Review of Michelin PS3 tyres from 1+ month usage

[lifemoveon]

I have recently fitted my Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro with a setof Michelin PS3. They are in size 245/40/R18. They replaced a set of MichelinPrimacy HP tyres that lasted me for 20k miles (and a track session in Nurburgring)since I bought my car in Feb 11. Since fitting on the PS3, I have done severallong road trips.

Grip
The grip that I’ve got from the tyres was immense. Recently Ihave done a road trip to the Lake District. The weather throughout the trip wasdreadful – pouring down heavily every day! The tyres held on extremely well.What’s more impressive was when the grip I experienced whilst driving throughHardknott and Wrynose pass. These passes are known to be the steepest roads inthe UK (though breathtakingly scenic). Driving through them in heavy rain andwith rain water pouring down the slope could be described as foolhardy at bestor foolish at worst! However the tyres gripped extremely well and I had noproblems getting up slopes even though I saw some cars slipping on their way up. Believe this is down to the ‘Anti Surfsystem’ Michelin has on the PS3. Thesupreme grip I got enabled me to steer the car very confidently and precisely innarrow winding roads – just point and go. I could fully appreciate the Audi’sQuattro with this set of tyres.

Comfort
I was initially worried about road noise when I was about tobuy these tyres. Given that I do regular road trips, I wanted a set of tyres toget me from point A to B without going deaf! A typical set of sporty tyreswould be grippy, but noisy! However after several road trips, the noise I’vegot was negligible! I could still enjoy classical music cruising at nationalspeed limit (ok, abit more than that). The ride was not harsh nor has ridequality been adversely affected.

Fuel Efficiency
Another worry I had was losing fuel efficiency. I was goingfrom the 225/55/R16 of the Michelin Primacy to the 245/40/R18 of the MichelinPS3. Surely I would compromise on fuel efficiency for better handling. I wasproven wrong. Back on the Primacy, I was getting about 38mpg (calculated). Nowafter 2 months of driving and 3 road trips, I have recorded about 37mpg - adecrease, though minimal and liveable. Whilst I’m sure that many of you mighthave achieved better fuel economy on the 3.0TDI auto, I must confess to a heavyright foot.

Wear
After 2 months of use and 3 big road trips, I could not seeany wear and tear on the tyres. They are as good as new! I measured the threadand they come in at 7mm for all.

Conclusion
Brilliant set of tyres! I have used numerous tyres in thepast – premium range of at least 8 different brands (Bridgestone, Continentalincluded), the PS3 was amongst the best of them all! They are a tad worse thanthe PS2 in the dry, but immensely competent in the wet (which UK is most of thetime). The ride quality and its all around performance make me prefer the PS3to the PS2. The only down side is the high cost of these tyres. However there’san old saying – you get what you pay for.

[royalblue]

Very useful review thanks.

My passat's dunlops are getting near to the end so i am on the lookout. Unless i missed it (reading on iphone) what is the cost of these tyres?

Thx

[Guest 2]

Thanks lifemoveon, I'm approaching 18k on my PS2's and will definitely be going PS2 or PS3 when they need replacing.

For the benefit of royalblue, I paid £1k for 4 PS2's 255/35/19 from Quikfit in Jan2011.

The last service reported with Audi there were 5mm of tread left in October and circa 2k miles less than current.

[discobarry]

Good review there, My family own a garage and we regularly get magazines for free with press releases etc. about new products and one key thing it mentioned about the PS3 is the fuel economy was the best in it's class?

I'm going to be looking at trying the Nokian Hakka Blue tyres when they come out next year, I like Nokian a lot, there winter tyres are outstanding so i'm interested in looking at this tyre which has been specifically developed for the more northern wetter northern hemisphere countries.

http://www.nokiantyres.com/release?id=22578645

[Bratty]

I have recently fitted my Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro with a setof Michelin PS3. They are in size 245/40/R18. They replaced a set of MichelinPrimacy HP tyres that lasted me for 20k miles (and a track session in Nurburgring)since I bought my car in Feb 11. Since fitting on the PS3, I have done severallong road trips.

