<center><img src="http://www.michelin-us.com/us/eng/tire/promo/pilot_sport/images/tire_details1.jpg"></center><p>
I was having balancing issues with my Dunlop SP 9000 sport tires. Although I've had them in the past on other cars, these were troublesome.

First of all, they got flat spots in them if they sat overnight. Secondly, they were*all* out of round, and even perfect balancing would yield a shake in the wheel. Additionally, the sidewalls were soft and the tire was slow to respond. They sucked overall, but they were sticky as hell on wet pavement. I decided to return them........

Anyway, I went for broke and got the new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. I put them on yesterday, and in my twenty years in the tire business, I've never seen a better constructed tire. The inside of the carcass is as smooth as silk, due Michelin's huge advances in molding technology, most of which are patented by Michelin. There are absolutely no seams in the tire. They took hardly any weight to balance due to this. This tire has three separate types of friction material across the face of it. It is the variety of materials that make this the ultimate, A/S ultra high performance tire.

The tires are by far the best I've had on this car, and I've had all the rest. For all practical purposes, these may be the best performing A/S tire on the market. Perhaps better than most max performance summer only tires, like the SP 9000.

They were smooth and vibration free up to 150 mph, and they have the most awesome lateral sensitivity without being twitchy. I went around my favorite ramp today at 15 MPH over my normal speed, and I honestly didn't realize it. The dry grip is *almost* as good as the SO3's IMO.

On the way home, I got to try them in a heavy downpour, and I was amazed at the fact that there was almost no need for slowing down through deep standing water at 70 MPH. It was hardly noticeable, and this is a 245-40-18 tire here. Around the same exit ramp as before, I really cranked it around the turn, and it stuck in a similar fashion as it did dry. I mean almost the same. I was impressed!

I was always an avid Michelin fan for years in the past, but I wandered around looking for a cheaper but just as good alternitive.I guess they don't exsist. In the end, I got the latest Michelin offering, and Im totally blown away by their performance. These also have have a 400 treadwear, so they will last much longer as well. To me, that makes a difference due to the price. In the end the higher price is a wash, and you get a superior tire that is even suitable for some winter use.

They may be one the most expensive skins on the market, but IMO, you get what you pay for with these particular tires.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsModel.jsp?tireModel=Pilot+Sport+A%2FS&a mp;tireMake=Michelin">Pilot Sport A/S</a></li></ul>

 

I have heard Michelin issues too, so may have been a batch issue.