Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (PS4S) vs Super Sport [Test Data]

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 Pilot Sport 4 tyres rank a C 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 Super Sport tyres get a grade of D.

Expect the lower grade tyre to consume an extra 0.1L/100km. This works out to $15 extra spent on petrol per year, based on a typical 12,000 km driven per year.

Here's a graph comparing the Pilot Sport 4 and Pilot Super Sport 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 Pilot Sport 4 tyres rank a A on a scale of A to E in the official fuel tests carried out by the EU.

The Pilot Super Sport tyres, on the other hand, get a grade of B.

Expect the lower graded tyres to require about an extra 2 metres to come to a complete stop when braking at 80km/h.

Here's a graph comparing the Pilot Sport 4 and Pilot Super Sport 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 Pilot Sport 4 tyres produce 71.0 dB of road noise, which corresponds to a rank of B on a scale of A to C in the standardised testing done by the EU.

On the other hand, the Pilot Super Sport tyres produce 72.3 dB of road noise, which means a grade of B.

As their noise grade is the same, don't expect many differences in terms of cabin noise.

Here's a visual representation of how the Pilot Sport 4 and Pilot Super Sport 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 and the Pilot Super Sport scores 4 out of 5.

As per the UTQG guidelines, the Pilot Sport 4 tyres have a treadwear rating of 320, whereas the Pilot Super Sport tyres have a rating of 300. This means that the Pilot Sport 4 tyres will theoretically last 1.1 times as long as the Pilot Super Sport tyres.

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

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

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

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

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