FWIW, a lot of dealers *do* recommend the PSS instead of the RE050.

 

Definitely worth keeping in mind... my perspective is from the V8V, and I have no experience with the DB9.

 

From the Vantage perspective .... (daily driven)... the stock suspension is STIFF.... I live in FL with flat smooth roads and its stiffer than pretty much anything else I have had lately. Which is fine... BUT it needs the Michelin PSS to slightly soften that. I definitely think the PSS are a great match to the V8V and will buy them again. I was never a huge Michelin fan based on pricing but it is the best road tire for a sports car these days when you consider overall performance..... not just track duty. The BridgeSTONES were just that.

Now if the DB9 is that much softer a suspension setup...?? Then maybe the stiffer tires are the right compliment to sharpen it up a bit? It is definitely a balance of suspension and tire combo.

 

Like Ken, I find it hard to believe that AM would put a poor tire on their cars. I do believe that the OEM choice is a compromise, though. Also, there's no question that tire tech continuously evolves. That said...

I'm not saying the Bridgestones are the best, but I think we should realize that, generally, the experiences reported here are based on replacing old (time-hardened) and/or worn-out Bridgestones with brand new Michelins, which is certainly not an apples to apples comparison. Also, I haven't had my V8V on the track, but for fast road use I've found the RE050 quite good for the car -- good grip, excellent steering feel, great handling balance, etc. I'm not necessarily looking for the absolute greatest grip on the road -- I like to be able to play with the car's balance and approach the limits without going 300 mph.

Btw, I just put Michelin PSS on my Vanquish S. The OEM Yokohamas aren't available anymore (at the moment anyway), but the PSS feel very good so far.

 

You bring up a good point that reminds me of a conversation I had many years ago with a tire shop expert. He said that I should be mindful that tires are often country-specific. I'm from New Zealand which has roads that are similar to UK, therefore my tire selection would be similar and a better match than the US with your wider, straighter roads and different surfaces (generally speaking).

 

Yes, you've nailed it I believe. The differences after replacing any worn tires are dramatic, but more interestingly in the past I've found I adapt very quickly to the new tire ride benchmark and it becomes normal in just a few weeks.

That might be the real answer and not the choice of tire.

When I first got the DB9 3 days ago I was sensitive to every part of the driving experience... the tire noise, handling at speed, different surfaces response. With the worn Bridgestones (4mm tread left) on the rears I even imagined that I could feel the difference as I hit the same bump with the front and rear.

But now I've put 100km on the car, that experience has gone. I've adapted, or maybe become used to the drive and what I felt earlier isn't as pronounced any longer.

In short, I've been over sensitive in my evaluation. The ride I originally thought was rough and bumpy has never been felt by my several passengers. They were all impressed with the smoothness. I'm just picky I guess.

With all this in mind I decided to stick with the factory option and I've ordered the Bridgestones.

 

You chose poorly...

 

I have been working with Les Schwab and Americas Tire and neither can get the Michelin so I ordered Yokohama Neova AD08R in 255/35/19 front and 275/35/19 rear since we couldn't find most tires except the bridgestones in the stock size.
If the tires don't work they were only $1,400 and I will use them for a while until I decide to do a massive burnout and buy another set but they have a 180 treadwear and seem to be decent tire that is at least better than the RE050 and the Michelin had the same traction and treadware rating.

 

Over history, word in the auto industry was, tire companies "bought" the new car business. They bid low, really low, seemingly less than their cost at times, to attain an original equipment supply contract with a large auto manufacturer. The goal, of course, was to help secure the tire replacement business.

AM didn't have the volume of large manufacturers so a different repeat customer incentive appears to have been created, an AM branded tire. The DB9 & Vantage came equipped with 19" Bridgestones that included a small raised rubber circle with "A9" inside. This mark was on the sidewalls of all my Vantage's original tires.

Early literature lauded these "specials" saying the sidewalls were stiffer, a handling plus. Regular outlets, Tire Rack and local tire retailers, had plenty of Bridgestones but none with A9 in a circle. The only place you could buy them was at an AM dealer.

At the same time a new evaluation tool was making the scene. And it has been a game changer. Called the Internet generally, 6Speed and Pistonheads specifically. In quick order Aston's OE tire shortfalls were identified, alternatives discussed, and recommendations made. See the resultant strong support for Michelin PSS above.

