$1000 in value? (Pilot Sport)

[Gsxr150]

OK guys...I'll keep this short and sweet.

I'm have a stealth with the 18's and factory tires with about 15k miles. Would I see $1000 in value by swapping the factory tires with the Pilot Sport 4 All Seasons?

I'm looking for better handling. I don't care about range.

In other words...will the handling be that dramatically different for a $1000 investment? Or just keep the tires and get something down the road when these wear our...?

Bottom line, can I expect some immediate wow factor? (I realize there are other options such as doing summer tires and rims, but I'm not interested in that route)

Thank you!

 

[UncertainTimes]

Tires are the one thing you don’t want to cheap out on. Just wait till your current set is worn down.

 

[Snow Drift]

IIRC, the stealth has the same MXM4 all-seasons?

You should swap the stock all-seasons for summer tires: Pilot Sport 4 or PS4S.

Then you should also have a dedicated set of winter tires.

 

[Marius A]

The stock tires are the Primacy MXM4 A/S?
If that's the case then no. Not a big difference. They are very good A/S tires, so if you want a big difference you need to do what you don't want to.
IIRC Minnesota winters can be pretty cold and snowy. If you want good traction I'd get a second wheel set when you wear out the MXM4 and switch between summer and winter.
Summer tires wear like crazy below ~40F, and vice versa with unstudded winter tires.
It makes a big difference, but I can totally understand not wanting to be bothered.

 

[lbowroom]

If your tires are close to worn out at 15k then I’d say you will appreciate the performance of better tires. If however your tires are still pristine, then I’d say no.

 

[Gsxr150]

Correct, it's the Primacy. I thought they were ok too until I saw this guy's video.

He sure rants on and on about the much better snow traction and handling.

As mentioned, I'm not looking to drop $1000 for a 10% or even 20% improvement. It has to be significantly noticeable. Which - if you read some of the posts here, people have quoted "it feels like an entirely different car" when they have simply changed tires. So unless they are saying the Summer Pilot Sport is "100% night and day" different than an A/S Pilot Sport 4 (which they use on the new Corvette), then it must all be placebo. Some folks say "meh...don't waste your money", and other's say "my car feels totally different".

Anyhow...the feedback is invaluable! I believe the responses on this post align more with reality vs the guy that just spent $1000 and wants to make himself feel better about the purchase.

 

[Marius A]

Correct, it's the Primacy. I thought they were ok too until I saw this guy's video.

He sure rants on and on about the much better snow traction and handling.

As mentioned, I'm not looking to drop $1000 for a 10% or even 20% improvement. It has to be significantly noticeable. Which - if you read some of the posts here, people have quoted "it feels like an entirely different car" when they have simply changed tires. So unless they are saying the Summer Pilot Sport is "100% night and day" different than an A/S Pilot Sport 4 (which they use on the new Corvette), then it must all be placebo. Some folks say "meh...don't waste your money", and other's say "my car feels totally different".

Anyhow...the feedback is invaluable! I believe the responses on this post align more with reality vs the guy that just spent $1000 and wants to make himself feel better about the purchase.

Also depends on the car and your subjective experience. If you've ever tried summer and winter tires then you know how big a difference it can be. A/S can be very different too, but the MXM4 are already good tires so it's not night and day

 

[Apone]

depends how hard you drive the car. I think there are a decent number of people in these cars that don't come from sport car backgrounds. They have never tried the same curve over and over until it starts to let go - let alone tried that with AS vs Summer tires. Not to mention turn in, grip, transient response, max g. It's a clear difference in the capability of the tires coupled with the driver's will and ability to exploit it. Are you constantly exceeding the grip of your current tires? I find that hard to do in this car, it seems to cover for the driver a lot. No one on the internet will be able to convince you and then live up to your expectations. One way to find out.

 

[UncertainTimes]

If you want the best handling you need max summer tires like the PS4s but it sounds like you live somewhere it snows so you’ll need a separate winter set too.

 

[Gsxr150]

If you want the best handling you need max summer tires like the PS4s but it sounds like you live somewhere it snows so you’ll need a separate winter set too.

