February 29, 2020
So often, when we think of Ultra High Performance All-Season tires, we tend to focus on the "Ultra High Performance" portion. We picture enthusiast drivers installing UHPAS tires on their vehicles to provide some modicum of cold weather or light snow capability so their sporty vehicles can be driven year-round. With this grand image in our minds, we can’t help but dream of a UHPAS tire that pushes the envelope in dry and wet traction and handling, and we tend to overlook the "All-Season" half of the equation.
In reality, most UHPAS tires are used for day-to-day driving, including in the depths of winter. They’re equally likely to be installed on a mass-produced family sedan as they are a niche sports car. The typical consumer of a UHPAS tire is far more concerned with traction in inclement weather than in adding a few mph to their speed on the on ramp, and it shows in our Consumer Ratings. Products that score highly in light snow traction consistently rank near the top of the category.
Knowing this, tire manufacturers have placed an emphasis on improving the all-season performance delivered by their latest UHPAS products. Michelin stepped up the light snow traction considerably when transitioning from the Pilot Sport A/S 3 to the Pilot Sport A/S 3+, so it would be understandable if the latest generation, the Pilot Sport All Season 4, made modest improvements over its predecessor. Yet Michelin wasn’t willing to settle for "modest improvements," and our team noticed a very intriguing figure in the company’s performance claims for their new product - 10% better light snow traction than the outgoing tire. In the world of tires, a 10% improvement is monumental, so performance like that could potentially disrupt the status quo and change expectations from the category for the better.
To get an early impression of the light snow traction delivered by the Pilot Sport All Season 4, select members of the Tire Rack team went to Circuit Mecaglisse in Quebec, where we performed some controlled testing in snowy conditions.
Our first test involved instrumented acceleration and braking runs on a groomed flat of hard-packed snow with a small layer of medium-packed snow on top. Our driver accelerated from a standstill up to approximately 22mph and then quickly applied the brakes to use the vehicle’s ABS to bring the car to a stop. To help eliminate variables introduced by the surface and the ABS, our reported figures are from 5-20mph for acceleration and 20-5mph for braking.
| Tire | 5-20mph Acceleration (seconds) |
20-5mph Braking (feet) |
|---|---|---|
| Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 | 6.7 | 61.7 |
| Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate | 6.2 | 60.1 |
| Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 | 5.3 | 50.2 |
Knowing that straight-line acceleration and braking traction are only part of the equation, we also performed a subjective drive around a short, rally-style track. Here, the Michelin again impressed our drivers. When driving the car equipped with the Pilot Sport All Season 4, the vehicle responded to inputs more directly, with less delay or imprecision that often results from a snowy surface. The front end authority was matched by lateral grip, as well, allowing the vehicle to hold the chosen line more confidently and carry more speed through all sectors of the track than when driving the other tires. With our unmodified BMWs on a tight, snowy track, understeer is more of a concern than oversteer. The Michelin tire helped mitigate front-end push experienced around the turns, though it wasn’t completely eliminated, especially where the snow was deeper and had been churned by previous laps.
Has Michelin changed the landscape of light snow traction in the Ultra High Performance All-Season tire category? We can’t yet say with absolute certainty, but this initial impression indicates the Pilot Sport All Season 4 could be a game-changer. It’s important to note this was a preview drive only, and we will reserve final judgment until we have the opportunity to perform a full Tire Rack test. In the meantime, we can confidently say Michelin’s new UHPAS tire is a strong performer in light snow.
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