Michelin Summer vs. Michelin A/S

Hello everyone,

So I would like your opinions on which tire to put on my GTI. I have narrowed it down to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. I have heard nothing but excellent reviews for both. I would prefer to use summer tires, but as I am in Massachusetts for school during fall/spring I occasionally see below freezing temperatures.

So for those who drive summer tires year round, the internet makes it seem as though the summer tire is undriveable at any temperature below 36-40F. In your experience is this true? I expect a decrease in performance obviously, but is it a safety hazard to drive on summer tires below 36F or just not ideal? Would the summer tire be at a severe disadvantage compared to the all season in colder temperatures? Not snow. Just cold weather/roads.

My last question is tread wear. The 4S has a 30,000 mile warranty compared to the 45,000 mile warranty the A/S 3+ has. Has anyone actually gotten close to these numbers in the real world?

Thanks guys!

Not only do summer tires have no grip whatsoever in snow/ice but also what isn't discussed much is that the rubber hardens in freezing temps making them miserable to ride on until they get warm. Not only will they vibrate your kidneys they also will not perform well in any sort of emergency maneuver even on dry roads until warmed up which can be 5-10 miles. I've run summers in winter before. Once. Never again.

It depends on the fact that if you have space to maintain two sets of wheels and tires. As a matter of choice, a dedicated set of summer and winter tires is better. Driving a GTI with winter tires gave me a lot of confidence to use it regularly during MI winters with zero issues.

Attaching the link of recent discussion of using summer tires during spring and fall - https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46569

I'm in MA as well and run dedicated summer (Michelin PSS) and winter (Alpin PA4) sets. You can definitely get away with a good set of all seasons around here. I would not recommend using summer tires in cold temperatures.

Also depends on if you daily the car, what your performance objectives are, etc.

Winter is long and rough in Massachusetts. I wouldn’t be driving around with neither of the tires during the winter months.

kcny said:

Winter is long and rough in Massachusetts. I wouldn’t be driving around with neither of the tires during the winter months.

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I would be gone for most of the worst months so all of January and February. But I agree it does stay colder here for longer. This year will only be my second winter here.

tpellegr said:

I'm in MA as well and run dedicated summer (Michelin PSS) and winter (Alpin PA4) sets. You can definitely get away with a good set of all seasons around here. I would not recommend using summer tires in cold temperatures.

Also depends on if you daily the car, what your performance objectives are, etc.

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Yeah so far it seems like the A/S 3+s are going to be the better choice. I daily the car when I’m home (nicer weather) but when I am at school I usually only take it out on nice days on the weekends. I never drive the car in the snow so I am really not concerned about snow performance.

vj123 said:

It depends on the fact that if you have space to maintain two sets of wheels and tires. As a matter of choice, a dedicated set of summer and winter tires is better. Driving a GTI with winter tires gave me a lot of confidence to use it regularly during MI winters with zero issues.

Attaching the link of recent discussion of using summer tires during spring and fall - https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46569

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I would love to have two sets of wheels/tires but at the moment I do not have the money or the space for them. In the future though that is definitely what I will be doing. Although I will not need a dedicated snow tire. I never drive in snow. So ideally one day I will have a set of all seasons and a set of summer tires. I was just seeing if you guys thought I could get away with a summer tire.

I'm not in snowland so my PS4S don't see much cold weather. I did read where the rubber can crack. To me it's not worth the risk based on this alone. Add that you have real snow and ice I wouldn'the be caught dead using them in Massachusetts. Or would I?