Tyres - Pirelli vs Michelin vs Bridgestone

Megatron on 17/10/2024 - 13:27

Ok - So I am in the market for new set of tyres. Size 255/50/19 (min 105 Load index)

On my previous cars I have had Michelin and Bridgestone mostly.. I was extremely happy with Michelins but it was a mixed feeling with Bridgestone (I think ecopia ruined it for me). When I bought the car, it had Kumhos on it which have lastedabout 50K Kms but are noisy as hell so dont want them anymore.

So looking for options as Michelins in that size are super expensive and generally do not have much of a discount on them. So the options I have looked at

  1. Costco has "Bridgestone 255/50R19 107Y Alenza 001" - Will cost $1468
  2. Michelin Pilot Sport 4 or Latitude Sport 3 - Will cost between $1650 to $1778 from Tyroola (have been monitoring and they dont go too below that price).
  3. MyCar have PIRELLI SCORPION MS XL 107W - Will cost $958 in their Black Friday sale

Spoke with the guy at my local MyCar, he sort of knows me as I am a regular there. He said they will more than likely have the black friday sale and he will process my order on the sale day. However, he also mentioned the Pirelli's, while great in performance and noise, will only last 30-40k Kms. While reading on the web, Michelins will last about double that and on a per Km basis will cost less.

So I am in a total dillema as Michelins have been my favourite tyres but I am not sure I can make myself pay extra $800 for them even after knowing they will last longer.

What are people's views on these? or are there any other mainstream brands I should look for?

Note - I do put a high value on my family's life so will not put some crappy tryes from an unknown chinese company.

Automotive Bridgestone Michelin Pirelli Tyre

Comments

  • sumyungguy on 17/10/2024 - 13:36

    Check out this test of 18-inch tyres

    • Megatron on 17/10/2024 - 13:46

      I had a look at this article which doesnt rate Continental much.. I guess depends on the conditions they test under or could be paid promo?

      https://www.evo.co.uk/tyre-reviews/206340/best-19-inch-tyres…

      • sumyungguy on 17/10/2024 - 13:49

        Contis are so hard to find anyway. That's a good test report though they tested profile 35.

      • entropysbane on 18/10/2024 - 07:44
        +1

        I ran continental premiumcontact 6 on my Santa Fe for the first 60,000kms, they were fine and longevity is important. Now running scorpions from the mycar Black Friday sale last year. About 20,000kms and not showing a lot of wear, but I don’t expect them to last near as long because pirelli are softer for better grip (I hope). I would say they are quieter. The important thing is they cost half as much as the contis in the sale($1200 vs $2400 for 20 inch rims), and that would apply to equivalent tyres in other brands.
        I keep them at 38psi which should help with wear.

    • CurlCurl on 17/10/2024 - 14:52

      Don't know if it's legal to fit 18 inch if the plate says 19 inch.

      • megadeth on 17/10/2024 - 20:42

        I don't think you can, you need to fit new smaller rims for 18"

      • sumyungguy on 17/10/2024 - 20:59
        +1

        Of course I wasn't suggesting OP get 18-inch tyres; that would require new rims. The tyre tests aren't done for every size so the closest I could find were ultra high performance summer tyres 225/40 R18. Well aware OP needs 255/50 R19. Maybe I should have linked 235/55 R18 but it's from 2021.

    • Captain Musty on 18/10/2024 - 08:48
      +2

      Michelin every time - no contest. Good durability, smooth ride, quiet

    • HeWhoKnows on 18/10/2024 - 09:15
      -2

      All good tyres

      Id say go with the best deal.

      But supplied Tyre price is not whats its all about.

      OP needs to get "supply and fit" price as tyre fitters dont like fitting tyres which they dont sell.
      They typically will charge an arm and a leg to fit other tyres so you end up paying heaps more!
      And you get low priority as well. last in the queue

      NB Performance tyres are made of softer rubber for better grip so will always wear quicker than distance tyres

      • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 11:41

        All those prices are supply and fit.. and yes I agree, I am never buying just tyres and getting another installed to fit them.. if there was an issue, they could blame each other for the problem.

