When the hugely popular Pilot Road 4 came out in 2014, it set a new benchmark for the sport touring market, especially when it came to wet weather performance.
Almost four years have since passed, and other manufacturers have since upped their game, but with the newly unveiled ‘Road 5’ Michelin intend to reclaim their spot at the top of the pecking order.
The revised tread pattern bears some resemblance to the new-for-2017 power RS, but with larger grooves and the addition of sipes to boost wet grip.
Michelin’s engineers have been working hard to improve wet braking performance, and internal testing has shown that even after 3,000 miles the new Road 5 will stop more quickly than a brand new Pilot Road 4, which is impressive stuff!
This big leap forward in performance has been achieved using a technology originally developed for cars. Michelin’s new XST Evo tech combines sipes on top of wider reservoirs, designed to slice through the water and improve water-clearance capacity. As the tyre wears, the sipes reveal the wider reservoir grooves. These increase the Road 5’s sea-to-land ratio and maintain it’s ability to clear water.
Adaptive Casing Technology (ACT+) has been utilised to deliver superior straight-line and cornering stability, along with outstanding handling properties.
The majority of the eleven sizes are currently expected to be available from January 2018:
- 120/60 ZR17 M/C (55W) TL – Front
- 120/70 ZR17 M/C (58W) TL – Front
- 150/70 R17 M/C 69V TL – Rear
- 150/70 ZR17 M/C (69W) TL – Rear
- 160/60 ZR17 M/C (69W) TL – Rear
- 170/60 ZR17 M/C 72W TL – Rear
- 180/55 ZR17 M/C (73W) TL – Rear
- 190/50 ZR17 M/C (73W) TL – Rear
- 190/55 ZR17 M/C (75W) TL – Rear
- 110/80 R19 M/C 59V TL – Front
- 120/70 ZR19 M/C 60W TL – Front
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