Tests – · none yet Owners 67 · 10 reviews
Falken FK451 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.
Head-to-head
Updated
Falken FK451 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. Based on 0 + 21 road tests and 10 + 12,691 owner reviews. How we score
Pilot Sport 4 is ahead, 82–68
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Tests 84 · 21 tests Owners 74 · 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.
-
66
Dry
Pilot Sport 4 +2086Why this score
Source FK451 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests ≈ 67 (est.) 89 Reviews found online 65 81 FK451: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 64.9 = 66
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 88.5 + 40% × 81.1 = 86
No road tests of dry for FK451. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).
-
70
Wet
Pilot Sport 4 +1787Why this score
Source FK451 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests ≈ 70 (est.) 92 Reviews found online 70 81 FK451: 60% × 70 (est.) + 40% × 70.2 = 70
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 91.5 + 40% × 80.5 = 87
No road tests of wet for FK451. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).
-
68
Comfort
Pilot Sport 4 +1078Why this score
Source FK451 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests ≈ 69 (est.) 83 Reviews found online 67 71 FK451: 60% × 68.8 (est.) + 40% × 67.4 = 68
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 83.2 + 40% × 71.3 = 78
No road tests of comfort for FK451. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
–
Noise
No comparison73Why this score
Source FK451 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 13 tests – 73 Reviews found online – 73 Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 73.2 + 40% × 72.8 = 73
-
67
Treadwear
Pilot Sport 4 +370Why this score
Source FK451 Pilot Sport 4 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests ≈ 66 (est.) 76 Reviews found online 68 61 FK451: 60% × 66.2 (est.) + 40% × 67.5 = 67
Pilot Sport 4: 60% × 76.3 + 40% × 61 = 70
No road tests of treadwear for FK451. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).
-
65
Handling (owners)
Pilot Sport 4 +1378Why this score
Source FK451 Pilot Sport 4 Reviews found online 65 78
Scores at a glance
| Category | Falken FK451 | Michelin Pilot Sport 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 68 | 82 |
| Dry | 66 | 86 |
| Wet | 70 | 87 |
| Comfort | 68 | 78 |
| Noise | – | 73 |
| Treadwear | 67 | 70 |
| Handling (owners) | 65 | 78 |
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
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score
68
/ 100
FK451
82
/ 100
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 FK451
Pros
- Exceptional price-to-performance ratio
- Strong wet and dry traction
- Excellent tread life and durability
Cons
- Potential for rubber cracking between treads over long-term storage or extended age
- Some users report a slightly less 'alive' or communicative steering feel compared to premium performance tires
- Availability concerns as it is an older model often superseded by newer iterations
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
Tire A
Falken FK451
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Tire B
Positive
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.
r/CarTrackDays
·1 upvote ·2020-07-03
“The Pilot Sport 4's are great tires for dual duty use. You'll want to keep hot pressures below 37-38 PSI. Anything above that they get very greasy, very fast. In the cars I've driven with them (a few BMW M cars, a 911 I think if I remember), you'll usually set your best laps in the first 4-5 laps of a session depending on temps. Once they over heat heat, as with any street tire, you have to park them for an hour to get the temps down again (downside to steel radials). I'd also recommend Hankook RS4s if you want a more durable track tire. That's what I run. Very long lasting, but not as great in the wet as the PS4s would be. Road noise would also be an issue for street use.”
r/tires
·2 upvotes ·2026-07-28
“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.”
camaro6.com
“Stock run flats are stiff ,went 555g2 in 285/30/20 & 305/30/20 on mrrs for 1,200 miles on recommendation of friend with a gen 5. I thought they were noisy & less grip & little rough, tire shop bought them back as take offs. After researching between ps4 & cont. extreme contact sports, went with continental and love them. A friend went with the ps4 and they are pretty equal in ride comfort,grip and noise. All personal preference, but Id go continental or ps4.”
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 · Falken FK451 | B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | — | 62 |
| Rim diameters | — | 16″ – 20″ |
Which one should you actually buy?
68
/ 100
Falken FK451
82
/ 100
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — better dry, wet and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score. Falken FK451 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 10 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire B
You want the most grip on dry roads
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 86 vs 66 on dry.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 87 vs 70 on wet.
Pick tire B
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 78 vs 65 on handling.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 78 vs 68 on comfort.
Tire A · Falken FK451
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4
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FK451 or Pilot Sport 4?
Which is better in the wet, FK451 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 87 vs 70 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, FK451 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 86 vs 66 on our dry score.
Which is more comfortable, FK451 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 78 vs 68 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, FK451 or Pilot Sport 4?
Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 70 vs 67 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