[Ciedric]

For my 2015/ MY 2016 STI I’m looking to replace my Bridgestone Potenza S001 XL. I stick with the 245/40/18 stock size.
They are four years old now and start showing some dry cracks on the outside cheek. I’ve got two sets of wheels (summer and winter) so I’m only using them from early April to late November.

I’m considering Michelin tires. The Pilot Sport 4 or the Pilot Super sports 4. They also perform really good in wet conditions I’ve read. I occasionally drive my STI during rain.

I am open minded towards other brands, preferring to stick with Japanse brands. I do like my Bridgestones but having cracks in the rubber that soon got me thinking.
For example what does Yokohama has to offer?
Are Toyos really that loud?

What tires do you drive on your STI’s?
Thanks!

 

[salisburyv]

I use Michelin tires. on my STi and my truck. I have the cup 2 tires on the STi. 265/35/18. I love them. they'll handle a wet road, just don't try to perform any maneuvers and you're fine. Great quality product. my .02

 

[Urabus23]

I have Falken FK510s for the street and will be buying Federal RS-PROs for autox.

The Falkens seem very similar to the Bridgestones that you are currently running.

 

[wiEiEzy]

michelin PS4S the best imo

 

[Ciedric]

I use Michelin tires. on my STi and my truck. I have the cup 2 tires on the STi. 265/35/18. I love them. they'll handle a wet road, just don't try to perform any maneuvers and you're fine. Great quality product. my .02

Unfortunately we have a lot of rainfall so I think the PS4s will be a better option. I do not compeed any track days or auto x.

I saw the latest video of Bucky Laseks RS. He drives on Yokohama Apex Advan tires. Any experience with these tires?

 

[Ciedric]

michelin PS4S the best imo

Just got mail from my tires supplier.
He told me that he can not deliver the PS4S 18 inch, but he can deliver the Pilot Supersport 4.
Is this a good tire to?

My Bridgestone Potenza S001 XL in 245/40/18 97y

Are these dry cracks a big problem?

 

[xpystchrisx]

Those cracks are an indication that the tire needs to be replaced. You can drive on them, but as soon as you try to do anything that would push the car's handling limits you run the risk of having issues.

That's a review of the Pilot Sport 4 since the Pilot Sport 4 S is only available in 19 and above.
As I'm a bit of a tire nerd, but by no means an expert, I would look at the following if you can find them.

• Yokohama V601
• Continental ExtremeSport Contact
• Bridgestone Potenza S007
• Continental Sport Contact 6
• Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport (Not sure about size availability)

I've run the Advan V105's that came stock with my 19 STI at autocross and they held up to 100F ambient temperatures on an airfield. That said after 8 events you can tell that they've been heat cycled too many times that they are now much slower than they were. I am strongly considering the V601's in a 255/35 on stock wheels for daily tires.
As you're not in the USA you may run into a situation where the tire suggestions I'm referencing above don't line up to what's available. You can always check the US based websites for those vendors and then match up the tire tread patterns and wear ratings to get close. That said some brands will produce different compounds for different markets because of climate.

 

[VA STI]

I'm running the PS4S in the stock size, 245/40/18. If your tire dealer can't get them in 18" I'd suggest going to a different tire dealer. The Pilot Supersport is an older tire and the predecessor of the PS4S. If you do get them check when they were made.

 

[Pault1]

I highly recommend Tirerack.com for its comparative reviews. The Michelins are very well rated. For me I have an annoyingly rough riding tire for my autocrossing (Bridgestone RE71R) and an all season ultra-high-performance category for the year round or for autocross with rain. My area does not have snow, but I wanted the best possible rain performance with cold tolerance down to ~25F (-4C or so) which ruled out the Max Perf and Extreme Performance categories. So it was down to the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ or the new Goodyear Exhilarate, and I picked the Goodyears. They have very good dry performance with slightly less eager feel than the A/S 3+ (I had those a few years ago) but have great wet performance.

 

[Ciedric]

In my area, the Netherlands in Northern Europe we have all possible weather conditions. Sometimes we have winters with three months of snow, sometimes we don’t have snow at all. Last winter was very wet.
Same from the summer last year was extremely hot for our region with 40 degrees Celsius, around 104 Fahrenheit.

I do not compete in any trackdays or auto cross events. My car is more built to be a daily.

 

[Ciedric]

I'm running the PS4S in the stock size, 245/40/18. If your tire dealer can't get them in 18" I'd suggest going to a different tire dealer. The Pilot Supersport is an older tire and the predecessor of the PS4S. If you do get them check when they were made.

It’s not my tire dealer, they just don’t deliver the PS4Sin 18 inch in Europe, as seen in the video that pystchrisx posted.

