[Alan l.]

My X5M Competition unfortunately came with Pirelli Pzero instead of the Michelin PS4S. I put about 1800 miles on the Pzero's in a wide variety of road conditions so I have a pretty good feel for them. I only have about 80 miles on the Michelins so I will update this thread after I drive on them more. I have a road trip coming up so it will be perfect to test them out...

My initial thoughts right after installing them is that the my X5MC feels a little smoother overall. On smooth pavement they seem to glide just a tad smoother than the Pzeros. They seem a slightly quieter too.

Bumps are slightly less sharp with the Michelins. Its not a drastic difference making the X5MC feel like a Lexus now. If I had to rate the Pzero's from a scale of 1-10 with 10 being extremely harsh they would be a 8 and the Michelins would be a 6.5-7. The difference isn't as much as I'd hoped for but there is a difference. The Michelin's just takes the edge off those sharp impacts (highway expansion joints, broken pavement, cobble stone roads etc...) and rounds it out slightly where less of it transmits into the cabin of the car. You still feel it but just onset of the bump isn't just "bam" with the Pzeros and more gradual with the Michelin's.

Can't comment too much about handling yet since most of my driving has been in slow speed stop in go traffic but so far both feel about the same from what i could tell. I will know more after my road trip next week where i should put closer to 1K miles on the Michelins. The one thing i didn't like about the Pzeros was that on the highway if you are going around a slight turn and you encounter bumps the car feels like its skipping over them rather than absorbing them. They almost remind me of how super stiff Run Flat tires feels like in my previous cars. I'll pay close attention to this on my upcoming trip which will be a lot of highway driving.

So was it worth $2400 for me to swap from the Pzero's to the Michelins?

For me they were. Ride comfort is slightly better and they are quieter. Not night and day difference that I was hoping for but in think overall the Michelins are a better tire especially in the wet which in turn makes it safer for the family. If you have a choice when buying your X5M between the two tires I would certainly say go for the Michelin's.

One thing to note is that the Michelins seem to have a slight rounder sidewall compared to the Pzeros where it almost looks a little stretched in the rear. The look up front is about the same between the two tires with just different writing on the sidewall. Its a toss up as to which I prefer in terms of looks.

Its too premature for a full review of the PS4S with my limited driving on them but i wanted to post my initial thoughts first since its fresh. Maybe the tires will feel different after they break in and I'll post an update when I'm back from my road trip.

Alan