New Brake Pads

Initial Review, 3,500 Miles on Tires
March 29, 2013

Purchased in 2010 as certified used. Dunlops and Firestone tires were scary, screamy on turns, took for ever to stop, always kept skidding and thus my family was scared to drive/ride. These 4 new Yokohama brought back the true joy of driving and ride comfort. Braking is much shorter and firm. absolute minimum road noise. far better gas mileage. we are enjoying quiet, comfort Toy Sienna drive/ride.

Initial Review, 27,000 Miles on Tires
March 22, 2013

tires performed well for the low price when new and up to 25000 mi. with 27k on them i'm seeing my traction control light come on when pushing the car a little bit on AWD car. wet traction has gone to poor when cornering or accelerating. snow traction has gone to below average. had a little snow/ice mixture and car failed to make a careful turn, had no braking and mowed down a stop sign on the opposite corner at 15-20 mph. had to replace tires.

Initial Review, 3,500 Miles on Tires
April 20, 2013

Have 215/45/17 Michelin Pilot Super Sports on front of my '05 Honda S2000 and 245/40/17 PSS on the rear with about 3,500 miles on tires since new. Ordinary highway driving yields low noise levels with firm, but not quite punishing, ride in what is a firm riding car.

Tires respond immediately to steering inputs and have very tight "on-center" feel. Wet performance (Florida thunderstorms) is very good and wet and dry braking are among best I've experienced in almost 60 years of driving. Kuhmhos that were on car when I bought it were more comfortable but absolutely not the tire for hard driving in comparison to Michelin PSSs.

Just drove the "Tail OF THE DRAGON" in North Carolina (318 curves in 11 miles!) for 3 days in company of over 100 Honda S2000s during annual meeting of S2000 group S2KI. Very spirited and competitive driving - 20++ MPH over posted speeds in corners posted at 10-20 MPH. PSSs exhibited phenomenal grip on damp surface 1st day and dry the remainder. Early braking for corners followed by strong acceleration produced sensations of rear tires grabbing pavement and powering car out of corner under heavy throttle, closing gap with car ahead. Eyeball-crossing "G" sensations with no howling or indications of being anywhere near limits of this tire at 40 in 20 MPH curves. 50 MPH in 20 MPH curves would produce plenty of warning through slight slip angles with excellent steering control feel and sensations of "hooking up again" part way through corner while applying strong acceleration.

Conclusions: 1)I'll never drive the S2000 as fast as this tire allows, 2) Pilot Super Sports deserve #1 ranking, and, 3) worth the premium price if you drive hard, want a tire with no nasty surprise traits during hard driving, and want better than average tire life (for max performance type tires) nonetheless.

Initial Review, 50 Miles on Tires
April 26, 2013

I bought these BFGoodrich Rival tires for use as Autocross only on an NB miata using 8" wheels. The 205/50R15 size has a slight stretch on this size wheel, making for a stiffer sidewall at lower pressures for better turn in response. I have a limited number of miles on the Rival since it is not driven at all on the street, but have competed in 6 full Autocross events on the tire(6-9 runs/event at an average of 60seconds/run).

The Rival is stiff, but compliant over bumps and does not give a harsh ride. Wear is exceptionally good. When paired with the proper amount of camber, and heat cycled correctly, there is no chunking of the tread blocks it it wears very smoothly and slowly. The Rival is plenty noisy, when cornering, but relatively quiet when traveling in a straight line. This noise is necessary for helping determine the grip available mid-corner.

Turn in is immediate, the low and wide treadblocks reduce tread squirm and the sidewalls are stiff. Traction is very good, and has a very smooth and predictable break-away. The Rival has helped improve my straight line braking ability and trail-braking as well.

As a final comparison, I had been competing in the STR class at my local Autocrosses and finishing regularly between 5th and 10th place overall on a summer tire. On the BFGoodrich GForce Rival, I have been consistently part of the top 3. The Rival is just that good. And it will be even better when paired with a properly stiff suspension.

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, 4,000 Miles on Tires
January 30, 2013

I have a 24 mile commute (one way) to my college campus in southwest Wisconsin. The plows aren't the best at keeping some of the roads cleared, and they can remain in pretty poor condition for quite some time after we get winter weather. After having a few close calls with some poor-quality all season tires, I decided to purchase a set of X-Ice Xi3's for my 2010 Ford Fusion.

I've had these tires on my vehicle for about 4,000 miles now, and have driven through a variety of poor winter weather driving conditions. I cannot say enough good things about these tires. Traction in light and deep snow is excellent. As long as I have ground clearance, these tires will grip with minimal wheel spin, and get me through it. Braking is much better too, as compared to regular all-season tires. Ice traction is much better than all-season tires. Hydroplaning resistance and wet traction are also excellent.

When the roads are clear and dry, the dry traction is also excellent. However, when cornering or with steering responsiveness in general, these tires can feel a little bit "spongy", as most snow tires do. However, I hardly notice it, and feel it is much improved over the previous generation of X-Ice snow tires. The ride comfort is excellent, and the treadwear is great (they're still practically new with over 4000 miles on them). These tires are also extremely quiet, however I have noticed they do make a little noise when driving on wet pavement, but even that's quiet.

