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Hey guys, I recently got a C63 sedan and I am planning to buy new tyres for the summer. I am choosing between Continental SportContact 6 or 7 and Pirelli P Zero PZ4. Which one would you pick and does anyone have experience with both? I am happy about every information. Going for 275/35/19 in the back and 255/35/19 in the front.
Hey guys, I recently got a C63 sedan and I am planning to buy new tyres for the summer. I am choosing between Continental SportContact 6 or 7 and Pirelli P Zero PZ4. Which one would you pick and does anyone have experience with both? I am happy about every information. Going for 275/35/19 in the back and 255/35/19 in the front.
*****I have the Pirelli P Zero on another car and it is a nice tire, but not as nice as the PSS or P4S in terms of ride quality, dry and wet weather traction as well as road noise. The Michelin tire is just a better tire overall. especially dry traction wise in the warmer months - not even close.
I have the PZ4 in the 255/275. This is after getting multiple road hazards within the 6 months of having new PS4S, to the point were I needed to replace 3 of the tires.
The PZ4 is G80 spec tires in the rear, Alpine in the front. Overall grip is improved vs. the PS4S 245/265 I had prior. I'm not sure if I'll have the wear of the PS4S, but I also have less high speed vibrations on the PZ4. Just make sure you get the PZ4, not the PZero older pattern. They don't differentiate the two lines well enough, where many people discuss them interchangeably.
I have a 2018 Macan Turbo. Since new, I've run both the Conti 6's and currently the PZ-4's. The Conti's have a tendency of rolling under on a hard turn in. The PZ-4's are much stickier. But, I notice I'm getting a lot of tram lining. In between these tw sets of tires, I had three sets of Goodyear Asymetrics. I like the Goodyears the best among the three.
For my 2020 MB C63S coupe, I run the Conti Extreme Contacts. Never looked back.
Behave.... I just installed a set of Conti Extreme Contact Sports on the MB. The Michelins were 'oily' when they got hot in the summer heat in Houston. I've run the Extremes on several cars the last few years. They are tough, don't get oily with heat and they have a much stiffer sidewall that Michelins don't. I am curious as to how long the Pirellis will hold up with both the heat and the weight this year. The Macan is pretty heavy. So a lot of side-to-side movements at speed will stress out these PZ-4's pretty quickly. My first impression of the PZ-4's is they tram line a good bit.
As most have said here, Michelins are the all around best tire. But they are pricey. Having run nearly every performance tire extant (Pirelli, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, Hankook, Hoosier, etc), I can say Michelin gets my vote. Having said that:
Pirelli: These are ok but they tend to ride rougher and need more heat than most other similar tires before they perform well. They last for a reasonable amount of time. They can tend to chunk if you get them too hot, too quick. They are not that great in the rain. They seem overpriced in my opinion given how they perform.
Continentals: A pretty good all around tire for the price. You are correct in that the sidewall is a bit softer than the others especially the Pirellis. Given their price point, I think they present the best value. I would place their performance as the lowest of the three, ride quality, the best, sound between the two with the Michelins the quietest and the Pirellis the noisiest.
Ultimately, you need to decide what parameters are most important to you: Value=Conti; Michelin=best Pirelli=I don't know why anyone would buy them. I just don't see the value in most of them outside of their winter tires.
As most have said here, Michelins are the all around best tire. But they are pricey. Having run nearly every performance tire extant (Pirelli, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, Hankook, Hoosier, etc), I can say Michelin gets my vote. Having said that:
Pirelli: These are ok but they tend to ride rougher and need more heat than most other similar tires before they perform well. They last for a reasonable amount of time. They can tend to chunk if you get them too hot, too quick. They are not that great in the rain. They seem overpriced in my opinion given how they perform.
Continentals: A pretty good all around tire for the price. You are correct in that the sidewall is a bit softer than the others especially the Pirellis. Given their price point, I think they present the best value. I would place their performance as the lowest of the three, ride quality, the best, sound between the two with the Michelins the quietest and the Pirellis the noisiest.
Ultimately, you need to decide what parameters are most important to you: Value=Conti; Michelin=best Pirelli=I don't know why anyone would buy them. I just don't see the value in most of them outside of their winter tires.
My free opinion so take it at that value.
Kurt
I will accept it as your opinion. Since I disagree with you….
I'm curious about this supposed "oily" behavior of the PS4S. I get mine regularly to temps where TPMS starts showing them at orange and red. We are talking 150F, 160F+. At those temps they are just starting to grip fully. I'm pretty sure even in Houston the temperatures are not in the 150s. What are your typical tire temperatures? Maybe it's the extreme humidity and the pavement, or tire pressure too high, but in terms of temperature I posted this diagram from Michelin in another thread. Heat is your friend.
Last edited by superswiss; Feb 2, 2022 at 10:11 AM.
I'm curious about this supposed "oily" behavior of the PS4S. I get mine regularly to temps where TPMS starts showing them at orange and red. We are talking 150F, 160F+. At those temps they are just starting to grip fully. I'm pretty sure even in Houston the temperatures are not in the 150s. What are your typical tire temperatures? Maybe it's the extreme humidity and the pavement, or tire pressure too high, but in terms of temperature I posted this diagram from Michelin in another thread. Heat is your friend.
