Michelin Pilot 4s's v Sport Contact wear experiences
Discussion
I'm ver soon going to be buying a set of new tyres for my Cayman GTS on 20inch wheels.
I have been for years a PS4s convert, but with the large price differential between them and SC7's i'm starting to lean towards the SC7's, particularly with the great reviews they seem to enjoy.
However the one thing that puts me off is the odd story of quite poor wear rate making them not so cheap as might first seen.
Has anyone got real world experiences of the SC7 wear rates?
I have been for years a PS4s convert, but with the large price differential between them and SC7's i'm starting to lean towards the SC7's, particularly with the great reviews they seem to enjoy.
However the one thing that puts me off is the odd story of quite poor wear rate making them not so cheap as might first seen.
Has anyone got real world experiences of the SC7 wear rates?
981Boxess said:
If you are happy with those and you can save a few quid why not, is the SC7 also Porsche approved then?
SC 7's aren't Porsche approved, although that isn't a Porsche warranty requirement any longer.In my head, no point saving a few quid on tyres (circa £300) if they wear out significantly faster!
Ed.Neumann said:
For me it is worth it to get the steering feel back. The Michelin's are just numb, the steering feels wooly and the that super sharp turn in is just gone.
I only do 4-5k miles a year, I have long forgotten about a tyre purchase 2 years ago.
I have a GT4 steering map that I installed with a ThinkDiag, steering feels pretty sharp to me, no wooliness. Obviously not as good as the slicks I used to race on back in the day though.. I only do 4-5k miles a year, I have long forgotten about a tyre purchase 2 years ago.
(718 GTS 4.0) I've had the PS4s previously and am currently on the Conti SC7.
The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements.
At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment.
I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life.
Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements.
At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment.
I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life.
Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I'd echo the above remarks on steering feel. I've always been a big fan of the 4S but "feel" from the coninentals (and wet performance) is definitely better. Even if they wear quicker and that cancels out the initial saving, I'd still pick them as the car just feels better on them. The 4S was for a long time a no-brainer, but it is about 10 years old now and other tyres have caught and passed it.
M11rph said:
(718 GTS 4.0) I've had the PS4s previously and am currently on the Conti SC7.
The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements.
At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment.
I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life.
Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Fantastic thread, love stuff like this, brilliant, well done.The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements.
At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment.
I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life.
Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Further to my conundrum on tyre choice, I have in fact fitted 2 SC7's to the front of my wife's GTI performance to replace a pothole damaged PS4s.
Definately better in comparison to the PS4S, especially in the wet roundabouts of Milton Keynes. Much better traction, surpisingly when the youtube videos only report an incremental improvement over the Michelins. I'd suggest it's a bit more than 2/3%.
Decisons, decisions...
You might want to consider Kumho Sport PS72 S.
I've got them, as good as the 4s if not better IMHO.
https://www.blackcircles.com/brands/kumho/ecsta-sp...
I've got them, as good as the 4s if not better IMHO.
https://www.blackcircles.com/brands/kumho/ecsta-sp...
M11rph said:
(718 GTS 4.0) I've had the PS4s previously and am currently on the Conti SC7.
The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements.
At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment.
I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life.
Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Can you post pictures of them fitted? I'd be interested to see the sidewall profile. Are you running stock sizes or gone wider at the rear?The Conti's do wear faster, but I'm going to have to revisit my tread depth measurements.
At it's recent MOT the OPC measured the tyres at 1-1.5mm more than me, which affects my assessment.
I think the Contis might end up being circa 25% more expensive/mile, but it is worth paying because they bring the car back to life.
Longer version in my Reader's Cars thread below (29 Dec 2025 >)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
AmoCS said:
You might want to consider Kumho Sport PS72 S.
I've got them, as good as the 4s if not better IMHO.
https://www.blackcircles.com/brands/kumho/ecsta-sp...
If you mean the Sport S PS72, please let us know how they wear.I've got them, as good as the 4s if not better IMHO.
https://www.blackcircles.com/brands/kumho/ecsta-sp...
scrounger73 said:
Can you post pictures of them fitted? I'd be interested to see the sidewall profile. Are you running stock sizes or gone wider at the rear?
Standard sizes. 265/35 R20 & 235/35 R20.
I don't have a pic of the rears to show the degree of stretch, but here's the fronts.
