Head-to-head Updated

Bridgestone Potenza GIII vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Pilot Super Sport leads, 76–72 Narrow edge

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Tests 75 · 1 test Owners 79 · 1,506 reviews

“OK. PSS vs. PS4S. I used both of these on my 2011 GT500. In general the PS4S is an modest upgrade over the PSS. Slightly better dry grip. Bigger improvement in wet grip. Better grip when not warmed up yet. I did not that the PS4S is more sensitive to very cold (below freezing) temperatures, so I put the GT500 away a little sooner for winter. For my GT350, I switched to the A/S 3+ (275/35/R19 front, 285/35/R19 rear) and have been really liking them. I am sure they are slower on a track, but on the street they just grip and scoot on corners or straight aways (slightly less grip on a hard launch - but haven't tried launch control yet). It is very nice not having to worry about rain or cold. Still plan to put her in storage before the first snow to avoid the salt.”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 76

    Dry

    Pilot Super Sport +5
    81
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIIPilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)–77
    Reviews found online8087
  2. 74

    Wet

    Pilot Super Sport +2
    76
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIIPilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)–73
    Reviews found online7680
  3. 67

    Comfort

    Pilot Super Sport +5
    72
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIIPilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online6575
  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    70
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIIPilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online–75
  5. 65

    Treadwear

    Pilot Super Sport +3
    68
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIIPilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online6570
  6. 79

    Handling

    Pilot Super Sport +2
    81
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIIPilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online7981
Scores at a glance
Bridgestone Potenza GIII vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryBridgestone Potenza GIIIMichelin Pilot Super Sport
Relative Score 72 76
Dry 76 81
Wet 74 76
Comfort 67 72
Noise – 70
Treadwear 65 68
Handling 79 81

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Potenza GIII

Pilot Super Sport

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Potenza GIII

Pros

  • Outstanding dry grip with great road feedback and minimal squealing at the limit
  • Reliable and confident wet-weather performance
  • Good tread longevity and durability over high mileage

Cons

  • Can be noisy during family trips or extended highway driving
  • Performance in wet conditions can occasionally be perceived as average compared to its stellar dry performance
  • Sensitive to precise tire pressure adjustments to achieve optimal comfort and performance
All owner themes in the Potenza GIII review

Tire B Pilot Super Sport

Pros

  • Phenomenal dry grip and cornering stability
  • Precise steering response and excellent road feedback
  • Better-than-expected tread wear and mileage for a performance tire

Cons

  • Reduced grip and traction in cold weather (below 15°C)
  • Mediocre performance and tendency to aquaplane when tread wears down in heavy rain
  • High price point compared to some alternatives
All owner themes in the Pilot Super Sport review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Bridgestone Potenza GIII

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Positive

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is widely praised by the community as a benchmark high-performance street tire offering outstanding dry grip, sharp cornering capability, and decent ride comfort for daily driving. Many drivers note that its successor, the Pilot Sport 4S, improves upon it—especially in cold and wet conditions—while several users highlight downsides such as poor winter/snow capability, premium pricing, and eventual rubber degradation or tread cracking as the tires age.

rennlist.com

“I bought my 2006 C2S last September. It came with Pirelli P Zero Rosso N spec tires that were 3 years old and had about 80% of tread life remaining. I drove about 8000 miles and relaced them yesterday with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. They grip much better than the Pirellis. The biggest surprise is the car is now much much quieter than it was. I had no idea how noisy the old tires were until I got rid of them.”

rdforum.org ·1 upvote ·2016-09-06

“Re: Best summer tires & Best winter tires! I run PSS on my M Roadster during the summer and do a couple of weeks each summer of some very fast paced driving with our car club on mountain roads. I have tried a number of tires over the years and PSS for me have the best balance of wet and dry traction with a great feel for how close you are to the edge of performance. I have been getting 2 years on the rear tires and 3 years on the front tires. Another brand of very good winter tire is Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's.”

mbworld.org

“Another option would be Bridgestone RE-11 or Yokohama AD-08. Both have slightly more dry traction than the PSS. The big advantage of both of these in my experience is that they have a much stiffer sidewall than the PSS. The assists with response and much less roll over which on heavier cars (like the C63 or my current M3) makes a noticeable improvement. The downside is a slightly stiffer ride, especially on the AD-08. The RE-11 are only a slight trade off in comfort for the advantages noted above. Oh yeah, PSS have better tread wear too For street driving, the PSS are the best. If the car sees track time, I would personally lean towards RE-11. I ran both on my M3 and enjoyed the steering response and grip improvement of the RE-11 over the PSS but mainly because I get out several times a year to the track. When my C63 arrives, I will swap out the wheels (and use them for winter wheels), sell the OEM tires and put after market wheels and RE-11 tires on the car.”

Top themes
#Dry grip and cornering#Comparison to PS4S#Poor snow performance#Tread life and wear#High purchase price#Age and cracking issues#Daily driving comfort

Based on 364 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Potenza GIII B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—50
Rim diameters—17″ – 23″

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone Potenza GIII

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Winner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better dry, comfort and treadwear. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 81 vs 76 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 72 vs 67 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 68 vs 65 on treadwear.

Tire A · Bridgestone Potenza GIII
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport

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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.

76

Narrow edge

Pilot Super Sport

Amazon