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Head-to-head Updated September 2026

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position vs Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 — Compared (September 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

VS
Tire B Michelin

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3

Summer Ultra High Performance tires

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 tread pattern
Objective (60%)
73/100
1 professional test
User signal (40%)
92/100
2,239 owner reviews
Dry
88
Wet
88
Comfort
92
Noise
92
Treadwear
88
Handling
94
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Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 — better treadwear, comfort and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score.
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Category breakdown

6 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Potenza S-04 Pole Position leads by 2
A
90
B
88
Why this score
SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionPilot Sport 3 PS3
Professional tests (TWG score) – 82
Tyre Reviews owners 90 90

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Pilot Sport 3 PS3 leads by 15
A
73
B
88
Why this score
SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionPilot Sport 3 PS3
Professional tests (TWG score) – 85
Tyre Reviews owners 73 88

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Pilot Sport 3 PS3 leads by 25
A
67
B
92
Why this score
SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionPilot Sport 3 PS3
Tyre Reviews owners 67 82

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A
–
B
92

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Pilot Sport 3 PS3 leads by 48
A
40
B
88
Why this score
SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionPilot Sport 3 PS3
Tyre Reviews owners 40 73

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Pilot Sport 3 PS3 leads by 7
A
87
B
94
Why this score
SourcePotenza S-04 Pole PositionPilot Sport 3 PS3
Tyre Reviews owners 87 84

Scores at a glance

CategoryBridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole PositionMichelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
Relative Score 68 90
Dry 90 88
Wet 73 88
Comfort 67 92
Noise – 92
Treadwear 40 88
Handling 87 94

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

The Bridgestone Potenza S04 Pole Position is regarded as a highly capable performance tire that balances impressive dry handling with competent wet-weather traction. While users appreciate its surprising level of comfort, they note that this performance comes at the cost of rapid tread wear and occasional road noise.

Pros

  • Excellent dry handling and cornering stability
  • Competent performance in wet conditions
  • Unexpectedly high levels of ride comfort for a performance-oriented tire

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear rate
  • Audible road noise or humming on certain surfaces
  • Wet-weather performance is good but outperformed by some direct competitors

Observations

  • Users acknowledge that the accelerated tread wear is an expected trade-off for the tire's performance-focused compound.
Tire B Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3

The Michelin Pilot Sport 3 (PS3) is widely regarded as a high-performance summer tire that excels in wet-weather confidence and ride comfort. While many users praise its ability to transform vehicle handling and provide a quiet, stable driving experience, a significant portion of the user base reports concerns regarding rapid tread wear and soft sidewalls that may feel less precise during aggressive cornering.

Pros

  • Exceptional wet-weather grip and hydroplaning resistance
  • High levels of ride comfort and low road noise
  • Predictable and progressive handling characteristics
  • Strong dry-weather traction for daily spirited driving

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear, particularly on high-torque or front-wheel-drive vehicles
  • Soft sidewalls can lead to a 'squishy' or vague feel during extreme cornering
  • High price point relative to longevity
  • Performance degradation as the tire reaches the end of its tread life

Observations

  • Users with hot hatches and performance-oriented FWD vehicles frequently report faster-than-expected front tire wear.
  • Drivers transitioning from run-flat tires to the PS3 consistently note a dramatic improvement in ride quality and noise reduction.
  • Some owners of heavier, high-torque vehicles noted that the soft sidewalls can feel less stable under heavy load compared to dedicated track-focused tires.
Community buzz

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3

Mixed

The Michelin Pilot Sport 3 (PS3) is largely viewed as an older generation tire, often overshadowed by its successor, the PS4. While some users consider buying discounted warehouse stock for daily driving or note limited size availability, others strongly advise against choosing the PS3 when newer iterations are available. (Note: Several posts in the discussion confuse the tire with the PlayStation 3 gaming console.)

r/tires ·3 upvotes ·2025-08-02

“Michelin PS3 MO1 vs Pirelli Pzero MO About to order 4 new tires for this 2012 Mercedes CLS500 SB (X218), but tire choices are quite limited. Sizes: 255/40R18 99Y front 285/35R18 97Y rear Currently running Pirelli Pzero MO on all corners, which are in desperate need of replacement. Unfortunately, Michelin PS4, PS5 or PS4S are not available in both these sizes in Europe. The PS4 has been quite an improvement over the PS3 iirc, so it feels wrong to go for the PS3. However, the Pirelli Pzero MO isn’t the newest PZ5 iteration nor the previous PZ4 I suppose. So… Should we go for another set of Pirelli Pzero or the Michelin PS3? (PFA) Read more”
r/tires ·1 upvote ·2026-04-09

“Is the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 a good choice for a daily driver? I've been considering changing my tires to Michelin Primacy 4 for my Mazda 2. I've been quoted with Michelin Pilot Sport 3 ones with manufacturing date of mid 2024 for 25% less, that the garage wants to clear from their warehouse. Is this an overkill? Edit: Thank you all for your help. I went with the PS3 and it seems that it was a good choice. Read more”
r/tires ·2023-08-29

“~2000 miles into a set of PS3 all seasons, plug or leave in?”
Top themes
#PS3 vs PS4 comparison#Limited size availability#Discounted warehouse stock#Daily driving suitability#Tread life expectations#Console confusion

Based on 10 community posts

Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position B · Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
Category—Summer Ultra High Performance tires
Vehicle type—Passenger Car / Crossover
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone

Michelin

Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 — better treadwear, comfort and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 scores 88 vs 40 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 scores 92 vs 67 on comfort.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 scores 88 vs 73 on wet.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 scores 94 vs 87 on handling.

Tire A · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
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Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.