Tire and Wheel Sets

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

40,000 miles is all i got off my set of tires but the ride was like back in the 70's in a big caddy(well almost)The ride is great with low road sound,the tires do roll over the side wall alittle if you push them to hard,now my van will only go 107 mph then it starts to cut off(i do not do this speed very often)I was testing the tires on a clear highway.this tire will handle better if you add air plus it will get much better gas millage but after 32psi you loose ride!I have a very bad back so bad that i traded my motorcycle that hade 200 miles on it and a 3/4 ton 4x4 with 50,000 miles on it for a mini van,but it worked out as now i have a wheel chair.If you want ride this is the tire for you!If you want a tire that will last look somewere else.When i was growing up there was a saying goodyear is good for a year and that is still true as you will not get 90,000 miles out of these tires they tell you that so you will come back and get a new set and they prorate the old tires plus you have to prove you had these rotated every 3,000 miles (I think it is )so i do not rotate mine untill i change out the snow tires(I only drive 5,000 miles or less a year)so for the money its worth it for the ride for me.I will hit puddles because of the none hydroplaning is great!

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
May 08, 2012

THIS IS MY SECOND SET OF KDW's FOR MY 2006 SCION xB ... THE FIRST SET WAS A 215/45-17 BECAUSE I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE RIDE QUALITY AT THE TIME , AS I WAS DOING 90 MILES A DAY ROUND TRIP OF MOSTLY HIWAY DRIVING ... I ROTATED THEM EVERY 5 THOUSAND MILES AND RAN THE PRESSURE AT 40 PSI AND THEY WORE PERFECTLY SMOOTH ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BASICALLY NO TREAD AT ALL ...

SO FOR THE SECOND SET I DROPPED THE SIZE TO A 215/40-17 , AS I WASN'T DRIVING THE LONG ROUNDTRIP DAILY ANYMORE ... YES THEY ARE A BIT STIFFER ON THE RIDE , BUT NOTHING THAT BOTHERS ME AT ALL ... SO FAR THEY DO FEEL A BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE ON THE ROADS AND TURNS THAT I ENJOY PLAYING ON ...

I HAVE JUST OVER 1 HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES ON THE CAR , AND I USED THE FACTORY STEEL WHEELS FOR WINTER DUTY WITH A SET OF SNOWS ALL THE WAY AROUND ... MY GUESS IS ABOUT 40 THOUSAND MILES BEFORE I REPLACED THEM ... THE OTHER AWESOME BONUS WAS WITH THE REINFORCED SIDEWALLS I HAVE NEVER BENT OR DAMAGED MY RIMS , I RUN A SET OF KONIG HOT SWAPS ...

I'D HIGHLY RECOMMENT THESE TIRES TO ANYONE THAT WANTS A FUN , GREAT HANDLING TIRE ...

Initial Review, 1,200 Miles on Tires
May 05, 2012

I bought this tire for one reason, dry traction, and it has unbelievable stick. I have yet to break this tire loose from the pavement unless there was gravel/sand present on the roadway. I've been upgrading my tires over the last several purchases one pair at a time, replacing only the fronts with stickier rubber and moving the old set to the rear. My car is front wheel drive and doesn't have much horsepower but the suspension and chassis are built for the twisties. I have taken sharp right handers and broken the rear loose with BFG KDW's while the Kuhmo XS didn't even get fazed in the front. One of my favorite loops (banked merging ramp) I could exit no higher than 56 with the KDW's before the front would scrub and understeer. With the Kuhmos, I've attained 63 with no tire scrub and the speed is limited by my lack of horsepower, not traction.

I didn't rate the ride comfort or noise level of the tire because, frankly, if that matters, you probably shouldn't be looking to purchase this tire. I also have not had to drive on them in the rain yet but when I do I'll be taking it easy as it isn't rated for wet use. It is purpose built for dry traction and doesn't disappoint. Traction is great when they're cold and amazing once they're warmed up. Looking forward to testing them at the track.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
May 17, 2012

My 1990 Miata is set up with numerous chassis braces, aftermarket anti-sway bars, stock springs and ride height. These tires were very good in all catagories when new. After one year and about 4000 miles the tread became very hard making the car marginal at best in any wet/low traction situation, including roads coated with salt residue. I replaced them with a set of Dunlop Direzza Star Spec's for summer, and a set of Michelin X Ice2's on steel wheels for winter. Both are excellent tires and worth every penney spent.

