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[Rupes]

Anyone have experience with both tires? I think the consensus is that the PSS's are slightly better, but the ~$300 savings from the Bridgestone's is tempting. Minor performance differences don't matter too much but longevity does matter to me. Base on this, does anyone have an idea of what would work better for me?

[thekurgan]

I got the S04s and got 10k (2+ years) out of them. They wear like they should for this car, they stick well in the heat and are the only tire that I've not had to add air to within 30-60 days at a time, really strange. Mixed reviews at tirerack and I may be switching out to the Hankook in a month or two as I've liked them on 2 previous M cars.

[PhillyNate]

I was gonna pull the trigger on these as well...and then I sold the car. Sadly I can offer no input but I believe these Bridgestone's rate VERY high. Particularly at the price. Check the annual tire report Car and Driver does. These tires are ridiculously cheap on TireRack.

[Mikulski]

I was going to go with the Continental Extreme Contact DWs but the company I got my Forgestars from never got my update so now I will be running Potenza S-04s. I am coming from Accelera PHI2s though, so I'm sure I will only have good things to say. BTW the pervious owner bought the budget tires not me

[Amirsm3]

Sucks my local Discount Tire couldn't get their hands on the PSS's fast enough. I'll be rolling on Continental DW Extreme's until the next time.

As far as the Bridgestone tires go, they're a tiny bit noisy but good. I had them on my Z for a little bit.

[MFL]

Honestly. These tires are comparable to the PSS's, coming from my Sport Contact 3's, there is substantially less road noise, tramlining is all but gone and the grip is definitely there.

The grip on my old PSS's seemed marginally better.

All in, these are GREAT tires for the price. I've put about 3,000 miles on mine.

[JM35]

I just had to replace my tires and couldn't put my beloved PSS on them because they are on back order everywhere until like July or August!

For street use, nothing compares to the PSS, especially in the wet. The new tires I got are just as expensive but are no where close to as good.

If performance doesn't matter, save the money. PSS isn't worth it unless you care about the handling benefits. I killed a rear set of PSS after 13k miles, they definitely don't have lots of life.

[Amirsm3]

yeah these Conti's were 80 bucks cheaper in the rear compared to the PSS.

[OrangeCrush]

According to Tire Rack, The S04 is not a Z rated tire and is 3-5 lbs. heavier per tire than the PSS.

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

According to Tire Rack, The S04 is not a Z rated tire and is 3-5 lbs. heavier per tire than the PSS.

Both PSS and S-04 are generally Y rated

Bridgestones are generally heavier than Michelins. S-04's are a bit heavier than PSS because they have thicker/stiffer sidewalls- own both tires and have compared them dismounted

[Rupes]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

Both PSS and S-04 are generally Y rated

Bridgestones are generally heavier than Michelins. S-04's are a bit heavier than PSS because they have thicker/stiffer sidewalls- own both tires and have compared them dismounted

You've had both? So which do you prefer for your money?

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

According to Tire Rack, The S04 is not a Z rated tire and is 3-5 lbs. heavier per tire than the PSS.

Anything above W is considered "Z" rated.

The "Z" rating is an old standard back when relative few cars are capable of achieving speeds in excess of 149mph. So tires that can handle speeds in excess of 149mph is generally lumped in as "Z" rated. More recently, speeds in excess of 150+ are common place, and 2 more "Z" rated echelons were created: W and Y. W and Z rated means the tires are tested for speeds up to 168mph, while Y rated tires are Z rated and tested for speeds up to 186mph. Some Y rated and Z rated tires has no upper cap.

There are no "rating" specifically encapsulating a full range of tire make. Different sizes may fall under different top speed ratings, for example, a 225/40/ZR18 may be W rated, a 245/35/ZR18 may be Y rated, and a 275/30/ZR18 may be (Y) rated (no that's not a cleavage) signifying there's no upper cap beyond 186, all within the same brand and make tire.

Just on the Pilot Super Sports alone, you have 245/35/ZR18 that's a Y rated tire with an upper cap of 186mph, and the next size up, a 245/40/ZR18 that's a (Y) rated tire. There are a number of PSS without a secondary top speed rating, indicating that they are simply rated to perform above 149mph (275/35/ZR20 being the first).

On the Bridgestone S-04s, all the sizes are the Y rating, indicating that they're tested and capped at 186mph. The S-01, on the other hand, is like the PSS, where there are multiple sizes meeting the cleavage rating without upper cap.

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by Rupes

You've had both? So which do you prefer for your money?

