Head-to-head Updated

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport — 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 + 1 road tests and 10 + 1,506 owner reviews. How we score

Pilot Super Sport is ahead, 77–67

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Michelin Pilot Sport 3
Tire AMichelin

Pilot Sport 3

Summer tire

± 8Provisional

Tests – · none yet Owners 64 · 10 reviews

Michelin Pilot Super Sport
± 6

Tests 75 · 1 test Owners 82 · 1,506 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 9 in 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test (dry handling)

“Damn. 295s on Style 359Ms? That's pushing it a bit, isn't it? I so desperately wish Michelin would make a 285/30 PSS. I'm running 275/35s now, and while I like the extra rubber on the road, I don't like the increased sidewall height over the OEM 265/35.”

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 Super Sport +14
    82
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 3Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 68 (est.)77
    Reviews found online6890

    Pilot Sport 3: 60% × 68 (est.) + 40% × 68.1 = 68

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 77.5 + 40% × 89.7 = 82

    No road tests of dry for Pilot Sport 3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 70

    Wet

    Pilot Super Sport +7
    77
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 3Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 70 (est.)73
    Reviews found online7084

    Pilot Sport 3: 60% × 70.2 (est.) + 40% × 69.7 = 70

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 73 + 40% × 83.7 = 77

    No road tests of wet for Pilot Sport 3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 62

    Comfort

    Pilot Super Sport +12
    74
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 3Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 70 (est.)
    Reviews found online5976

    Pilot Sport 3: 40% × 66.7 (est.) + 60% × 58.8 = 62

    Pilot Super Sport: 40% × 70.2 (est.) + 60% × 76.2 = 74

    No road tests of comfort for Pilot Sport 3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

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

  4. 60

    Treadwear

    Pilot Super Sport +10
    70
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 3Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 63 (est.)≈ 69 (est.)
    Reviews found online5673

    Pilot Sport 3: 60% × 62.9 (est.) + 40% × 56.4 = 60

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 68.8 (est.) + 40% × 72.7 = 70

    No road tests of treadwear for Pilot Sport 3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

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

  5. –

    Handling (owners)

    No comparison
    83
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Sport 3Pilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online–83
Scores at a glance
Michelin Pilot Sport 3 vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryMichelin Pilot Sport 3Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Relative Score 67 77
Dry 68 82
Wet 70 77
Comfort 62 74
Treadwear 60 70
Handling (owners) – 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 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
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less 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

Pilot Sport 3

± 6

Pilot Super Sport

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 Sport 3

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Tire B Pilot Super Sport

Pros

  • Phenomenal dry grip and cornering stability
  • Precise steering response and excellent road feedback
  • Better-than-expected tread wear and mileage for a performance tire

Cons

  • Reduced grip and traction in cold weather (below 15°C)
  • Mediocre performance and tendency to aquaplane when tread wears down in heavy rain
  • High price point compared to some alternatives
All owner themes in the Pilot Super Sport review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Michelin Pilot Sport 3

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

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Positive

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is widely praised by the community as a benchmark high-performance street tire offering outstanding dry grip, sharp cornering capability, and decent ride comfort for daily driving. Many drivers note that its successor, the Pilot Sport 4S, improves upon it—especially in cold and wet conditions—while several users highlight downsides such as poor winter/snow capability, premium pricing, and eventual rubber degradation or tread cracking as the tires age.

corvetteforum.com

“Our 2017 Z51 has about 18k miles on the AS3+ ZP, and 10k miles on the factory PSS ZP, we switch out every Fall/Spring with a second set of wheels/sensors. I've done hours of really hard driving on back roads in Texas and New Mexico with the AS3+, if you need the little extra grip of the PSS on public roads, you're driving like an idiot. I only keep the PSS because I do some autocrossing each summer and small increases in grip can be the difference between good times and mediocre times. Also, the PSS will stand up to the heat of competition driving better, but that shouldn't be an issue on the street. The PSS cost about 10% less and last about 50% longer, so your tire-cost-per-mile gets cut in half. Below about 50'-60', the AS3+ grip as well or better. I just tested them in 3 1/2" of snow on my driveway, worked pretty well. The AS3+ should be the standard factory tire, with the PSS only as an option.”

z4-forum.com ·2013-10-18

“I use mine all year round, and it's only in snow that they come unstuck - although I've never actually been driving in enough snow to need to break out my sno-socks. I've done wet 'Ring laps on mine, below zero Welsh hoons etc. They take about 10 miles to warm up enough to push on, but you probably shouldn't be pushing on in the first 10 minutes of a sub-zero day anyway!”

r/GolfGTI ·3 upvotes ·2018-03-23

“12k on two consecutive sets of PSS. Stage 2 MK6 (285whp/325wtq), drive fairly aggressively, an odd track day or two here and there, full suspension but run aggressive alignment settings. No abnormaly quick wear in any one spot, they just look like racing slicks when I’m done. If you can afford it, they are well worth the $$. Other tires may come close in performance, but for daily use, can’t beat the comfort of the PSS”

Top themes
#Dry grip and cornering#Comparison to PS4S#Poor snow performance#Tread life and wear#High purchase price#Age and cracking issues#Daily driving comfort

Based on 364 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Michelin Pilot Sport 3 B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
CategorySummer tireSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available1050
Rim diameters15″ – 19″17″ – 23″
UTQG320 AA A300 AA A
Sizes in common33

Which one should you actually buy?

Michelin Pilot Sport 3

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Winner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better dry, comfort and treadwear. It leads or ties in every category we score. Michelin Pilot Sport 3 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 Super Sport scores 82 vs 68 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 74 vs 62 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 70 vs 60 on treadwear.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 77 vs 70 on wet.

Tire A · Michelin Pilot Sport 3
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport

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Pilot Sport 3 or Pilot Super Sport?

Which is better in the wet, Pilot Sport 3 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 77 vs 70 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Pilot Sport 3 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 82 vs 68 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Pilot Sport 3 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 74 vs 62 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Pilot Sport 3 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 70 vs 60 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