Car Brake Pads

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
February 19, 2013

So I have this tire only for 500 miles, but I am writing initial review. Later, after several thousands miles I will do follow-up.
These tires are replacing horrible Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX tires I had on VW CC since I bought a car. Those were installed by dealer, so I thought, OK I will drive them untill I wear them out. What a mistake. After 12,000 miles two tires developed flat spots, started to coup, became extremely noisy. Anyway, after some 18,000 miles, of which 6,000 were pure torture, I decided that it was enough.
I got these Pilot Super Sport because I wanted summer tires, which is appropriate for European vehicle. In Europe, from where I am coming, cars come with summer tires not all season tires, and then in winter we switch to winter tires. Here in the U.S. it seems most of the people for some reason love all season tires.
Anyway, Michellin's were drastic improvement. I could feel improvement immediately in handling and braking. Improvement in handling was drastic, but in braking was amazing. The brake pedal now feels stiff, no changes in stiffness during driving like with Kumho's. Since I got Pilot Super Sport, ABS did not activate at all for now, although I drive spirited. Hard accelerations do not result anymore in spinning for no reason, and ride, oh well, it does not seem like I am driving any more on four rolling rocks.
I will do follow-up after 5,000, 10,000 and later. So far, they live up to their reputation.
Here in Southern California there are few rainy days, so I cannot say anything yet on the wet performance, but I believe it will be equally impressive.
If you plan to buy new performance tires, do no look further then Pilot Super Sport!

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 17, 2013

For many years I used Bridgestone Blizzaks, which perform very well in ice and snow. But for my new all-wheel drive Audi, I wanted winter tires that handled better on dry pavement. The Michelin Xi3 was said to almost equal the Blizzaks on ice and snow but be less "squishy" on dry and wet pavement, so I went with the Michelin.

Shortly after mounting them I drove to the NH White Mountains and took part in a winter driving school. For two days I practiced slalom and skid-pad maneuvers on ice and packed snow. The Michelins were exemplary here, and the instructors were very impressed. While other cars (mostly AWD Audis) were sliding into snowbanks left and right, my allroad with the Michelins stayed in control, accelerated and braked very well.

The claimed performance on dry roads was also seen - unlike the Blizzaks, the Michelins don't howl and they felt very much like good all-season tires on dry pavement, with a confident feeling. Very impressive.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
February 24, 2013

I haven't had these long, but from the tires that were on my car to now it's such a drastic, dramatic improvement. My other vehicle has top end tires that aren't this quiet nor this good on wet/dry traction. At 70 mph it's so quiet I can whisper to my wife and she can hear me. No kidding. It's still very early on to report on tread wear. I've pushed these hard in both rains and dry road on turns, braking, and both combined. They didn't fail. I know tires, and for the price and recognized performance to date, I haven't owned s better set yet. Highly, highly recommended!

Initial Review, 8,500 Miles on Tires
February 10, 2013

Absolutely magnificent tire!! Two days ago we had about 6 inches of snow and this tire just absolutely blew me away with how well it performed in the snow and ice. I kid you not, with my Camry, I could accelerate off of street lights as well as a 4x4 driving next to me. Stopping was no contest, I easily braked better.

As for wear, so far I'm almost 10K in and the tires show no wear whatsoever.

In the dry they aren't quite as sticky as the Sumitomos I replaced, nor are they as quiet, but in the wet they are about equal and in the snow there is no contest. The Sumitomos were not only bad, but dangerous and bordering on suicidal.

Comfort-wise the tires have a smooth soft ride, which probably explains the slight lack of steering response. They need a split-second to set up before they respond. Certainly nothing that is an issue in even spirited driving. On a track it might be a bit unnerving, but on the street its nothing to even think about.

Would I buy these again? As long as these are an option for a car I drive in all seasons, these will be on it!!!!