Grip
The grip that I’ve got from the tyres was immense. Recently Ihave done a road trip to the Lake District. The weather throughout the trip wasdreadful – pouring down heavily every day! The tyres held on extremely well.What’s more impressive was when the grip I experienced whilst driving throughHardknott and Wrynose pass. These passes are known to be the steepest roads inthe UK (though breathtakingly scenic). Driving through them in heavy rain andwith rain water pouring down the slope could be described as foolhardy at bestor foolish at worst! However the tyres gripped extremely well and I had noproblems getting up slopes even though I saw some cars slipping on their way up. Believe this is down to the ‘Anti Surfsystem’ Michelin has on the PS3. Thesupreme grip I got enabled me to steer the car very confidently and precisely innarrow winding roads – just point and go. I could fully appreciate the Audi’sQuattro with this set of tyres.

Comfort
I was initially worried about road noise when I was about tobuy these tyres. Given that I do regular road trips, I wanted a set of tyres toget me from point A to B without going deaf! A typical set of sporty tyreswould be grippy, but noisy! However after several road trips, the noise I’vegot was negligible! I could still enjoy classical music cruising at nationalspeed limit (ok, abit more than that). The ride was not harsh nor has ridequality been adversely affected.

Fuel Efficiency
Another worry I had was losing fuel efficiency. I was goingfrom the 225/55/R16 of the Michelin Primacy to the 245/40/R18 of the MichelinPS3. Surely I would compromise on fuel efficiency for better handling. I wasproven wrong. Back on the Primacy, I was getting about 38mpg (calculated). Nowafter 2 months of driving and 3 road trips, I have recorded about 37mpg - adecrease, though minimal and liveable. Whilst I’m sure that many of you mighthave achieved better fuel economy on the 3.0TDI auto, I must confess to a heavyright foot.

Wear
After 2 months of use and 3 big road trips, I could not seeany wear and tear on the tyres. They are as good as new! I measured the threadand they come in at 7mm for all.

Conclusion
Brilliant set of tyres! I have used numerous tyres in thepast – premium range of at least 8 different brands (Bridgestone, Continentalincluded), the PS3 was amongst the best of them all! They are a tad worse thanthe PS2 in the dry, but immensely competent in the wet (which UK is most of thetime). The ride quality and its all around performance make me prefer the PS3to the PS2. The only down side is the high cost of these tyres. However there’san old saying – you get what you pay for.


Do You work for a tyre Company?

Dunk

[lifemoveon]

Very useful review thanks.

My passat's dunlops are getting near to the end so i am on the lookout. Unless i missed it (reading on iphone) what is the cost of these tyres?

Thx

I've paid about £800 to have them fitted at F1 autocenter.

Not cheap at all.

Cheers.

[lifemoveon]

Thanks lifemoveon, I'm approaching 18k on my PS2's and will definitely be going PS2 or PS3 when they need replacing.

For the benefit of royalblue, I paid £1k for 4 PS2's 255/35/19 from Quikfit in Jan2011.

The last service reported with Audi there were 5mm of tread left in October and circa 2k miles less than current.

I have been on both before and I would say it depends on what you want.

For pure dry grip, go for the PS2. For all round experience, I prefer the PS3.

Cheers.

[lifemoveon]

Do You work for a tyre Company?

Dunk


Absolutely not! I would say straight here that I do not work for any tyre company. For people here who know me personally, I work for a bank. But no, I'm not the investment banking fat cat.

I'm just someone who is passionate about cars and performance. I was lucky to have done some tyre testing for Michelin recently, but i don't get paid a single cent. Moreover I want to be impartial when it comes to opinions - if its crap, I would say so. I want to build credibility and care about my reputation too.

I have used numerous tyres in the past, some on track and some on normal daily driving. I just think I've got a good set of tyres and want to share it.

Cheers.

[potshot]

C'mon Dunk, wake up. He won the competition to go on the Michelin track test day and then wrote a bloody good report about it. This is an equaly good follow up report on the similar tyres.

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?122665-Re-Michelin-Tyres-review

[Bratty]

C'mon Dunk, wake up. He won the competition to go on the Michelin track test day and then wrote a bloody good report about it. This is an equaly good follow up report on the similar tyres.