We have a tool tire consumers never had on this scale before. We can participate by sharing experiences without economic incentive. Knowledge is power.

 

Flinder,
That makes sense. But, this great new information source -- the Internet -- has been known to be wrong on occasion . In any case, on this topic, it relies primarily on subjective evaluations and comparisons based on a change from an old, dry, worn tire to a brand new fresh out of the box tire. No surprise the new tire will make the old one seem like it was crap. No question the old tire wasn't as good as it was when new. At the very worst, a new OEM Bridgestone would be much closer to a Michelin PSS than the old Bridgestone being replaced is.

 

My son (30 years of automobile tech) partly agreed when I mentioned the politics of tire selection, but reminded me of the complexity of selecting the right tires for any particular car. He worked for a top 3 car company some years ago and was responsible for tuning the suspension of some high-end models for our country's roads. He told me that, for example, if the sidewalls were too flexible then the suspension wouldn't absorb the surface shocks as it was meant to. Conversely if the tire walls were too stiff, the suspension became overworked and in both cases the ride wasn't optimum.

I admire the breadth and depth of his knowledge on this complex subject. If Aston Martin has these kind of experts working on their setup as I believe they have, and all we owners can do is rely on the seat of our pants to choose a tire brand, then someone is not figuring it out correctly!

 

Some automotive problems are annoying...I am not talking about the tragedies, I am talking about those that can be addressed or ignored.

Years ago, at about 10K miles, in an attempt to solve an NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) problem I had been ignoring, I removed the OE rear tires on my 07 coupe. I replaced them with larger Bridgestones, 285/40/19. The objective was to put more cushion between me and the deteriorating Michigan roads.

It did not work, the car still exhibited those same objectionable impacts when negotiating what I considered modest deviations.

6Speed and Pistonheads reading assured me I was not alone in this NVH dilemma. One of many Pistonheads contributors revealed his father's comment when first riding in his son's Vantage, "I think you have a flat tire".

Over time my car developed a new rattle. I determined, and further reading confirmed, it was coming from the steering wheel hub. Specifically it was a loose air bag.

A conversation with my dealership tech said this was common and he offered an easy fix, not the "by the book" nuts and bolts route I had read about. He handed me a length of 1" wide double back tape and described a method of applying it while holding the bag. I procrastinated; put the tape in the glove box.

At approximately 20,000 miles, I bit the bullet, and changed to Michelin PSS. Guess what? The high amplitude, hard knocks went away.

Now I am not saying Michelin can solve all life's problems, but the air bag no longer rattles. The abrupt cure caused me to call my tech and accuse him of fixing the the air bag issue when he had the car in his possession for something else. He claimed no, he didn't do it.

My car does not now float, isolated from the road surface as a result of the new tires, but I find it easier to drive without the harshness.

Install whatever you like...it's your car.

 

If seat of our pants is not the very relevant measure for tires on a car, than what is? You can believe that the factory has all the answers if you want, but that is not the real world.

On the DB9, many magazine reviewers were critical of the steering feel as being artificially heavy. Bez told them it was that way because he liked it that way, not because the engineers thought it was best. In fact, it was changed for later models to a much better setup after those constant complaints. Who knows if harsh tires were not a Bez preference also.

We, as drivers, are perfectly capable of evaluating tires and determining which have characteristics better suited to our driving styles/preferences. You can discount all the personal advice as being inferior to the factory's engineering 'advice', in order to support your decision to stick with OEM tires, but you'd be wrong.

 

I can't believe I am going to say this, but we actually agree on something for once lol

PSS = #HUGEIMPROVEMENT

 

I understand the old vs. new RE050 argument ...

But to put this as politely as possible... Even new RE050 are a junk tire from ages ago. In tire technology years they are from the Jurassic era. They weren't even a top 5 tire 8 yrs ago.

PSS is hands down the best daily driver option with light track duty. I wish you could get the Pirelli Corsa from the factory like on the V12 Vantages, not sure if that is feasible but I will beg & plead to see if they can do that from the factory. I hate to have to take off a set of brand new tires on a brand new car, seems like such a waste... But I will if I have to