Finally, an MPS4 review I can trust

[Ekona]

...because it was me wot drove on them If you want to skip the guff then just know that I would be happy to fit these to my cars, and will recommend them going forward. For details, please read on.

 

A friend of mine has just bought a 2005 Subaru Legacy Tourer 3.0L Spec B with LPG conversion as a shed car, and bizarrely the previous owner had fitted MPS4s to it all round. He threw me the keys, so it was time to finally get some personal time with the MPS4 to see how they shape up against the MPSS. Two caveats here: First of all, it was in a car I'd never driven before, so I was learning that as much as anything. Secondly I hadn't driven over to see him in the Beemer, instead I took the Impreza so couldn't test MPSS and MPS4 back to back. However, it did mean that I was used to driving 4WD that day, which gives me a baseline at least. For transparency, the Impreza is running RE070 tyres on it, weather conditions were dry & warm.

 

The Legacy is a big ol' car, weighing in at at least 1600kg I reckon, so it was always going to be a challenge to see how the new MPS4 would hold up against that weight. It'll be easier on the eye if I break this down into sections, so that's what I'll do.

 

 

LOW SPEED RIDE

The MPSS was always good here, soaking up minor lumps in the road despite the stiff sidewalls, and the MPS4 does an equally good job here. There was very little road noise, and certainly the car was responsive to input from both steering and throttle. There's only so much you can say about low speed stuff really

 

HIGH SPEED RIDE

Much better than previous tyres! Tyre roar has never been one of Michelin's strong points, but this was noticeably quieter when I got into motorway cruising speeds. The Legacy felt secure, no tramlining, and lane changing movements made the car feel agile without feeling darty.

 

LOW & HIGH SPEED GRIP

Now we're talking. There's a lovely test route we use often for proving cars, with two roundabouts on it at either end: One on camber, one off camber, both with tons of room. This can really show up if a car is twitchy on the limit or prone to power understeer. I had bags and bags of grip, perhaps as you might expect from a 4WD system, but I was also able to trim the nose both upon entry and mid-corner with gentle precision from the steering, as the MPS4 were more than happy to gobble up any tarmac I pointed them to. Turn in was sharp and accurate yet gradual, and the Subaru responded to change in direction wonderfully. 4WD stuff has a tendency to understeer under power, which I definitely had here but with the appropriate lifting and application of the throttle I could feel the back end bite in and push the car around. How they do in wet conditions I've yet to find out, but in the dry and on public roads I would need to go to R888s to have more grip here. Certainly I'd say the MPS4 are the equal if not better than my MPSS.

 

FEEL

Now for me, this is really where the MPSS have always shone over other tyres (and why I've previously loved the much-missed Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta). It doesn't matter how much grip you have if you cannot feel what the hell is going on. Thankfully, the MPS4 are as communicative as I'd have hoped for. Pushing on you can absolutely feel them working under you, and despite the larger treadblocks at no time did I feel that the car was rolling on them or squirming under power. When you reached the tipping point of grip they did get a little tuneful, but I wouldn't call them particularly squealy or anything like that. Despite the Legacy's 4WD system pushing the grip everywhere, it was still simple to hold the car on balance under power regardless of camber change. The RE070 also excel in this regard, but the MPS4 iss a step better still.

 

BRAKING/WET CONDITIONS UNTESTED

I couldn't test anything in the wet because, well, it didn't rain! Of course I did some braking, but it's a new car to my friend and until he puts some miles on it to make sure nothing is broken I'm not willing to push a car weighing that much under very heavy braking. I will say however that I had no issue modulating the brakes at lower speeds and the biting seemed fine.

 

 

CONCLUSION

As I had heard from people I trust, along with reviews in the press, the MPS4 really are stunning tyres that move the game on from the MPSS. They're certainly at least the equal in every aspect that I could tell, and in terms of feel and grip they surpass their older brother. I have no hesitation in saying that I personally consider these to be the de-facto tyres anyone running on 18" wheels should be fitting if they enjoy driving performance cars, and I would recommend them above any older MPSS stock you can find. If you want to get the best out of your car, or you want something that will give you confidence that should the unexpected happen you can react, you really should be buying MPS4.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Ekona

[Jay84]

Nice review. 

[G1en]

Right mods, please remove the 687 threads containing @Ekona and mpss in them, we seem to have our new forum tyre of choice. 