  • Tech5 on 17/10/2024 - 13:44

    Every tyre model is different
    My car came with Pirelli Pzero's that had no grip from day 1 through the two years I owned them. When I swapped them out, I was at 22,000km and about half the tread was gone.
    Swapped to Michelin PS4's and now there is no grip loss, even if I were to accelerate at full pace from stop. The first set lasted 30,000km and now am onto the second

    • Megatron on 17/10/2024 - 13:48

      did you regularly rotate the Michelin's? and were they the right load rating for your car? the reason I ask is because in forums I had read people suggesting 50-60k+ Kms out of Pilot Sport 4s.

      • Tech5 on 17/10/2024 - 15:36

        No rotation possible other than left/right as front and back wheels are of different sizes. And yes, the recommended 19's

      • donga100 on 17/10/2024 - 18:53

        I were to accelerate at full pace from stop

        Not going to get 60k+ kms out of them like that. You would need to be driving lots of straight highways with very cautious acceleration everywhere else to get close to that anyway.

  • AngusD on 17/10/2024 - 13:50
    +11

    After having a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's, I will never put any other tyre on any car I own ever again. Love them.

    Tyres are really annoying in that they're expensive (good ones, anyway), but also not something you can shop around and just try a bunch of different ones while you're trying to decide.

    • sumyungguy on 17/10/2024 - 13:56
      +2

      … or you can do a deep dive and find a preference that won't be available to purchase. One of the most annoying high value transactions I can think of

    • Megatron on 17/10/2024 - 14:42

      what is the road noise like with the PS4s?

      • SnoozeAndLose on 17/10/2024 - 14:46

        The noisy is minimal for PS3 and now 5 for my Honda Odyssey

      • AngusD on 17/10/2024 - 15:01
        +2

        Hard to say… It depends on the car.

        On my Nissan 370Z, it's pretty damn noisy, but that is a noisy car in general due to having minimal noise insulation. But it's better (or at least no worse) than the Bridgestone Potenzas and Continental Contisport Contact 5Ps that I had before getting the Michelins.

        On the BMW M340i I barely hear anything from the tyres at all, although I haven't had that long enough to many road trips with a lot of high speed driving on various quality surfaces etc. And they're the OEM tyres on that car, so haven't had anything else it to compare with.

      • AngusD on 17/10/2024 - 16:15
        +3

        Also, make sure you're aware that Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are 2 different tyres. I've got the PS4S which I love, I can't comment on the PS4, never tried them.

    • bobbified on 17/10/2024 - 15:32
      +3

      After having a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's, I will never put any other tyre on any car I own ever again. Love them.

      Best tyres I've ever had too! Having the best grip and handling often comes at the expense of longevity, but these guys have lasted a while! My set of four have done just over 50,000km and still have about 1/4 to 1/3 of tread left.

      As mentioned, they're not cheap though - they were just over $500 for each tyre.

      • AngusD on 17/10/2024 - 16:18
        +2

        Yep, but if there's one thing you don't want to cheap out on it's tyres. Especially if you've got a performance oriented car. When I changed my 370Z from the Continentals to the Michelins, it was absolutely transformative. I mean I knew the Continentals weren't great because they offered noticeably worse grip than the OEM Potenzas that I came with the car. But when I got the PS4S's on there, it was like a completely different (much better) car.

  • Daniel Plainview on 17/10/2024 - 13:55
    +1

    Firstly, it's simplistic to say just which brand to get - nearly every premium brand has good models within it's range and some that aren't so great. Just much better hit rate than the hit and miss (mainly the latter) with the unknown or new to market brands.

    Personally, I like and try and buy Michelins.

    My approach with tyres is that paying more when you prorata it out over the lifespan of the product is pretty benign next to other products and very few of those have the potential of life vs death. Which is sure dramatic but is sadly true or perhaps just look at as the excess cost on an insurance claim etc.

    Might the Pirellis be good? Yes. But are the Michelins certain to be better? YES. If they last lets be conservative and say 50% longer then it's near a wash. I say buy the Michelin's, but make sure you keep tyre pressures at high 30's psi (tyre co's recommend this, car co's say low 30's as is nicer ride) and have them rotated including the spare!

