The same brand, the same type of tire but very different results.
It is no secret that tire companies and auto manufacturers spend a lot of time and money developing tires for specific models. This relationship may be thought to benefit only tire companies. However, tire companies love to secure lucrative supplier contracts. Jonathan Benson, Tyre Review wanted to find out if original equipment tires (OE) can also be beneficial for vehicle owners, particularly those who have high-performance vehicles in their garages.
The new BMW M3 is equipped with the beloved Michelin Pilot Sport 4S at each corner. However, it’s not the same tire that you can buy at your local store. Michelin spent two-and-a half years creating a special 4S for the M3. It’s made from four different compounds, has slightly wider tread grooves, is more rigid, and has a tweaked belting. You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference at first glance, but back-to-back laps on the same M3 show that there are significant differences.
The aftermarket Michelins are used for the evaluation on a dry track. Although it’s a very grippy tire, the test showed some vagueness at the limit. It created a slight imbalance between the front- and rear end of the car. In some cases, it caused minor understeer, especially at the mid-corner. Amazingly, almost all these complaints were eliminated by switching to the OE Pilot Sport 4S tire. The tires were more stable overall, the imbalance was gone, and there was no mid-corner understeer. Benson ran laps on the OE tires to put the final nail in the coffin.Two full seconds quicker.
Things were slightly different on a wet track. The balance was still there but the grip on a wet track wasn’t as good as the OE Michelins. The wet laps took two seconds longer, but Benson said that this was not due to the grip level. He felt the OE tires were still good but he had to experience a little more hydroplaning when he was in deeper, standing waters. He felt that the OE 4S would perform as well on a typical wet road as the aftermarket 4S.
What is the point of a specific tire brand on a specific model? Although this is a single test, it shows how tire development can make a significant difference in real life. The video describes 19 manufacturers that have OE tire development programs for 33 models. While auto gearheads love to modify their cars, those who truly want to get the best performance out of their ride will be happier if the manufacturer is in charge.