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
February 16, 2013

My second set of Blizzak's had my first set with my Tiburon. We got a mild snow here early and the regular tires on the Genesis were already spinning like crazy. I knew I was going to need snow tires in the New England winter so I went ahead and bought Blizzaks once again Tire Rack beat everyone else's prices by a mile actually coming in at $300 less including shipping than any tire shop I checked at. I went out with the car last weekend during the so-named storm of Nemo here and saw one SUV off the road immediately upon exiting the turnpike ramp. Not an unusual sight mind you but comical to go by in my RWD Genesis and have no problems at all. As other reviews have said, the Blizzaks really grip the road and may give you a false sense of confidence combined with the ESC on the car. Having learned to drive with RWD vehicles and in New England winters there is no substitute for leaving 10 minutes earlier or leaving extra space when following another vehicle and for braking, some people seem to forget all common sense every winter and wind up in the ditch. That being said, the Blizzaks will get you where you want to go, even when two vehicles couldn't seem to make it up a small hill (more of a grade mind you) and I had to come to a complete stop or hit them, I still got up the hill there was some spinning but once they got traction up we went. These tires are worth every penny and my last set lasted the four winters I ran them when I had the car. Typically I drive around 12k a year so the snow tires see maybe 6k each winter for mileage.

Initial Review, 25 Miles on Tires
August 27, 2012

I had to replace the Hankook tires in this brand new car after only 1,700 miles. My teenage daughter drove on top of a curve and severely damaged both tires on the driver's side.

Facing the decision, with the frustration of events, I decided not to replace like-for-like since I was already extremely disappointed with OE tires. I selected the Michelins based on the reviews and tests from TR.

Within driving off the store with the new tires, I was just in heaven. All of the sudden I felt I was in a great car!! No more bouncing around; no more feeling that the car was going to lift up after every bump; no more feeling that the tail was going to come around every time I turned a corner at low speeds; no more "empty can like" sound every time I hit a bump on the road.

Now the car drives securely planted on the road. Turns corners with an extreme feeling of grip and control. Braking is also much better!!!

Hyundai should install these tires as OE!!! I am sure people would pay the little extra!!

So, in order to apeace my mind towards my daughter, I decided to believe that her little accident was a sign for me to replace the OE tires in order to ensure her safety from now on!! Otherwise, I would have to ground her until she goes to college!!! LOL!!

The interesting thing was that my daughter, with only months of driving experience, was also complaining about the OE tires. She told me she did not feel safe with them.

I will post an update later once I get more miles in different conditions and also can evaluate gas mileage. That is assuming that my daughter does not have any other serious "event" with the car (--- help us!!!)

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 12, 2013

I have limited miles with these tires on my RWD BMW, but the one major storm we had here in the north east recently I was able to put these tires to the test which include hard braking, evasive maneuvers and acceleration and was amazed how well the car performed under the conditions, It made you feel in total control and you can feel the tires grip the road and push the car ahead.
I look forward to the winters now with my rear wheel drive BMW now!

I was really impressed with how these tires performed

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
January 24, 2013

These tires most assuredly saved me from an accident. While driving at about 40mph at an intersection, a drunk driver ran his stop light and T-Boned the car immediately in front of me. Had I hit the brakes I know I would have hit the offending driver. I turned the wheel hard right and although the tires were screeching and screaming their protest, I made the 90° turn at 40mph as if my Mercedes were on a rail track. Finest tire I have ever had on a Mercedes!

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
January 26, 2013

These tires were installed on my car when I bought it at 27k miles in Feb 2011. I'm now at 67k miles, almost Feb 2013 so I average 20k miles per year.

To start off, when the tires were new I was pleased with them. Plenty of dry and wet traction and low noise. Car tracked good as alignment was performed when tires were installed. Over the course of 40k miles I would have expected the tires to be shot and pretty worn. Granted I have a lightweight vehicle but I've still got 6/32 tread on center. Edges however are more like 3/32. I know edge wear is due to the MINI's aggressive suspension, however the tire noise is now quite loud. Not as bad as goodyear eagles with similar mileage but loud none the less.

Last winter was quite mild and I never had the chance to test out the MINI in the snow. Finally got the chance to drive in a snowstorm last week and let me say- Mark these tires down as NOT all-seasons. More like 3-season tires. With 6/32 tread life over 80-90% of the tire I expected much more in snow. Braking in snow is awful- slight tap on the brakes caused me to fishtail across multiple lanes on the interstate in less than an inch of snow on the roads (traveling about 55mph and going straight initially). Starting from a stop is a joke, grandmas pass me in their Buicks. Cornering in snow is, lets say breath taking, and not in a good way. Again, this is all on less than an inch of snow. Nowhere close to "deep snow" and not slush or ice.

I am now investing in new tires. Again, these Hankooks are not "worn out", more like 50% tread left. These tires would be great for someone who lived in warm climates that may get cold but stay above freezing. However for a norther climate driver, I would pass on these.