Impressions here
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...55&postcount=5

[808MGuy]

What are you guys doing to get only 10k or 13k out of a set of tires? I got 30k out of my original PS2s. Then I got Vred Sessantas and replaced them at 30k due to excessive noise but they had at least 3k left in them. I'm now 20k into another set of PS2s with a lot of meat left. I DD my car and don't track it. Are you guys burning out every chance you get?

[Gary@TireRack]

Many of us who drive aggressively or aren't doing much highway driving routinely see less than 10k-15k miles out of a set of rear tires. It is not that unusual.

Neither speed rating nor tire weight are good indications of overall handling and grip.

[M3-S65]

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

Sucks my local Discount Tire couldn't get their hands on the PSS's fast enough. I'll be rolling on Continental DW Extreme's until the next time.

As far as the Bridgestone tires go, they're a tiny bit noisy but good. I had them on my Z for a little bit.

I had 4 brand new Pilot Super Sports put on by Discount Tire today..and of course ...they scratched up two of my competition package rims...

I checked them immediately before I drove off and showed the manager, he told me to get them fixed and they would reimburse me. Great that they are reimbursing me for their damage, ...but the time and trouble? I guess I am going to have to eat it...

Originally Posted by Rupes

Anyone have experience with both tires? I think the consensus is that the PSS's are slightly better, but the ~$300 savings from the Bridgestone's is tempting. Minor performance differences don't matter too much but longevity does matter to me. Base on this, does anyone have an idea of what would work better for me?

OP...get the PSS - did allot of research on these...no contest buy the best. 300 bucks should not stop you. Get a quote from Tire rack and a couple of other tire places like NTB etc. Then take the lowest price and tell Discount they will beat the competitors price.

[FRFNUGN]

Originally Posted by Rupes

Anyone have experience with both tires? I think the consensus is that the PSS's are slightly better, but the ~$300 savings from the Bridgestone's is tempting. Minor performance differences don't matter too much but longevity does matter to me. Base on this, does anyone have an idea of what would work better for me?

I was in the same boat as you. Read all about how great the PSS were, and was dead-set on getting a set when my Invos wore out. That time came, and I wanted 275/35/18s, which PSS were all sold out. Sadly, I was left with only the S-04s as a comparable option, and based on everything on TireRack and Car and Driver, they were only minutely slower than the PSS, but at a rather deep price discount. After getting them on and driving a few miles (<400 so far), I'm happy I went with them for the savings alone. It seems as though the life should be the same between the two, and on the street you won't notice any difference I'm sure. I plan to track maybe once or twice a year only, so I feel fine giving up the 3% in performance differences for the price.

Did you buy either yet? What'd you end up with?

[Rupes]

Nah, not yet. Still wearing out the old ones. I'll prob go with the Potenza's though.

[Sered]

Originally Posted by JM35

I just had to replace my tires and couldn't put my beloved PSS on them because they are on back order everywhere until like July or August!

For street use, nothing compares to the PSS, especially in the wet. The new tires I got are just as expensive but are no where close to as good.

If performance doesn't matter, save the money. PSS isn't worth it unless you care about the handling benefits. I killed a rear set of PSS after 13k miles, they definitely don't have lots of life.

Maybe you need an alignment. The PSS has a 30ki mile warranty on them Sure you're not thinking about the PS2?

[MFL]

PSS will only do the 30k Mile Warranty if you rotate your tires. If I ran a squared setup, I would definitely have PSS's again.

[nusevad]

I just picked up a set the Potenza S-04 255/35/19 & 275/35/19. Tirerack has a great deal, around 870 shipped, less than 900 for a whole new set. Getting them mounted this saturday and will report back

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by M3-S65

I had 4 brand new Pilot Super Sports put on by Discount Tire today..and of course ...they scratched up two of my competition package rims...

I checked them immediately before I drove off and showed the manager, he told me to get them fixed and they would reimburse me. Great that they are reimbursing me for their damage, ...but the time and trouble? I guess I am going to have to eat it...



OP...get the PSS - did allot of research on these...no contest buy the best. 300 bucks should not stop you. Get a quote from Tire rack and a couple of other tire places like NTB etc. Then take the lowest price and tell Discount they will beat the competitors price.

I'm pretty sure my discount tire is run by retards. They screwed up one of the TE37 rears on my Z. Same story, though, they paid for the refinish so I guess i can't complain too much.

Oh well, it's not like tires are permanent, I'll get back to PSS's whenever these wear down. These are much better than the worn down PS2's I had ahhahahah.