Tests – · none yet Owners 72 · 56 reviews
Head-to-head
Updated
Michelin Pilot Exalto vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.
Pilot Sport 4 S is ahead, 82–71
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Tests 81 · 27 tests Owners 82 · 6,601 reviews
“If you can burn through a set of rock hard Bridgestones in 8k miles then you must be driving like a nutter. Most will see 20k miles on the fronts. You also talk about "throwing" the car around. If you're flinging the car around, I think you'd find the car a lot more predictable on 4 tyres of the same type rather than those on the front axle being a lot gripper than those on the rear axle. I'd recommend 35psi fronts and 33psi backs, if you were running 4 x PS4s. Back end stability is a little way off the likes of a Golf GTI when you start flinging it around - rear axle grip for both wheels on a bend would be far better with multilink rear suspension (which the Polo doesn't have). I've momentarily lost the back end once when I had all Bridgestones on. My 2018 Polo GTI went tail happy doing some moderate acceleration out of a large roundabout (so large it was almost straight) when I had 4000.miles on - bone dry road on a warm day. In the outside lane, a Golf GTD gunned it at twice my rate of acceleration, with no drama. That was the incident that made me decide to ditch the Bridgestones for PS4s.”
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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71
Dry
Pilot Sport 4 S +2091Why this score
Source Pilot Exalto Pilot Sport 4 S Professional tests (TWG score) – 92 Reviews found online 73 89 -
73
Wet
Pilot Sport 4 S +1285Why this score
Source Pilot Exalto Pilot Sport 4 S Professional tests (TWG score) – 85 Reviews found online 74 85 -
69
Comfort
Pilot Sport 4 S +675Why this score
Source Pilot Exalto Pilot Sport 4 S Professional tests (TWG score) – 70 Reviews found online 69 81 -
–
Noise
No comparison69Why this score
Source Pilot Exalto Pilot Sport 4 S Professional tests (TWG score) – 71 -
68
Treadwear
Pilot Sport 4 S +371Why this score
Source Pilot Exalto Pilot Sport 4 S Professional tests (TWG score) – 70 Reviews found online 70 71 -
72
Handling
Pilot Sport 4 S +1486Why this score
Source Pilot Exalto Pilot Sport 4 S Reviews found online 72 86
Scores at a glance
| Category | Michelin Pilot Exalto | Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 71 | 82 |
| Dry | 71 | 91 |
| Wet | 73 | 85 |
| Comfort | 69 | 75 |
| Noise | – | 69 |
| Treadwear | 68 | 71 |
| Handling | 72 | 86 |
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
71
/ 100
Pilot Exalto
82
/ 100
Pilot Sport 4 S
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 Pilot Exalto
Pros
- Exceptional tread life and durability
- Strong, predictable grip in both wet and dry conditions
- Progressive handling characteristics near the limit
Cons
- High retail price point
- Softer sidewalls can lead to reduced steering feedback and responsiveness
- Increased road noise reported by some users
Tire B Pilot Sport 4 S
Pros
- Exceptional grip and predictable handling in both dry and wet conditions
- Noticeable reduction in road noise and improved ride comfort compared to competitors and run-flats
- Sharper steering response and improved cornering stability
Cons
- High initial purchase price
- Rapid tread wear reported by some aggressive drivers and track users
- Soft sidewalls can cause a slightly vague or laggy initial response during rapid steering transitions
What real owners are saying
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Tire A
Michelin Pilot Exalto
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Tire B
Positive
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
The community widely regards the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S as a benchmark max-performance summer tire, praising its outstanding dry and wet grip, stability, and daily driving refinement. Common criticisms focus on its premium price, rapid tread wear on high-powered heavy vehicles or hot track sessions, and significantly reduced grip in cold weather. Many enthusiasts consider it an ideal street tire, though some note softer sidewalls compared to predecessors or recommend dedicated track tires for hard circuit driving.
r/RZ34
·1 upvote ·2026-10-08
“I got 30k miles out of the pilot sport 4s and pilot sport all season 4. The cost difference was not too bad and the all season 4 grip almost as well and are rated to 11f vs 40f for the pilot sport 4s. And they all wore evenly. Upsizing definitely made it feel more planted 245 275.”
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/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. Read more”
Top themes
#Wet and dry grip#Track day durability#High price vs alternatives#Tread life and wear#Cold weather performance#Sidewall stiffness and comfort
Based on 208 community posts
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Michelin Pilot Exalto | B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | — | 110 |
| Rim diameters | — | 17″ – 22″ |
Which one should you actually buy?
71
/ 100
Michelin Pilot Exalto
82
/ 100
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S — better dry, handling and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Pick tire B
You want the most grip on dry roads
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 91 vs 71 on dry.
Pick tire B
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 86 vs 72 on handling.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 85 vs 73 on wet.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 75 vs 69 on comfort.
Tire A · Michelin Pilot Exalto
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
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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.