 

[StevoD]

im going to be that guy......................so 

 

"time to finally get some personal time with the MPS4s to see how they shape up against the MPSS"

 

 you mean MPS4 people might get confused 

Edited September 26, 2017 by StevoD

[Ekona]

True, but then that's their fault. MPS4s are the plural of MPS4 and nothing to do with MPS4S

 

I'll edit it for clarity though, thanks.

[davey_83]

Big S, little s makes all the difference - nice review.

 

Defiantly my replacements for the fronts *MPS3 when they wear out.

[RobPhoboS]

I have them on the rear but something is up with my TC, once it's turned off however they do feel great to me

[88 Zed]

Ive just ordered a set  

ben Collins (the stig) also gives these a mention in his book “how to drive” .

[Ekona]

Given he wrote that book a full two years before the MPS4 came out, I'd suggest that's fairly impressive foresight.

[nissanman312]

I have had mine on 2 days now 

I got to experience them in the wet last night! they perform brilliantly and in the dry today.

Both dry and wet grip is epic 

 

 

[88 Zed]

1 hour ago, Ekona said:

Given he wrote that book a full two years before the MPS4 came out, I'd suggest that's fairly impressive foresight.

My bad, he refers to the pilot sport 3 .

[Stutopia]

Nice write up Dan.

 

I put some time on the CAT Drifting tuition day on these yesterday. Having previously enjoyed oversteering with them on the steering pad at Millbrook in heavy rain, I was impressed at how much more abuse I had to give them in the dry to break free. Much more aggressive inputs to oversteer and downright idiotic provocation to generate (several) full on spins. Feedback from the fans in the stand was that they’re quite chirpy at understeer.

[andy james]

Great review Dan!

Do you think it's worth investing the extra money on the Cup 2 tyres as they are so good?

[Ekona]

F*ck yes.  

[Flex]

Mrs been running them for last month, loves them.

[RDON]

ive been running the MPS4's for 3 weeks now and they grip better in dry and wet than the standard MPSS the traction control light has not been coming on half as much when i plant the lead foot! will let you know longevity in two years time lol......

[Keyser]

Nice write up Dan

[Ekona]

Sounds like everyone has them apart from me

[HaydnH]

About £35 cheaper per rear tyre compared to AD08Rs... almost enough to make me consider switching...

 

EDIT: Actually, with the £40 off on black circles right not for buying 4 Michelins, it works out to £43.56 per corner cheaper! (Michs: £556.28 per set, Yokos: £730.50).

Edited April 4, 2018 by HaydnH

[nissanman312]

4 hours ago, HaydnH said:

About £35 cheaper per rear tyre compared to AD08Rs... almost enough to make me consider switching...

 

EDIT: Actually, with the £40 off on black circles right not for buying 4 Michelins, it works out to £43.56 per corner cheaper! (Michs: £556.28 per set, Yokos: £730.50).

Go for it i love mine especially in the wet 

Did you get your BOOST yet ?

[350Butcher]

5 hours ago, HaydnH said:

About £35 cheaper per rear tyre compared to AD08Rs... almost enough to make me consider switching...

 

 

Think you'll know why they're £35 cheaper when you switch!     Assuming you're tracking the car though, as the Yoko's are on par with Cups

[Ekona]

IMHO they’re not even close to the Cups, and especially not the Cup2s. I mean, they’re still great tyres, but I’d still put the Cup2s above them by a fair margin.

[350Butcher]

I do obviously know Michelin do very good tyres but I'm just yet to be shown that they are better by "a fair margin" than my go to tyre. I have experienced Cup and Cup2's on my friends E46 Csl and we've done a few track days together and although its a very different car from my Z on the AD08r's neither offers significantly more outright grip over another, at least detectable from the seats onboard.

 

Maybe one day I'll try them out on my car one day if I ever stumble on a good deal when the time comes for a new set of boots........I'm not brand loyal for sakes sake but when you find something that works and ticks all the boxes its hard to not stick to what you know.

[docwra]

Dont disagree with you Butcher ......... until it rains, the MPS are definitely better in the wet. Also difficult to compare car to car, a bit of camber and some tyre pressures can make a lot more difference than whether the tyre is a Yoko or a Michelin.  

[sisson18]

I've just brought a full set on MPS4S, should hopefully be a big improvement over the Falkens.