Tires for Miata: PSS or S-04?

[FC]

Miata came with used Conti Extreme DW's or something like that. They have very decent tires. They are also oversized: instead of factory 205/45R17's they are 225/45R17's.

I've also driven the Miata a lot more than I thought I would - 15k miles in 3.5 years with probably 11-12k of those in the last two years.

Tires look like they have a bit of life left, well at least one pair does, but when taking them off prior to winter I noticed cracking along the tread channels and that displeases me.

It's probably time to get decent tires in the proper size. Note that I am driving this car more than initially thought ( >5k miles/year).

Options:

-PSS Safe choice. Great tire. "old" in the sense the PS4's have superseded them but not available in my size. $180 per tire
-S-04 Second choice. A value PSS sort off. Under $140 after rebate. A 6-yo article comparing it to PSS when it came out.
-RE71R (too aggressive/uncomfortable/bad wear) $170 per tire.
-S007A A new Potenza. Looks like it won't wear well but promises to be good. Normally I would not be an early adopter but it comes in at $136 a tire. A quick video from the Tire Rack.

Thoughts?

EDIT: Also, BJ's has the PSS for $180/tire and the S-04 for $149. That would save the shipping. It's $80 to install all four, that's par for the course.

EDIT #2: I just noticed that the PSS is 3 full bounds lighter. It's also 0.3" wider.

[equ]

Eliminate RE71 for the street. You drive in the wet Northeast?

PSS are good, but pricey. What about the ContiExtreme Contact Sport, follower of the DW for $133 each? Not sure a Miata "needs" the PSS to run around.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...um=045WR7ECSXL

[Alan]

Originally Posted by FC

EDIT #2: I just noticed that the PSS is 3 full bounds lighter. It's also 0.3" wider.

I was just about to say to check the weights, Bridgestones are on the heavier side ... Michelin as well as Conti's in general tend to be on the lighter side.

3 lbs per tire especially on a small engined car like the Miata can make a big difference.

I remember going through this back in the E46 days ...

[FC]

Originally Posted by equ

Eliminate RE71 for the street. You drive in the wet Northeast?

PSS are good, but pricey. What about the ContiExtreme Contact Sport, follower of the DW for $133 each? Not sure a Miata "needs" the PSS to run around.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...um=045WR7ECSXL

Yeah, I was not seriously considering the RE71R's.

I totally missed checking off Continental entirely. Thanks!

Yeah those look good and are a bunch cheaper.

Also, the conti's are a pound lighter but have 0.7" less track width. That seems like a lot on a 205 tire. That's a big price difference though. I may just go with the conti's.

[Josh (PA)]

I've run the contis for a while now and love their value to performance ratio. Quiet, good in the wet, a little bit squishy compared to Michelin but overall great.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

I've run the contis for a while now and love their value to performance ratio. Quiet, good in the wet, a little bit squishy compared to Michelin but overall great.

Addicted to the Michelin A/S 3+. Just put another set on my 2–after an unfortunate screw in a tire, and overall getting pretty worn...

[equ]

I liked the A/S 3+ for the 535i. I'm guessing he has snow/winter tires as he is coming from DW's. That's why I didn't suggest all-seasons or three-seasons.

[SCA]

I had the A/S 3+ installed on the ZHP last May. They made the car ride like a Mars Rover and were exceptionally loud. I gave them three weeks, put 1000+ miles on them and then used Michelin’s thirty day promise to ditch them. I end up upgrading to PS4S. It is a great tire and worth the premium.

[clyde]

I was really happy with Conti Extreme Contact Sports on the turbomaro.

13k mostly highway miles. Original tread depth was 10/32" and were down to 8/32" when I traded the tires/wheels. They are quiet, comfy, cheap-ish, responsive, great grip in the dry for real "street" tire, pretty amazing in the wet, blah, blah.

If there's a size that works, it would be what I'm comparing everything else against.

If money was no object, I'd get Michelin PS4S. They're basically everything I said about the Conti except an infinitesimally bit better, but not worth the price premium (last I was looking, $50-$150 more per tire depending on size, but tire pricing has gone a little weird since the beginning of the year).

The one thing both of those tires have going against them is their tread pattern is straight up boring. The science for wet traction has gravitated to a few wideish void area channels and away from the funky looking curved and diagonal siping to the sides that gave a lot of tires an aggressive looking tread. Combined with compound advancements, some really pedestrian and boring looking tires are really fucking good.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by equ

I liked the A/S 3+ for the 535i. I'm guessing he has snow/winter tires as he is coming from DW's. That's why I didn't suggest all-seasons or three-seasons.

Yep. Just done with the switching. Until I have some sort of beater SUV/wagon thing. And even then, I’m not sure it would be worth it for the way I drive and the lack of true winter weather here.