Yep, exactly...I'm not SUPER gung-ho about needing a race car, but I plan to own my car for about 2 years. Currently, I have the Primacy with about 15k miles on them. I bet over the next 2 years, I MIGHT put on 20k max. So I won't be a happy camper if at the end of 2 years I need to replace the tires to sell, if I could have enjoyed a better A/S. But again...better as in "noticeable" better. Haha

 

[UncertainTimes]

Yep, exactly...I'm not SUPER gung-ho about needing a race car, but I plan to own my car for about 2 years. Currently, I have the Primacy with about 15k miles on them. I bet over the next 2 years, I MIGHT put on 20k max. So I won't be a happy camper if at the end of 2 years I need to replace the tires to sell, if I could have enjoyed a better A/S. But again...better as in "noticeable" better. Haha

No sense in buying new tires now if you only drive 5k miles a year

 

[Dayreg]

I added PS4S to my 19" wheels after delivery. I think they're quieter and offer much more traction versus the Continental tires my Stealth 3 came with. Also, I sold the Continentals practically new for $300, so that offset the cost a bit.

 

[Dolemite]

If you drive like a nance then it’s probably not as noticeable. If you flog your car on a daily basis, it’s 100% worth it. The MXM4s are for people whose time has no value.

 

[Gsxr150]

I added PS4S to my 19" wheels after delivery. I think they're quieter and offer much more traction versus the Continental tires my Stealth 3 came with. Also, I sold the Continentals practically new for $300, so that offset the cost a bit.

Would you say they made the car feel more planted? My FEAR is a soft sidewall.

 

[Gsxr150]

No sense in buying new tires now if you only drive 5k miles a year

Not necessarily...I bet there's a ton of guys here who drive 5-10k miles/year, rip their cars on every drive, and love having performance tires vs stock.

 

[Dayreg]

Would you say they made the car feel more planted? My FEAR is a soft sidewall.

Yes, I specifically upgraded the tires after I accelerated out of a turn with the contis and the rear wheels slipped. Not much, but I realized the power put down by the Performance model would benefit from stickier tires. So yes, more planted.

 

[Zcd1]

Honestly, anyone who doesn't think a tire like the Pilot Sport 4S is worth the $$$ doesn't drive aggressively enough to need anything more than the OEM all-seasons.

Night and day difference in handling, responsiveness and braking. The tradeoff is the PS4Ss cost some range and won't last as long.

Easy choice for me, but then again I've run PS4Ss on my last 2 cars and PS3s on the car prior to that, so...

 

[UncertainTimes]

Not necessarily...I bet there's a ton of guys here who drive 5-10k miles/year, rip their cars on every drive, and love having performance tires vs stock.

Yea but in your case you're thinking of upgrading to slightly better A/S tires and for no real reason if your current tires still have tread. I guess you could save them as spares if you have the garage space. So I’ll reiterate if you want the best performance all year round then you need a set of low profile max summer tires for good weather and a set of high profile winter tires for inclement weather. You’ll need the garage space to store such and the time and money needed to swap out tires once a year.

 

[Gsxr150]

Yea but in your case you're thinking of upgrading to slightly better A/S tires and for no real reason if your current tires still have tread. I guess you could save them as spares if you have the garage space. So I’ll reiterate if you want the best performance all year round then you need a set of low profile max summer tires for good weather and a set of high profile winter tires for inclement weather. You’ll need the garage space to store such and the time and money needed to swap out tires once a year.

Gotcha! Fair points!

 

[Foxtrotter]

Yes, you should get the PS AS 4"s if the MXM4's don't do it for you. The AS 4's are a big jump up in performance and a substantial hit in efficiency. I've got 50,000 miles or so on MXM4's on our two 3's on 18" wheels. i've got 3500 miles on the AS 4's on one of the cars. There is just no comparison in handling and braking. I can easily feel the difference just driving around town. The PS 4's are way better than the MSM4's on dry pavement. I haven't yet had a chance to use them in other conditions but they could hardly be worse in the wet and reports are that they are a lot better.

The efficiency hit is in the range of 10 to 13% at 77 mph.