Brakes

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
March 31, 2013

These are my first winter tires and compared to the horrid Energy LX4s that were OE on the van, these cut through snow and ice like nothing I've ever seen before. Sure, if you drive fast on packed snow and jam on the brakes you can break traction, but in normal driving I never lost grip.

As soon as I put them on, I noticed how quiet and smooth they are - far superior to the OE tires. Handling and cornering is a bit 'squishier' than the OE tires, but I got used to that very quickly.

For me, the real benefit is the extra margin of confidence that when I hit the brakes or need to turn corners on the snow/slush/ice that covers Toronto from December to April, my van will respond as I expect. I have not had any close calls or nervous moments with these tires, in contrast to the LX4s I ran through last winter, or my previous all-seasons on other vehicles.

I very strongly recommend these tires to others.

Initial Review, 19,000 Miles on Tires
April 05, 2013

Not understanding all the hate for this tire. Most likely it's because they come standard on 2010 thru 2013 GTI's and drivers who never experience sub-zero temperatures and snow have no need for an A/S tire on a high-performance car. As a result, they compare this tire to either max or extreme performance summer tires.
However, comparing this tire to the Kumho ECSTA 4X A/S tires on my son's Mazda 3, I would rate them at least as equals, and probably a bit better when below zero.
Additionally, using a regular rotation period of 5k miles, these tires demonstrate fantastic wear resistance. Currently at 19k miles and less than 50% wear. Very quiet on the freeway as well. The only negative is the braking and cornering traction in the wet should be a little higher.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
March 30, 2013

A very quiet winter tire. In fact quieter than many all season tires I owned. Very good traction in wet snow. I drive around city busses stuck in it! I was very surprised at the braking action as well. Stops bette than my jeep with winters.

Initial Review, 4,837 Miles on Tires
March 22, 2013

I ordered 2 sets of these tires ( both studded, hence the lower dry traction score and noise ) with new steel rims, one set for my brother who has the identical vehicle. I have just over 7780 kms on these, ordered October 15th, installed on the 22nd of October.

These tires are AMAZING in the snow, and equally competent on ice with the carbide studs. Wear seems to be non-existant, however I haven't measured the tread depth. The only downside to having studded tires though is the noise, which is more annoying at lower speeds in town, as well as reduced traction braking and accelerating on dry road in the winter.

With the traction control off, you can break them loose in wet snow, but it takes a bit of throttle to do so. With traction control on, this car is like a 4x4, I managed to climb about a 25 degree incline with about 5 inches of fresh wet snow ( back lane that didn't get plowed ) without losing forward momentum, although the traction light was flickering.

If you live in the snow belt, you need these tires. If you also have a lot of ice in the winter ( melt/freeze cycles + rain and snow ) you need them studded. What a difference over driving most of my life on all seasons.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 10, 2013

Just yesterday we had a blizzard and this was my first opportunity to try out these winter tires. The roads were all covered with snow so it was Perfect to see if the tires are going to perform well in these conditions. First I started with starting and abrupt stopping. I was great! Tires kept grip well and stopped only after a minimal slip (the car had no ABS system). Next test was a hill. Next to exxon gas station across from pathmark. It was pretty steep. I stopped in the middle. Car was not sliding down, I started to step on gas pedal, it was difficult and tires were slipping but we made it! I'm sure I wouldn't make it with all season tires. It was impressive but also a very extreme effort. Next was an empty parking lot were I was slaloming in the snow trying to lose control and make the car fishtail. I failed. Tires did a great job! I couldnt believe it. The difference between all season and winter tires is huge. Last part was a long hill on Goerge Rd, I went uphill no problem, downhill I was hitting brakes to see what happens, every time tires made the car stop with minimal slip. Tires totally passed the test. I was amazed how well they performed and how safe they make you feel. I would totally recommend them. You may need them only a couple of times before they plough but they can make a huge difference when you need them and save you. I was so excited to try them out and I was not disappointed. Great tires for a good price. Buy buy buy!

Initial Review, 4,500 Miles on Tires
March 19, 2013

This is my first ever set of winter tires, so I can't really compare them to any other tire, except all-seasons. My first misconception was that the tires would make my car invincible in the snow - they didn't. You still have to be mindful of how you're driving. Having said that, I've only driven a handful of times in the snow with these tires, and I fully enjoyed all of them. I could drive twice the speed of the other cars, in a lane that was still snowed in and had barely any tracking. I've also played around in a parking lot with about 2-3 inches of fresh snow and the responsiveness of these tires is very good. You will still slide if you're braking too quickly or turning too sharply, but much less than with the all-season tires that I've had in the past. I had one experience with deep snow, and it wasn't a good one. I tried to plow through a foot of snow in my driveway and got stuck. Not really the tire's fault, but I did notice that FWD with an open differential is not very good for those instances. That's why I think that your drive train will play a big part in the overall performance of these tires. Last thoughts - they look nice and meaty, noise level is low, and ride comfort is great. Not recommended for spirited driving, but excellent for everyday use. I would like to compare these to the Bridgestone Blizzaks, if I ever get the opportunity. Snow tires are fun!

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
March 02, 2010

This is more a review of these tires on my specific car.



