Head-to-head Updated

Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance vs Michelin Pilot Sport 5 — Compared

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

Pilot Sport 5 is ahead, 85–68

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Tests – · none yet Owners 65 · 13 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 6 in 2012 Auto Bild Sports Winter Tyre Test (overall ranking)

Tire BMichelin

Pilot Sport 5

Summer

Tests 84 · 23 tests Owners 82 · 6,414 reviews

Best test result: #3 of 9 in 2023 ACE/ARBÖ/GTÜ 2023 Summer Tire Test R18 (overall ranking)

“Put some 235/45 R17 ps5’s on my 9-5 They fill up the arches quite nice!”

Category by category

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

  1. 67

    Dry

    Pilot Sport 5 +21
    88
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)–91
    Reviews found online6684
  2. 72

    Wet

    Pilot Sport 5 +18
    90
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)–92
    Reviews found online7387
  3. 59

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5
    Reviews found online51–
  4. 68

    Comfort

    Pilot Sport 5 +7
    75
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)–71
    Reviews found online6880
  5. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    45
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)–30
  6. 67

    Treadwear

    Pilot Sport 5 +15
    82
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)–87
    Reviews found online6975
  7. 65

    Handling

    Pilot Sport 5 +18
    83
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5
    Reviews found online6583
Scores at a glance
Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance vs Michelin Pilot Sport 5: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryGoodyear Ultra Grip 8 PerformanceMichelin Pilot Sport 5
Relative Score 68 85
Dry 67 88
Wet 72 90
Snow 59 –
Comfort 68 75
Noise – 45
Treadwear 67 82
Handling 65 83

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

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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Neutral
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Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

Less important
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Less important
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Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Ultra Grip 8 Performance

Pilot Sport 5

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

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategoryUltra Grip 8 PerformancePilot Sport 5ΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 100% #1/6 · 2012 Auto Bild Sports Winter Tyre Test 78% #3/9 · 2023 ACE/ARBÖ/GTÜ 2023 Summer Tire Test R18 +22.2 Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Ultra Grip 8 Performance

Pros

  • Exceptional wet weather performance and aquaplaning resistance
  • Low road noise levels compared to competitors
  • Strong dry road stability and handling

Cons

  • Inconsistent snow and ice traction reported by some users
  • Potential for grip degradation as the tire ages
  • Reports of increased fuel consumption
All owner themes in the Ultra Grip 8 Performance review

Tire B Pilot Sport 5

Pros

  • Outstanding wet and dry traction with high resistance to aquaplaning
  • Superior tread life and longevity compared to competitors and previous generations
  • Noticeable improvements in ride comfort and a quieter cabin over rough road surfaces

Cons

  • Softer sidewalls can lead to initial steering vagueness or understeer during hard cornering
  • Higher price point compared to some tier-one competitors
  • Performance and grip degrade significantly under intense track heat or heavy circuit use
All owner themes in the Pilot Sport 5 review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance

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

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Sport 5

Positive

Community opinion on the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 is overwhelmingly positive for daily street driving, praising its exceptional wet grip, tread longevity, and quiet comfort compared to run-flats and older performance tires. However, several enthusiasts note downsides for aggressive or track use, specifically citing softer sidewalls, muted steering feedback, and poor heat resistance leading to delamination under track conditions. Most drivers consider it an outstanding premium all-rounder for sporty street cars rather than a dedicated track or extreme-performance tire.

r/TyreReviews ·31 upvotes ·2026-04-26

“My 8-month experience with Michelin Pilot Sport 5 – honest thoughts after highway + city use Switched to Michelin Pilot Sport 5s about 8 months ago on my Hyundai Creta]and figured I'd share a proper update since I couldn't find many India-based long-term reviews when I was researching. Background: I drive a mix of Delhi–Gurugram highway stretches and stop-go city traffic. Previous tyres were Ceat tyres. Wet grip: This is where they genuinely shine. Monsoon season in NCR was the real test — braking distances felt noticeably shorter than my previous set, and I never had that nervous moment on waterlogged roads near Dhaula Kuan. Dry handling: Confident and predictable. Not much to complain about here. Cornering feel is crisp, especially at highway speeds. Ride comfort: Slightly firmer than my old tyres, which I expected given the performance focus. Not harsh — just different. Long highway runs are still comfortable. Noise: Quieter than I expected for a performance tyre. Road noise on concrete sections of NH-48 is very manageable. Fuel efficiency: Marginal difference — maybe 0.3–0.5 kmpl lower, hard to say definitively. Wear so far: Looking good at 8 months / ~7,000 km. No uneven wear patterns. Would I buy again? Probably yes, especially if wet weather safety matters to you. Price premium over budget options is real, but the wet grip gives peace of mind. Happy to answer any questions. Anyone else running Michelins in Indian conditions? Read more”

bobistheoilguy.com ·2026-03-08

“The Tire Rack no longer has the selection with the major name brands it once did. I can order the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 in 225/45R18 from Costco but the Tire Rack doesn't offer it in that size. I can order the Continental Sport Contact 7 at Discount Tire in 225/45R18 but not at the Tire Rack. When my wife and I had a Corolla Hybrid, it took a 195/65R15. Michelin quit offering the CC2 in that size so the next best all-weather tire at the time that fit was the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 750. The Tire Rack never offered that tire but Discount Tire had it in stock locally. None of the tires I mentioned are exclusive tires for certain retailers. I enjoy the Tire Rack website and the testing they do, but they are no longer the go to merchant when buying tires like they once was.”

r/tires ·8 upvotes ·2026-03-21

“Should I worry about this? Michelin pilot sport 5, 23k km (14.3k miles) doesn't seem to be that deep, not sure how it happened, looks like I hit a curb.”

Top themes
#wet grip performance#tread wear longevity#daily driving comfort#track heat delamination#soft sidewall steering feedback#road noise levels#comparison with ps4s

Based on 174 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance B · Michelin Pilot Sport 5
CategoryWinterSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available1466
Rim diameters16″ – 18″16″ – 22″
Tread depth10 - 11/32″—
SidewallRaised Black Lettering—
Max pressure50 - 51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance

Michelin Pilot Sport 5

Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 5 — better dry, wet and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 88 vs 67 on dry.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 90 vs 72 on wet.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 83 vs 65 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Sport 5 scores 82 vs 67 on treadwear.

Tire A · Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 5

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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.

85

Leads

Pilot Sport 5

Amazon