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
December 29, 2012

The General are great tires for wet NW, performs great last week crossing I90 Snoqualmie Pass to I97 Blewett Pass, a 780 mile trek in ice snow blizzard condition, from Seattle to Wenatchee and back, across the Cascade Mountains. Highway 2 was completely closed due to avalanche and huge trees blocking. With 9" snow fall that night and 21F temp at mile 47 many cars and trucks could not traverse the road. Many 4x4 spinning all 4 going nowhere, trucks with chains spinning at 5-10 mph, many two wheel drivers going up skiing were in the ditch, but the General kept going without losing traction or use of chains at 25-35 mph. I easily drove around a group of 4x4 trucks and commercial trucks in chains spinning out in front of me on an off camber turn. The 07 Expedition has Electronic Active Stability Control RSC, 4x4 and General Grabber HTS . I can see the Skid control light up on my dash but could not feel the vehicle losing traction or sliding. When I got to Eastern Washington, I tested the car in an empty parking lot to determine how much traction I had before the vehicle spinout, it took a lot of ham fisted driving at over 30-35 mph in 2-3" snow and ice before the car spinout, at 15-20 mph the electronic skid control would kick in and prevent the car from skidding even in turning braking maneuver. Amazing Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer with 4x4, RSC Active Skid Control and General Grabber HTS. It took 8 hours to drive 158 miles each way over the pass, the ham-fisted testing in the snow covered parking lot was only done so I know how far I can push the car before losing control. That is not the way I drive with my wife and two girls. Very quiet tires, my girls complain when other car's tires are too noisy driving along side of our car on the freeway. Great traction in wet and dry conditions. Good feed back in my steering wheel for such a big vehicle. Gave it an 8 for rock because it picks up too many pebbles then toss them, pack with clay mud will lose traction.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
January 26, 2013

My warm season tire is the BS RE970AS PP, an ultra high performance A/S, and I love it. Compared to that, this tire clearly provides better snow and ice traction. I drove on I495N between Delaware and Philly during a recent light snowstorm. The temperatures hadnt risen above 20F for five days and the salt/sand trucks hadn't been out yet, so the left and right lanes were virtually virgin with two inches of unmelted powder. Just as I broke single file formation into the left lane, a jacked up F150 broke to the right lane. Within seconds he nearly fishtailed and fell back in line. I was worried, but kept plowing ahead carefully, and before I knew it, I was the only one in sight, pushing 80mph after having passed the most daring of other drivers going no faster than 55, so I took the opportunity to try braking and swerving ever so carefully to test the traction. The combination of AWD and these tires resulted in an astounding amount of traction and confidence. Within the limits of my nerve, I literally could not break the rear end loose, or even get the traction control to kick in-- I finally gave up trying. In the grocery store parking lot, jackrabbit starts from a dead stop into a 90 degree parking spot did break the rear end loose, but barely, and the car fell in line immediately when traction control lit up. These tires clearly suffer more squirminess at near triple digit highway speeds, and they aren't as glued and fun in dry weather as the RE970s, but they're definitely no worse than the Michelin Pilot Exaltos or any other all season grand touring tire--may even be better than many. Bottom line, I thought about switching these in/out every time the weather forecast warranted, so as to keep the 970s on as much as possible, but these winter tires sacrifice relatively little dry traction and provide so much more confidence in the snow and ice, that from now on, I'll be putting them on come November and I'll leave them on till the spring.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
December 29, 2012

I highly recommend the Michelin P4 if you are interested in a very high performance winter tire. I run the Michelin Super Sport as my summer tire, and these are every bit their equal in cool dry weather, and with less tread squirm. Amazing! In 10" deep, relatively dry snow, the traction was superb, no loss of grip under power or brake. Yesterday, in 4" of packed, snow, ice, and slush mix, the car floated a bit more than our FX 35 on the Blizzak LM70, but the start/stop grip was very good, even in these poor conditions. Dry and wet cornering at speed is outstanding. I am quite happy with the tire.

Initial Review, 3,500 Miles on Tires
December 30, 2012

I've had these Pirellis on my 335xi for a bit over a month now and I've out almost 3,500 miles on them since, in a number of conditions.

In the last week especially, I've experienced just about everything you could throw at these and I'd frankly rate them as bulletproof.