Great in the snow, absolutely great. The more snow the better, or so it seems. Braking is easily better than all-seasons, as is handling and acceleration. Wet snow is noticable more difficult to maintain control, however. Now for the bad news, seemingly terrible in the slush. Not sure if it is my car or the tires, but the car gets pushed around very easily by even small amounts of slush. I tend to believe it has more to do with my cars suspension, weight, and width to wheelbase ratio than the tires though. Easier to drive through 6 inches of snow than 1 inch of slush. Fun to have a car willing to rotate on dry roads, but not so much on wet winter slush.



Dry roads are mixed, as these things like to grab every little pebble and sand grain the road commission dumps on Michigan. Slip and control is well within tolerance though, and really only becomes an issue in spirited driving. It takes very little to spin the inside wheel accelerating through a tight corner if there is any sand, debris. Clean roads are great in the dry though. Some tire wandering above 65 mph, although determined mostly by road surface. Tires seem to move and stretch a noticable amount more above freezing temperatures, although this is only apparent driving back to back temperature differences.



Very quiet tire, almost as quiet as the non-OEM all-seasons that I had on before. (Coopers?) Much quieter than my father and bro-in-laws Blizzak Revo's. Stock wheels are 17", these are on 16", I notice more rebounding motion from the tires than stock, although small imperfections are slightly smoothed over versus stock. In retrospect, I should have gone with 17" as the extra sidewall can be felt in hard acceleration. Not sure on tread-wear yet.



In summary on my Mazda 6s, great on the snow, bad in slush, matches wet(rain) A/S performance, dependable dry weather performance and a very quiet ride for snow tires.

Initial Review, 1,100 Miles on Tires
March 17, 2013

I travel a minimum of 160 miles a day speeds ranging from 70- 105+ with hard braking and taking corners off exit ramps at high speed been through a few sets of tires throughout the years these are very responsive and weigh 2 lbs less than the stock replacements I would recommend these tires for almost any application As I do drive hard in all conditions and can say I do put my tires to the test daily I also run high tire pressures and still rides nice 41psi is where I have them set 51 psi max on tires

Initial Review, 4,200 Miles on Tires
March 16, 2013

This is my second review of this tire, and THIRD season of use. They continued to perform beyond what I expected from a winter tire. Braking on ice is completely drama-free. These tires stop right NOW when you want them to.
I would say the tire's worst performance occurs on rough unpacked "cruddy" snow. There, the directional stability becomes iffy and the car feels like it's just floating over the snow as opposed to digging through it. (This may be because my tires are 205 instead of the OEM 195, less weight per surface area)
I did a lot of highway driving with this tire and they made no annoying road noises at high speeds and had no problem standing up to warm highway use in terms of wear. In fact, the tires appear to have lost only 0.5mm of tread over 4200 miles (half of which was dry highway!) Wow!!
I love these tires and I will always use Michelin winter tires and recommend them to everyone I know.

Initial Review, 50,000 Miles on Tires
March 17, 2013

Deep snow In 4WD mode: Good traction for take off, cornering and braking are not as good as take off. To be fair braking and cornering are far better than the other traffic on the road in deep snow, it's easy to accelerate past other traffic and to stop and turn. It's just the traction afforded during take off doesn't match the cornering and stopping (probably the 4WD engaged vs 2WD mode). I found my self sliding off the road in deep snow when traveling much faster than traffic. If I slowed to slightly faster than the average traffic I didn't slide in corners and had no braking lockups at all.
Wet conditions 2WD: No hydroplaning through the life of the tread, good braking and cornering in the wet, take off will spin the tires pretty easily but it's a pickup truck so that's expected.
Dry conditions: Good traction for take off, good braking and cornering. In the dry it's a very good tire. Under emergency braking to the point of activating the antilock system the tires tracked straight with no extra input needed maintain directional control. To be fair stability control in the Tundra may have played a part but, in the particular instance a lady pulled out of a gas station in front of me and the guy in the lane next to me. We were both a 40 mph and slammed on the brakes as we fully expected to hit her. She froze when she realized a truck and car were coming at her and that she was about to be hit. We both stopped about 3 to 8 inches from hitting her. The Tundra and Bridgestones didn't slide or slew and no one was hurt. I heard the tires from my truck and the car next to me skidding as the antilocks pulsed on both vehicles.
Ride comfort is very good, steering response very good, tire noise is good but sometimes on concrete the noise is a little louder than asphalt. Tire wear has be good 50,000 miles and there is still some left before the wear bars. Now that they are near the wear bars there is some hint of hydroplaning but they are all but worn out. Light Offroad good

Initial Review, 96,000 Miles on Tires
March 12, 2013

Best Michelin tires I,ve ever owned. Most of my Michelin tires were finished by 70,000, these are still legal but now a little loud. The Hwy speed between 45-75.Fourteen months ago on the Dallas toll road during rush hour stop and go I glanced at my GPS when my wife drew a deep breath,at abt 35 mph I floored the brakes and missed an accident due to the short stopping distance of this tire. They paid for themselves.Love these tires! LTX -M&S-2 THE BEST!!! Skip

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
March 07, 2013

So far the tires haved preformed excellent, dry, wet corning and braking is excellent. Light snow is good and heavy snow is just OK. I have only 3000 miles on the tires. So time will tell the whole story. I think the price for the tires were great. If they continue to preform well, I will definitely buy them again.