 

[Jay11STI]

Yes technically dry rotting indicates the tires are old and should be replaced. Yes this is textbook stuff here. But lets be realistic, are you really going to replace tires for just a couple cracks?? If the tread was low or there was uneven wear then yes, i would highly recommend replacing them. Even if you had to replace tires due to a circumferance issue then fine. I wouldnt bother for just a light amount of dry rotting especially if the tread is good and the tire wear patern is fine. Ive ran winter tires 7-8 seasons and they've been fine with dry rotting. Im on my 6th season with my Michelin Pilot Super Sports and they have about the same if not more dry rotting than yours and they perform fine. I daily my car aswell and dont track it, both sets of tires have performed as expected in their appropiate climate.

Ciedric it seems like you are concerned with the tires abilities in your climate. Alot of us here including myself have 2 sets of tires. Winter tires for the colder months of the year and summer tires for the warmer months. In my opinion, if you are going to daily drive the car then you dont need some extreme summer/track tires. Tires like that tend to be loud in gernal and will be even worse once they start to wear or become cupped. Also tread life isnt the greatest and those types of tires arent good for wet conditions.

I personally like the Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Ive driven a couple of cars with the Pilot Sport 4s and iduno they just feel different. I preffer super sports. Try and see if you can find a set, some places still have then in their inventory and are trying to get rid of them.

 

[Urabus23]

While shopping for tires I was looking at the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti which got pretty good reviews. Are they available in the Netherlands?

Also, I've been putting some miles on my Falken FK510's and I really like them. They're smooth and quiet cruising on the highway with decent cornering and braking grip.

2020 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test - Tyre Tests and Reviews @ Tyre Reviews

Following on from the fifty tyre braking shootout, Auto Bild have more thoroughly tested the best twenty 245/45 R18 summer tyres using a RWD BMW 5 Series. The top three tyres should come as no ...

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[Ciedric]

@Jay11STI
My tire dealer told not to be worried about those dry rots. When I asked him not to buy Pilot Super sports he stopped replying haha.
I do have a winterset of wheels. My former Rota G-Force summer wheels are now perfect winter wheels with Vredestein Wintrac xtreme. They even have a older dot code (0114) then my Bridgestone S001 (2915). And don’t have dry rots at all.

@Urabus23
Yes we have Vredestein, it’s a dutch brand.
But if I replace my tires it will be the Supersports or if they come in 18” the 4s.

 

[rBroneak]

For my 2015/ MY 2016 STI I’m looking to replace my Bridgestone Potenza S001 XL. I stick with the 245/40/18 stock size.
They are four years old now and start showing some dry cracks on the outside cheek. I’ve got two sets of wheels (summer and winter) so I’m only using them from early April to late November.

I’m considering Michelin tires. The Pilot Sport 4 or the Pilot Super sports 4. They also perform really good in wet conditions I’ve read. I occasionally drive my STI during rain.

I am open minded towards other brands, preferring to stick with Japanse brands. I do like my Bridgestones but having cracks in the rubber that soon got me thinking.
For example what does Yokohama has to offer?
Are Toyos really that loud?

What tires do you drive on your STI’s?
Thanks!

Pilot 4s all day. Factory spec unless your running some fancy offset. d
Discount Tire has tire protection and free balancing etc which will expire long after your tires. They feel a little spongy but they are like rails on corners. You’ll get all kinds of answers and you should assess your budget and driving conditions. I’m on mn so theessened treadlife is ok because it’s winter most of the year and I run. Blizzaxx most of the year.

Enjoy!

 

[Ciedric]

Pilot 4s all day. Factory spec unless your running some fancy offset. d
Discount Tire has tire protection and free balancing etc which will expire long after your tires. They feel a little spongy but they are like rails on corners. You’ll get all kinds of answers and you should assess your budget and driving conditions. I’m on mn so theessened treadlife is ok because it’s winter most of the year and I run. Blizzaxx most of the year.

Enjoy!

Thanks for your response. The point is I do not live in Northern America so we don’t have the PS4s in 18”

 

[rBroneak]

Thanks for your response. The point is I do not live in Northern America so we don’t have the PS4s in 18”

ack! I've heard good things about Toyo and Hankook but I can't speak on them. Can you get any of the Pilots? Good luck!

 

[Ciedric]

ack! I've heard good things about Toyo and Hankook but I can't speak on them. Can you get any of the Pilots? Good luck!

Yes the Pilot Sport 4 and the Supersports. Guess the Cup 2 also but it isn’t really a good rain tires I think.

 

[rBroneak]

I'm a little confused with your reply. You can or can't get the ps4s? My understanding is that you can't fro your earloer post. If you can, them get em and be done with it.

No the cups shoy be a track tire and will yield very low miles.

Lots of other suggestions on here, you'll find something or just get smaller wheels so you can get the tires you want 😀

 

[Ciedric]

I'm a little confused with your reply. You can or can't get the ps4s? My understanding is that you can't fro your earloer post. If you can, them get em and be done with it.

No the cups shoy be a track tire and will yield very low miles.

Lots of other suggestions on here, you'll find something or just get smaller wheels so you can get the tires you want 😀

No I can’t get the Pilot Sport 4s in 18”
But I can get the Pilot Sport 4 and the Pilot Supersport.