This last week I road tripped to VA from CT to see my family (800 mile round trip) with warm temps at times (50s) and cold (10s). I had light snow & slush, dry roads and cold and the tires just get better the folder it gets. I then drove to VT yesterday to go snowboarding (350 miles round trip) and returned in a heavy winter storm (4+ inches of heavy snow). Roads were NOT being plowed in any state (VT, MA, CT) and tires handled great. Lots of confidence going up and down hills, great braking, ABS/TC never kicked in once and never felt any slip. And most of the drive through MA and CT was like driving through Donner Pass in CA when it's chains only (which I've done a few times - lots of packed snow, can't see lanes, chains or AWD/4WD with snows required) and the 210s were solid. Able to easily do 40-50, visibility & traffic permitting (probably faster but girlfriend didn't like that).

My point of comparison for these is the Continental ContiPro RFTs in OEM size that were the original tires on my vehicle. They rode really hard and were quite loud. The 210s ride a bit softer, and are quieter (for an RFT - not as quiet as non-RFTs). Worlds better in snow handling. Contis were a bit better in dry/warm than 210s, which can feel a bit mushy in corners at speed, but the more miles I get on them, the more its like riding on rails.

If you have an AWD car and live where there's snow, or drive to where there's snow, step up and get yourself some snows - best decision I ever made.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
January 07, 2013

Before I start I will say that I have a unique car, 1956 Chevrolet Belair 9-passenger wagon. I have put a great deal of time, attention and money into making this car a aweet daily-driver over the last 3 years, including extensive suspension and brake work/upgrades. When I got the car 3 years ago I put new 17 inch BF Goodrich G-Force Sports and American Racing Torque Thrust II's on all 4 wheels (17x8). Although there was still tread left, after a certain wear level these tires began to drive and handle very badly. The tire needed to go. I did A LOT of research and price comparisions and selected the Michelin Primacy MXM4. I have to say I can not believe the positive difference these tires made in my car...Extraordinary! WAY better handling, and much lower noise level both while going down the road and over bumps with these. Road impacts are almost eliminated and the car is very sure footed. While these are quite wide they do mot tramline or follow irregular road surfaces at all as my previous tires did. (These Michelins are the exact same size as my previous tires) I notice a huge difference the entire time I am driving the car, better and quiter driving, stopping, steering as well as better straight-line stability and cornering on my heavy car. I am SO glad I got these. If you enjoy researching and comparing keep doing it, but If you want to be done making the best decision and start really enjoying your car do yourself a favor. Stop researching and get these tires. (They also look great on my car) Thanks and have a great day.

Initial Review, 32,000 Miles on Tires
December 29, 2012

These tires were new on our 2008 Toyota Highlander at time of purchase in early 2010 (used vehicle). They are very quiet, and fuel efficent, since they have such a shallow tread depth, even when new. At 32000 miles though, they are nearly worn out - and coming into winter here in PA I should probably replace them. All I can say is thank goodness this vehicle has full time AWD, traction control, and antilock brakes. In rain, or any bit of snow (even when they were new) they are helpless. 2 weeks after we got the car (tires were NEW!), my wife thought she would go to work before I blew the 10" of snow off the driveway, and got her poor new Toyota stuck in our driveway with all 4 tires spinning on the level! I had to use her old car (a 1996 S10 Blazer, which I now drive) with 3-yr. old BFG ATs (with over 40K miles on them!) to drive around her, and hook to the back to pull her out (like the snow wasn't even there!)... Im STILL running the BFGs on that car, with over 60K miles on them, and they still have 30-40% of their tread left, are still doing well in the snow, and cost less than these... guess what brand I'm putting on her Toyota next...

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
January 08, 2013

First let me say I feel obligated to write this review as I always read others reviews to help me in my decision as to which tires to buy. I had decided on a particular tire for my car but was concerned about giving up performance that is the usual trade-off when buying a snow tire. Thank you to the Tire Rack representative on the phone when I called to obtain more info. He asked good questions and when he found out I had a Porsche, recommended a tire designed specifically for my high performance vehicle. Now as for the tires, I paid what I expected to for a lesser, non high performance snow tire. I drove in Oregon in late December during serious snow and ice condidtions. The tires never slid, stumbled or had any trouble with traction on roads consisting of snow, ice and a mixture of both. The tires are as quiet if not more so than my stock summer tires which was a major surprise. I was willing to sacrifice comfort and noise for the security of a dedicated snow tire. On dry roads they ride, handle and brake excellently. and in the snow, I was so grateful I did not settle for just all season tires. I have no doubt in my mind that all season tires would not have been able to handle the conditions I drove though. The peace of mind these tires gave me and my family cannot be overstated. The added bonus that Tire Rack had them for the same price as all seasons was an added surprise. These are the third set of Michelin tires I have put on three different vehicles and I completly understand where the extra money goes. They may cost a bit more, but perform better, last longer and ultimeately will save money over other lesser brands that have an inferior warranty and performance. Back to these tires, I trust them enough that I would have no problem recommending them to anyone who wants the security and peace of mind they afford them and their family. I cannot say enough good things about them. Well done Michelin, your engineering expertise is unsurpassed!

