Michelin All Season Tires - To Wait, or Not to Wait?

[jbfrancis3]

I'd like to get another set of Michelin's, this time all seasons, to allow running the M3 through the winter. I currently have Pilot Sport 4S's which, as many know, cannot be subjected to very low temps. I have a choice with Michelin all seasons: buy the current A/S 3+ tire, or wait for the new A/S 4's to come in the correct size.

Michelin just released the successor tire to the 3+'s, the 4. The 4 was just released and has 59 sizes currently. 46 additional sizes are coming July 2021.

I run the 19" factory wheel and intend to stay 19" staggered with any future wheel purchases. Wouldn't you know it - the 4's aren't yet available in all sizes needed.

Common pairs for a 19" staggered setup include (per the excellent stickied Tire Sizing Thread on here)

My 1st preference
245/35/19 - Front. The 4's are available in this size since that's what the new Corvette runs.
275/30/19 - Rear. The 4's are not available in this size currently

Factory sizes (my 2nd preference)
225/40/19 - Front. The 4's are not available in this size currently
255/35/19 - Rear. The 4's are available in this size

I can get the 3+'s in my 1st preference of sizing. They are virtually the same price as the available 4's. The 3+'s are well regarded while the 4's have been getting some surprisingly good reviews for an all season tire.

Or, I can wait until next year, not knowing if the additional sizes to-be-released for the 4's will come in the size needed.

What to do?

[yhp2009]

Im not entirely sure if this relates to tires, but I almost never get anything in its first production run. I imagine the AS4 has new tread pattern? Then I'd wait at least one year for the manufacturer to fix any issues related to the new issuance.
Whereas the AS3+ is already about as reliable as can be at this point.
Just my 2 cents

[jbfrancis3]

Current Michelin 4 sizing if anyone is curious (scroll midway down): https://www.michelinman.com/tires/hi...-season-4.html

[EthanolTurbo]

I have some A/S 3+ on my stock wheels I don't use anymore. By far the most impressive all season tire I have ever driven on. The responsiveness and grippiness is addicting because it's JUST the right amount to have fun with and enjoy smooth, playful oversteer when you drive it hard. It's no RE71R in terms of overall grip but it's equally as fun since the limits are lower and more accessible in every situation. RE71R's make you feel like Superman, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ makes you feel like Spiderman.

I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who wants a super balanced, all around great tire performance-wise yet also needs comfort and compliance when driving like a sane person and doesn't need the stickiest race car tires.

If the 4 are even 10% better than the 3+, then they're highly worth getting. I still recommend a summer tire 9 times out of 10 but if you have to drive on all seasons, this is the one to buy.

[PetrolM3]

Here's my take on the AS4 as I just got a set (225/45/17 94Y XL) for my non-M E46. These tires are replacing AS3+ tires which I've had for 4 years and 80,000km. The car has square M68 8.5" rims, H&R sport springs, Bilstein Sport shocks, OEM+ (stiffer) sway bars and M3 front and rear control arm bushings. I've only driven a couple hundred KM on the tires so a little early for judgement but here it is anyways...

In my opinion, these tires don't belong on an m3. While they have amazing grip and better compliance and comfort than a PS4S, their sidewall has a lot of flex, possibly even more than as3+ (to be fair, those were 235/40/18 so a little less sidewall but still...) They feel very squishy. Not even comparable response to ps4s. I notice this on a 325i Automatic so I can only imagine that this would definitely have a negative impact on handling and performance of an M3. If you look at the cars Michelin listed for the AS4, they are all sporty but not M3 caliber.

My opinion is based on many years of PS2, PSS and PS4S on my E46 M3, as well as a whole bunch of brands and models of all-season tires on the non-M E46 including AS3+ for 4 years and 80,000km. I will also say that AS3+ sucked in any amount of snow. They aren't as useless as PSS/PS4S but they are still terrible if used as dedicated snow tires. I wouldn't expect much more from AS4.

Part of me wishes I had gotten ps4s even for the non-m but as I live in Ontario, Canada, despite having dedicated winter tires, the sensible thing to do was to get AS4 for my year-round daily driver E46, as I can run them during shoulder seasons instead of burning through my dedicated winters in mild weather.

To sum it up, my word of advice is don’t get these for an M car, they will take away from the experience that the car is meant for. If you need to drive in the cold/snow, I'd get a dedicated set of 18" winter rims/tires. Even those can ruin the car's handling so make sure to go for something meant for sports cars (Michelin Pilot Alpin vs X-Ice or Blizzak LM vs WS).

Cheers

[Mspir3d]

If it snows decent amounts in Virginia and you have the room, I'd get a second set of wheels with snow tires. You might also think about a clear bra. If they put sand on the road, the front end of your car will get a lot of abuse. I drove mine year round in when I lived in the mountains of Colorado and it did except when it snowed a foot or more.

[jbfrancis3]

Appreciate the responses. I think we all recognize all seasons will not extract full potential of the M3 but it gives more flexibility with driving in cold weather/poor conditions. Some are open to this vehicle use, some not.

In retrospect, the PS4S's are so capable on my vehicle for what I do with it that I probably could have skipped them to begin with. But I certainly don't have any regrets.

VA doesn't get a lot of snow necessarily but the temps can really bounce around. I just joined the PPF (paint protection film) world on two vehicles, one being the M3 after I recently had the entire front of it painted. Brilliant stuff, and good recommendation to do it.