My Craigslist foolishness

[WAKman]

My Michelin PS's finally wore out after 30K miles of fairly sedate driving. Came out the other day and discovered the outside of the left front was corded. Time to shop.

For fun, I checked on Craigslist and found a set of four Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, sized 255/40/19 and 275/40/19. They were new car takeoffs with 400 miles on them. I called Tirerack and asked about the fit of 255 and 275s, and they said they'd fit fine. Cool. I bought them for $700, which was a good deal.

. . . Except, the OEM tires are 35s, not 40s. I somehow missed this until they were mounted and put on the car. D'oh! They rubbed. I was, to say the least, perturbed. I decided to just go ahead and order something new from Tire Rack. I liked the Michelins, but wanted to try something new, so I went with Pirelli Zeros, in 245 and 265/35/ZR19.

So far, I like the Pirellis. They stick well, and seem more quiet than the Michelins, which always struck me as really loud.

Here's a gratuitous photo of the car last night in the twilight. Clouds were beautiful from our place.

[dparm]

Which P-Zero is it? Just the standard one? If so, that was actually an OEM tire on the car in addition to the Michelin PS2.

[BeaterM3]

255/35 and 275/35 fit fine if you wanted to give it a go again

[WAKman]

Originally Posted by dparm

Which P-Zero is it? Just the standard one? If so, that was actually an OEM tire on the car in addition to the Michelin PS2.

Just the standard one. Took the car on the highway today--the Pirellis are a lot quieter than the Michelins were.

Terry

[patsbimmer1]

I agree, I switched to PZero in a 255 front 275 rear and love them. The Michelins were loud and I feel a little more confident in the rain with the PZero.

[WAKman]

Originally Posted by patsbimmer1

I agree, I switched to PZero in a 255 front 275 rear and love them. The Michelins were loud and I feel a little more confident in the rain with the PZero.

Ah--good to know, given my location.

Terry

[cae93]

Originally Posted by WAKman

Just the standard one. Took the car on the highway today--the Pirellis are a lot quieter than the Michelins were.

Terry

Very interested to hear this as I was about to swap from PZero's to PS4's, I'm happy with the Pirelli's grip-wise for the road, but the PS4's seem to be the default choice for performance and price seems to be equivalent.]

Anyone else tried both? Your perspectives?

Also, my rear PZero's lasted approximately 11k miles, so 30k on a set of PS's might be a reasonable compromise for noise on the highway.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by cae93

Very interested to hear this as I was about to swap from PZero's to PS4's, I'm happy with the Pirelli's grip-wise for the road, but the PS4's seem to be the default choice for performance and price seems to be equivalent.]

Anyone else tried both? Your perspectives?

Also, my rear PZero's lasted approximately 11k miles, so 30k on a set of PS's might be a reasonable compromise for noise on the highway.

My car came with a brand new set of P Zeros which we're bald as a billiard ball after 15K relatively easy driving miles. No complaints with them other than they didn't last.

I have PS4S's now, but just got them installed and haven't had much chance to put them to the test yet. I think I like the profile of the P Zero's better in the rear - all the Michelins I've had (always stock sizes) seem to have a somewhat chubby profile on the rears.

[Scharbag]

Previous owner of my M3 went through 2 sets of PS2s in 27K KM. I put on PS4S when I bought the car and have 23K KM on them and they have lots of tread left. Really impressed with the grip AND wear of the PS4S.

[Drv4fun]

Im am original owner, car had p zeros. I got just over 22k good miles out of them. The last 5k they were very loud so loud I thought something was wrong with the drive train. Good tires however.

[patsbimmer1]

Honestly, they're both excellent choices and I feel that the differences are minor for most driving. I switched to Pirelli because I wanted to try something different and I have a good friend who works at Pirelli who's been bugging me about putting a set on one of my bimmers. I had PS2's on my FBO 335i and PS2's on my M3. Both saw track time and in the case of the 335i I went from Bridgestone Potenza's to the PS2's and was blown away by the difference. The M3 has seen track time on the PS2's and they did as I expected but I did notice in both instances the PS2's were loud and I was never thrilled with the rain traction. I got about 15k miles out of my PS2's on the M3. At the moment I have about 5k miles on the PZero's and have 9/32" of tread and they started with 10/32" new so I'm pretty happy with that but they haven't seen track time yet.

Of course I cross shopped the PS4 because of the warranty but when I looked at the price difference between the PZero and PS4 a proration on PS4's if they wore out at 20k or 25k miles was a moot point.

Between these two options either is really a good choice. You could flip a coin and be happy with either.

[Flying Ace]

Well, it could have been worse. You could have taken home a tranny and get surprised when you dragged it into your garage

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

Well, it could have been worse. You could have taken home a tranny and get surprised when you dragged it into your garage

Wont make that mistake again, what a day.

[Kalzone]

So I guess this means I'm going with Pzeros. I'm going to need new tires soon I feel.

If you don't drive your M3 that often and you haven't worn through the tread. How long should I drive on them? Do you think the rubber will dry out and become bad after a few years?

[STooK]

I’ve had completely opposite experience with pzero vs ps4. Had 2 sets of pzero from factory and both dry rotted in less than 3 years and wore out very quick. Also was very stiff and made the car ride harsh.

Changed to ps4 and they are amazing. Much quieter, smoother, and tons of grip especially in the wet. They also wear a lot better I believe. I’d never buy pirelli again, especially for what they cost. But ps4, I’ll buy them until something better comes out.

[Norms]

Originally Posted by patsbimmer1

I agree, I switched to PZero in a 255 front 275 rear and love them. The Michelins were loud and I feel a little more confident in the rain with the PZero.

Loud tires? I can only hear mine when I'm ripping the turns or leaving a memento on a launch... exhaust must hide the Michelin sounds🤷🏻*♂️
Love the grip of the Michelin's , I don't drive it in the rain usually unless I get caught on the way home from a run through the mountains.