Michelin A/S 3+ vs. UHP summer tires

[beatle]

My A/S 3+ are getting close to the wear bars and are making a lot of noise. I'm planning to replace them, and I'm considering some ultra high performance summer tires instead of an all season. I have my 19" stock wheels with AS4s for the winter, and I just take my truck if there's snow, so winter weather is more or less handled, at least if I don't mind swapping wheels.

At any rate, since the A/S 3+ is so competent in all conditions, I'm wondering just how much better the car will be with a summer tire such as the Falken FK510 or Firehawk Indy 500. Both of these tires are a few hundred less per set than the Michelins. My P85DL had no problem hooking up from a standstill, but I've felt like the MSP is not taking off quite as hard. I don't notice the traction control light come on, but a launch just doesn't seem as sudden. Is it the tires?

I will probably clock just under 30k miles with the A/S 3+ before they're at the wear bars. What kind of mileage should I expect from the Falkens or Firestones?

 

[beatle]

Figured I'd follow up on my own thread. I bought a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires about 3 weeks ago. I've since put about 1400 miles on the tires so I'd consider them fully broken in. As expected, they have more grip. This is pretty noticeable when launching the car from a standstill. I can still trigger the traction control light though, but the car feels noticeably faster, especially under 40 mph. Lateral grip is also improved. The A/S 3+ had plenty, but these have more - way more than you really need for the street. I haven't given them a workout in bringing the car to a stop, but I've had to get on the brakes hard a few times and ABS still sits idle. Noise is actually comparable to the worn Michelins. I guess I'm just a little disappointed here. They were noticeably quieter for the first 100 miles, but now that they're broken in, it's a different story. Efficiency is trash - they are easily 10 if not 15% worse than the old tires. I expected a 5-7% difference, but I suppose this is the cost of grip.

Overall, I would really only recommend them if you have a P100D or higher and are looking for better performance from a standstill. It really is noticeable IMO. On my P85D, the old tires had no problem holding the launch, and the range hit on that car would have made a bigger difference on trips. I expect the Firehawks to wear out in under 20k, so the savings over the ultra high performance all season Michelin isn't worthwhile in the long run.

I do wonder if it is the front or rear of the car that triggers the traction control. This is a square setup (245/40R20) so it could be the narrower rear tires cannot cope with the extra power, but it could be the front as the weight transfers to the rear during takeoff.