  • boomramada on 17/10/2024 - 14:00
    +1

    I'm not sure about other tyers but I use MICHELIN ENERGY XM 2+ less road noise than yokohama tyres I had. Tyers are too hard to compare unless you got millions of dollars to burn lol

  • 2jzzzz on 17/10/2024 - 14:04

    Pirelli PS4S were the only tyre that handled the power of my AMG

    • sim777 on 17/10/2024 - 14:42
      +3

      How about Michelin P-Zero

  • blitz on 17/10/2024 - 14:15

    I never really cared about my tyres toooo much, other than wanting a known brand name (e.g. Goodyear, Hankook, Bridgestone, etc. were all fine for me) - until we got a set of Michelins, and now they are my go-to brand.

  • Devastator0 on 17/10/2024 - 14:29
    +2

    I personally have gone with Bridgestone Adrenalin Potenza's RE00x's on all of my cars for some time now. With my relatively new car (2023 Hyundai i30N Premium Hatch), it came with a set of Pirelli P Zero's from the factory but when it comes time to replace, most likely will go with the Adrenalin's or the Michelin Pilot Sport 4's depending on which one works out better for cost at the time.

    • MS Paint on 17/10/2024 - 14:49
      +2

      RE003's are awesome. Nearly eliminated all of the torque steering in my tuned hatch (once they are warmed up).

      • Devastator0 on 17/10/2024 - 19:05

        Yeah I agree. Before I sold the car, I had them on my 2007 Mazda 3 SP23 Sedan and they always served me well. Obviously not a tuned car there but it handled driving in all manner of crazy conditions and didn't skip a beat.

    • JimB on 17/10/2024 - 17:09

      RE004s have been out for over 3 years overseas yet Bridgestone for some reason are still selling the RE003.

      I purchased RE003 about 7-8 years ago.. great tyre back in the day but tyre technology has moved on…

      • Devastator0 on 17/10/2024 - 19:02

        Funnily enough, just did a check on the Bridgestone website for my car's tire size (235/35R19 91Y) and they only offer the Potenza Sport & the Potenza S005's for that size. No RE00X series.

        • KBZ on 18/10/2024 - 11:42
          +1

          The potenza sport is a great tyre I have those on my i30n. Got them for a good price at costco (1169).
          The pzeros were great value when they were cheaper I swear they were 180 or less couple years ago at Tempe tyres.

          Maybe one day if I get curious ill try the p4s4 but I don't track the car so erring on no. At almost double the cost don't think I'd get double the performance or wear.

          • Devastator0 on 18/10/2024 - 13:46

            @KBZ: I'll have to look into them. I have a mate who runs a Bridgestone Select franchise and he has been my hookup for tires for a long time haha.

  • tonester on 17/10/2024 - 15:33
    +1

    Ok - So I am in the market for new set of tyres. Size 255/50/19 (min 105 Load index)

    • Michelin Pilot Sport 4 or Latitude Sport 3 - Will cost between $1650 to $1778 from Tyroola (have been monitoring and they dont go too below that price).

    $390 on order x 4 = $1560 - $150 cashback = $352.50 each - price match/beat at Jax / Bob Jane :)
    https://www.tempetyres.com.au/tyreproducts?michelin-2555019-…

    • Megatron on 17/10/2024 - 19:32

      They will not price match out of stock items.. also do you know if Bob Jane provides free tyre protection plan?

  • netjock on 17/10/2024 - 16:48

    Pirelli's, while great in performance and noise, will only last 30-40k Kms. While reading on the web, Michelins will last about double that and on a per Km basis will cost less

    Depends on how far you drive per year, also how you drive. Don't forget rubber deteriorate with time.

    That said I've got a set of 4 bridgestones (performance tyres) that is 20 years old don't 70k kms and don't have a crack on it (car garaged and does like 4k/kms a year). Some bridgestones have this hard compound that kind of lasts forever.

    • Megatron on 17/10/2024 - 20:06

      I would generally drive 10k Kms per year with a long interstate trip every couple of years (3-4k Kms round trip)

  • knasty on 17/10/2024 - 19:07

    Had Michelin PS3, PS5 & Primacy SUV. All great tyres. Always had a great grip:wear ratio.

