This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Michelin. All opinions are 100% mine.
Having a good set of tires is, in many cases, almost as good as upgrading engine components to get more performance out of your car. Sure, having lots of horsepower seems like fun, but if you can’t put that power down onto the road, it is kind of useless.
Having grippy tires on the track is going to help you win races; on the streets, good tires are not only going to make the driving experience enjoyable but also safe. Having the right tire for different seasons is also very important when it comes to driving on the roads.
I personally prefer to run summer (performance) tires on my cars during the spring, summer, and fall months, and winter tires during the colder months of the year (usually November to March). So I normally opt for all-season tires, but not just any all-season tires, I buy (and recommend to friends) performance oriented all-season tires.
New Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on Infiniti Q50S
The latest tires I’ve put on our Unfinished Man official vehicle, a 2014 Infiniti Q50S AWD, are the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, the latest tires in the Pilot Sport line up. These tires are a step up from the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3, in that they provide enhanced performance, grip, and safety.
The Infiniti Q50 requires performance tires to reach its full potential, choosing non-performance tires would defeat the purpose of a pretty powerful sports sedan. Our Q50S came with a decent set of tires, but installing the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ was definitely a step up (and in the right direction). The tires have provided an excellent amount of grip in both dry and wet conditions, and changed the way the car handles and behaves on higher speed corners. The A/S 3+ tires gave me more confidence in the car turning corners and the tires have also reduced the car’s braking distance, which is great for stopping quickly in an emergency situation. The Q50S comes with a beefy set of brakes and I feel the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ have enhanced those brakes even further.
Another difference I noticed with the new tires is the reduction in road noise, the Infiniti Q50 has a fairly quiet interior, but I’ve always felt let down by the amount of noise the old tires made. One of the reasons for the noise is probably the run flat tires, and the A/S 3+ tires aren’t run-flat. I’ve never been a fan of run-flat tires and replacing them with the A/S 3+ have made my ears much happier. You may say replacing the run-flat tires is a bad idea and what will I do if I get a flat? Thankfully, and oddly, Infiniti has equipped the Q50 with a spare.
Another benefit of replacing the run-flat tires is a more comfortable ride, because of the stiff side-walls of run-flat tires, the ride is usually very harsh. With the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, the ride in the Q50 is much more comfortable, stable, and more enjoyable.
What makes Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ great?
Michelin has a long history in racing and the experience and technology from the race track has trickled down over the years to their street tires, which has made Michelin street tires more durable, more grippy, quieter, and safer.
The Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires provide more grip than competitors’ performance summer tires, they also have the shortest braking distance in wet and dry conditions compared to the competition in the ultra-high performance all-season category, and the new Pilot A/S 3+ tires also provide 28% more grip than the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires. The A/S 3+ tires also come with a 70,000 kilometer limited warranty.
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires are available in a wide variety of sizes and can fit a large number of vehicles. Some of the vehicles these tires will fit include the Infiniti Q50, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A3/A4, Lexus IS, BMW 3-Series, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and many more. Tires sizes range from 195/45/R16 to 285/35/ZR20, with prices starting at around $155/tires.
I’m quite impressed with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires, these are all-season tires that act like performance tires in dry conditions, provide loads of grip in the wet, and are supposed to provide a good amount of grip in the winter, in light snow conditions. I have really enjoyed driving on these tires over the last two weeks and the wet and dry performance has been impressive enough that I’ll definitely be recommending these tires to friends and family.
For more information and whether these tires are available for your vehicle, please visit www.michelin.ca.
