Dunlop Sport Maxx 050 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (PS4) [2024]

Fuel Efficiency

The US Department of Energy estimates that around 25% of the fuel consumption of a vehicle is attributable to the tyres. That's a lot, and it means that choosing fuel efficient tyres can save you quite a bit of money.

The SP Sport Maxx 050 tyres rank a D on a scale of A to E in the official fuel efficiency tests carried out by the EU (they call these rolling resistance tests).

The Pilot Sport 4 tyres get a grade of C.

Expect the lower grade tyre to consume an extra 0.1L/100km. This works out to $13 extra spent on petrol per year, based on a typical 12,000 km driven per year.

Here's a graph comparing the SP Sport Maxx 050 and Pilot Sport 4 tyres for fuel efficiency (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Grip & Handling

We'll now take a look at how these tyres compare in terms of grip and handling.

A good measure of this is 'wet grip', which is an indication of how well the tyres will allow the vehicle to come to a stop in wet conditions.

The SP Sport Maxx 050 tyres rank a B on a scale of A to E in the official fuel tests carried out by the EU.

The Pilot Sport 4 tyres, on the other hand, get a grade of A.

Expect the lower graded tyres to require about an extra 3 metres to come to a complete stop when braking at 80km/h.

Here's a graph comparing the SP Sport Maxx 050 and Pilot Sport 4 tyres for wet grip (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Noise

Another key factor to consider when choosing a tyre is road noise. Once you're over about 40 km/h, the dominant source of noise you hear is from the contact of your tyres on the road.

There is a surprisingly wide variation in the amount of noise each tyre makes.

The SP Sport Maxx 050 tyres produce 68.6 dB of road noise, which corresponds to a rank of A on a scale of A to C in the standardised testing done by the EU.

On the other hand, the Pilot Sport 4 tyres produce 71.0 dB of road noise, which means a grade of B.

Expect the lower graded tyre to produce about 1.6 times as much noise as the higher grade tyre (the decibel scale is logarithmic).

Here's a visual representation of how the SP Sport Maxx 050 and Pilot Sport 4 tyres stack up for noise (1 = Grade C, 3 = Grade A).

Based on the results of a number of tyre benchmarks, the Pilot Sport 4 scores 3 out of 5 for comfort. We don't have any comfort data for the SP Sport Maxx 050 tyres.

As per the UTQG guidelines, the SP Sport Maxx 050 tyres have a treadwear rating of 280, whereas the Pilot Sport 4 tyres have a rating of 320. This means that the SP Sport Maxx 050 tyres will theoretically last only 88% as long as the Pilot Sport 4 tyres.

As per the UTQG system, the SP Sport Maxx 050 tyres have a traction resistance grading of A, whereas the Pilot Sport 4 tyres have a grading of AA.

As per the UTQG system of tyre grading, the SP Sport Maxx 050 and Pilot Sport 4 tyres both have a temperature resistance grading of A.

For fuel efficiency, SP Sport Maxx 050 score a grade of D, which is below average. Pilot Sport 4 end up with a grade of C, which is more or less average.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, SP Sport Maxx 050 get a score of B, which is above average. Pilot Sport 4 end up with a grade of A, which is outstanding.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, SP Sport Maxx 050 get a score of A, which is excellent. Pilot Sport 4 end up with a grade of B, which is about typical.