Rears are similar, perhaps a fraction more? They look similar to the Michelins in that respect.
I've not explored any insurance implications for running 275 rears and am happy with the balance of the car.
(On my GR86 insurers were a bit sniffy about going from 215 to 225, declaring it as a mod reduced the number giving me quotes and bumped it up significantly as a result).
Pics. Hope they help.
I've had/have PS4S on 718 Spyder, 458 Italia, Golf Clubsport. I've had/have ContiSport 7s on Alpine A110, BMW M135i.
Without doubt, the CS7 wears faster and is hugely better in the wet - it copes with standing water effortlessly. And on the road it is quieter and far more comfortable, due to the softer sidewall. But the CS7 really doesn't have the steering feel or initial turn in of the PS4S, due I'd guess, to those softer sidewalls.
For road-only use I'd probably go with the CS7, especially if used all year round, despite the higher wear. If tracked occasionally, I think it's 50/50 which I'd go with. On my Alpine, which is tracked 10-15 times a year, I'm going to move away from the CS7 as although it is sensational in the wet I find it really starts to lose control under high lateral loads and braking. The grip is there but the stability isn't
Without doubt, the CS7 wears faster and is hugely better in the wet - it copes with standing water effortlessly. And on the road it is quieter and far more comfortable, due to the softer sidewall. But the CS7 really doesn't have the steering feel or initial turn in of the PS4S, due I'd guess, to those softer sidewalls.
For road-only use I'd probably go with the CS7, especially if used all year round, despite the higher wear. If tracked occasionally, I think it's 50/50 which I'd go with. On my Alpine, which is tracked 10-15 times a year, I'm going to move away from the CS7 as although it is sensational in the wet I find it really starts to lose control under high lateral loads and braking. The grip is there but the stability isn't
Orangecurry said:
If you mean the Sport S PS72, please let us know how they wear.
Yes, wear is similar to 4s, had them for 1 year still got lots of grip and tread.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJJ4bpWYAx8
worldwidewebs said:
I've had/have PS4S on 718 Spyder, 458 Italia, Golf Clubsport. I've had/have ContiSport 7s on Alpine A110, BMW M135i.
Without doubt, the CS7 wears faster and is hugely better in the wet - it copes with standing water effortlessly. And on the road it is quieter and far more comfortable, due to the softer sidewall. But the CS7 really doesn't have the steering feel or initial turn in of the PS4S, due I'd guess, to those softer sidewalls.
For road-only use I'd probably go with the CS7, especially if used all year round, despite the higher wear. If tracked occasionally, I think it's 50/50 which I'd go with. On my Alpine, which is tracked 10-15 times a year, I'm going to move away from the CS7 as although it is sensational in the wet I find it really starts to lose control under high lateral loads and braking. The grip is there but the stability isn't
Interesting, I think we need to compare apples with apples here. Without doubt, the CS7 wears faster and is hugely better in the wet - it copes with standing water effortlessly. And on the road it is quieter and far more comfortable, due to the softer sidewall. But the CS7 really doesn't have the steering feel or initial turn in of the PS4S, due I'd guess, to those softer sidewalls.
For road-only use I'd probably go with the CS7, especially if used all year round, despite the higher wear. If tracked occasionally, I think it's 50/50 which I'd go with. On my Alpine, which is tracked 10-15 times a year, I'm going to move away from the CS7 as although it is sensational in the wet I find it really starts to lose control under high lateral loads and braking. The grip is there but the stability isn't
I found on the Porsche the total opposite, as have many who have swapped them over.
My daily car is an Mercedes and on that the PS4S is too firm, too crashy for a daily driver and makes the car crab like mad. I wish the ones in the Porsche sizes were a bit more like that!!
I think it was Jonathan Benson who did a video showing how much softer the PS4S sidewall is compared to the CSC7, simply by pressing down on a tyre off the rim, you could see the Michelin flex like mad where as he could hardly get the Conti to flex.
So maybe that is why some people have completely different experiences between the different tyres, size, load rating etc. etc. all matters.
The BMW star marked PS4S has a much, much stiffer sidewall and outside 1/3 of the tread compared to the off the shelf version, as does the Porsche one according to a Porsche Club Of America video, but some of the N rated ones are for the 911 and 982 and others are for the Cayenne, Macan, Panamera so again probably have different properties and design briefs.
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