  • Peza on 17/10/2024 - 19:41
    +2

    Just my 2c worth

    I just had the Michelin PS4 SUV put on my car last week - replacing Bridgestone (which i only got 30k out off over 4 years)

    Bob Jane price matched Tempe Tyres with no fuss (One of the other chains (Jax i think) advised they wouldn't price-match saying Tempe Tyres parallel import their tyres - unsure if this is true)

    My tyre size is 235/65R18 and priced at 330 each (x4) inc current promo $150 discount when buying 4 tyres.
    For reference, tempe tyres list price was 330 and offered no further discounts, and they had no idea about the Michelin promo - so there might be some merit to the parallel import comments.

    Its only been a week, but I feel a much better drive. Quieter than the bridgestones and a much smoother drive.
    I would never touch bridgestone again personally.

    Hope that helps

    • netjock on 17/10/2024 - 20:19

      I would never touch bridgestone again personally

      Bridgestones known for harder compound which means road noise and hard ride I got 45 profile tyres and car close to the ground. Forget about talking. Can't hear the stereo at high speed. Need noise cancelling earphones.

      • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 12:20

        What Bridgestone model do you have? I had the same problem with Ecopias on a previous car.. but wonder if their premium range (Duelers and Alenzas) are any better?

  • Bignudge on 17/10/2024 - 21:11

    I'd reccomend Dunlop SP FM800's for the bang for your buck aspect. Based off of tyrereviews.com and my maths, they're about 2% worse in terms of dry grip, wet grip, and road handling compared to Pilot Sport 4's… but provide ~12% better wear resistance and comfort levels. Which means they should be better than Potenzas RE003's as well.

    I can't find Pilot Sport 4's for my Honda HRV but the FM800's are at least $20-30 cheaper than the RE003… which should be even cheaper compared to the Pilot sports.

    • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 12:19

      They dont make them in the size I need.. also the max load index they have is 102 which is below spec for my car anyways.

    • knasty on 18/10/2024 - 12:45

      Having just gone through a set of FM800s can confirm the wear rate was horrendous. I would not touch them again.

  • ajd71 on 17/10/2024 - 22:04
    +3

    A long time ago I worked in a very large company that made a component which went into car tyres. It was an expensive component, so they wanted proof that putting that component into tyres made them last longer/be more robust.

    Long story short, they had a tyre testing lab where they ran 100s of tyres on rollers till destruction.

    Top two brands were consistently Michelin and Pirelli. Goodyear were a distant third. Interestingly, identical products lasted longer if they were sourced from new cars vs purchased as replacement tyres, even though there is no external markings to indicate if the tyre is a "new car" tyre vs "replacement tyre". (Yes it did the manufacturing date into account).

    Everyone who had exposure to that lab walked away from their job convinced they'd only ever put Michelin or Pirelli's on their car.

    • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 12:16

      Yep sounds about right too.. I have had Bridgestones and Kumhos other than Michelins and the difference has been noticeable.

  • Gunnar on 18/10/2024 - 08:03
    +1

    Buy the Michelins. As a brand I’ve never been disappointed with the any of their tyres. Yes they are expensive but you get what you pay for

    I’ve got PS4s and have used them for years, love them

  • Poor Ass on 18/10/2024 - 11:21

    Never had any issues with Michelin and overall winner for me

    Pirellis I had before and they always look more saggy and wore out faster and I'll probably put Bridgestone before them

  • ScottyDont on 18/10/2024 - 11:25
    +1

    Michelin advocate for worn tyre testing, showing they consider it in their design. Their channels are designed to make sure there is maximum space for water to escape even when worn, so you maintain grip rather than aquaplane.

    I only put Michelin's on my cars, I look for a deal and sometimes you can change the size a little to a more common one that is cheaper, but they work very well down to the legal limits so I just accept the cost.

  • backpaqer on 18/10/2024 - 11:49

    I had Michelin Pilot Primacys on a Nissan Maxima from new and they were great, stuck to the road like glue, lasted 80,000km. Replaced them like for like, the next set were rubbish didn't last half as long and didn't feel the same.

