Which Pilot Sport 4S?

[bpeckham]

Front Item	Rear Item	Front Desig	Rear Desig	Front Price	Rear Price
41815	32752	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW	325	354
41815	126736	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW GM	325	379
41815	127040	100Y XL BSW FO	96Y SL BSW	325	380
41815	127107	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW BM	325	385
41815	126982	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW	325	396
127420	127013	100Y XL BSW BM	100Y XL BSW	342	431

So I was shopping for some Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires on discounttire.com. I'm planning to simply get the same size as OEM, but then I found so many choices (see table above) with different prices.

Doing some research, I'll go for the 100Y XL (extra load) and avoid the 96Y SL (standard load) tires.

BSW seems to stand for Black Sidewall.

But I don't understand and can't figure out the other designations.

I see BM, FO, GM. I'm guessing these are specialized variants for BMW, Ford, and GM products, respectively. Does anyone know?

If I let the web site pick which tires, it picks the second to last row (second most expensive).

The other thing that's strange is that the web site shows a bunch of front/rear combinations, but not every combination.

Does it even matter?

 

[Lenk]

Front Item	Rear Item	Front Desig	Rear Desig	Front Price	Rear Price
41815	32752	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW	325	354
41815	126736	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW GM	325	379
41815	127040	100Y XL BSW FO	96Y SL BSW	325	380
41815	127107	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW BM	325	385
41815	126982	100Y XL BSW FO	100Y XL BSW	325	396
127420	127013	100Y XL BSW BM	100Y XL BSW	342	431

So I was shopping for some Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires on discounttire.com. I'm planning to simply get the same size as OEM, but then I found so many choices (see table above) with different prices.

Doing some research, I'll go for the 100Y XL (extra load) and avoid the 96Y SL (standard load) tires.

BSW seems to stand for Black Sidewall.

But I don't understand and can't figure out the other designations.

I see BM, FO, GM. I'm guessing these are specialized variants for BMW, Ford, and GM products, respectively. Does anyone know?

If I let the web site pick which tires, it picks the second to last row (second most expensive).

The other thing that's strange is that the web site shows a bunch of front/rear combinations, but not every combination.

Does it even matter?

It matters - each car company specifies changes in the compound. The Ford is probably for the Mach E so its compound probably has lower rolling resistance. Try the Continental Sport 2. Their tire is not an O.E. tire so the performance is not car dependent. The Continental is a newer design and it matches Michelin's performance at a slightly cheaper price point.

 

[thesilverbullet]

none of these - i would go with the pilot super sport. check tire rack for additional info…

 

[bpeckham]

none of these - i would go with the pilot super sport. check tire rack for additional info…

I really like the Pilot Super Sport. I had a set on my G37 back in the day, but it seems like Michelin does not make as many sizes, and they do the same OEM-specific variations. From the Michelin web site:

 

[thesilverbullet]

i had the same problem with my g37 base. i had these on my ‘07 s2k - unbelievable handling on stock suspension.

265/35 on front, keep stock size on rear?

not sure if speedo sensor is on front or rear wheel or both? the ecutek racerom for 370z has a speedo adjustment for tire size, not sure if that is available for the new z.

 

[AJRZ34]

Got 275/40r19 in the rear and it fills it up nicely

 

[bpeckham]

Got 275/40r19 in the rear and it fills it up nicely

That does look a bit chunkier than the factory 275 / 35 R19s.

 

[Houston.RZ34]

Pilot Sport 4 S is long in the tooth, Pilot Sport 5 is out, 5 S is around the corner.

Pilot Super Sports are older, think Pilot Sport 3 S - shocked they are still on the market.

 

[bpeckham]

Pilot Sport 4 S is long in the tooth, Pilot Sport 5 is out, 5 S is around the corner.

Pilot Super Sports are older, think Pilot Sport 3 S - shocked they are still on the market.

This might be just the news I need to do what I do best: be lazy.

My 007s aren't worn out, and I was originally thinking of upgrading to the 4S after the 007s needed replacing. Now that I know the 5S is on the way, maybe I'll revive my lazy plan.

However, following advice from @Lenk and @thesilverbullet, I was able to find non-OEM PS4Ss in the desired sizes at tirerack.com. The trick is to search for the tire by size (two searches: front and back) rather than by car. If you search by car, the website puts some random package together for you, but searching by size, you can get exactly the tires you want.

 

[weissk93]

I had the same question. Looking at getting this done at Belle Tire and the only Pilot Sport 4S option is "Pilot Sport 4 S Ford OE". Will these be a problem?

 

[Mugzilla]

I had the same question. Looking at getting this done at Belle Tire and the only Pilot Sport 4S option is "Pilot Sport 4 S Ford OE". Will these be a problem?

Like @Lenk said: " The Ford is probably for the Mach E so its compound probably has lower rolling resistance. "

These will have a "harder" tread to give the Mach E more range. (They're easier to roll.) Therefore, maybe not as grippy. I would avoid them.

 

[weissk93]

Like @Lenk said: " The Ford is probably for the Mach E so its compound probably has lower rolling resistance. "

These will have a "harder" tread to give the Mach E more range. (They're easier to roll.) Therefore, maybe not as grippy. I would avoid them.

Thanks for pointing that out. Are the Continental Extremecontact Sport 02 better than the Ford version of PS4s?

 

[Mugzilla]

No idea. I'm on stock Sport Yokohamas.

Will be going 18 x 9.5 front, 18x10.5 rear for rims, and 265s in the front, 285s in the rear. I'm reading and learning as much as I can!

 

[bpeckham]

Back when I did my original research, Discount Tire didn't really have the tires I wanted, and nothing has really changed since then. The front tires from Discount Tire are the Ford OE variant. The backs don't have an OEM designation.

If I head over to Tire Rack, I can find what I want. Here's what I settled on. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S:

• Front 255/40ZR19 (100Y) XL
• Rear 275/35ZR19 (100Y) XL

Note Tire Rack also has BMW and GM (and other) variants. These are the non OE versions

 

[FSUZ33]

As far as the brand-specific designations, I agree with MUG, that they could be designed for a vehicle that’s not technically a sports car, or could be designed for a sports car that’s lighter or heavier than the Z. Brand/model-specific higher-end tires can also have multiple tread compounds across the contact patch, where a ‘generic’ may only have one, maybe 2.
my thought is if it’s specifically designed for a sports car relatively close to the weight of a Z (not an Ariel Atom, for instance) then it should be fine.