[F32Fleet]

Replaced my S001's a couple of weeks ago and I've put about 1000 miles on them.

These are a nice alternative to the S001 RFT's with all the typical trade-offs.


Pilot A/S 3+ vs S001:

More compliant ride for 10-15% loss in response.

Significantly better wet traction for ~15% loss in dry grip.

[Kaps335i]

What size do you have? I was thinking about getting the Pilot A/S 3+ as well, but would want them in 245's. Not sure they would work well in the snow.

[RedKloud]

I agree AS 3+ are great tires. I have not tried them in snow yet though.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Kaps335i

What size do you have? I was thinking about getting the Pilot A/S 3+ as well, but would want them in 245's. Not sure they would work well in the snow.

225/45ZR 18 95Y XL
255/40ZR 18 95Y

[RedKloud]

Originally Posted by RedKloud

I agree AS 3+ are great tires. I have not tried them in snow yet though.

Just an update: the A/S 3+ kind of suck in snow/ice. The car has been a handful.

[bri1042]

Red,

It's hard to say if I thought they sucked in our recent snow/ice. I have A/S 3+'s on mine, and you and I are driving on the same snow and ice. I've certainly been on AS's that have been worse than these were. I wasn't exactly impressed, though, either. I was in good shape while others were having a ton of trouble but the rear-end of the car was less controlled than my 328 with Conti RFT A/S's were the last couple of years. It's not really apples to apples considering the differences between the two cars. I like the tire overall and the rain performance is fantastic (which is more important here).

I grew up driving on much worse, and driving much worse vehicles through it, so I may have different expectations.

[RedKloud]

Originally Posted by bri1042

Red,

It's hard to say if I thought they sucked in our recent snow/ice. I have A/S 3+'s on mine, and you and I are driving on the same snow and ice. I've certainly been on AS's that have been worse than these were. I wasn't exactly impressed, though, either. I was in good shape while others were having a ton of trouble but the rear-end of the car was less controlled than my 328 with Conti RFT A/S's were the last couple of years. It's not really apples to apples considering the differences between the two cars. I like the tire overall and the rain performance is fantastic (which is more important here).

I grew up driving on much worse, and driving much worse vehicles through it, so I may have different expectations.

Yes, maybe I'm over reacting. I agree with you that the traction in the snow going up hills was pretty good. At no point I felt like I'm stuck.
However the next day, when the streets were partially cleared and somewhat icy, the rear end did not feel stable even at low speeds. In comparison, my wife's MDX drove like it was on rails.

[goj]

Originally Posted by Lobb

Hmmmmmm. Not sure if this is damning the Pilots by faint praise, given how bad the S001s are....

The rock hard sidewalls and the extremely high noise level is what irritates most people on the S001 tires. I find their grip and responsiveness to be good. They are also insanely heavy due to the run flat side walls

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Lobb

Hmmmmmm. Not sure if this is damning the Pilots by faint praise, given how bad the S001s are....

S001's weren't that bad in my opinion. I didn't have any confidence in the wet. Zero.

I don't know if many owners are aware of this but for the "sport pkg" BMW spec'd taller tires for the F3X. Both front and rears went up 5% percent vs previous generations.

Ex. E46 ZHP rears were 18" 255/35 non-rft, E90 were 18" 255/35 RFT and the F3x are 18" 255/40 RFT.

That extra 5% in tire height makes a difference compared to previous models.

[lens]

I had the Continental DWS before I swapped to AS3+ and I could confirm that the AS3+ dry grip is way less than what the DWS gave me.

It was confirmed as when I went to the drag strip doing the same exact launches, the DWS, I managed a 12.6 sec 1/4 mile, or 12.8 consistently with heatsoak/reaction.

With the AS3+, I could do no better than 12.9. However, the AS3+ was great as a backroad/track tire (for a all season tire at least) where the DWS was not. I had immense grip around corners with the AS3+

Whatever the case is, I'll be waiting for the new Pilot Sport 4S that is supposed to come out this spring/summer as I will not use all seasons anymore, but rather, buy dedicated summer tires.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by goj

The rock hard sidewalls and the extremely high noise level is what irritates most people on the S001 tires. I find their grip and responsiveness to be good. They are also insanely heavy due to the run flat side walls

+1. The issue with the S001 was more of the sidewall stiffness and the NVH that would result in the cabin.

Originally Posted by chaungo

I had the Continental DWS before I swapped to AS3+ and I could confirm that the AS3+ dry grip is way less than what the DWS gave me.

It was confirmed as when I went to the drag strip doing the same exact launches, the DWS, I managed a 12.6 sec 1/4 mile, or 12.8 consistently with heatsoak/reaction.

With the AS3+, I could do no better than 12.9. However, the AS3+ was great as a backroad/track tire (for a all season tire at least) where the DWS was not. I had immense grip around corners with the AS3+

Whatever the case is, I'll be waiting for the new Pilot Sport 4S that is supposed to come out this spring/summer as I will not use all seasons anymore, but rather, buy dedicated summer tires.

What you're experiencing isn't likely to be the result of a difference in dry grip. Are you testing in the exact same conditions and surface temperatures? You're running an AWD vehicle, you should have very limited wheel spin if any in dry conditions.

The difference is more likely the result of tire weight or even slight differences in diameter.

A quick look at the newer Continental DWS06 vs Michelin A/S3+ and it shows there's a 0.1" difference in diameter but the DWS06 is 3 lbs lighter than the A/S3+ in 225/45/18 size. The DWS06 was supposed to be an improvement over the DWS's soft sidewalls so chances are the DWS was even lighter than the DWS06.

[floydarogers]

About what I would expect when going from a Max Performance Summer to a High Performance All-Season. Thanks for the post; after my winters are off I'll be back to my summers, but I think the A/S 3 or something similar is going to be my next tire after they wear out.