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?122665-Re-Michelin-Tyres-review

I am not slating the reporting or the reviews that have been written, they are constructed in a very proffessional way!! I am programmed to be sceptical/suspicious and quite honestly I do not think that my question was unfair or insulting! How often are Forums infiltrated by Spammers? I am also a bit wary of competition winners!! How often have you met Winners of the MacDonalds competitions? (Not counting the mini prizes like a free burger or shake!)

I personaly have shaken off my 19 inch Tyre Fetish!!, I new I was in trouble when my wife did a browser scan and found "Lubricate the Rim from behind before squeezing the lips around.com) but now its wheels!

Dunk

[potshot]

I personaly have shaken off my 19 inch Tyre Fetish!!, I new I was in trouble when my wife did a browser scan and found "Lubricate the Rim from behind before squeezing the lips around.com) but now its wheels!

Dunk

:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:

[Bratty]

Absolutely not! I would say straight here that I do not work for any tyre company. For people here who know me personally, I work for a bank. But no, I'm not the investment banking fat cat.

I'm just someone who is passionate about cars and performance. I was lucky to have done some tyre testing for Michelin recently, but i don't get paid a single cent. Moreover I want to be impartial when it comes to opinions - if its crap, I would say so. I want to build credibility and care about my reputation too.

I have used numerous tyres in the past, some on track and some on normal daily driving. I just think I've got a good set of tyres and want to share it.

Cheers.

Lifemoveon, I would just like to say that my question was not meant to be insulting, it was a direct question asked due to the "Extremely Well" written reviews of both the "Test Drive day" and your "Drive in poor weather" review. Your Job in the Bank must involve writing.

I am a big fan of Michelin and one particular car I had was SO! sensitive to tyres!! that when it was fitted with the equivelent Dunlop it was darn right dangerous!! Due to the incompatibility of the rigidity of the sidewall, I took the car back the next day and got the workshop to change them to Michelin!!

A lot of the Market leaders when it comes to tyres use very aggressive Advertising! wether it be Formula (Boring) 1 or intensive Media campaigns brainwashing people into thinking that due to overwhelming statistics and facts that they must by that product. But your reviews are informative and well meaning, and you should take a "Pat on the Back" for being able to wright sew well:)

Dunk

[lifemoveon]

I am not slating the reporting or the reviews that have been written, they are constructed in a very proffessional way!! I am programmed to be sceptical/suspicious and quite honestly I do not think that my question was unfair or insulting! How often are Forums infiltrated by Spammers? I am also a bit wary of competition winners!! How often have you met Winners of the MacDonalds competitions? (Not counting the mini prizes like a free burger or shake!)

I personaly have shaken off my 19 inch Tyre Fetish!!, I new I was in trouble when my wife did a browser scan and found "Lubricate the Rim from behind before squeezing the lips around.com) but now its wheels!

Dunk

No problems Dunk. I'm not insulted or offended in any way as everyone are entitled to their opinions. It is understandable why you are sceptical or suspicious. However I am honestly just someone who got to test tyres and believe in what I saw. I'm an old fashion banker by profession and hence I believe in good writing and credbility. The PS3s I got were not free. I paid good money to fit them - even though I know I could fit on Hankooks (good performing tyres too btw) for half the price or even less. Moreover I used to go out on track quite abit when I was younger, so i do know how good performance feels like. Having said all these, if I come across other brands of tyres that are good and value for money, I'll try them.

I laughed at your wheels and tyre fetish. When I have a quiet moment, i'll go check out your lubricate the rim from behind website. I hope I won't come across something more dodgy about lips and rim :)

[lifemoveon]

Just something for you guys to laugh at.

I showed your comments to my wife with abit of a swagger - 'hey, some people said i write well'

Her response -'oh come on!! Your writing reeks that you are an office boffin, it has no style, no flair, no humour!!' Talk about absolute ego deflation!

[potshot]

:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh: Can we have a report from your missus on Michelin Alpin A4's then please

[lifemoveon]

First I've got to get her to learn how to drive a car properly and why there are different type/sizes of tyres.

Then you might get some 'air-headed' opinions here. :)

*just hope she doesn't see this or I won't live to post again*