Initial Review, 900 Miles on Tires
May 03, 2012

My Bimmer was a pitiful car when the OEM runflats hit 15 K, The fun had gone ,replaced by the need to pay close attention to lane grooves and transitions on the road, the car had begun to shake as if one or more of the tires were out of round or balance.. the fronts had begun to cup,and when I took it in to check the balance, the rears had begun to separate the inside tread,,,hard riding nasty groove action made me think about a new car. As I had tried Michelins on my Vette to cure the same issues.. I chose the Super Sport for the BMW..What a pleasant and fantastic change in the character of the car. It turns in predictably, rides quiet and smooth, stays on a line well and the worn grooves don"t effect the direction of the wheels as the RF did. I am a happy man and regret not the major money I laid out for the Bimmer and it's convertable top.. It rains a bunch here and I had some concerns about choosing HP Summer tires but as yet have had no problems with puddles and standing water at speed but I marked them down to 9 as they can't shed water like an All Season. Only about 900 miles on this set so can't say about how they will wear but they are very hard so hope they will outlast the crappy run flats...based on my experience I will definately be staying with this tire...did I say love em..I was so taken with them after the install, I put on 250 miles taking the long way home..thanks Michelin for giving back the fun car..

Initial Review, 17,000 Miles on Tires
May 05, 2012

Bought these tires to replace the Toyo tires which were OEM, and were 235/55R-20 in size, an odd size which offered limited choices and high prices. Michelin was about the only choice I had at the time, which were twice the price with no milage warranty. These new Pirelli's were slightly larger, and some dealers told me they would not work, would cause all kinds of problems, it would screw up my speedometer calibration, damage the AWD , etc. To make a long story short, I am extremely pleased with the tires; the ride and handling is excellent, they are extremely quiet, and at the present rate of wear should last 60,000+ miles; it took almost 500 miles of driving to wear the little nubs off the tires. We don't take corners on two wheels in the Murano, but the tires handle great and track straight on the interstate. The Toyo's only gave me 24,000 miles. We haven't had much snow so I couldn't say how they will do in the white stuff, but judging from the wet traction I think they will do well. I can't praise these tires enough, I'll buy another set when it's time to replace them.

Initial Review, 200 Miles on Tires
May 09, 2012

I know that my vehicle is no "pocket rocket", and I purchased these tires based on Michelin's reputation and the Tire Rack road test. I had them shipped to me mounted on a set of O.Z. wheels and all I can say is wow! They are far better than the Fuzion's that were on the car when I bought it. Much more quiet, outstanding traction, and better road feel without harshness. While these are only summer tires for me, I think that they will last at least 3 years based on my driving. I highly recommend them for even the most mundane driver who may be looking for top quality, ride, and wet/dry traction.

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, 2,000 Miles on Tires
May 01, 2012

I'm on my second set of REVO's the first set I had was on a 2wd dodge ram xtended cab longbed. These tires worked great on that truck, I got about 50K miles out of them. Now I have a set on a 98 RAM 4x4, and with regular rotation they should last a while. It's hard to gauge wear because I have snowplow on this truck and I tow a lot, including farm use off road. I don't expect to get 50K with this kind of punishment. These are great in snow, and better than average on ice. Mud is not a problem when in 4 wheel drive. I don't go offroad seeking mud, so my experience is limited to having to go through a sippee hole on the farm that I can't find another way around. Road nosie is slightly noticeable around 45 mph, but at 55 to 75 you can't hear them over the wind noise. The ride is better than average for an all terrain tire. They aren't Michelin's afterall. I bought them for their traction and lack of obscene road noise. The don't seem to adversley impact gas mileage either. I will continue to buy these as long as the driving habbits warrant an all terrain tire. I woudl nto buy these for somethign that never goes off road. I run Michelin LTX M/S2's on the wife's suburban, which never goes off road.

Initial Review, 8,500 Miles on Tires
April 29, 2012

This was this o.e. tire on my tdi sportwagon, with only minimal mileage on tires the wet traction and light snow traction was not good,yes it is an all-season tire which means poor snow capabilities. The wet traction may be compromised by the torque of the tdi, but I think Bridgestone could do better in the rain, maybe more of a directional type tread pattern for better water evacuation. I replaced w/4 snowies and the car was a different vehicle! Hint to vw why not make an wad sportwagon tdi! Now that spring finally arrived I ordered new 17" wheels wrapped in summer tires!. 2 sets of wheels and tires is the only way to go living in the northern tier of pa, the tire rack continues to be incredible to deal with. Thanks

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

I was prompted to write a review because there are so many asinine ones. So here how it has gone for me. This was the OEM tire from Subaru on my STi. I have been doing HPDE's on these tires and if people claim these tires are tractionless, they have much to learn about their driving and set-ups.

