Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 vs Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate: 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 Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate. Similar to its Michelin counterpart, Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate is a dedicated region tireline specific to the North America market. It was launched in 2019 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 Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate 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 has a slight edge when it comes to wet braking, as it slightly out performed Eagle Exhilarate by braking 2.1 feet (0.64 m) earlier.
Even though Pilot Sport All Season 4 had the objective wet braking advantage, it was outshone by Eagle Exhilarate in wet handling. Eagle Exhilarate had a 0.8 seconds advantage in lap time over Pilot Sport All Season 4. This advantage in lap time was also reflective in subjective rating, as Eagle Exhilarate had a higher rating of 7.88/10 compared to 7.36/10 of Pilot Sport All Season 4.
Eagle Exhilarate:
It was the easiest to drive on the track, combining braking, steering, and acceleration with ease and allowing our drivers to place the car exactly where they desired and use confident, assertive inputs
Test driver feedback on Eagle Exhilarate
In a nutshell, Eagle Exhilarate excels in wet handling while Pilot Sport All Season 4 had a slight advantage in objective wet braking.
Eagle Exhilarate:
- -2.0% in wet braking
- +2.6% in wet handling (subj)
- +2.4% 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. The tires are quite equally match as the Pilot Sport All Season 4 was only slightly better by out braking Eagle Exhilarate at less than 1feet (0.3 m) .
Similarly to what happened in wet, Eagle Exhilarate was found to be better in both subjective & objective(lap time) dry handling however with a much smaller margin. Eagle Exhilarate managed a subjective wet handling score of 8.06/10 while Pilot Sport All Season 4 had a 7.8/10 rating. Lap times were really close with Eagle Exhilarate only 0.11 seconds faster.
Eagle Exhilarate:
Steering was just the right combination of quick reflexes that made it feel eager and nice weight that provided the feedback needed to communicate with the driver. The front to rear balance leaned a touch toward useful oversteer that allowed our testers to use the rear axle rotation as a tool through turns, and the braking inspired confidence and was easy to modulate to avoid ABS interference
Test driver feedback on Eagle Exhilarate
Overall, Pilot Sport All Season 4 has an edge in dry braking while Eagle Exhilarate was better in wet handling.
Eagle Exhilarate:
- -1.2% in dry braking
- +1.3% in dry handling (subj)
- +0.4% 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 Pilot Sport All Season 4 was second best with a overall rating of 7.29/10 compared to the 7.63/10 of Eagle Exhilarate.
Eagle Exhilarate:
- +1.7% 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, the Pilot Sport All Season 4 dominated across all tests. It stopped 10.6 feet (3.2 m) earlier than Eagle Exhilarate from a speed of 25mph (40 km/h) to 0. While it was also quicker in lap time (-7 seconds !) and also subjectively better (+1.2 points) in snow handling. Pilot Sport All Season 4 is clearly the better snow tire without a doubt.
Eagle Exhilarate:
- -15.1% in snow braking
- -19.1% in snow acceleration
- -5.9% in snow handling (subj)
- -9.1% in snow handling (lap time)
Ice
Pilot Sport All Season 4 continued its winter dominance with a strong ice performance. At a braking speed of 12 mph (20 km/h) to 0 , Pilot Sport All Season 4 was stopping 0.8 meters shorter than Eagle Exhilarate.
Eagle Exhilarate:
- -4.2% in ice braking
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 |
| Goodyear | Eagle Exhilarate | All | 500 | AA | A |
Both tires are giving the same mileage warranty of 45,000 miles. Even though there is a 40 point gap between the UTQG tread wear values of the 2 products, we can safely assume that both tires will have a similar expected mileage. 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 reflected somehow as Pilot Sport All Season 4 is 21 dollars more expensive than the Eagle Exhilarate.
Tire size: 245/40R18
Pilot Sport All Season 4: $232
Eagle Exhilarate: $209
Difference: -10% more cheaper for Eagle Exhilarate.
Summary
Overall, both tires show different strengths across the spectrum of tests. Eagle Exhilarate was really good in dry/wet handling & comfort while Pilot Sport All Season 4, it is strongest in snow/ice & has a slight advantage in wet/dry braking. There is no clear recommendation this time round and your requirements should be the deciding factor. If you live in an area with winter conditions, Pilot Sport All Season 4 will definitely be a game changer for you. However if winter performance is not required & wet/dry handling is preferred Eagle Exhilarate would be a good choice.