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Head-to-head Updated September 2026

Michelin Pilot Super Sport vs Nitto NT 01 — 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.

Tire A Michelin

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Summer Max Performance tires

Michelin Pilot Super Sport tread pattern
Objective (60%)
76/100
1 professional test
User signal (40%)
93/100
2,080 owner reviews
Dry
98
Wet
90
Comfort
93
Noise
92
Treadwear
90
Handling
95

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Nitto NT 01 tread pattern
Objective (60%)
/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
74/100
9 owner reviews
Dry
94
Wet
46
Comfort
46
Noise
Treadwear
73
Handling
83

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better comfort, wet and treadwear. 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) Pilot Super Sport leads by 4
A — Michelin Pilot Super Sport
98
B — Nitto NT 01
94
Why this score
SourcePilot Super SportNT 01
Professional tests (TWG score) 99
Tire Rack owners 95
Tyre Reviews owners 94 94

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Pilot Super Sport leads by 44
A — Michelin Pilot Super Sport
90
B — Nitto NT 01
46
Why this score
SourcePilot Super SportNT 01
Professional tests (TWG score) 88
Tire Rack owners 89
Tyre Reviews owners 83 46

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Pilot Super Sport leads by 47
A — Michelin Pilot Super Sport
93
B — Nitto NT 01
46
Why this score
SourcePilot Super SportNT 01
Tire Rack owners 87
Tyre Reviews owners 81 46

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A — Michelin Pilot Super Sport
92
B — Nitto NT 01

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Pilot Super Sport leads by 17
A — Michelin Pilot Super Sport
90
B — Nitto NT 01
73
Why this score
SourcePilot Super SportNT 01
Tire Rack owners 80
Tyre Reviews owners 82 73

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Pilot Super Sport leads by 12
A — Michelin Pilot Super Sport
95
B — Nitto NT 01
83
Why this score
SourcePilot Super SportNT 01
Tyre Reviews owners 86 83
DriverReviews owners 88

Scores at a glance

Michelin Pilot Super Sport vs Nitto NT 01: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryMichelin Pilot Super SportNitto NT 01
Relative Score 92 66
Dry 98 94
Wet 90 46
Comfort 93 46
Noise 92
Treadwear 90 73
Handling 95 83

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 Michelin Pilot Super Sport

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is widely regarded as a benchmark ultra-high-performance summer tire, praised for its exceptional dry grip, steering precision, and confidence-inspiring handling. While it excels in warm, spirited driving conditions, users note that its performance diminishes significantly in cold temperatures or heavy standing water, and some report increased road noise compared to touring-oriented tires.

Pros

  • Exceptional dry traction and cornering grip
  • High level of steering feedback and responsiveness
  • Strong wet weather performance for a summer-focused tire
  • Impressive tread life relative to its performance category
  • Significant ride quality improvement over OEM run-flat tires

Cons

  • Noticeable loss of grip in cold temperatures (below 10-15°C)
  • Increased road noise reported by some users
  • Higher price point compared to competitors
  • Reduced performance in standing water as tread depth decreases

Observations

  • Users transitioning from factory run-flat tires on BMW and other luxury vehicles report a transformative improvement in ride comfort and steering feel.
  • High-horsepower vehicle owners note that while the tire offers excellent grip, it can still struggle to put power down in cold or damp conditions.
  • Some users on 18-inch and smaller setups report that the stiff sidewalls can lead to a harsher ride on uneven or broken road surfaces.
Tire B Nitto NT 01

The Nitto NT01 is widely regarded as a high-value, track-focused semi-slick tire that excels in dry conditions, offering impressive longevity compared to its competitors. While it provides exceptional grip and consistent performance for track enthusiasts, users must exercise extreme caution in wet conditions due to a significant risk of hydroplaning.

Pros

  • Exceptional dry traction and grip levels
  • Outstanding tread life and durability for a track-oriented tire
  • Quick warm-up times, even on heavier vehicles
  • High value-for-money proposition for track day participants

Cons

  • Severe hydroplaning risk in standing water or heavy rain
  • High levels of road noise
  • Poor traction on painted road markings, especially when wet
  • Limited communication/feedback compared to top-tier racing slicks

Observations

  • Lightweight FWD vehicles, such as modified MINIs, benefit from rapid heat-up and high confidence during hillclimbs and circuit use.
  • Heavy, high-torque vehicles (approx. 2 tons) report that the tires handle power well, though they may experience heat saturation after 6-7 consecutive laps.
Community buzz

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Positive

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is widely praised by the automotive community for its exceptional dry and wet grip, precise handling, and overall performance as a high-performance summer tire. While some users note limitations in cold or snowy weather and occasional concerns regarding tread life or aging cracks, most enthusiasts consider them a benchmark daily driver and street performance tire.

r/cars ·40 upvotes ·2017-07-04

“They weren't kidding about Michelin Pilot Super Sports. They're way grippier than the Continental ExtremeContact DW tires that were rated #2 after the Super Sports on tirerack.com. I had a 2009 GTI with 225 width ExtremeContacts and now I have a 2016 with 235 width Super Sports. The difference is not subtle. Now, both have been gently upgraded to the Pilot Sport 4 S, and the ExtremeContact Sport. The only two max performance summer tires with a tread life warranty. 30k miles on square stance cars where you rotate them properly, and 15k on staggered.”

r/GolfGTI ·3 upvotes ·2018-03-23

“12k on two consecutive sets of PSS. Stage 2 MK6 (285whp/325wtq), drive fairly aggressively, an odd track day or two here and there, full suspension but run aggressive alignment settings. No abnormaly quick wear in any one spot, they just look like racing slicks when I’m done. If you can afford it, they are well worth the $$. Other tires may come close in performance, but for daily use, can’t beat the comfort of the PSS”

r/ft86 ·2 upvotes ·2016-04-18

“As someone who lapped the car until I destroyed the OEM tires, and then lapped a set of PSS until I destroyed those too. The PSS are stickier than stock for sure, but they arent really sticky when it comes to tires for the track. They overheat and get greasy if you drive them hard, and they will slip at just slightly higher speeds. TL;DR: they are better than stock, but they arent a track sticky tire by any means so tail happy is still a thing.”

r/Cartalk ·2 upvotes ·2025-05-25

“Had this on my E90, as well. Alignment was good, wheel balance on road force machine was good. Turned out i had over 0.250" of runout on both rear wheels. Took me two sets of 255/35/18 PSS's and me watching them balance the tires to figure it out... bought new wheels, never went to a Tirediscounters since.”

Top themes
#exceptional dry and wet grip#handling and cornering performance#tread life and longevity#comparison to ps4s#cold weather and snow limitations#road noise and ride comfort

Based on 60 community posts

Tire B

Nitto NT 01

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

Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Michelin Pilot Super Sport B · Nitto NT 01
CategorySummer Max Performance tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available17
Rim diameters14″ – 19″
Tread depth6.3/32″
UTQG100 A A
SidewallBlackwall
Max pressure51 psi
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Michelin

Nitto

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

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 93 vs 46 on comfort.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 90 vs 46 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 90 vs 73 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 95 vs 83 on handling.

Tire A · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Tire B · Nitto NT 01

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.