Dif

Put on a set of new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP tires today.
Had them mounted on my spare set of OEM Gumby wheels.
Unlike most reviews I've read which have been positive except a few, I didn't notice the improvement right away and think I need more driving time to see a real difference.
With 13,000 miles on the OEM GY GS-2 tires, also on OEM Gumby wheels, they still look new.
No sign of wear at all and flat across the width of all 4 tires.
Car drove straight, no wandering and yes, they make noise on certain road surfaces.
But really had no big complaints.
I measured the Michelins to be 1/2" bigger dia. than the GY's.
Once the Michelins where on the car ... set tire pressures and TPMS's, and took it for a spin
Initial impression:
Maybe I was trying too hard to see if they were quieter and rode better
Anyway, they seemed noisier and seemed to ride rougher but, only drove about 15 miles.
Got home and let the car sit for 4 hours.
Then checked tire pressures and for some reason they were higher than they should have been even though the tires were cold.
Adjusted the pressure again and this time took it out for a 50 mile ride.
Noticeable improvement this time and also realized they make a different noise compared to the GY's which I think threw me off the first time out.
As far as being quieter or not, this time I did notice they were quieter, although not like night and day.
Ride was a lot better and mostly noticeable on the highway when hitting the bridge expansions or anything similar in the road surface.
Instead of getting a bang like with the GY's, there was just a quick quiet thump from the Michelins.
I'd say there's an overall improvement with the Michelins and think with more miles it will be more noticeable.
Of course, maybe it's just me, but I'll post back after I put more miles on to really see any difference there is, ... or not

chiefzusaf

great review...thanks

drclaw

Thanks for this--the A/S + ZP is the most likely candidate, and I've been wondering if the A/S performance is really better than the GY F1 SCs.

mlsins

I put on a set of these same tires about a month ago. For me it was a night and day experience as I had driven the GY's down to the cord so they were riding really bad. My experience has been a lot like yours. They are quieter and much smoother. I agree with your statement about hitting spots in the road that would have been a pretty big jolt are now just a small bump. I'm very happy with them!!!

phileaglesfan

To be honest I didn't notice much of a difference on my 08 when I switched to the A/S ZP. And my Goodyears were worn (26k miles). They were slightly quieter and I really didn't notice a big ride difference with the exception I did not like the F55 in tour mode with the A/S ZPs. It was just too "floaty" for a sports car, closer to a Caddy if that is what you really want.

One thing I noticed was my gas mileage dropped 2 mpg. My 08 was getting around 26-27 on a cruise while my friends in their C6 was getting 28-30. We were all pretty much even before.

Another thing was dry weather grip. A/S tires are at their best between 30-60 degrees. Anything outside that range they get outclassed by a pure summer or pure winter tire real quick.

I recommend finding someone that does have A/S ZP tires before you pull the trigger on them and if you pull over .85g or so then I would not buy them. Cruising all day? This is your tire.

BigJoe

I've had a set on my 2005 for about 16000 miles. Even though they had a 45000 mile warranty when I bought them (I see they are down to 30000 now). My fronts are shot but the rears might make it to 30k for sure. But, even with the fronts down to the wear marks I still think they are quieter and better feeling than the OEM Goodyears. If I had to do it again I'd buy the same tires.

Maybe by the time my new GS needs tires they will make the P/S A/S in GS sizes...

richp5

Thanks for the review. I will be purchasing tires in the next couple of weeks with a cross country road trip including Route 66 on the return later in the summer and have narrowed it down to these and the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP. I was curious why same size tires have different MPG figures. I was leaning towards the A/S tires for the extended wear but as I drive in warm weather and you feel these tires don't handle that well in higher temps/others have less than favorable tread wear perhaps I should go with the PS2.

Additional feedback is always appreciated.

Mike's LS3

At 16k I replaced the Supercar G.Y. gen I with Michelin PS2 ZP's (not A/S) night and day difference. Then replaced the ZP's at 30k miles with another set of PS2 ZP's (non a/s) tires. I could of driven several thousand more miles but the alignment was off on one tire effecting wear. I am very happy with the performance, ride and milage with the ZP's.

Dif

As others have said and many would agree. ..
The A/S + ZP tires will not provide the same "high end" Performance as strictly Summer tires.
I personally wasn't expecting them to, but, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP are still rated Ultra High Performance tires.
It's just that they're still "All-Season" tires and can't be expected to match the grip and performance.
As an example:
GY F1 tire have a 200 wear rating
GY GS-2 tires like I had been running have a 300 wear rating.
Mich A/S + ZP tires have a wear rating 500
higher the number = harder the tire = longer wear but = less Max grip
Myself, I'll never reach a point on the street where I'll notice the difference.
At least not enough to feel the need to go back to strictly Summer tires.

I can see where you would notice a difference right away
It took me a bit to notice since my GY were not worn.

you summed it up very nicely.
Especially being in Tour mod since I have F55 also.

