Tests – · none yet Owners 61 · 22 reviews
Dunlop Direzza DZ102 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 22 + 12,721 owner reviews. How we score
Pilot Sport 4 is ahead, 83–64
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Tests 85 · 21 tests Owners 76 · 12,721 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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65
Dry
Pilot Sport 4 +2287Why this score
Source Direzza DZ102 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests ≈ 66 (est.) 89 Reviews found online 63 84 Direzza DZ102: 60% × 66 (est.) + 40% × 63.3 = 65
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 89.3 + 40% × 83.9 = 87
No road tests of dry for Direzza DZ102. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
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67
Wet
Pilot Sport 4 +2289Why this score
Source Direzza DZ102 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests ≈ 68 (est.) 93 Reviews found online 66 85 Direzza DZ102: 60% × 68 (est.) + 40% × 65.8 = 67
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 92.5 + 40% × 84.5 = 89
No road tests of wet for Direzza DZ102. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
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61
Comfort
Pilot Sport 4 +1576Why this score
Source Direzza DZ102 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests ≈ 66 (est.) 82 Reviews found online 58 72 Direzza DZ102: 40% × 66.5 (est.) + 60% × 57.7 = 61
Pilot Sport 4: 40% × 81.5 + 60% × 71.7 = 76
No road tests of comfort for Direzza DZ102. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.21).
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–
Noise
No comparison70Why this score
Source Direzza DZ102 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 13 tests – 73 Reviews found online – ≈ 66 (est.) Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 73.1 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 70
No owner ratings of noise for Pilot Sport 4. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
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60
Treadwear
Pilot Sport 4 +1171Why this score
Source Direzza DZ102 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests ≈ 63 (est.) 78 Reviews found online 56 60 Direzza DZ102: 60% × 62.8 (est.) + 40% × 56.1 = 60
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 78.1 + 40% × 59.5 = 71
No road tests of treadwear for Direzza DZ102. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
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61
Handling (owners)
Pilot Sport 4 +2081Why this score
Source Direzza DZ102 Pilot Sport 4 Reviews found online 61 81 -
–
Efficiency
No comparison76Why this score
Source Direzza DZ102 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 14 tests – 76
Scores at a glance
| Category | Dunlop Direzza DZ102 | Michelin Pilot Sport 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 64 | 83 |
| Dry | 65 | 87 |
| Wet | 67 | 89 |
| Comfort | 61 | 76 |
| Noise | – | 70 |
| Treadwear | 60 | 71 |
| Handling (owners) | 61 | 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.
Direzza DZ102
Pilot Sport 4
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
The professional test results behind the scores
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
| Discipline | Category | Direzza DZ102 | Pilot Sport 4 | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #7/8 2015 Australian Motor 235/35 R19 Tyre Test | #7/9 2022 AUTO Straßenverkehr Summer Tire Test R19 | – | Different tests |
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A Direzza DZ102
Pros
- Excellent price-to-performance ratio
- Strong dry pavement grip and cornering stability
- Surprisingly high levels of ride comfort for a performance tire
Cons
- Rapid or inconsistent tread wear
- Inconsistent wet weather performance and hydroplaning resistance
- Increased road noise as the tire ages
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
Dunlop Direzza DZ102
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.
“I just installed A/S PS4 from Michelin on my BRZ recently & man they are so nice. How quiet it is, is wow, night and day. They handle quite nice except when it's still cold (sub 40F) on highway, traction control triggers but it may bc I'm lowered and yet to do my alignment. I don't know compared to stock, I was on Falken prior. I am using different tire set-up then stock however. I have 245/35 at the front and 265/35 in rear. My only regret is not going up to 40 on the sidewall for more meat. This is on 18" wheels.”
“Have you checked to see if your wheels would accommodate a 215 tyre? Might be worth investigating. Other than that, Goodyear Eagle f1 asymmetric I would say have just as good dry performance as a PS4. They're minutely less grippy in the wet, but not noticeably so. They're also a lot quieter and a lot cheaper. I've run both PS4 and the Eagles on track, and now the Eagles are my go-to.”
“Switched from the garbage stock Potenza's to Continental DWS06 a week after grabbing my Z. Absolutely fucking worth it. I got Swift R lowering springs installed and that also made a great improvement. Z feels much more confidant and way more composed on my twisty roads and roundabouts My ND Miata also came with the same Potenza's and I went with the Michelin PS4's. Transformed the handling as well”
Based on 246 community posts
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Dunlop Direzza DZ102 | B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | — | 62 |
| Rim diameters | — | 16″ – 20″ |
| UTQG | 460 A A | 300 - 320 A - AA A |
Which one should you actually buy?
Dunlop Direzza DZ102
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — better dry, wet and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 87 vs 65 on dry.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 89 vs 67 on wet.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 81 vs 61 on handling.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 76 vs 61 on comfort.
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Direzza DZ102 or Pilot Sport 4?
Which is better in the wet, Direzza DZ102 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 89 vs 67 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, Direzza DZ102 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 87 vs 65 on our dry score.
Which is more comfortable, Direzza DZ102 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 76 vs 61 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, Direzza DZ102 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 71 vs 60 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