Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 1 + 3 road tests and 1,506 + 3,484 owner reviews. How we score
Pilot Super Sport is ahead, 78–65
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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.”
Tests 74 · 3 tests Owners 48 · 3,484 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2019 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test (dry handling)
“New rubber for the road wheels Pirelli P-Zero RS TLR 30mm, measuring 33mm on 25mm inner rim width. Rides like a dream, but the center thread is narrow, so I'd not feel confident if I raced anything with tighter cornering.”
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 3 tests | 77 | 80 |
| Reviews found online | 90 | 62 |
Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 77.4 + 40% × 90.3 = 83
P Zero: 60% × 79.6 + 40% × 61.9 = 73
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 3 tests | 73 | 81 |
| Reviews found online | 84 | 55 |
Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 73.1 + 40% × 83.9 = 77
P Zero: 60% × 81.5 + 40% × 55.4 = 71
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | ≈ 58 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | – | 37 |
P Zero: 60% × 58.2 (est.) + 40% × 37.1 = 50
No road tests of snow for P Zero. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.37).
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | ≈ 71 (est.) | 70 |
| Reviews found online | 77 | 47 |
Pilot Super Sport: 40% × 70.5 (est.) + 60% × 76.9 = 74
P Zero: 40% × 69.8 + 60% × 47.1 = 56
No road tests of comfort for Pilot Super Sport. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | – | 61 |
| Reviews found online | – | 54 |
P Zero: 60% × 60.7 + 40% × 53.6 = 58
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | ≈ 68 (est.) | 65 |
| Reviews found online | 73 | 28 |
Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 68.4 (est.) + 40% × 72.7 = 70
P Zero: 60% × 65.2 + 40% × 27.8 = 50
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 0.35).
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 83 | 57 |
| Source | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | – | 59 |
| Category | Michelin Pilot Super Sport | Pirelli P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 78 | 65 |
| Dry | 83 | 73 |
| Wet | 77 | 71 |
| Snow | – | 50 |
| Comfort | 74 | 56 |
| Noise | – | 58 |
| Treadwear | 70 | 50 |
| Handling (owners) | 83 | 57 |
| Efficiency | – | 59 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Pilot Super Sport
P Zero
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
In the overall rankings of 5 tests that ran both, Michelin Pilot Super Sport finished ahead 3 times and Pirelli P Zero 2 times.
| Discipline | Category | Pilot Super Sport | P Zero | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | Dry | 99% #2/9 · 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test | 92% #17/49 · 2020 Tyre Market Overview Braking Test | – | Different tests |
| Dry Handling | Dry | 100% #1/9 · 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test | 100% #1/20 · 2019 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test | – | Different tests |
| Wet Braking | Wet | 95% #5/9 · 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test | 83% #28/49 · 2020 Tyre Market Overview Braking Test | – | Different tests |
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #6/9 | #7/9 | – | 3–2 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2016 EVO Summer Performance Tyre Test · 235/35 R19 |
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
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.
“Had this on my E90, as well. Alignment was good, wheel balance on road force machine was good. Turned out i had over 0.250" of runout on both rear wheels. Took me two sets of 255/35/18 PSS's and me watching them balance the tires to figure it out... bought new wheels, never went to a Tirediscounters since.”
“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!”
“Pilot super sports. I had the Dunlop Star Specs, they where a excellent handling tire but lasted only 24K miles. Currently running the Pilot super sports, they are outstanding and I have 26K miles on them. They are the best tires for the G37 in my opinion.They look like they will go another 10K. Recently I ran a road corse for 30 miles following my friends Lambrogini Gilargo, speeds where 60-85 miles per hour and the turns sineage was 35- 45 mph. We where both able to run the 35 mph turns at 70mph and the 45mph turns at 85 mph. I used the paddle shifters in 3rd and 4th gears. With the suspension mods and the Michlien PSS on my G I was able the keep up with the Lambo, needless to say my friend who is an avid high performance driver was serouisly impressed with my Infiniti especially 50 K for the G vs 230K for the Lambo.”
Based on 364 community posts
Community opinions on the Pirelli P Zero tire line are divided depending on whether users are discussing the cycling tires or automotive variants. Cyclists generally praise the road and gravel options for speed, comfort, and grip, though some note they can be difficult to mount. Automotive users offer a more mixed review, praising the high-performance grip, responsive steering, and comfort of options like the P Zero AS Plus 3, while frequently criticizing summer and OE variants for rapid tread wear, wet weather traction issues, and susceptibility to sidewall bubbles.
“I switched my Z4C from Pirelli P Zero's to Asymmetric 3's, as I was fed up with the noise from the Pirelli's. I find the Asymmetric 3's much quieter, more comfortable and more predictable. The Pirelli's felt like they have more grip in ideal conditions, but got more easily caught out by damp, poor surfaces etc.”
“So many people seem to hate the p zero but I’ve got along with them so well, but yes they can go rock hard when they’re cold but once they’ve got some heat in them especially in the wet they grip so well for me. I have noticed though that anything below 4-5°c is when they become hard to keep heat in but once you work the tyre properly they’re brilliant. I have run them all winter on my 300bhp fwd car and can’t complain, I don’t get why no one likes them🤷♂️”
“I used to ride Conti since the GP4K and switched over to Pirelli when I had my new bike 3 years ago. The P-Zero Race was fine I guess but the P-Zero Race RS TLR were the worst. Nightmare to put on and wore out quite fast as well. Punctured the one in the back after 300km and couldn’t seal it. I’m back on the GP5k STR now with no issues or mounting problems. Probably gonna stick to them for some time longer”
Based on 284 community posts
| Attribute | A · Michelin Pilot Super Sport | B · Pirelli P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 50 | 194 |
| Rim diameters | 17″ – 23″ | 17″ – 24″ |
| Tread depth | — | 10/32″ |
| UTQG | — | 220 A A |
| Sidewall | — | Blackwall |
| Max pressure | — | 50 psi |
| Sizes in common | 43 | 43 |
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Pirelli P Zero
Winner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better handling, treadwear and comfort. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 83 vs 57 on handling.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 70 vs 50 on treadwear.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 74 vs 56 on comfort.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 83 vs 73 on dry.
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Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 77 vs 71 on our wet score.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 83 vs 73 on our dry score.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 74 vs 56 on our comfort score.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 70 vs 50 on our treadwear score.
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
