Michelin Performance Tires

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
March 02, 2012

Great tires...for grandpa's Buick! Very quiet, smooth riding tires. Noticeable improvement in fuel economy over OEM Goodyear RS-A's. However, if you do ANY spirited driving, be warned: these tires have flimsy sidewalls compared to the RS-A's. I've had to pump these "balloons" to 36psi up front, 34psi rear just to maintain a semblance of performance. Above 70mph, there's a vibration that rebalancing hasn't solved. My fault for not sticking to a true performance tire. I can't wait to replace these. But given this tire's treadwear rating, I may be waiting a while...

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
May 18, 2012

I have 18 inch Honda Ridgeline (5 spoke) wheels on my van. These tires are expensive, but I bought them because they had the best customer reviews in my size. I have put 6,000 miles on them and I couldn't be happier... I'm glad I spent the extra money! They are SUPER quiet; even my wife commented on how quiet the tires are. I recently drove through a torrential down pour and there was no hint of hydroplaning or skittishness from the tires. I could not say that about the Michelin MXMV4's that I replaced... even when they were new. I cannot comment on the winter performance of these tires, but I run Blizzaks anyway. My only complaint is the tires tend to flat spot over night, but they smooth out in about 5 miles. As long as they smooth out quickly, I don't mind. If you by these tires, have them re-balanced after the first 1,000 miles and make sure they balance them warm, and without the vehicle sitting for too long. You will not be disappointed with these tires.

Initial Review, 100 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

So far I am loving these tires. I had a set of Goodyears with not many miles on them, and the front tires started to split where the tread meets the sidewalls (factory defect, but useless Goodyear didn't give a d*mn). I had to buy new tires and was always happy with the Michelin MXV4+ tires, but I found these Kumho's for $60 less and the same ratings (Better in some categories). My first few trips with these tires made me very happy I got them. They are super quiet, very comfortable. Their traction is top notch. They look great too. Its too early to tell how they affect mileage and how the treadwear is, I will update again with more miles on them. But compared to the old Goodyears, they were nearly $100 less per tire, they have much better traction and speed ratings, and the wear rating is better too. I got the Goodyears for the quite ride and the traction and I must say these Kumho tires out perform the Goodyears. I would very much recommend these tires, you can't beat the price and they perform above and beyond any other tire at this price, even better than some tires that are twice as expensive.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
May 22, 2011

I needed to replace the factory Michelins after 75000 miles. I've had Kumhos on my previous Explorer, as well as, I have them on my wife's truck so I know how well these tires are made. I purchased these tires because I not only live in NYC but I also goto NE PA to see my parents, and winters can be bad. This winter was worse in NYC than NE PA, and these tires performed flawlessly. When NYC received two feet of snow and my Explorer was plowed in at work. The guys came out and said there was no way the Explorer would get out. Not only did it get out, but on many unplowed city streets, the Kumhos gripped and grabbed and got me home. These tires are extremely impressive. I would definitely buy these again.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

Good traction. Good mix of dry, wet and snow performance. Decent noise level. Major problem is uneven central rib wearing in a car that is aligned and with normal tire pressure. Tires need replacing after 15000 miles. This is a known problem with this tire in certain sizes. It's a gamble buying this tire.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
May 07, 2012

I have used these tires in summer driving only. The Lexus dealer told me that they did not meet the speed rating for my car, but I had read other TireRack reviews of this tire on the RX400h so I insisted. So far I have been glad that I did. The tires are quiet, provide all the performance I need (70 Km of commuting in mixed hwy/city daily and weekend hiway drives to the cottage) and appear to be wearing well.

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
May 05, 2012

I am currently on my 3rd set of tires. Awesome!. These are bar none the best tires that I have ever purchased. These tires perform very well in 3 - 6 inches of snow, no problems. As a spirited driver, they certainly stand up to anything that I throw their way. Comfort level lasts about 50,000 miles, and then starts to fade, and that is certainly expected. My complaint is that they are a little noisy on concrete highways, but thank goodness that most highways on the northeast are asphalt. So, there you have it folks, from a spirited driver that drives almost daily.

