Posted by Scott Y on May 06, 1999 at 09:41:30:
In Reply to: Re: Has anyone any experience with Michelin Pilot XGT Z4s? >> posted by Bob on May 05, 1999 at 20:22:06:
Hi. Nice car, btw.
I bought the P7000SuperSports because of their price point, which was $110/tire about 2 years ago. This was my first experience with Pirelli, and I am very happy with them. They are quiet and responsive, with decent straight-line traction and excellent wet performance. In the snow they are about as good as can be expected from a Z rated 245/50 tire.
To expand on their snow performance:
I used to have Eagle RSAs on this car, and the Pirellis are ALMOST as snow-worthy as the RSAs were. The difference is almost negligible, and the Pirelli's advantages in every other condition easily make up for the tiny difference in the snow. Now, you're not going to be able to pretend you have a AM Hummer in the snow, but they tame my Z28 enough that I drive it all winter, regardless of the weather. They're not Blizzaks (which I've had on other cars and loved), but they're quite acceptable. On a front-driver like your 850 they should work quite well.
Why would I want to switch away from the P7000s?
I'm one of those guys that always looks at all of my options when it's time to upgrade or change any components on my car. We just put some Michelins (LTX)on my wife's Ranger, and they are great tires. They are quiet and responsive, and it made me consider the Pilot series of tires for my car. Normally when something is more expensive you should expect more for your dollar and I was wondering if this was true for the Pilots. I suspect that the Pilots might be more responsive in summer conditions (according to customer surveys on www.tirerack.com), but they ARE a lot more money.
Decisions, decisions.... It's amazing how much the high performace all-season market segment is growing. In the end I will probably go with the P7000s again and will be happy to do so.
If you decide to try them you should post your results; I'd like to hear if your experience was as positive as mine was.
regards,
Scott