Initial Review, 200 Miles on Tires
December 30, 2012

So far so good. Just had these installed on my GTO. 350 hp with rear wheel drive living in WI required some winter tires for this car, which I just purchased. Night and day difference between all-season BFG tires and these winter tires. Work great on light snow and ice so far. Traction control has kicked in on occasion on acceleration, but not on braking. The car is much more sure footed on the ice and snow so I recommend these tires.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
January 11, 2013

This is an update to my previous review with a few more miles on the tires. Still very disappointing. We had some decent snow here a week or so ago, so I could test them. Braking traction is good in all conditions, but cornering is awful. I still feel slippage on turns in dry, wet, and snow conditions. It's interesting that traction in snow is about the same as wet pavement. All season? Not really-not even that great on dry pavement. Sporty? Not unless you like sliding through your turns. A step or two down from the Goodyears that came on the car and many steps down from the Dunlops.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
December 30, 2012

size=275 55 20 I've run Pirelli Scorpians, Bridgestone Blizzaks before and they are great winter tires. These Ultra Grip Ice tires are even better. They outperform the Scorps and Biizzaks at all levels on my 4Runner. The real test locally is Daley Canyon Rd. A grade that starts from 5,350' to 6,000' in about 1/2 mile. It's a hard incline in the snow and ice to ascend. These tire excel going up it whether there is snow, slush or ice.. Even more important IMO is the braking power. I'd say they offer about 20% more than the awesome Scorpians and Blizzaks. That's saying something. They corner extremely well on freshpak and moderately hardpack snow. Frankly, these tires make the 4Runner run on ice and snow like a winter beast. I can pull up to stop signs quickly, stop without sliding when other cars slip a few feet or more. If you want to regain some of the control you lose in the winter, these are the tires for you. BTW, these are the upgrade size for the 4Runner Limited. They look better, offer more road contact and only change your speedometer 1 MPH at 50 MPH because they are almost the exact same diameter.

Initial Review, 400 Miles on Tires
December 26, 2012

I currently own two vehicles and did some tire testing tonight with both vehicles so I could write a proper review. The car I bought the Winterforce tires for(Size: 195/65R15) is a 2000 Saab 9-5 wagon. It's front wheel drive with traction control and ABS. The other vehicle is a 1991 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 with 31 inch Yokohama Geolander AT-S tires. We have about 6 inches of snow and it's still falling. The roads are very slick right now with a nice packed layer of snow on them. Plus there is a large unplowed parking lot across the street. The Pathfinder in 2 wheel drive didn't fair so well in the traction department. I was pushing both vehicles to their limits and the rear wheel drive had me sliding and spinning out fairly easily on both the road and especially in the parking lot. With the truck in 4wheel drive it did really well but I was still able to pitch the truck sideways at will and set it into a nice controlled slide. The Geolanders are great in the snow but mine have quite a few hard miles on them. As for the Saab, the Winterforce tires have about 400 miles on them. When I got into the car I didn't have high hopes due to the way my truck was handling. To my surprise the Saab easily out performed my truck even with it in 4wheel drive!!!! On the slick road and in the unplowed parking lot it really took quite a bit of effort to shake it loose. Granted the traction control is playing a major role in this. When I turn it off I can easily spin the tires but it still never really felt out of control. Plus it's a manual transmission car so popping the clutch in the snow will spin any tire on the market. Even under braking the tires did awesome. I can't complain at all. They do what they were made to do very well. As for dry handling. Some are saying they make their cars feel out of control. I don't know what they are talking about. They handle really well for a specialty snow tire being used on a dry road. Even at 70mph they feel fine. They do make noise though.