Initial Review, 29,760 Miles on Tires
May 01, 2012

I have almost 131,000 miles on my M45 and this will be my third set since the originals(Potenza's) wore out at 30,000. My buddy has a 2005 with Michelin Pilot's and the only difference in performance is Kumho's don't like heavy rain but, at $120 less per tire, and in the Florida heat, the Khumo's are outstanding- even at 120+ they are glue and I can't complain about averageing 35,000 miles per set. - N

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
April 29, 2012

I love this tire. I started off with the OEM on my car - the Michelin MXM4 V-rated tires. They lasted 40k miles, but I was scared to death if I got caught in a heavy downpour on the interstate. I then went to BFGoodrich TA-KDW. They had dramatically improved traction (as you would expect from going to all-season to summer), especially on wet surfaces thanks to those deep grooves. However, those deep grooves produced excessive road noise. It sounded like I had mudders on my Accord. They also killed over after 20K miles. Given, I've only had my Potenzas about 20K miles and they are looking like I need to start thinking about purchasing a new set, I love them. They are incredibly quiet and comfortable. They have tremendous grip on dry surfaces, and I feel very safe on wet and puddled surfaces. Would highly recommend to anyone that wants performance and comfort, while willing to sacrifice some tread life.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
April 30, 2012

I've had these tires on the car for about a month now. Mostly for regular commuting work but I did do 1 track day on these. On track they are very consistent and have no appreciable drop-off within a 20min session. the grip level is rather high and is quite forgiving at limit. I am not sure though how much of this attribute to the tires themselves, or the fact that I increased the width from stock fitment, which probably helps in reducing their abuse. Steering response is quite good, though actual steering feel seems kinda vague and seems to hunt a bit more on-highway, might be the width again. No real mileage in really wet weather to report their aquaplaning performance, and I think its early to judge on treadwear, eventhough it looks good right now. Full judgement will have to be made after some autox days. The price is probably the only thing that'll stop me from buying again. If they last as long as their treadwear rating suggests then these will be a good candidate for repeat purchase...

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
May 03, 2012

Great tires, excellent quality for the price. I drive from Boston to Nothern Vermont frequently. In Vermont am on dirt roads 60% of the time. These tires perform well on the highway and on dirt roads the hold corners on dirt road as well as they do on the highway. I know this is an odd review but these tires do a wonderful job on all surfaces and under widely varying conditions. I have snow tires for the winter so I cannot comment on there performance on ice and snow.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 25, 2012

Replaced the OEM Michelins. Traction, handling, and stability of the OEMs with the added bonus of being much quieter. Haven't experienced them on hot pavement yet, so I'm not sure how chirpy they will be. Bottom line: I'm very pleased with these tires. I shopped hard for a Max Performance tire that didn't create a lot of road noise due to the occasional long trips over highway I make. So road noise is important to me. Finally, like all Michelins, these Super Sports are a little pricey, but so far, very much worth it. Believe the high ratings you're seeing from everyone. CR rates them tops too.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
January 27, 2011

Just a so so tire. I have sport package on my car but I am not driving like a mad man at this time so I have not tested the limits. My biggest issue with this tire is it is turning brown, keeps getting worse. You can't scrub the brown off and make tires look like new and you have to use tire dressing to conceal. Recently I saw a number of other up market cars in a parking lot with Cinturato P7 and noticed that they all had same problem of turning brown. Car and Drive commented on thes tire in Feb 2011 issue (pg 84). The tires were on a 2009 A4 Sedan with sport package. After 25k they put on a new set of P Zeros and said it felt like a new car. They said P Zeros took 16 feet off 70-to-0 braking distance and added 0.03g in corning grip. I guess Pirelli's Green Performance approach to developing products offerings is not working. Car does not handle as sharp as Michelin PS2 and the low rolling resitance compound they used is not really up to task as tires look dried out and turn a brown color. I guess they need to make improvement on this one. Remember it is not only how you feel but how you look and these tires just don't cut it. Throw-in a VERY high price and these tires just don't make sense. When you need new tires you should just pass on Cinturato P7s. I just bought new tires for my A6 and I chose Michelin PS2 again and could not be happier. On my old Volvo V70 R I had PZero Rosso and PZero Nero All season and both those tires where much better and did not have issue of turning brown.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
May 01, 2012

