Michelin pss review

TURBO2GO said:

The PSS is so far my favorite tire but it is NOT as grippy in the dry as any of the extreme performance tires like the AD08R, Dunlop's ZII, RE71, etc. I know this tire extremely well because under my car it has seen small tracks, lots of autocross, large tracks... I have ran it hard cold, hot, in the dry, in the wet, in a monsoon... I have driven it mildly off-road, I have driven it on 7 hour trips, on the streets, literally everywhere. I can tell you that Midnight Raven and I have near identical cars except engine where I have a 3.2 and he has a 3.0.... He is running a set of high end Bilstein double adjustables with remote reservoirs with 1000/600 pound springs, I am running double adjustable JRZ motorsport race dampers on 800/550 springs. He and I are both 6 speed. I can get out of my car and get into his and instantly run a quicker time, he gets into mine and instantly runs a slower time. The major difference in our cars is tires. He is running the Dunlop ZII and I am on the PSS. When it gets wet, its a different story. We have a significant noise an ride compliance difference, but I also am running 225/FORTY/18 and 275/35/19 so I have a much taller sidewall than him and you. My favorite thing about the PSS is not the grip, or ride, or noise, or wear... which are all great. My favorite thing is the tire's consitency. Lap after lap, cold, hot, wet, dry, no matter what you do with it, it stays consistent and I can count on it. It also breaks away gently. Midnight Raven calls me "drift king Junior". I love getting sideways with it. At my last high speed autocross I went into a turn just too hard.... beyond redline in second (just bounced off the limiter) which on my car because of the oversized tires reads 85 MPH on GPS. I tried to bring it back but I could not, and I spun 360 degrees a full 4 times.... I ended of at the other end of the airport runway. With enough tire smoke to come into the car. I have pushed these tires that hard. They just always give me feedback. I have thought about going to sport cups but I enjoy the lack of grip. All these tires most people put on street cars in the extreme performance category at the rack... ZII, AD08R, RT615, RE71R's, are bad street tires IMO. They are too hard core, and do too many things poorly. The PSS dials all that back and makes it much more livable.

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Jinks said:

Yep. I have zero track time or detailed comparison but the slight rubbing is 100% worth running this tire. I absolutely love it. It is one of the quietest tires and best wearing tires I have ever owned for the X. I have already pleaded with Michelin several times to make a 215/35/18 but they declined.....

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TURBO2GO said:

I had to go with downforce fenders to accomodate my sizing. I am beyond the issues of fender lining rubbing. I don't have any and I have relocated and eaten through my condenser shrouds.

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Jinks said:

Ryu was correct when he told me that the flying pebbles noises would stop after wearing them in. When your running fiberglass rockers you definitely hear shit flying the first 2k miles or so. It's gut wrenching to say the least.

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TURBO2GO said:

I ran NT01's which picked up EVERYTHING and I ran no liners.... imagine that. It was like a the fenders were bathing in a pebble shower. It also collects in the nooks and crannies in front of my doors. I have just learned to not care about things like that too much.

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Jinks said:

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately the PSS are here to stay. I just love these tires. I still have my brand new nitto 215's in bags. I think I might go with a ct sway bar and only use the front with a pair a TI Dave's sway bar links. Also, that is a whole lot of sway on your car. Have you tried any others bars other than the type r? Currently I run a carbing rear strut bar, front nsx-r bar, I took the lower type r bar off due to rubbing issues, and KW V3. I should have not wasted my money buying BC's as the KW are just freaking awesome. It is amazing how compliant they are. The car is solid but not too firm. They do not dip, duck, dodge, and dive like the BC did.

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Hapa88 said:

The sway is from the Eibach progressive rate springs. I have KWv3s now and the sway isn't nearly as bad. Even though there was lot of sway with that setup, it was very predictable and actually handled quite well despite what it looks. The KWv3s are way better in every way though.

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Hapa88 said:

No it doesn't. It reduces body roll, but doesn't eliminate it. I would not buy the NSX-R sway bar expecting it to eliminate your rubbing issues. It's a great addition for handling purposes but I would not buy it expecting it to fix rubbing issues.

The best way to eliminate rubbing issues, IMHO, is to use a tried and true 215/35-18 front tire instead (I know its not available in the Michelin PSS). Remember that a 225/35-18 is not only wider, but it's also taller.

The ways to reduce the rubbing would be to for free: 1) Roll your fenders and tuck the fenderliner behind the tabs 2) stiffen up the front suspension 3) raise the front suspension 4) add additional front negative camber

I've spoken to another NSX owner here in AZ who has the Michelin PSS in 225/35-18 who has Downforce fenders and he still has rubbing issues.

For reference, this is my car when I had the NSX-R front sway with my older Eibach Spring/Bilstein strut suspension combo. We're on a skidpad, just doing high speed circles. Tires were the original Dunlop Startspec ZI.

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