I bring up this topic out of curiosity about others' experience. I am running a Michelin Pilot Road 4 up front and it is now well into it’s second half of life. When I was in the Smokies last spring and the tire was mid life, I noticed the front tire slip out a few times in corners. I though it to be very unusual. but I didn’t think too much more about it. Now back in my home state, I am having a lot of trouble with this front tire sliding in corners, like I never had before, and regardless of tire wear condition. I have narrowed the problem to corners that have light, fine gravel sprinkled on the hard pavement. This road condition is common here, but I have not had this problem with any other brand or model of front tire, regardless of how worn they were. Looking at the PR4 design, the few off center tread grooves are small and run perpendicular to the rotation direction. The rest of the tread pattern is just small sipes that wouldn’t do much for grip on a loose surface. This observation has led me to think more about tread patterns when picking out a tire for road surfaces I often encounter. In conclusion, while I don’t dispute the common claim that the PR4 is/was a great tire for wet and dry pavement, I’d say it is a horrible tire for roads with scattered fine debris.
This topic has come of interest to me now because I have never experienced such bad sliding on any other front tire in the past. I realize the PR4 is history now that the Road 5 is available, but has anyone noticed the same sliding characteristic with a PR4 or even with a Road 5?
This topic has come of interest to me now because I have never experienced such bad sliding on any other front tire in the past. I realize the PR4 is history now that the Road 5 is available, but has anyone noticed the same sliding characteristic with a PR4 or even with a Road 5?