Very disappointed in Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+

davefromca

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The County where I live has a lot of intersections where the perpendicular street has a higher speed limit and poor visibility due to trees/shrubs or bends as a result, a lot of times you find yourself needing to put the gas down to get going as a convey of drivers stressed from their day of work appears in your rearview approaching at 45+ mph from around a blind bend.

I have the base model 2016 Civic LX, the factory tires did not do a particularly good job of keeping traction, even once the wheel was straightened and the car was moving. So not only did I "upgrade" to these tires, but also went significantly wider with rims.

While these tires have a much better ride, seem to be wearing slowly, and are great in the rain, the low speed and launch traction are sub par. I am not gunning my motor, anything more than half throttle, these tires will break traction loose and the entire City can hear me, even from a dead stop, even once I get going, if I put the peddle down these break loose. While the Civic has an impressive 158 hp motor, I don’t consider it particularly fast, nowhere near as powerful as previous front wheel drive cars I have owned, including a 220 hp Taurus SHO and an Infiniti I30. I had cheaper tires in the same width as my current tires on those cars and they never had problems holding traction like this.
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gtman

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Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+ have less traction than OEM LX tires??? That's a head scratcher.

Honda Civic 10th gen Very disappointed in Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+ giphy
 
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davefromca

davefromca

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Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+ have less traction than OEM LX tires??? That's a head scratcher.

giphy.gif
Its a wider tire and a higher traction rating, so yes, I was hoping for a bit more grip.
 

tacthecat

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No issues with them on our Si in a similar situation (with an uphill right turn).
Is the road surface flat, clean, and dry? What size tire and wheel and air pressure are you running?
 

ebatr24

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Might just need to let them wear in a bit and shed the coating put on them from the factory. I have Pilot Sport AS3+ on my CTR. I have substantially more power than stock too and these tires do very well at traction in the rain and dry cold climate. Do understand that every tire can break loose on launch though, you could break tires lose with a corolla, you can definitely do it with a lx civic.
 


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davefromca

davefromca

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No issues with them on our Si in a similar situation (with an uphill right turn).
Is the road surface flat, clean, and dry? What size tire and wheel and air pressure are you running?
Hey there, seems like it doesn't matter about the road surface. If its rough, it sounds like rocks are getting kicked up as I skid, if its new/clean, it'll just screech. I am on a set of SI rims, 235/40R18 at 32 psi.
 
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davefromca

davefromca

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Might just need to let them wear in a bit and shed the coating put on them from the factory. I have Pilot Sport AS3+ on my CTR. I have substantially more power than stock too and these tires do very well at traction in the rain and dry cold climate. Do understand that every tire can break loose on launch though, you could break tires lose with a corolla, you can definitely do it with a lx civic.
You know they are actually 9 months old. They are relatively fantastic in the rain. Thing is its not like Im dumping the clutch, its more like I go around a turn, feather to WOT, and even then these things just break loose. I almost want to take a video, could totally be user error, I know these arent drag slicks, just expected more.
 

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Tire Rack sure seems to have a different opinion. :cool:

 

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Rocks getting kicked up having nothing to do with losing traction, just a byproduct of the tires themselves being super sticky.

Something's wrong here. You either messed too much with the suspension geometry going way too wide on the rim or too negative on the offset, tires aren't properly inflated, or you got a defective set. I currently have the AS3+ on my OEM wheels on my R and they perform amazing even in the cold/rain (haven't tried in light snow yet).

I've had PS4S summer tires on my GTI and these are fairly close in performance (on the street) in the dry. I don't launch my car but do drive it spirited and haven't had issues with the tires losing traction either taking off or mid corner.

Give enough throttle in 1st to a FWD car and you could spin tires but don't think it should be an issue in your LX on these tires.
 

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Hey there, seems like it doesn't matter …. I am on a set of SI rims, 235/40R18 at 32 psi.
Set-up should work fine. Could be you're starting off around the corner too hard while still turning the steering wheel - this will unload the inside front tire and (without LSD) will allow it to spin. Our '98 Ex would do this until I learned to get the car more into the turn before gunning it. (I still do it the same way with the Si because, if you're not prepared for it, with LSD it will try to straighten out and pull into the opposing traffic lane - much scarier than having overtaking traffic coming up on you!)
 


tacthecat

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...I currently have the AS3+ on my OEM wheels on my R and they perform amazing even in the cold/rain (haven't tried in light snow yet)....
Do wear the "new" off them before driving in the first snow. Ours were new last fall and the first snow was heavy "heart-attack" snow and they were "greasy" starting and stopping (but other vehicles, AWD and plows, were also having issues). After that they were fine if the splitter didn't get hung up.
 

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Hey there, seems like it doesn't matter about the road surface. If its rough, it sounds like rocks are getting kicked up as I skid, if its new/clean, it'll just screech. I am on a set of SI rims, 235/40R18 at 32 psi.
I have it on my hatch using 245/40/18. No problems with grip. Only downside that I have is less gas mileage from the stock continentals which is true since it’s a UHP AS tire.
 

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Fact:
Front wheels in a turn on a FWD car will slip easier.
 


 


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