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Michelin Pilot Sport The Pilot Sport features a directional tread design that combines a continuous circumferential center rib with a V-shaped directional tread pattern (tires of 275 millimeters of section width and wider feature a slightly different W-shaped tread pattern). The continuous center rib improves steering response and road feel, while the high-angle, lateral grooves reduce tire noise and efficiently evacuate water from under the contact patch to enhance wet traction and resist hydroplaning. Internally, the tread is supported by two belts reinforced by spirally-wrapped nylon cord utilizing Michelin's BAZ (Banded At Zero) Technology to improve quick steering response and resist tread distortion while it enhances ride quality and high speed durability. Ultra-reinforced sidewalls promote powerful cornering, while Michelin's cable beads help maintain the tire's shape to improve tire and wheel uniformity. On the road, the Pilot Sport received good marks for real world ride comfort, noise comfort and handling. On the track in the dry, the Pilot Sport showed crisp response on initial turn-in, but was willing to understeer slightly when pushed to the limit. The Pilot Sport ran lap times equivalent to the other tires. In the wet, the Pilot Sport's tread design and silica-enhanced compound provided good traction and responsiveness, matching the average lap times of the Pirelli PZero Rosso Assimetrico, but could not equal the performance of the Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position.
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