Tire: Pilot Sport A/S 3
Category: Ultra High Performance All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 500 AA A
The Pilot Sport A/S 3 is one of the few ultra high performance all season tires developed by Michelin and in the Pilot family of tires. Honestly, the Pilot family is pretty darn big with probably two dozen or so tires, but in this case, the Sport A/S 3 is one of the better, four season performance oriented tires that is available in low profile sizes. While these won't performance exactly as well as summer ultra high performance tires, they are a great option if you live in a part of the world where you see snow and freezing temperatures. This is an advanced tire, using Michelin's own Helio compound that uses sunflower oil along with Extreme Silica Technology. These two compounds combined help the tire grip in cold weather, and on wet roads. The rigid blocks on the flanks help with lateral grip and the Variable Contact Patch 2.0 technology helps the tire contact patch hit the road evenly.
With all that advanced technology, it should come as no real surprise that this tire is well liked. I would place it in the top five for this performance category without question. I've had a lot of drivers comment on how this tire is much more quiet than others in the category and even offers a slightly more comfortable ride (keep in mind, we're talking about performance tires here, nothing is that comfortable!). Given that these tires were only released in the summer of 2013, it's a little early in the game for us to establish how long these tires will last. They do have a good treadwear rating of 500, but sometimes those don't necessarily play out that way in the real world. We'll update this review as drivers come back to figure out longevity.
