Michelin Pilot Sport 4

The other day, I changed the tires on our Panamera, and today I want to share my impressions after driving it a bit with the new tires.

The tires our Panamera previously had were the “Pirelli PZERO,” which came as Porsche’s certified tires when we bought the car new. Following a recent puncture, we decided to replace all four tires with “Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Acoustic.”

The reason we chose Michelin is that my husband had previously switched the tires on his Boxster from Goodyear to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and really liked the performance of Michelin tires. At that time, he said:

Since switching to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, it’s changed dramatically! I might be exaggerating, but the smoothness feels almost on par with the Panamera. The handling became even more precise, and straight-line stability improved!

He had decided that if we ever needed to change the Panamera’s tires, it would definitely be Michelin.

ポルシェ ボクスターGTSのタイヤ交換−ミシュランパイロットスポーツ4Sに替えてみた感想

However, for the Panamera, the tire is not the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S but the version without the “S,” called “Michelin Pilot Sport 4.” Also, the Porsche-certified model for the Panamera size adds the name ‘Acoustic,’ making it the ‘Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Acoustic N0.’ This model has a noise-absorbing sponge attached on the inside.

When I asked my husband, “Since only the front right tire was punctured, wouldn’t it be fine to replace just that one?” he replied,

No way. If you do that, there will be a difference between left and right. Also, changing only the front tires means you’d have different brands on the front and rear, which feels wrong to me. If we’re changing, we have to replace all four.

So he ordered all four online from Rakuten and replaced them all (lol). By the way, after a little research on the Pilot Sport 4 Acoustic, it seems to feature:

・Excellent wet and dry performance
・Outstanding control and responsiveness
・Refined premium touch design
・Acoustic technology (noise-absorbing sponge attached inside to reduce cabin noise)

The sponge is attached on the inside of the tire.

Impressions of Michelin Pilot Sport 4

After that, my husband said, “Since you replaced the tires, why don’t you take the Panamera for a spin?” So I drove it for the first time in about two weeks. What I noticed right away was that it felt “lighter and the ride smoother,” but I didn’t feel a huge difference compared to the Pirelli tires we had before.

I guess the Pirelli tires were good, too.

More than that, I was actually more moved by the fact that I got back into the Panamera after a while and was reminded of “how amazing the Panamera’s performance really is.” The solid feel, the smoothness of the drive, the powerful acceleration merging onto the highway — in every way, I was reawakened to how wonderful this car is. lol

On the other hand, my husband’s initial impression of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 was:

It feels lighter. It’s like switching from heavy sneakers to lighter ones. Also, the road noise definitely seems quieter. But regarding ride comfort, compared to when I switched from Goodyear Asymmetric 2 to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on the Boxster, I don’t feel a big difference from the Pirelli this time.

Next page → After going to Royu and breaking in the tires, here are my husband’s impressions…!?