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Head-to-head Updated

Kumho Ecsta PA51 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4 — Compared

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

Pilot Sport 4 is ahead, 80–68

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Tire AKumho

Ecsta PA51

All Season

Tests – · 1 test Owners 67 · 165 reviews

Best test result: #7 of 19 in 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires (overall ranking)

Tire BMichelin

Pilot Sport 4

Summer

Tests 84 · 21 tests Owners 75 · 12,676 reviews

Best test result: #5 of 9 in 2021 EVO Summer Tyre Test (overall ranking)

“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.”

Category by category

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

  1. 68

    Dry

    Pilot Sport 4 +17
    85
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–87
    Reviews found online6881
  2. 68

    Wet

    Pilot Sport 4 +19
    87
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–90
    Reviews found online6881
  3. 62

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4
    Reviews found online57–
  4. 66

    Comfort

    Pilot Sport 4 +12
    78
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–83
    Reviews found online6371
  5. 69

    Noise

    Pilot Sport 4 +5
    74
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)–76
    Reviews found online7272
  6. 71

    Treadwear

    Ecsta PA51 +1
    70
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)7076
    Reviews found online7261
  7. 66

    Handling

    Pilot Sport 4 +12
    78
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4
    Reviews found online6678
Scores at a glance
CategoryKumho Ecsta PA51Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Relative Score 68 80
Dry 68 85
Wet 68 87
Snow 62 –
Comfort 66 78
Noise 69 74
Treadwear 71 70
Handling 66 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 and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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

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Recomputed
Headline score

Ecsta PA51

Pilot Sport 4

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.

DisciplineCategoryEcsta PA51Pilot Sport 4ΔBoth?
Overall Ranking Overall 67% #7/19 · 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires 20% #5/9 · 2021 EVO Summer Tyre Test +46.7 Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Ecsta PA51

Pros

  • Excellent price-to-performance ratio
  • Strong dry pavement traction and cornering grip
  • Quiet and smooth ride quality

Cons

  • Inconsistent performance in heavy rain or standing water
  • Some reports of increased road noise over time
  • Limited availability in certain niche sizes
All owner themes in the Ecsta PA51 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

Kumho Ecsta PA51

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

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

Positive

Community opinion on the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (and PS4S) is overwhelmingly positive, with users frequently praising the massive grip, excellent steering feel, and dramatic improvements in ride quality compared to OEM run-flats. While some note that they wear out relatively quickly and can be noisy on highways or sensitive to cold temperatures (below 40°F), they are widely considered a top-tier performance tire for both daily driving and spirited use.

r/Audi ·1 upvote ·2026-07-09

“If you have summer performance tires like the PS4s you 1000% require snow tires! I have a 2016 A6 with PS4s and they lose all traction under 5ish degrees Celsius. Snow tires are a must for northerners like us (from a Canadian)”
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.”
r/WRXSTi ·149 upvotes ·2025-07-09

“New tires Pilot Sport 4s got some new Pilot Sport 4s in 245/40/18. way different to my yokohama advan AS+. a lot more grip, obviously. very minimal to no sidewall flex. very good tires. i had pilot sport 3's on my 2013 hatchback wrx back in the day. feels good to get back on some good tires again.”
Top themes
#Exceptional grip and handling#Ride quality and noise#Tread life and wear#Cold weather limitations#PS4 vs PS4S comparison#Run-flat replacement upgrade

Based on 122 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Kumho Ecsta PA51 B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4
CategoryAll SeasonSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available1362
Rim diameters16″ – 19″16″ – 20″
Tread depth10.5/32″—
UTQG500 A A—
Treadwear warranty45,000 mi—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Kumho Ecsta PA51

Michelin Pilot Sport 4

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

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 87 vs 68 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 85 vs 68 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 78 vs 66 on comfort.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 scores 78 vs 66 on handling.

Tire A · Kumho Ecsta PA51
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Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4
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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.

80

Leads

Pilot Sport 4

Amazon