My impression is that these are very loud on the hiqhway, more so on concrete surfaces than black top. In light rain, they are ok..good but don't convey confidence in their ability for defense maneuvering in wet. Dry conditions above 50f they are pretty grippy on asphalt. At the track, these wheels heat up quickly and will increase their tire pressure by about 25-30% after about 20mi of track use, which makes them feel like they aren't sticky. Maintaining a good hot pressure left these tires very grippy for HPDE conditions and techniques (not as good as R-comp obviously).
They are not as good as other tires in the same category but a good tire for the stock specs of the stock (lightly modified) STi. I had no problems keeping up with e90 m3's throughout the entire course. I would pick up another set if they were a bargain, but new prices would lead me to buy better equipment for the money.

Initial Review, 27,000 Miles on Tires
April 23, 2012

This Galant VR-4 has Full-time AWD & AWS. Check tire pressure weekly. Rotate front-to-back around every 7000 miles. Feedback from steering wheel and suspension is very sensitive so I know when something needs attention. I keep it aligned. The AWD on this car is hard on tires. These tires are lasting longer than the Falken ZE512's and ZE912's. When you consider that I live in Oklahoma, tire wear is amazing. Quieter and better ride than Yokohama Avid H4s. Yokohama took all the complaints about previous Avid's and tried to overcome those problems with this tire. Handles as good as Falken's. Handling test has consisted of coasting at 45-55mph into turns rated for 25mph--backs people off my rear bumper.


I bought these about three months after manufacturing month (3 week of May 2010). Date code on sidewall was interesting because on one side it has a raised, rubber bar-code. Manufacture warranty is ok. I think Yokohama did a good job. I checked the Yokohama site and they have a rating for these tires that closely follows my rating. (http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/avid_envigor). I bought them for $83/each. I see they are listed for $82 on 2012APR23. If I was certain that tires don't go bad while just sitting around (http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2009/05/tire-aging-when-to-buying-new-car-tires-based-on-age.html or http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138), I would buy another set and just store them in the garage. I would definitely recommend these.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
April 22, 2012

Replaced a set of Conti Pro Contact Continental's (Mercedes should be ashamed of putting this JUNK on a new car. I have two sets of wheel and tires for this car. Winter tires Blizzak WS 60's and Sport wheels for summer. About 20000 miles on the Conti's and they where shot. When we changed them out one front tire was coming apart inside. Never run low, charged with nitrogen. They where very noisy and vibrated ( balanced twice, alignment checked by Mercedes. Mercedes mechanic said that there Conti's are pure junk. These Michelin tires are not cheap (You get what you pay for). I have not had the chance to drive them in the rain because it has not rained. These Michelin's are quiet, very responsive and the car is a true pleasure to drive. I will update this review when I get some more miles on them. Love this tire so far. Thanks Tirerack for this great reviews area of your website "TIRERACK IS A CLASS ACT"

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 19, 2012

I purchased these mostly to take advantage of the strong Aussie dollar and also because my tyre size is a bit uncommon here and subsequently choice is less and cost is more.
In the end bought a superior tyre online for less than an average one from a shop. Shipping was pretty expensive I thought but that's the norm it seems buying online from the states. On the plus side,the tyres were dispatched and landed down under in just a couple of days which I thought was pretty impressive.
I wouldn't call myself an aggressive driver but still, don't mind throwing it about a few corners (we've all got our faves don't we)on the odd occasion.
The tyres have worn pretty well which I would attribute to getting a dynamic wheel alignment following fitting as advised by my mechanic. Grip, cornering and wet performance are excellent and they coped with 1 in 100 year rain event we had at Christmas time wonderfully which is just what I needed as had all the family in the car at the time.
Unfortunately I hit a pretty nasty pothole at speed while on a country trip and when I inspected it at my destination, saw that the tyre had a rather large egg in the sidewall. Subsequently, a couple of weeks later my daughter hit another pothole with the same wheel and she blew. (The tyre that is. My daughter wouldn't do that. She's a nice girl.)
Unfortunately the shipping cost for two tyres is nearly the same as four and while I was keen to get some more Conti's, it just wasn't economically feasible :( I have replaced two of the Conti's with a Falken Z92 so we'll see how that goes.
If i have to buy a full set again I'll be looking at Tire rack. If I just need one or two, it's probably more economic to buy local but you takes your chances as far as choice.
Drive Safe
Longy