josephvman

Today I replaced the original Goodyear Eagle Touring tires on my '21 Macan GTS at 16k. They had lots of remaining tread, but I got tired of the soft turn-in and too many episodes of ABS kicking in much earlier than I'd expect in both dry and wet conditions. I had a set of Pilot Sport 4S SUV's put on it, and the difference is literally night and day. Much more precise steering and turn in, better ride control, and I wasn't able to get the ABS to kick it during very hard braking in the dry. I'm really looking forward to driving it in the rain. The front end would feel very squirrelly when getting hard on the power coming out of a corner in the wet with the Goodyears. I'm kicking myself for not changing the tires a year ago when I got the car; the difference is just staggering. To get such an incredible upgrade for under $2k feels like stealing! I'd strongly suggest anyone with a Macan try these tires.

BMinSFL

I did the same switch from the Goodyears and loved the performance of these tires. They are the pinnacle of confidence in the dry or wet. I noticed an immediate, drastic reduction in sidewall flex and sharper response and turn in.

How is your ride quality on air suspension?

On a steel spring setup with thicker swaybars and Eibach lowering springs, I had a decrease in ride quality, likely due to the above-OEM load ratings of 108 and 110 vs 104 and 106. Driving at OE air pressure on hot Florida days made the ride rougher but lowering to about 34psi helped a lot. The only other downside is a few extra pounds of weight per tire over the OE offerings but all is forgiven with the insane grip and performance.

I ended up getting a spare 21" set of wheels and with OE PS4 A/S, they actually are more comfortable than the 20" PS4 SUV but I'm still slowly testing the limits to see how much they can get to PS4 SUV performance.

I had the PS4 SUV for about 9 months before switching to some more experimental 20" setups but I still have these in storage since they are tough to get rid of, they are that good!

Likely from hard driving, I noticed some tracking issues at 60+ mph by the time I removed them and the shop mentioned that one seemed a bit off when rebalancing. I thought the car needed an alignment but after going to other sets of tires, the issue was resolved. Perhaps from some harder driving over time or that specific set, but something to keep an eye on over time.
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Phil T

I have these on my radar along with the AS3. The treadwear rating is much better on the AS3. I've had 3 sets of the AS3 and it's truly a great tire......Phil

BMinSFL

While I do like the AS3 and I am still breaking them in and understanding their limits, I have nowhere near the same view as them versus the PS4 SUV.

The PS4 SUV turn the car into something tossable that redefined the physics of an SUV for me. Amazing on that spectrum but they still have have some cons such as ride quality and tread life, nothing earth-shattering to hear in the performance tire category.
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​​Maybe the AS3 will get close but they are two completely different types of tires, with pros and cons to each.
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josephvman

The ride is firmer with a lot more feedback, but not at all harsh. After changing tires I can’t believe how compromised the all-season Goodyears were on this car. I haven’t done any sustained high speed driving to comment on tire noise. One of our highways is cut with longitudinal grooves that some performance tires have tramlining issues with, and planning on driving that today to see how they feel.

Larson E. Rapp

It's easy to develop a cynical attitude towards Porsche's position that N-rated tires are of supreme importance on their high-performance cars. In reality it's nothing but marketing. They just slap whatever's handy (read: available at the right time in the necessary quantities at a low-enough cost) on the SUVs and non-GT sports cars. As for the GTs, they get whatever makes them look good in magazine tests, never mind what's best for the car in the real world. Either way, the tires you get on your new Porsche have always been a matter of luck, which is the polar opposite of excellence in engineering.

My Macan is an S with the heavy V6 hardware up front, so I actually enjoy taking the base models out every once in a while when I get a service loaner. They are lighter on their feet and usually give the impression of excellent handling. I had a couple of loaners back-to-back a couple of weeks ago, one equipped with a decent set of Pirellis (to the extent there is such a thing) and the other with some random tires from Continental.

The latter turned the car into something that would be embarrassed to wear a Subaru badge. It had the worst on-center steering feel of any Macan I've driven, with constant low-level wallowing. Meanwhile the one with the Pirellis behaved as expected.

I think the OP's lesson is really worth taking to heart... if you don't like the tires your car came with, and if you are satisfied that the pressures and alignment are OK, ditch them. Immediately. Don't punish yourself by waiting for them to wear out. The worst tires often have the best tread life!

Phil T

I've never purchased "N" spec tires or the "star" tire that BMW used to use, so I definitely agree with the above. While some will swear by the manufactures claim, real world driving is the real answer. The Macan is a daily driver so I'm not sure I need the performance of the PS4S. Now on the other hand, my GT4 rides on nothing but PS4S rubber. I've been sold on Michelin tires for a decade plus now. Their performance seems to only get better with every new tire they put out........Phil

DBH

"N-spec" vs no spec, which is better? The eternal debate along with which oil is best or what tire pressure to use. Everyone seems to have an opinion. It's your car/SUV, do what you want...

BMinSFL

I've had 7 sets of tires on my Macan in the past year and a half, on a 20" and 21" set of wheels. I respect what they try to accomplish with N tires, which is make it easy for the non-tire freaks like me to make a choice, or if no choice, can generally be happy.

There are some bad ones though and why I would recommend the Michelins of you ever have a choice of only N tires. I had a terrible experience with the N0 ContiSport Contact 5 on the 21" set...an off-center feeling and horrible tram lining to the point where I was convinced my rims were bent. When I replaced those, I had only run summer tires (aside from the N0 Goodyears that I replaced) and was looking at N summers but the current offerings were essentially Pirelli PZero Corsa that had a very low tread life and Michelin LS3, which are probably great but a generation old in tech. I hesitantly went with PS4 A/S and love the comfort and performance.

Thus, i've found that the Michelin N specs are your best bet for a great all-around tire. For the Macan specifically, the N spec tires use a lower load rating for extra comfort. It's what helps differentiate the car from its competitors with superior handling and comfort and you can see that clear difference when comparing tire specs to the same sizes across brands.

When you go to the non N tire, like on the PS4 SUV, you shift the balance and get the higher load rating because that tire can be for a 1,000 lb heavier SUV as well as the Macan. At least the buyer knows what they are getting and those who make that choice love it because it's their preference. My latest purchase, hesitantly, was another set of N0 Michelin all season, PS3, and I am very happy with them on my 20" set.
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shack993

I have the PS4's on my Macan. They last max 12k miles and are super expensive.

BMinSFL

I took off my set at 9k miles, I didn't think they had only 25% life left, more like 50%, but I'll measure the remaining tread next time I can.

FlyPenFly

According to industry people who actually design and manufacture the tires, the Porsche N0 rating is actually meaningful and have material differences.

Carlo_Carrera

They are lying a bit. There are differences but they are not meaningful.

doctj

This is about the Michelin PSS5 that is due to be released.
But the reason I am posting this video here, is to highlight, that the manufacturer spec, whether it is N0/N1 or M zero, as in Mercedes in the video, they go through many iterations, of a tire, before putting it on their car. So yes, compound is different. And other differences. Not always better though.

another video of his that is good is titled “is bespoke always best? “. Also talks about OE vs aftermarket.

///Bruce

Did you get a 4-wheel alignment after the tires were replaced? On an old thread I talk about mine being way out of alignment off the showroom floor.