Finally got a set of the BMW Star variant of the PS4S put on yesterday. Have been wanting to try these out for a while, but they were hard to source in the past. It just so happened that I needed 4 new tires and Tire Rack has them in stock. They were actually even slightly cheaper than the standard PS4S with instant rebate and Michelin has a mail-in rebate on them. The fronts have the limited edition Premium Touch sidewall with the velvety checkered flag over almost the entire sidewall, so that's a nice touch in the optics department. Unfortunately, it's only available on the 255 size and I think 235, so the rear tires don't have it.

It's not the best time of the year to give them a proper review now that temps are in the 50s around here, but initial impressions even at these colder temps are good. They seem stickier even at colder temps. When I picked the car up yesterday, the tires were in the 50s, but they were still sticky and picked up all the small rocks flinging them into the wheel well. Adjusted the tire pressure properly today and had to run some errands and with temps in the low 60s I had no problem hooking up from a standstill powering up my usual onramps. Considering that they are brand new and still have the lubricant from the mold on it and temps in the 60s it does seem that they have noticeably more grip, but I will have to see once it gets warmer around here and I'll have to take them for a good canyon run in the spring.

The other thing I picked up on is that the steering response is better, too and I seem to be getting more feedback through the steering wheel. They are quite confidence inspiring and track very nicely. I haven't done an alignment yet. My indy just mounted and road force balanced them. The car is due for the annual service in January and I'm gonna be away in Japan, so not much driving till then and I'll have them check the alignment.

I'll update this thread with my impressions as they wear in and the temps warm up towards spring. For those who don't know what the difference is between these and the standard PS4S, below is a video that's been posted before. The compound and construction is basically closer to the Cup 2 while still remaining a proper street tire. They give up a bit of wet performance for better dry performance, which is perfect for me here in the dry California climate. They do feel a bit stiffer and seem a bit noisier when new as well, but again the colder temps play a role here at the moment, nothing that bothers me, though. My impressions definitely line up with the findings in the video so far and this is probably the closest you can get to the new PS S5, which is only available as OE tire at the moment and comes on the new GT 55/63 and CLE 53 for example.

 

Hi Superswiss. Great writeup as usual! I've had the BMW Star variant in stock sizes on my '19 C63s coupe since early June, and have found them to be better in every way - grippier both laterally and under acceleration, increased steering feel and turn-in response but also at the same time the car seems to ride better, with less jitter and more of a sense of stability. Looking forward to your longer term observations.

 

That pretty much matches my experience so far. With every drive I like them more and more. The whole car has become sharper, more communicative and yes better riding. Tires can make such a difference!

 

Nice

This is something I’ve been thinking to do as well

Can you post pics so we can see how they look and fit?

thanks

 

@superswiss - Literally just put it together that you are over in Northern Cali... I was like low temps in the 50s where is this guy... Looks over at signature block.... Bay Area, ahh that makes sense.
I ordered my C63S from Mercedes of Oakland because the local dealer here in Reno Nevada wouldn't order me one. They are an AutoNation dealer, and wanted me to buy what they had in stock from one of their other dealers in their network. Tried the dealers in Sac / Folsom and they wanted to tack on an additional $30k mark up. Not sure why Oakland wasn't joining that band wagon, but they didn't add any mark up. Ordered April 2021 and took delivery August 2021.

Sorry, off topic.

 

I've been meaning to take some pictures. I'll try to remember next time I have it out on the driveway. Can't get a good shot with the car in the garage at the moment.

Haha...yeah being able to drive around on summer performance tires all year is great. Temps do drop into the low 40s at night and even into the 30s further up north from me, but for the most part it remains within suitable range for summer tires. Once driving they also warm up relatively quickly to more favorable temperatures.

 

Ended up taking a couple of pictures in the garage after all. It was already dark when I came home.


Front


Rear

 

I’ve compared to mine- PS4S MO - and looks like the Star doesn’t have the huge wheel protection that the MO has, which also make them look more agressive…

Am I right?

 

They look pretty much the same. First pic is the BMW Star, second pic is my previous standard PS4S. Don't know about the MO.


BMW Star

Standard

 

It looks like the Star fills out the rim better!

 

Yes, it looks that way. The Star has a different tread and shoulder design, resulting in 0.1" wider tread width. The standard PS4S has 9.9" tread width and the Star has 10" in case of the 285. All the other dimensions are the same.

 

Ok I can see it now, actually the Star looks sportier, I like it

Will consider them next time 😎