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Head-to-head Updated

Dunlop SP Sport 01 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 897 + 12,714 owner reviews. How we score

Pilot Sport 4 is ahead, 82–56

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Dunlop SP Sport 01
Tire ADunlop

SP Sport 01

Summer

± 8

Tests – · none yet Owners 49 · 897 reviews

Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Tire BMichelin

Pilot Sport 4

Summer

± 4

Tests 85 · 21 tests Owners 76 · 12,714 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.

  1. 57

    Dry

    Pilot Sport 4 +30
    87
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests≈ 61 (est.)89
    Reviews found online5184

    SP Sport 01: 60% × 61 (est.) + 40% × 51.1 = 57

    Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 89.3 + 40% × 83.9 = 87

    No road tests of dry for SP Sport 01. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 55

    Wet

    Pilot Sport 4 +34
    89
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests≈ 59 (est.)92
    Reviews found online5084

    SP Sport 01: 60% × 59.3 (est.) + 40% × 49.8 = 55

    Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 92.5 + 40% × 84.4 = 89

    No road tests of wet for SP Sport 01. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 49

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 59 (est.)–
    Reviews found online35–

    SP Sport 01: 60% × 59.1 (est.) + 40% × 34.5 = 49

    No road tests of snow for SP Sport 01. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 54

    Comfort

    Pilot Sport 4 +22
    76
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests≈ 64 (est.)82
    Reviews found online4772

    SP Sport 01: 40% × 64.2 (est.) + 60% × 46.6 = 54

    Pilot Sport 4: 40% × 81.6 + 60% × 71.7 = 76

    No road tests of comfort for SP Sport 01. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 61

    Noise

    Pilot Sport 4 +9
    70
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 13 tests≈ 66 (est.)73
    Reviews found online52≈ 66 (est.)

    SP Sport 01: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 52.4 = 61

    Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 73.2 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 70

    No road tests of noise for SP Sport 01. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

    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.

  6. 57

    Treadwear

    Pilot Sport 4 +14
    71
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 61 (est.)78
    Reviews found online5160

    SP Sport 01: 60% × 60.9 (est.) + 40% × 50.9 = 57

    Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 78.1 + 40% × 59.5 = 71

    No road tests of treadwear for SP Sport 01. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 53

    Handling (owners)

    Pilot Sport 4 +28
    81
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Reviews found online5381
  8. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    76
    Why this score
    SourceSP Sport 01Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 14 tests–76
Scores at a glance
CategoryDunlop SP Sport 01Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Relative Score 56 82
Dry 57 87
Wet 55 89
Snow 49 –
Comfort 54 76
Noise 61 70
Treadwear 57 71
Handling (owners) 53 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.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

SP Sport 01

± 4

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 SP Sport 01

Pros

  • Precise steering response and sharp turn-in
  • Good dry grip and cornering stability
  • Comfortable and relatively quiet ride when new

Cons

  • Noticeable increase in road noise and droning as the tire wears
  • Deteriorating wet weather traction and reduced grip once tread wears below 4mm
  • Rapid or uneven tread wear reported by some heavier vehicle owners
All owner themes in the SP Sport 01 review

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
All owner themes in the Pilot Sport 4 review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Dunlop SP Sport 01

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

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Positive

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.

r/JettaGLI ·59 upvotes ·2026-09-27

“Reminder: Tires are the key to this car Just replaced my Michelin Pilot Sport 4 AS tires with a new set ahead of the rainy season. Lasted 36K miles. It was the best mod to the car and a fresh set reminded just how good a brand new set is. The car is glued to the road, riding wonderfully smooth and quiet. Spend the money, get the best tires for you. The tune can wait. And it will need it.”
r/BoltEV ·5 upvotes ·2026-04-29

“Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires are noisy (a followup) I have been asked on this sub if the PS4 tires on my wife’s Bolt are noisy, and I wasn’t sure how to answer. Well, we made two 60-mile round trips this past weekend, mostly on highways with 55 and 70 mph speed limits, and I have to say that the tires are kind of noisy. Certainly not as quiet as EV-oriented tires are. The grip is fantastic, so we really like them. If you are sensitive to noise, though, these Max Performance class tires are probably not for you.”
f30.bimmerpost.com

“Quote: Originally Posted by weston.__ I will be going down the non-rft route, Pilot Sport 4. You're not the only one to say the ride quality with non-rft is a massive improvement and this is the reason why I will change once the time comes. I went from Bridgestone S001 RFT to 'go-flats' and have found the suppleness an obvious difference. Since I put the pressure to the mid point between the low and high load plated pressures I have yet to have any of the heartstopping thumps come through the suspension that the Bridgestone seemed prone to.”
Top themes
#Wet and dry grip#Run-flat replacement upgrade#Treadwear and longevity#Cold weather performance#Road noise and comfort#EV range and efficiency#Comparison to Continental tires

Based on 246 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Dunlop SP Sport 01 B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available262
Rim diameters17″ – 18″16″ – 20″
UTQG280 A A300 - 320 A - AA A
SidewallBlackwall—

Which one should you actually buy?

Dunlop SP Sport 01

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — better wet, dry and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 89 vs 55 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 87 vs 57 on dry.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 81 vs 53 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 76 vs 54 on comfort.

Tire A · Dunlop SP Sport 01
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Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4
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SP Sport 01 or Pilot Sport 4?

Which is better in the wet, SP Sport 01 or Pilot Sport 4?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 89 vs 55 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, SP Sport 01 or Pilot Sport 4?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 87 vs 57 on our dry score.

Which is quieter, SP Sport 01 or Pilot Sport 4?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 70 vs 61 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, SP Sport 01 or Pilot Sport 4?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 76 vs 54 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, SP Sport 01 or Pilot Sport 4?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 71 vs 57 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