    Now with a Subaru XV/Crosstrek. I've gone Cooper ATTs (probably noisy for you) but they have other tread patterns that aren't as aggressive.

    • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 12:14

      Had Primacy 3 STs on a previous car - drover for just over 40k Kms and sold the car.. still had half the tread left on them.. wondering what went wrong with your next set?

      Primacy's are the only tyres I ever purcahsed form Costco and they fill them with Nitrogen on every rotation visit.. wonder if that makes any difference to the life of tyres?

  • jzdhgkd on 18/10/2024 - 12:24

    Changed from ps4s to continental sport contact 7 recently. Has been maybe 5000km now and… Feels the same really haha. Can't appreciate any difference on the street whatsoever.

    Car came with Pirelli p zeros which were terrible in terms of both noise and wet weather grip.

  • chk on 18/10/2024 - 12:27

    all those brands are reputable which is a good start, I would look at the models within each brand then find the best price, eg are you after durability, performance etc. I suspect those tyres you have listed arent equivalent models across different brands hence the difference in price

    • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 13:14

      Bridgestone and Mitchelins are equivalent.. I could add the Dueler too and that will be about $100 more than Alenza.

      Not sure if Pirelli is equivalent but is the cheapest model.. currently they are $1400+ everywhere but in black Friday sale they will be about $960.

  • bozaar on 18/10/2024 - 12:49

    Have you looked at PS5, i find them to be cheaper than PS4

  • OpayuOnam on 18/10/2024 - 13:06

    Have a look at continental UC/MC 7 (UC preferred if it comes in your size).

    Have been super happy with them, and whoever I recommended them to have come back with positive feedback. My last UC6 lasted about 7 years and more than 80Kkm.

    Also I believe Continental owns MyCar and they can do good deals for you on those tyres.

    • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 13:16

      Apparently there is no bigger deal than Pirelli 50% off during their black friday sale.. currently continentals are marginally cheaper than Pirelli at MyCar and the best deal I have seen on them is 20%. They said the 50% promo is a tie up between Pirelli and MyCar which they dont have on any other tyre.

      • OpayuOnam on 18/10/2024 - 13:21

        My SIL, went from a 3 year old Pirelli (due to puncture) to MC7 and she couldn't be happier, she is now tempted to swap the front prematurely as well (they still have 1-2 years of thread on them).

        In her case MC7 costed slightly more than the Pirelli she was looking at, because she thought all tyre brands should match… but yeah, point is if someone who is not into cars to this point can tell the difference between two tyres, it says something about their quality.

        With tyres it's not always about the cheapest, you're buying it once and it's gonna last you a few years, so best to do it right.

        • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 13:40

          Looks like neither of them come in the size I need :-/

          CONTI TechContact TC6 SUV XL FR 107W available for $1500 from MyCar though.

          • OpayuOnam on 18/10/2024 - 13:45

            @Megatron: No experience with the TC6, so cannot recommend ot dismiss them.

            We've all got sedans.

            Good luck with your search mate.

  • rickdwp on 18/10/2024 - 13:39
    +1

    What model of car? I run whatever tyres are best for the car and it's purpose, brand is almost completely irrelevant. Current / Recent cars I've owned:
    * MX5 - Bridgestone RE003
    * VZ One-Tonner (proper ute) - Bridgestone Duellers
    * 370z - Pirelli P Zero
    * Tesla Model Y - Michelin PS EV
    * VE ute with stupid 20" rims - Win Runs

    All these tyres have been prefect for the car/situation. Brands are all such BS these days you can't just say one is good and one is not good.

    Edit: Also some tyres that I had bad experiences with so I'd say avoid are Falkins (FG XR6), Continentals (2010 Shelby GT500) and Nexans (1990 300ZX) - All these tyres I had last less then 10,000km but could have been the models, who knows

    • Megatron on 18/10/2024 - 13:43

      That is totally not my expereince.. once rented a car that had some cheap brand tyres on it and if the road was any more wet than it was, I would not have needed the engine in the car to get where I wanted to lol.

      Have the Kumhos currently which I consider second tier and nope they are no where near in grip, braking, wet handling and noise comfort as my previous Michelins were.

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