Michelin Pilot Sport 5 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4S: The 7 year wait for the next generation Pilot Sport did not disappoint as the Pilot Sport 5 bagged its first win of the 2022 season by earning top honors in Tyre Reviews 17 Inch Summer Tyre Test. Similar to the situation with Pilot Sport 4, the Pilot Sport 5 is classified one level below the Pilot Sport 4S.
We have covered the differences of the Pilot Sport 4 vs Pilot Sport 4S here, and naturally the next question to ask would be what are the differences between the Pilot Sport 5 vs Pilot Sport 4S? Is the improvement done in Pilot Sport 5 going to outpace its higher grade “sibling” (Pilot Sport 4S) ? This is exactly the question we would like to tackle in this article. Pilot Sport 5 was launched in 2022 while the Pilot Sport 4S was released in 2017.
Table of Contents
Results
Word of caution : The results shown below are not direct testing results. It was calculated based on 2 test ( 2022 Tyre Reviews 17 Inch Summer Tyre Test & 2021 Tyre Reviews UHP Summer Tyre Test) with some key assumption below:
- Premium Contact 6 used in both tests were identical. In order to combine the results, we used the Premium Contact 6 as the main reference.
- The performance differences in tire sizes 225/40 R18 & 225/45 R17 is negligible. It is not ideal to compare tires in different sizes and it should be done with extreme caution.
With the assumption above, we are able to compute the graph showing the performance estimation of Michelin Pilot Sport 5 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark. The tire size of interest is 225/45 R17 | 225/40 R18 which is a common tire size for Audi A3, Mercedes-Benz A 200 and Hyundai Elantra. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information.
The testing vehicle of choice is the highly sporty Volkswagen Golf GTI for both test. Hence at least we are comparing with the 2 tires with the same vehicle.
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.
We predicted that the Pilot Sport 4S will still maintain its strong edge in wet braking at around 5% compared to Pilot Sport 5. However when it comes to aquaplaning, the Pilot Sport 5 should have the slight edge. This demonstrated clearly the product positioning of Pilot Sport 4S as the ultimate wet braking summer tire in Michelin’s product line up. Even though Pilot Sport 4S lacks Pilot Sport 5’s aquaplaning capability, these 2 tires generally finish at the top end of the aquaplaning table. This is one aspect Michelin always excels in even though aquaplaning is one the hardest target conflict to solve.
Overall, Pilot Sport 4S fared better in wet braking while Pilot Sport 5 took the lead in aquaplaning.
Pilot Sport 4S:
- +5% in wet braking
- -1.2% in straight aquaplaning
Dry
Even though dry performances are not as critical as wet due to the shorter braking distance, it still plays a major role as it is the default driving condition. In this ultra high performance segment dry performance yields a big portion of the product requirements.
Similar to the wet braking performances, the Pilot Sport 4S should also have the edge in dry braking. The margin is predicted to be close at around 2%.
Pilot Sport 4S:
- +2.4% in dry braking
Noise
In exterior noise, both tires are judged to have similar traits and it should differ only based on mathematical reasons. Both tires are at the top end of the noise vibration & harshness (NVH) ranking and sometimes these are one of the “features” a Michelin user takes for granted.
Pilot Sport 4S:
- +0.7% in exterior noise
Rolling Resistance
When it comes to extreme sporty tires, rolling resistance is definitely not something the user has in mind when purchasing the tire. However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, it is good to know where they stand. Pilot Sport 5 has a rolling resistance coefficient of 8.84 N/kN while Pilot Sport 4S has a much higher coefficient of 9.67 N/kN
This is expected as the Pilot Sport 4S is more concentrated to the ultra ultra high performance segment which maximizes dry & wet performances without much consideration to rolling resistance. The difference is however not that big with only 0.83 N/kN between the 2 tires.
Pilot Sport 4S:
- -10.8% in rolling resistance
Price
Due to its product positioning of Pilot Sport 4S in the ultra ultra high performance segment (UUHP), it is priced at a much higher premium compared to Pilot Sport 5. For example:
Tire size: 225/50 R17
Pilot Sport 4S: ₤184
Difference: +20% more expensive for Pilot Sport 4S.
Summary
Apart from rolling resistance, Pilot Sport 4S seems to have the upper edge in the rest of the performance criteria, especially wet & dry braking. We will have an eye on any direct comparison results and verify our predictions once any valid results are out.