Last fall I was fortunate enough to be included in a PR event for the Michelin MXM4 tire release through a word-of-mouth marketing group that I volunteer for. I guess I did a good job because a couple months ago I was invited to a track day at Cal Speedway for the release of the Michelin Pilot Super Sport (PSS). They were calling the event the 25th Hour, in honor of all the track testing that has been done in their 24hr race events like LeMans. Thankfully there were some open seats so I was able to invite a couple of my friends so that when I told someone what happened, I would have witnesses! I was not sure exactly what was to come of this event, but some great seeding of some photos lead me to believe that this was going to be a great event!
When we arrived we were greated by a large group of Michelin staff members, and went through the usual track day sign your life away paperwork. As an added bonus they handed out Flip cameras for all of us to take video of whatever we wanted throughout the day, but for safety sake, not in the cars... Once things got going we were taken into a media center where we were introduced to the key staff and our instructors for the day. We then got a great demonstration about the technology behind the tires that helps it to perform the way that it does, and the improvements that they have made over the extremely popular PS2's.
To improve the tire’s road-holding and braking ability and thereby its overall safety performance, even in the most extreme conditions, while also providing excellent mileage, Michelin has uniquely combined three technologies, including two developed for tires used at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: the Twaron® fiber belt as well as the Bi-Compound tread band and the Variable Contact Patch 2.0, both of which were derived from innovations validated and used in endurance racing (more technical details on page 9). The combination has produced compelling results that are apt to win over the most demanding manufacturers of cars in the ultra high-performance segment. As a result, the new MICHELIN tire has key advantages that enable it to rise to the challenge posed by its predecessor, the MICHELIN Pilot Sport PS2, which was certified as original equipment on more than 200 vehicles.
After the presentation we were broken up into 3 groups, and each group starting out at a different test station. The 3 driving tests included: a dry/wet braking exercise, an auto-x, and a road course.
My group started at the Road Course where they had the PSS going up against the Pirelli PZero Nero. Which looks like it was set-up to repeat the Road & Track test found here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=43. The cars used in this test were stock Lexus IS-F's with the exact same tire sizes. I was taken out for some introductory laps by Professional Drifter Tania Bourbonna, and then quickly stepped into the PSS equipped IS-F for a few hot laps.
My first impression was "Dang! I have been away from the track for too long... I just don't seem to be pushing this car hard enough..." The car just seemed incredibly stable and planted to the track surface! I thought I was just driving like a wuss... After a few laps we hopped out of the PSS IS-F and into the Pirelli PZero Nero equipped one. Instantly I recalled all my track day experiences, the squirmy/floaty/screaching feeling was back. The car now wanted to push through the corner a little more and definetly did not like the braking zone as much as it got light footed easily! After stepping out of the Pirelli car, I wish I could have had another stint in the PSS car because it was a night and day difference in feel. The PSS just gives you that feeling like its telling you "Go Ahead... Play hard... I'm good!", instead of that "Umm... You're pushing kind of hard... You sure you want to keep doing this?!?"
The second test was the auto-x in a 328i that featured multiple slaloms, increasing radius turns, and some good braking zones. The competitor was the #1 Tire Rack ranked Continental ExtremeContact DW. I went out first in the Conti equipped 328, and instantly I could feel the tire and tread blocks wanting to roll over in the harder corners.
The PSS equipped 328 stayed planted and predictable the whole time... I could never really sense any serious tire roll. After the session we checked out the tires since both sets of tires were brand new at the start of the session. The PSS looked only slightly worn, and only on the outside tread blocks, must be due to that variable contact patch they talked about earlier. In contrast all of the Conti's tread blocks were worn down to triangles!
They had been rolling over and had worn out, and this was after only about 60 laps. I heard from one of my friends, who got the last ride in this car, that we had wore it down to the threads by the end of the day!
My last section was a dry/wet braking test versus the GoodYear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. The cars were once again 328i's that were equipped with the same size tire on each car. They were equipped with a Drift Box to record the stopping distance in the car. For the dry test we accelerated hard up to 55 mph, coasted to get the weight balanced, then stuck our foot through the fire wall on the brake pedal. This was then repeated in a section that was covered in water at a speed of 45 mph.
Each person in our group completed two laps on the PSS's and the Conti's. On the dry test, I wasn't able to tell much of a difference in feel, but the numbers said I was stopping about 9 feet shorter in the PSS's. In the wet test, I could tell a diffenece. The F1's would go through more cycles of the ABS, thus indicating that they wanted to slide on the wet tarmac. The PSS's felt smooth and seemed to have an extra little bite at the end. The numerical difference wasn't that impressive though, as the PSS only beat out the F1's by about a foot and a half.
The last and final session of day was the Hero Hot Laps! This is where we were given ride-alongs on the road course in some very nice pieces of machinery. There was a Aston Martin, an Audi R8, a Nissan GTR, and a Ferrari 458 Italia all equipped with PSS's! All were driven by proven drivers too: Didier Theys, Kelly Collins, Tania Bourbonna, and Roland Linder (I believe...). My first ride was in the 458 with Didier, and wow can that man drive!
I don't think I will ever forget those laps! The next go around was in the GTR with Kelly. Kelly was a little more relaxed and was chatting it up with me, all while flying around the track rediculously quick!
The GTR is just an amazing machine, probably the best DD you can own. My friend Jason was able to ride in R8 and the Aston, afterwards he said the R8 had an incredibly planted feeling, like it was just stuck to the road. While the Aston, obviously felt a little bit big and heavy.
I think the side-by-side comparison really opened my eyes. These were really good tires the PSS was up against, and time and time again it was immediately noticeable that it was better. There was no, "well it was close". It was hands down better.
A big thanks goes out to Michelin, Kim, Tania, Didier, Kelly, and the whole Michelin team that was there. This was a professionally ran event and it felt like it!
The PSS will definitely be on my M3 the next time around!
