New Michelin Pilot Sport 5 Goes Head To Head Against All Of Its Rivals

Tires are one of the most important parts of every car. They’re the only physical connection between your vehicle and the road and they can dramatically change the way a car feels to drive. In an extensive test, the folks over at Tyre Reviews have compared all the best options including the new Michelin Pilot Sport 5 and the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6.

For the test they used a popular size for high performance tires, namely 225/45/17. The tires tested come from nine different brands, including the Continental PremiumContact 6, the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3, and the Bridgestone Turanza T005, among others. You might notice that the last one is a touring tire and not an ultra-high performance model like the rest here. That was a choice Bridgestone made, and not the tire that the reviewers requested.

It should also be pointed out that neither Pirelli nor Falken makes a UHP tire in this size, so neither one was included. Nevertheless, we learn quite a lot from the testing protocol which includes a Golf GTI on a dry circuit and a wet circuit, and in a number of braking and handling tests. For example, on a dry circuit, the Hankook felt more like a touring tire than the actual Bridgestone touring tire.

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In addition, the Pilot Sport 5 came in fifth with regard to dry circuit lap times and according to Tyre Reviews, it just lacks some of the sharpness that others possess. It’s got loads of grip; it’s just a tad numb. That changes when the track gets wet. There, the Michelin is exceptional and has the best resistance to aquaplaning.

As a guy who ran a tire shop before becoming a writer, I can confirm that the Pilot Sport series in general deserves the accolades it gets. Just like in the testing here, it’s an exceptional all-around tire that feels confidence-inspiring in both wet and dry conditions.

Goodyear seems like a proper rival at this point though and it would make sense that buyers who don’t plan to drive in the wet might go for the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6. That’s because the reviewers find that they’re just as good as the Michelin, if not slightly better, in most situations.