In closing, I think Michelin did an absolutely amazing job with these tires. I highly recommend them, and will be purchasing another set of them once my current set wears out. These tires obviously can't overcome the laws of physics, give you perfect traction, and make you invincible/unstoppable in winter weather. However, with some winter driving experience and using common sense, they can make your winter driving experience much more enjoyable, and a whole lot less stressful.

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, 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, 99,679 Miles on Tires
February 10, 2013

put these tires on 12/23/2009. Drove in a snow storm to Duluth,mn and back to Orr,mn, there was anywhere from 6-10 inches of snow on the roads, never used 4-wheel drive once, not even coming up the hills in Duluth. I have drove in all weather never a problem. I get 18-22 mpg, but I do coast to stop sign and rarely brake hard. I have had 3 wheel hubs go bad and had wore tires abnormaly ,and they will still hold the road. Will be putting on new set this spring!

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, 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, 4,800 Miles on Tires
December 29, 2012

Just got 13 inches of new snow from a major storm. Snow drifts were up to 24 inches deep. Finally got to try out these tires in significant snow. They performed flawlessly. Traction in light to deep snow was awesome, no issues at all. I was able to drive thru any depth of snow with no problem at all. Ice traction was equally impressive, no issues at all. I plowed thru 24 inch deep snow drifts like they weren't even there. With these tires I was able to maintain control of the car in any condition. I have a up-hill long driveway and didn't even need to shovel it, I just drove right thru 12-22 inch deep snow and had good grip and control at all times. Best snow tires I have ever had. These tires also perform well in wet snow conditions or just wet roads from rain. No hydroplaning, good traction and response, good braking. As soon as the pavement gets wet these tires come alive. Since they are a snow tire, driving on dry pavement isn't as good as when driving on wet or snow, but they still do a good job. The side walls are a bit soft in hard cornering on dry pavement. Other than that, they perform just fine in dry conditions as well, but their true strength is in wet and snow conditions. Tread wear also seems good. After 4800 miles they still look brand new. These tires, coupled with the AWD system on my Subaru WRX turn hazardous winter driving into fun winter driving. Highly recommend.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
January 01, 2013

Ok, this is a follow-up review of the tire since I have approximately 10k on them now.
This tire has, so far, been great. Int he 10k that I've have had them, I have only had to get them rebalanced once, even then, the vibe was barely noticeable and only at higher speed (70+).

Dry traction: Great. The tire is very responsive with no real surprises. I can blast through some 90 degree corners full throttle exit and the car doesn't miss a beat; doesn't slide, doesn't shimmy or anything. Straight line acceleration could be a bit better, however, with my rear tires being at -2.0° camber, it's no surprise that it doesn't hook the greatest.
Dry braking is excellent. These tires make it stop on a dime (be mindful of the people behind you so you don't get rear-ended).

Wet: Still very good. Wet driving is very good. The tire instill confidence that you're very well adhered to the road. Wet braking is as good as dry, which was very surprising. Wet cornering is predictable. I don't drive spirited when wet so there were no surprises with these tires. Straightline acceleration is as it was before, with less than half throttle, traction control freaks out until I let off. So no change there.
Hydroplaning resistance is also great, went through a torrential downpour didn't slide at all.

Wear: with approximately 10k on these, there really isn't much wear to speak of (I had the car aligned right after getting the tires). Still more than 70% tread left. I'm getting some slight chopping on the fronts, but that's from the piss-poor dealer alignment (had to take it back 5 times and it's still not right).
People that are getting really poor treadwear from these tires either (1)driving on underinflated tires, or (2)didn't align their car after getting new tires or (3)both.

Snow and ice: Got "caught" coming home in some light snow and ice. Don't even think of driving on the snow with these. No traction whatsoever. Although, there didn't seem to be any problems on ice.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
November 30, 2012

I bought my 2008 CR-V as a certified preowned car from my Honda dealer in 2011. It was in mint condition, had every possible option, and only 23,000 miles on it. HOWEVER, it had those ---awful Bridgestone Duelers that my '97 CV-R came with when I bought it brand new. My mechanic, who checked it out before I bought it, noticed that it had two different models on the front and back. The front tires were pretty much brand new and the back at about half life. I couldn't wait to get them off my car! They handled ok, but were noisy and the ride was so-so, on the rough side. I noticed the car would make a wooo wooo sound when driving and had the dealer check it out, but found nothing wrong with the bearings, axle, brakes, etc, so figure it was the tires. The older tires were getting pretty bad, starting to crack, etc and I HAD TO get new ones. I looked for months at this tire and that tire, getting rave reviews on the one hand and horrible reviews on the other. Finally I found these with nothing other than pretty much great reviews. I realize they are a fairly new model and there aren't any reviews with more than just a few thousand miles on them, but I thought I'd give them a go anyway. I love them so far. Very quiet and very smooth riding, in particular on asphalt. I feel like I'm riding on a cloud. They handle very well and I was just able to drive on them in a nice rainstorm, even deliberately going through a big puddle and they were great! I got them just after our small snowstorm, therefore can't say how they'd handle snow. So admittedly, this is a "first impression" review, on only a couple of hundred miles of driving, but so far, so good. I'm anxious to see how I feel after many thousands of miles of driving on them, and feel pretty confident I'll still be a happy camper. Only time will tell.