They get hot and slippery. Slick. Slimy. Greasy...... I'm out of words. I've run many sets of Conti Extreme Sport Contacts and have never had that problem. Matter of fact, as soon as the Michelin SS's wore out on the wife's car, I mounted a set of...yeah, you guessed it. Conti's. No more slippery, slick, slimy, greasy feeling.
They get hot and slippery. Slick. Slimy. Greasy...... I'm out of words. I've run many sets of Conti Extreme Sport Contacts and have never had that problem. Matter of fact, as soon as the Michelin SS's wore out on the wife's car, I mounted a set of...yeah, you guessed it. Conti's. No more slippery, slick, slimy, greasy feeling.
That's strange. All I can say. I have the complete opposite experience. The hotter they get the grippier they are, obviously up to the point where grip starts falling off, but as you can that's above 220F. Maybe it's a combination of the compound with whatever grease is on your roads. Some tires also must be run at proper tire pressure. I hope you are not running the pressures on the door sticker, because those are way too high and reduce the contact patch unless you load the car to its gross weight and drive above 155 mph. Proper pressures are found inside of the fuel door.
That's strange. All I can say. I have the complete opposite experience. The hotter they get the grippier they are, obviously up to the point where grip starts falling off, but as you can that's above 220F. Maybe it's a combination of the compound with whatever grease is on your roads. Some tires also must be run at proper tire pressure. I hope you are not running the pressures on the door sticker, because those are way too high and reduce the contact patch unless you load the car to its gross weight and drive above 155 mph. Proper pressures are found inside of the fuel door.
*****I've never had my C63s to the track, but have with other cars using the Michelin PS4S as well as Conti Extremes and we use either infrared or contact (probe) pyrometers to verify tire temps for optimized pressure, etc.. My JCW Mini Cooper has the Conti Extreme Sport Contacts and the difference in traction is noticeably less than when we use the PS4S on another (Mazda MX-5) car with almost identical sizes. This is at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia, which is a well prepped and scraped track so mebbe not like the typical street... We have folks in our club with all manner of cars but the most popular here are Miata's, MX-5, Mini Coopers, BMW's (E30's, E46, etc..), and some Porsche.
At least around here on the Summit Point track, the Michelin tires are very highly regarded for their predictability, traction, and overall balanced performance. I hope to take my C63s up to the track this upcoming Spring, as we have lots of snow here now so no racing...
*****I've never had my C63s to the track, but have with other cars using the Michelin PS4S as well as Conti Extremes and we use either infrared or contact (probe) pyrometers to verify tire temps for optimized pressure, etc.. My JCW Mini Cooper has the Conti Extreme Sport Contacts and the difference in traction is noticeably less than when we use the PS4S on another (Mazda MX-5) car with almost identical sizes. This is at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia, which is a well prepped and scraped track so mebbe not like the typical street... We have folks in our club with all manner of cars but the most popular here are Miata's, MX-5, Mini Coopers, BMW's (E30's, E46, etc..), and some Porsche.
At least around here on the Summit Point track, the Michelin tires are very highly regarded for their predictability, traction, and overall balanced performance. I hope to take my C63s up to the track this upcoming Spring, as we have lots of snow here now so no racing...
Exactly, they are highly regarded and perform very well at optimal temperature and proper pressures. Never heard of them getting greasy or anything. Something is not adding up.
That's strange. All I can say. I have the complete opposite experience. The hotter they get the grippier they are, obviously up to the point where grip starts falling off, but as you can that's above 220F. Maybe it's a combination of the compound with whatever grease is on your roads. Some tires also must be run at proper tire pressure. I hope you are not running the pressures on the door sticker, because those are way too high and reduce the contact patch unless you load the car to its gross weight and drive above 155 mph. Proper pressures are found inside of the fuel door.
Those are the numbers I use. Now those numbers can fluctuate brand to brand and tire to tire +/- a few pounds.
My daily driver is the Macan Turbo. In that instance, Conti’s suck. I’ve run 3 sets of Goodyear Asymmetrics with great results. I recently changed to Pirelli tires and they tram line all over the place.
It really depends on finding the right tire at the right pressure for a particular vehicle.
Those are the numbers I use. Now those numbers can fluctuate brand to brand and tire to tire +/- a few pounds.
My daily driver is the Macan Turbo. In that instance, Conti’s suck. I’ve run 3 sets of Goodyear Asymmetrics with great results. I recently changed to Pirelli tires and they tram line all over the place.
It really depends on finding the right tire at the right pressure for a particular vehicle.
Given that the C63S comes stock with the Michelin PSS at least for the 19/20 setup, the PS4S is an improved version of the PSS with learnings from the Cup 2. I run the PS4S at the same pressures I did the PSS, but the PS4S rides and handles noticeably better. The PSS kinda crashed over bumps and wasn't as communicative. You may benefit from measuring the tread temperature and dial in the pressure. You may need to start at a lower pressure when cold. FWIW, Michelin recommends hot pressure to be between 36-39 psi for the track for example. Some cars needing to be on the higher end of that. So it is worth keeping an eye on the hot pressure of the tires. I'm generally in that range even when driving hard. Occasionally getting in the low 40s in the front. Just for reference when I took it on the Nurburgring and forgot to lower the pressure it started to swim around, because the front pressure rose to mid 50s and the rears to high 40s. Too high for proper contact patch.
MPS4S all the way for all round performance, wet or dry, road or track
The PS4S is a great rain tire for the track, but there are better options for a dry track. They overheat on a dry track and the shoulders start chunking just like the PSS.
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