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Michelin Pilot Sport 4 vs Bridgestone Potenza RE01R — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Pilot Sport 4 is ahead, 81–69

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Tire AMichelin

Pilot Sport 4

Summer Max Performance tires

Tests 84 · 21 tests Owners 75 · 12,662 reviews

“Surprised by Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires - 2024 M440i Hey, BMW community. A year ago, I was lucky enough to order a 2024 M440i GC Xdrive. Spent hours driving different BMW's, tweaking my order sheet before my allocation was filled. Got the adaptive suspension, with 19's on Pirelli run-flats. After a few months, my San Remo GC was delivered. GREAT car. Now with ~17k miles, it was time for a routine service. And, apparently, new rear tires. Decided to just replace them all at the dealer. Went with what they recommended; Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (Star marked). What an upgrade! Steering feel, precision, comfort AND quiet. Anyone on the fence about the Pilot Sport 4 - highly recommended. Read more”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 86

    Dry

    Pilot Sport 4 +16
    70
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza RE01R
    Professional tests (TWG score)88–
    Reviews found online8371
  2. 88

    Wet

    Pilot Sport 4 +15
    73
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza RE01R
    Professional tests (TWG score)91–
    Reviews found online8373
  3. 77

    Comfort

    Pilot Sport 4 +14
    63
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza RE01R
    Professional tests (TWG score)81–
    Reviews found online7158
  4. 74

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza RE01R
    Professional tests (TWG score)76–
    Reviews found online72–
  5. 71

    Treadwear

    Pilot Sport 4 +7
    64
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza RE01R
    Professional tests (TWG score)77–
    Reviews found online6163
  6. 80

    Handling

    Pilot Sport 4 +10
    70
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza RE01R
    Reviews found online8070
Scores at a glance
CategoryMichelin Pilot Sport 4Bridgestone Potenza RE01R
Relative Score 81 69
Dry 86 70
Wet 88 73
Comfort 77 63
Noise 74 –
Treadwear 71 64
Handling 80 70

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

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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Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Pilot Sport 4

Potenza RE01R

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

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Pilot Sport 4

Pros

  • Exceptional wet and dry traction with outstanding resistance to aquaplaning
  • Noticeable improvement in ride comfort and a reduction in cabin noise compared to standard run-flat tires
  • Progressive and predictable breakaway limits during spirited driving

Cons

  • Faster-than-average treadwear, particularly under aggressive driving or on rear-wheel-drive performance cars
  • Softer sidewalls can lead to a slight lack of initial steering precision and a vague feel at the limit for hardcore enthusiasts
  • Performance drops off significantly in cold, freezing, or snowy winter conditions
All owner themes in the Pilot Sport 4 review

Tire B Potenza RE01R

Pros

  • Exceptional dry grip and handling characteristics
  • Predictable and communicative breakaway behavior
  • High durability and heat resistance during track sessions

Cons

  • High price point compared to competitors
  • Limited market availability and difficulty in sourcing
  • Performance may be surpassed by dedicated R-compound tires for pure track use
All owner themes in the Potenza RE01R review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Positive

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (and its variants) is widely praised by the community as a massive upgrade over stock run-flats and budget tires, offering exceptional dry and wet grip, precise steering feel, and improved ride comfort. While users frequently note trade-offs in tread life due to the softer rubber compound, and higher pricing, it remains a top-tier recommendation for spirited street driving and performance cars.

r/BoltEV ·5 upvotes ·2026-04-29

“Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires are noisy (a followup) I have been asked on this sub if the PS4 tires on my wife’s Bolt are noisy, and I wasn’t sure how to answer. Well, we made two 60-mile round trips this past weekend, mostly on highways with 55 and 70 mph speed limits, and I have to say that the tires are kind of noisy. Certainly not as quiet as EV-oriented tires are. The grip is fantastic, so we really like them. If you are sensitive to noise, though, these Max Performance class tires are probably not for you.”
r/ft86 ·3 upvotes ·2022-01-09

“I just installed A/S PS4 from Michelin on my BRZ recently & man they are so nice. How quiet it is, is wow, night and day. They handle quite nice except when it's still cold (sub 40F) on highway, traction control triggers but it may bc I'm lowered and yet to do my alignment. I don't know compared to stock, I was on Falken prior. I am using different tire set-up then stock however. I have 245/35 at the front and 265/35 in rear. My only regret is not going up to 40 on the sidewall for more meat. This is on 18" wheels.”
r/tires ·2 upvotes ·2026-07-28

“Those are Pilot sport 4 (all season). If it had s after the 4 it would be the summer high performance version. I put the pilot sport 4 on wife's GTI autobahn 2016. Great handling tire, stiff side walls, not the smoothest ride but best overall.”
Top themes
#grip and handling performance#ride quality and comfort#tread wear and lifespan#wet weather capability#comparison to runflats#noise levels#temperature limits and cold weather

Based on 117 community posts

Tire B

Bridgestone Potenza RE01R

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 B · Bridgestone Potenza RE01R
CategorySummer Max Performance tiresSummer Extreme Performance tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover

Which one should you actually buy?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Bridgestone Potenza RE01R

Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — better dry, wet and comfort. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 86 vs 70 on dry.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 88 vs 73 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 77 vs 63 on comfort.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 80 vs 70 on handling.

Tire A · Michelin Pilot Sport 4
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Tire B · Bridgestone Potenza RE01R
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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), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

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

81

Leads

Pilot Sport 4

Amazon