This tire just keeps giving performance. Have been a Michelin Pilot Sport guy for years...not any more. Incredable traction in both wet and dry conditions. I do a lot of back road driving in the forests of Bavaria Germany and these tires have given me a new confidence to push the envelope.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
May 02, 2012

I live in downtown Kansas City and the roads here are terrible. I could not stand the Michelin Pilot PS2 ZP OEMs that came on the car. They were VERY harsh over bumps in the road. They did have excellent grip and responsiveness though. I was looking for a tire that could deliver better comfort on these bad roads. These DSWs are a night and day difference. The DSWs are much less harsh over bumps that the old RFTs. They are not nearly as responsive as run flat tires but make the car more pleasant to drive. It is my daily driver. I also get slightly better MPG (1-2 MPG) with these. If your looking for a more comfortable ride and are willing to sacrifice a bit of summer performance, ditch the RFTs and get these!

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
April 26, 2012

I purchased a set of these tires to replace the worn out set of Sport Pilots that were on my car that had achieved 27K miles, complete with at least 4 track days (one of which was a rainy day) and still they were not quite down to the wear bars. Clearly though, the old set was work hardened and not performing well at the track or comfortably on the road.

What a HUGE difference these new Sport Pilot PS2 tires made to the track handling and overall driveability and comfort of the car! Wow! Over the years I have tried other tires, Conti Sports, Bridgestones Pole Position, Kumho Ecsta XS and frankly none of them can hold a candle to the Michelin Sport Pilot series of tires in terms of overall performance. I'm not saying that the other tires aren't good tires for the money but, if you want outstanding performance in a tire that you can drive on the street in comfort and flog to the limits and beyond on the track and still get some mileage from then the Sport Pilot is the best one out there and the PS2 is even better. My car sticks like glue around Willow Springs - utterly amazing. These tires are very predictable when driven to the limit and very forgiving when pushed beyond those limits. Very little scalloping of the outside and little to no roll up of rubber along the outer 1/3 of the tires - a common sight on all of the other tires that I have run at the track and see on other similar cars at the track. This is also a marked improvement over the earlier Sport Pilot version of the tire.

At the same time, the these tires are also excellent driving around town and very comfortable driving down the freeway, low noise and comfortable over the miles of expansion joints. They have excellent traction without requiring warm up, have excellent wet road traction and performance. In the wet, with DSC off it takes some extra effort to spin the rear wheels and they have predictable understeer when pushed around corners. You will be pleased with these tires!

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
April 28, 2012

I have driven on Michelin Alpin, Bridgeston Blizzak, and older Continental WinterContact winter tires before on my previous cars and minivan. I must say that these Continental ExtremeWinterContact winter tires are definitely the most quiet, best handling, and most comfortable ones from my experience. My commute is about 40% city streets, 30% freeways, and 30% curvy mountainous highways. It is because of the mountainous roads that I must travel on regularly which prompted my winter tire research for a high performance winter tire. The Tire Rack website and review was very influential in my decision to try out these ExtremeWinterContact winter tires. I must say that the reviews are quite accurate as my last set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 compared very similarly to me as the Tire Rack review comparison. One difference I should point out was that I found the ExtremeWinterContact tires on my Honda Odyssey minivan worked best for the road I typically traveled when inflated to 42psi on the front and 40psi on the rear. These tire pressures yielded the best balance between cornering performance, ride comfort, and road noise.

I had finally removed these ExtremeWinterContact tires for my all-season tires (Kumho ECSTA Platinum LX... also excellent tires) even though our weather in Vancouver, BC has warmed up to over 15C. The ExtremeWinterContact tires worked so well in the dry that I had forgotten they were winter tires that should be swapped out for all-season tires. In summary, I highly recommend the Continental ExtremeWinterContact winter tires for anyone looking for the best performance winter tires for ice, snow, wet, and dry conditions.