the huge block structure seen in the outer shoulder of the Pilot Sport Cup 2. The bigger your outer shoulder blocks the better your tire should respond to the steering input. Overall in the dry, It is clear that the advantage belongs to Pilot Sport Cup 2.

Pilot Sport Cup 2:

• +2.1% in dry braking
• +1.3% in dry handling (average lap speed)

Wet

The friction of coefficient of the tire/road dramatically decreases in wet roads compared to dry roads. Hence it is more likely to get into a road accident during wet conditions rather than on a sunny day. It was so important that the EU label has wet braking as one of its three criteria. With regards to our comparison, Pilot Sport Cup 2 was totally beaten when it comes to wet braking, as the Pilot Sport 4S had a shorter braking distance with a difference of 12.5 meters ! With this distance you are able to fit in 2 SUV’s within this length and still have some space to stand in between 🙂 . Jokes aside, this is not surprising as the Pilot Sport Cup 2 is ultimately tuned for extracting every single inch of dry performance. The wet braking performance is only needed as it has to comply with the daily weather conditions of a typical on road user.

The performance edge in wet braking for Pilot Sport 4S continued in wet handling as it has a +3.5 km/h advantage over Pilot Spot Cup 2. Same goes for aquaplaning as the Pilot Sport 4S has a slipping speed of 88.4 km/h compared to the 82.8 km/h clocked by Pilot Sport Cup 2. Due to needing a much higher contact area for dry performances, the amount of void in the pattern is much lower in Pilot Sport Cup 2 compared to Pilot Sport 4S. Overall in the wet category, Pilot Sport Cup 2 is clearly the 2nd best being way behind Pilot Sport 4S.

Pilot Sport Cup 2:

• -18.3% in wet braking
• -4.3% in wet handling (average lap speed)
• -6.3% in straight aquaplaning

Noise

In the exterior noise test, both tires have the same test score of 73 dB. Strange as it sounds, but I would expect the lower void Pilot Sport Cup 2 to be much better in noise compared to Pilot Sport 4S.

Pilot Sport Cup 2:

• 0% in exterior noise

Rolling Resistance

When it comes to max performance summer tires, rolling resistance is definitely not at the highest priority as the manufacturer would prioritize dry performances at almost all cost. However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, rolling resistance has been widely used as a competitive marketing tool as it could be easily seen in the label values.

The Pilot Sport Cup 2 managed a rolling resistance coefficient of 9.41 N/kN while the Pilot Spot 4S managed slightly better with a coefficient of 8.97 N/kN. It was surprising to see that Pilot Sport Cup 2 still managed to beat 2 other competitors in rolling resistance even though it carries a semi slick track day tagline.

Pilot Sport Cup 2:

• -4.7% in rolling resistance

Price

Being the undisputed technology leader, we would expect Michelin to command the highest priced tire in the market. With a clear big segmentation of the semi slick track day segment, Pilot Sport Cup 2 was priced much higher compared to the Pilot Sport 4S.

Tire size: 245/35 R19

Pilot Sport 4S: €275.19

Pilot Sport Cup 2: €307.19

Difference: +10% more expensive for Pilot Sport Cup 2.

Summary

Overall, Pilot Sport Cup 2 showed dominating dry performances as expected for a semi slick track day tire. Pilot Sport 4S on the other hand was strong in wet, noise & rolling resistance. What is interesting to note is also how big the difference was in wet for Pilot Sport 4S (12 meters!). There is no clear winner in this case as from the comparison , we could really see the strength and weakness of both segments. The question more lies on what performance requirements you are looking for and whether it fits your intended usage.

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