Just got back from putting over 100 miles on today to really test the ride and handling for the way I drive.
And even though I also have Z51 sway bars installed, I do notice that in Tour mod, the car has become Slightly more cushy you might say, more so than it was with the GY's.
I actually ended up driving most of the time today in Sport Mode and found it to be the biggest improvement over all,.. switching to the Michelin's.
I forgot to mention this before and IMO, I think the Michelin's being 1 pound heavier ( each ) than my GY's contribute to that to some extent.

I will say I "now" see/feel the improved noise level and better ride after this last extended drive.
I notice a slight improvement in the noise level on road surfaces that simply make any tire generate excess noise.
As for the "Ride" itself, I find it is better and I do like the difference.
As far as "Handling" I find the Michelin A/S very comparable and do not notice any less grip than my GY GS-2 Summer tires.
But, ..
that is Strictly related to how hard I "Personally" push the car in corners/exits etc. on the street.

I do agree with you and will also emphasize, most Summer tires will outperform the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP tires when the limit of the grip of the tires becomes a factor
I certainly would not Track my car with the A/S tires

I would second what you said, ... anyone interested in the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP tires should first, consider exactly what they want and are expecting from their tires before getting them.
High end performance or, everyday, all around driving performance and ride.

Bottom line for me is, the car still rides and handles like a Sports car and not a passenger Sedan
But with the addition of the Michelin A/S tires, they have taken some of the edge off the ride without sacrificing the total experience of driving these fine cars

phileaglesfan

Just remember wear ratings are pretty much useless especially between brands.

laconiajack

I agree. If you are into cruising all day, and don't want to change tires to maximize summer, dry, smooth road performance, or to attack snow drifts, this is the tire for you, unless you want to experience high speed blowouts, or flat tires in very unfriendly neighborhoods. By the way, summer performance tire wear makes gasoline consumption look really cheap.

HOXXOH

The original GY tires had pretty good traction up to somewhere around 20K miles. I changed to Invos at 34K and the traction returned. About 33K later I repeated the Invos for a while. I put a set of Mich A/S ZP on some other C6 wheels and drove for several thousand (~10K) miles. Now I'm back to the Invos.

I feel the wet traction was close to equal with all 3 brands. The dry traction was good initially with the GY, but faded around mid-life. The Invos provided good traction throughout their life. The A/S ZP had substantially less traction, but the wear was much less.

I don't drive real hard, so I'm not needing a soft ultra-grip tire. But I do drive hard enough to notice the difference in the A/S tires. For me, the traction is more important than longevity.

Flat tires or high-speed blowouts don't scare me. I've had several of each over the years. Finding a place to repair/replace a RF is a bigger concern.

Tire choices should fit your comfort zone first, your driving style second, and your budget last. If you can't afford it, then one of the other things must change.

Dif

I wouldn't say they don't handle well in higher temperatures
More that they won't handle as well as purely Summer tires.

I could have explained it better and was using the wear rating more as a reference to tire softness in relation to how much grip a softer tire offers

great review and comparison of the 3 brands of tires

ROD BROWN

I live near a tire company where I buy all of my tires.The owner told me Michelin is only producing SP/2 tires in certain sizes.Most of the sizes are being phased out and they are being replaced by another tire.It is taking the place of the SP/2.Unfortunately,I forgot the name of the new replacement. Rod

RJRSW

Just wait till you get caught in a huge downpour at highway speeds and you will find that the Michelin AS plus ZP's are amazing and so superior to the GY's you will not believe it. I was returning to Tucson from Vegas a couple of years ago and got caught in heavy rain for over 100 miles at freeway speeds and the car was rock solid with the Michelin's and the GY's were like being on ice.

Had them on the Vette convert I sold last summer and they were much quieter than the GY's plus with 25K miles on them they still looked like new. Only have 6k miles on my new convert but can hardly wait to when it is time to put the Michelin's on the new vette.

Seadawg

I loved the Michelin A/S ZP tires when I installed them on the 2008 C6 when I owned it.

The predictability for traction being similar for hot/cold/wet/dry was what I liked best about the tires.

BocaC6

One of the main reasons I picked then.

Put mine on last month and can't believe the difference. Very happy with the choice.

djust

Changed my OEM Tires out a couple of weeks ago on an 07 Z51 to Michelin AS and it was a night and day difference.
The F1's had about 22,000 and were screaming to be put out of misery.

BocaC6

If they were anything like mine, I think they were screaming to be put out of YOUR misery mine were shot after less than 10K

TBIRD57

it is like my c6 is a different car-even better!
now when it rains i don't care,when it is cold i don't care,when the road gets bumpy i don't car, if a nail punctures it i won't have to worry for awhile either!

the price was fair, no damage done to the chromes in the switch, had an alignment just in case, so now all i have to do is worry about other drivers.