Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 vs Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+: After covering 2 of the best ultra high performance tires Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus vs Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4, we would like to continue the trend by introducing another premium competitor in the form of Bridgestone’s Potenza RE980AS+. Similar to its Michelin counterpart, Bridgestone’s Potenza RE980AS+ is a dedicated region tireline specific to the North America market. It was launched in 2021 and covers most of the 17-20″ popular sizes. The Pilot Sport All Season 4 on the other hand was launched in 2020 with sizes primarily above 16″. Let’s put them in a head to head battle and see who comes out on top!
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from tire rack’s “Testing Premium Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires 2021” test. A total of 4 tires were tested this time around. The graph below shows the comparison between Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 vs Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+ based on the relevant performance category. The Pilot Sport All Season 4 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
As both tires are categorized as all season tires, tire rack has included snow & ice in its testing portfolio. A detailed testing on snow including acceleration, braking & handling were evaluated. The tire size of interest is a 245/40R18 which is a common tire size for Audi A4 & Mercedes-Benz C 200 Amg Line. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle for this tire test is a 2020 BMW F36 430i Gran Coupe.
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 All Season 4 was dominating when it comes to wet braking, as it totally out performed Potenza RE980AS+ by braking 12 feet (3.7 m) earlier.
Pilot Sport All Season 4 continued the trend in wet handling as it managed a 1.43 seconds advantage in lap time over Potenza RE980AS+. This advantage in lap time was also reflective in subjective rating, as Pilot Sport All Season 4 had a higher rating of 7.49/10 compared to 6.75/10 of Potenza RE980AS+.
Pilot Sport All Season 4:
The Pilot Sport All Season 4 was a step back objectively, though still very capable. Even though the limits, and therefore the pace, weren’t as high, our drivers praised the tire’s athleticism and the way it easily connected one element to the next.
Test driver feedback on Pilot Sport All Season 4
In a nutshell, from the test results it can be shown without a doubt that Pilot Sport All Season 4 is clearly stronger in wet compared to Potenza RE980AS+.
Potenza RE980AS+:
- -9.4% in wet braking
- -3.7% in wet handling (subj)
- -3.9% in wet handling (lap time)
Dry
As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet. However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. Once again Pilot Sport All Season 4 showed its objective strength in dry braking by out braking Potenza RE980AS+ at 4.1 feet (1.2 m) .
The trend continued with Pilot Sport All Season 4 being stronger in dry handling with a score of 7.65/10 while Potenza RE980AS+ had a 7.4/10 rating. Lap times were closer with Pilot Sport All Season 4 only 0.54 seconds faster.
Pilot Sport All Season 4:
Subjectively, it felt a little bit softer and slightly vague. While the objective results clearly demonstrate the tire’s impressive capabilities, it didn’t feel quite as adept on the track as the test leader
Test driver feedback on Pilot Sport All Season 4
Overall, Pilot Sport All Season 4 has an edge in dry performances with the biggest edge coming in the form of dry braking.
Potenza RE980AS+:
- -4.7% in dry braking
- -1.3% in dry handling (subj)
- -1.7% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
Normally in an ultra high performance segment, noise & comfort is usually not the main requirement. People who drive fast cars prefer to focus more on traction/braking performances rather than subjective comfort Anyhow the ride comfort was tested and the Potenza RE980AS+ was just slightly better with a overall rating of 7.46/10 compared to the 7.08/10 of Pilot Sport All Season 4.
Potenza RE980AS+:
- +1.9% in average of Noise, Comfort & Ride Quality.
Snow
As both tires have been rated as an all season tire, we were thrilled when tire rack included snow on its testing list. From initial checks, both tires do not include the 3 peak mountain label to legally certified the tire as a winter tire. Hence they do not have to pass a certain threshold of snow traction level as determined by the legislation.
When it comes to snow, both tires were neck in neck with the finest margin separating them with Pilot Sport All Season 4 being consistently just ahead of Potenza RE980AS+ in all snow category. In snow braking, Pilot Sport All Season 4 stopped 0.46 feet (0.14 m) earlier than Pilot Sport All Season 4 from a speed of 25mph (40 km/h) to 0. In snow acceleration, Pilot Sport All Season 4 took 0.4 feet (0.12 m) less distance to reach 12mph (19km/h).
Both tires were also extremely close when it comes to the subjective snow handling as both scored a rating as the subjective rating difference was +0.21 points in favor of Pilot Sport All Season 4 . In terms of lap time Pilot Sport All Season 4 was 0.5 seconds per lap faster than Potenza RE980AS+. Overall throughout the snow test, both tires were highly close in terms of results with Potenza RE980AS+ being just slightly behind Pilot Sport All Season 4.
Potenza RE980AS+:
- -0.8% in snow braking
- -3.5% in snow acceleration
- -1.1% in snow handling (subj)
- -0.7% in snow handling (lap time)
Ice
When it comes to ice, Potenza RE980AS+ really outshined everyone in the test. Potenza RE980AS+ was better in ice braking as it stopped 4.8 feet (1.5 m) earlier than Pilot Sport All Season 4. While in acceleration, it took Potenza RE980AS+ 0.12 seconds faster to reach 60 feet compared to Pilot Sport All Season 4.
Potenza RE980AS+:
- +10.5% in ice braking
- +2.4% in ice acceleration
UTQG rating
We have previously shown that UTQG tread wear rating can be a good indication of your expected mileage. Below are the UTQG values of both of the tirelines.
| Brand | Tireline | Size | Tread Wear | Traction | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin | Pilot Sport All Season 4 | All | 540 | AA | A |
| Bridgestone | Potenza RE980AS+ | All | 500 | AA | A |
Pilot Sport All Season 4 has a mileage warranty of 45,000 miles. while Potenza RE980AS+ has a slightly higher mileage warranty of 50,000 miles. Even though Pilot Sport All Season 4 had a higher UTQG tread wear rating, it still provided a 5,000 miles less mileage warranty compared to Potenza RE980AS+. Considering all the factors, we can safely assume that both tires have roughly the same expected mileage performances.
For more in depth information about UTQG, please check out this article here. We even have a free download on the latest UTQG values from the leading tire manufacturers.
Price
Being the undisputed technology leader, we would expect Michelin to command the highest priced tire in the market. This was in alignment as Pilot Sport All Season 4 was found to be 13 dollars more than Potenza RE980AS+.
Tire size: 245/40R18
Pilot Sport All Season 4: $232
Potenza RE980AS+: $219
Difference: -6% more cheaper for Potenza RE980AS+.
Summary
Overall, Pilot Sport All Season 4 showed clear dominance on wet, dry & snow surfaces. Potenza RE980AS+ on the other hand showed strong ice & noise performance. In our opinion, Pilot Sport All Season 4 has a slight edge in this battle and it is our winner for this duel !