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Michelin Pilot Sport 4 vs Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position — Compared

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

Pilot Sport 4 is ahead, 79–66

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Tire AMichelin

Pilot Sport 4

Summer

Tests 83 · 21 tests Owners 75 · 12,675 reviews

Best test result: #5 of 9 in 2021 EVO Summer Tyre Test (overall ranking)

“Reminder: Tires are the key to this car Just replaced my Michelin Pilot Sport 4 AS tires with a new set ahead of the rainy season. Lasted 36K miles. It was the best mod to the car and a fresh set reminded just how good a brand new set is. The car is glued to the road, riding wonderfully smooth and quiet. Spend the money, get the best tires for you. The tune can wait. And it will need it.”

Tire BBridgestone

Potenza S-04 Pole Position

Tests – · none yet Owners 64 · 3 reviews

Best test result: #2 of 4 in 2011 Tirerack Max Performance Summer Tyre Test (overall ranking)

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 +15
    71
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza S-04 Pole Position
    Professional tests (TWG score)88–
    Reviews found online8371
  2. 83

    Wet

    Pilot Sport 4 +15
    68
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza S-04 Pole Position
    Professional tests (TWG score)85–
    Reviews found online8068
  3. 77

    Comfort

    Pilot Sport 4 +11
    66
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza S-04 Pole Position
    Professional tests (TWG score)81–
    Reviews found online7263
  4. 74

    Noise

    Pilot Sport 4 +7
    67
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza S-04 Pole Position
    Professional tests (TWG score)76–
    Reviews found online7366
  5. 71

    Treadwear

    Pilot Sport 4 +14
    57
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza S-04 Pole Position
    Professional tests (TWG score)77–
    Reviews found online6250
  6. 78

    Handling

    Pilot Sport 4 +9
    69
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 4Potenza S-04 Pole Position
    Reviews found online7869
Scores at a glance
CategoryMichelin Pilot Sport 4Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
Relative Score 79 66
Dry 86 71
Wet 83 68
Comfort 77 66
Noise 74 67
Treadwear 71 57
Handling 78 69

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

Pilot Sport 4

Potenza S-04 Pole Position

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategoryPilot Sport 4Potenza S-04 Pole PositionΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 20% #5/9 · 2021 EVO Summer Tyre Test 50% #2/4 · 2011 Tirerack Max Performance Summer Tyre Test −30.0 Different tests

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 S-04 Pole Position

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
All owner themes in the Potenza S-04 Pole Position review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Positive

Community opinion on the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (and PS4S) is overwhelmingly positive, with users frequently praising the massive grip, excellent steering feel, and dramatic improvements in ride quality compared to OEM run-flats. While some note that they wear out relatively quickly and can be noisy on highways or sensitive to cold temperatures (below 40°F), they are widely considered a top-tier performance tire for both daily driving and spirited use.

r/BMW ·26 upvotes ·2024-09-23

“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”
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.”
Top themes
#Exceptional grip and handling#Ride quality and noise#Tread life and wear#Cold weather limitations#PS4 vs PS4S comparison#Run-flat replacement upgrade

Based on 122 community posts

Tire B

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 B · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
CategorySummer—
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover

Which one should you actually buy?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — better dry, wet and treadwear. 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 71 on dry.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 83 vs 68 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 71 vs 57 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 77 vs 66 on comfort.

Tire A · Michelin Pilot Sport 4
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Tire B · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
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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.

79

Leads

Pilot Sport 4

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