The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S summer tire was initially designed for the North American market, but has been available to domestic car enthusiasts for some time. This model was specifically developed for powerful and high-speed luxury passenger cars. The speed indices assigned to this tire - W and Y, depending on the size - unmistakably hint at this.
Tri-Tread design
Since the tire is designed for summer use, the French tire manufacturer preferred to equip it with a V-shaped symmetric directional tread pattern. It consists of three main functional parts - a central longitudinal rib and two very wide shoulder zones, which are separated from each other by two wide drainage grooves.
The central longitudinal rib is characterized by the complete absence of any interruptions along the entire tread. Such a solid structure has very high stiffness. Thanks to this, this model has been given the most characteristic features of the entire Pilot tire line - excellent directional stability at all speeds and lightning-fast response to steering wheel turns.
As for the shoulder zones of the tread, they are divided into numerous separate blocks by wedge-shaped drainage grooves, the long edges of which are located at a significant angle to the direction of movement. This solution was caused by the desire to give the tire excellent performance on wet surfaces, when driving on which the drainage grooves divert water from the contact patch, and the sharp edges of the numerous blocks provide stable and reliable traction.
TriFusion Compound
Currently, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tire is one of the few models that uses the TriFusion Compound rubber compound. The main reason for its appearance on this model was the desire to provide high performance on any type of road surface. TriFusion Compound is three different rubber compounds, each of which performs a strictly defined set of tasks.
Max Touch Construction
Another proprietary development of the French tire giant has found its application in this model - the Max Touch Construction technology. Its purpose can be guessed from its name. It is designed to provide the maximum possible contact patch area. This technology consists of three main components - the tread pattern, the rubber compound, and the carcass.
To a large extent, it is precisely because of the desire to provide the tire with a larger contact area that it received a pattern with very wide functional zones. The three layers of the rubber compound differ from each other mainly in elasticity. The lowest layer has the highest stiffness, and the upper layer, on the contrary, is made very elastic, which allows it to effectively smooth out bumps from road irregularities. The tire's carcass also has a multi-layer structure, which made it possible to significantly increase resistance to dynamic deformations that occur during movement.
Main features of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S passenger tire
- The unique V-shaped design of the directional symmetric tread pattern is perfectly efficient on both dry and wet surfaces;
- The three-layer tread provides the highest performance in any road conditions;
- The multi-layer carcass makes it possible to provide high resistance to dynamic deformations, which makes it possible to achieve stable contact patch size regardless of the driving mode;
- Excellent performance of the drainage system is ensured by numerous drainage grooves, the wedge-shaped shape of which increases the speed of water diversion from the contact patch.
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