Tests – · none yet Owners 45 · 140 reviews
Bridgestone Potenza S005 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 21 road tests and 140 + 12,691 owner reviews. How we score
Pilot Sport 4 is ahead, 84–55
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Tests 85 · 21 tests Owners 76 · 12,691 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 45 in 2019 Summer 53 Tyre Braking Shootout (dry braking)
“Those are Pilot sport 4 (all season). If it had s after the 4 it would be the summer high performance version. I put the pilot sport 4 on wife's GTI autobahn 2016. Great handling tire, stiff side walls, not the smoothest ride but best overall.”
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
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62
Dry
Pilot Sport 4 +2587Why this score
Source Potenza S005 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests ≈ 64 (est.) 89 Reviews found online 58 85 Potenza S005: 60% × 64 (est.) + 40% × 58.4 = 62
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 89.1 + 40% × 84.5 = 87
No road tests of dry for Potenza S005. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
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61
Wet
Pilot Sport 4 +2990Why this score
Source Potenza S005 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests ≈ 63 (est.) 93 Reviews found online 58 85 Potenza S005: 60% × 63.5 (est.) + 40% × 57.6 = 61
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 93.1 + 40% × 84.7 = 90
No road tests of wet for Potenza S005. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
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45
Comfort
Pilot Sport 4 +3277Why this score
Source Potenza S005 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests ≈ 63 (est.) 83 Reviews found online 34 72 Potenza S005: 40% × 62.7 (est.) + 60% × 33.9 = 45
Pilot Sport 4: 40% × 83.4 + 60% × 72.4 = 77
No road tests of comfort for Potenza S005. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
–
Noise
No comparison71Why this score
Source Potenza S005 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 13 tests – 73 Reviews found online – ≈ 67 (est.) Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 73.4 + 40% × 66.6 (est.) = 71
No owner ratings of noise for Pilot Sport 4. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
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39
Treadwear
Pilot Sport 4 +3271Why this score
Source Potenza S005 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests ≈ 51 (est.) 78 Reviews found online 22 60 Potenza S005: 60% × 50.6 (est.) + 40% × 21.6 = 39
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 78.1 + 40% × 59.5 = 71
No road tests of treadwear for Potenza S005. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
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48
Handling (owners)
Pilot Sport 4 +3381Why this score
Source Potenza S005 Pilot Sport 4 Reviews found online 48 81 -
–
Efficiency
No comparison76Why this score
Source Potenza S005 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 14 tests – 76
Scores at a glance
| Category | Bridgestone Potenza S005 | Michelin Pilot Sport 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 55 | 84 |
| Dry | 62 | 87 |
| Wet | 61 | 90 |
| Comfort | 45 | 77 |
| Noise | – | 71 |
| Treadwear | 39 | 71 |
| Handling (owners) | 48 | 81 |
| Efficiency | – | 76 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Weight the categories that matter to you
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Potenza S005
Pilot Sport 4
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 S005
Pros
- Exceptional dry grip and handling performance
- Confident braking and cornering stability
- Good wet weather traction and performance for a summer tire
Cons
- Extremely fast tread wear with low overall mileage lifespan
- High road noise at highway speeds
- Stiff sidewalls leading to a harsh ride over rough pavement and potholes
Tire B Pilot Sport 4
Pros
- Exceptional wet and dry traction with outstanding resistance to aquaplaning
- Noticeable improvement in ride comfort and a reduction in cabin noise compared to standard run-flat tires
- Progressive and predictable breakaway limits during spirited driving
Cons
- Faster-than-average treadwear, particularly under aggressive driving or on rear-wheel-drive performance cars
- Softer sidewalls can lead to a slight lack of initial steering precision and a vague feel at the limit for hardcore enthusiasts
- Performance drops off significantly in cold, freezing, or snowy winter conditions
What real owners are saying
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Bridgestone Potenza S005
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
The community widely regards the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 line as a premium upgrade offering exceptional dry and wet grip, precise handling, and superior ride comfort compared to OEM or run-flat tires. While celebrated for performance, users frequently discuss its high price tag, faster treadwear, and noticeable drop in EV efficiency. Some drivers also note increased road noise and reduced traction when temperatures drop near freezing.
“So I went through my front two Bridgestones in 8000 mile - my own fault really. Anyway I've had Michelin PS4's fitted on the front since that's what 90% of people say to get. Well... They are sh*t in my opinion. I'm running 38psi in the front, so I'm open to trying different pressures if anyone else runs anything else. Twice under heavy breaking the car has completely lost traction - this NEVER happened with the same amount of speed and breaking on the Bridgestones. Three times when throwing the car into a hard corner the tyres have felt like they were skidding or possibly folding which resulted into a late grip which then whipped the car. Maybe I just need to get used to them but I've not noticed too much of an improvement in a straight line and breaking and cornering on them has been shocking. The cornering just seems awful, I've lost so much confidence driving the car now. I had the Eibach Sportline springs fitted just before I changed the tyres and the handling went through the roof, now all that seems to of gone... Any thoughts? Pressures? Do the tyres just not fit how I drive?”
“Wow! You burn rubber. I totally appreciate what you’ve said and on my old e60 I ran both contis D06 and Michelins ps4 for 3 sets each. Both different feel and wear. Contis lasted longer but didn’t feel as nice as PS4. Now I’m in another BMW and cannot rotate the same way with a staggered wheel size. I’m in NC, when I drove PS4, in cold weather, they wore out quickly. They are a summer tire for sure, but I will use a slightly higher pressure to lengthen service life. That camber is rough on the inner tire shoulder / tread and the all season contains held up better there.”
“I was running pilot sport 4s on my MS. (19” wheels) I was lucky to get 13,000-14,000. I just switched to Kumho Majesty 9’s for about 1/3 the price. Currently have 4,000 miles on them and just to rotated. Fingers crossed I can get 13,000 miles out of them.”
Based on 246 community posts
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Bridgestone Potenza S005 | B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 6 | 62 |
| Rim diameters | 18″ – 20″ | 16″ – 20″ |
| Sizes in common | 5 | 5 |
Which one should you actually buy?
Bridgestone Potenza S005
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — better handling, comfort and treadwear. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 81 vs 48 on handling.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 77 vs 45 on comfort.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 71 vs 39 on treadwear.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 90 vs 61 on wet.
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Potenza S005 or Pilot Sport 4?
Which is better in the wet, Potenza S005 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 90 vs 61 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, Potenza S005 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 87 vs 62 on our dry score.
Which is more comfortable, Potenza S005 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 77 vs 45 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, Potenza S005 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 71 vs 39 on our treadwear score.
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.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology