Not the usual dull but worthy: ‘what ditch finders for my Octavia…?’

Anybody tried Michelin’s CrossClimate do anything, go anywhere, biggerwilly/evenmoreattractivetowomen rubbery black things? Supposed to be brilliant in summer, brilliant in winter, good for 40k miles on the driven wheels and only 20% more £’ s than other premium tyres (Cheng Slime Users look away now).

Anyone tried them? Looking at 4 for the hearse (v70) @ £149 per corner (shit a brick, when did a set of tyres become £600?!).

my thread from a few weeks ago

Ooo dint see that first time around Iain, ta.

How are you finding them after a couple of weeks use in the mini ice age we’ve just had? Summary of the earlier thread looks like they’re expensive, worth a punt and there was a lot of unrelated arguing… 🙂

Mine will be the stress tested in the Alps in a couple of weeks where they should easily outperform the current set of 1.6mm Conti Sport Contacts 😉

Deliberately misleading thread title is innovative and sexy. Nice work OP. Nice.

How are you finding them after a couple of weeks use in the mini ice age we’ve just had?

night and day compared to previous Michelin Premacy’s. They are quieter in the dry and more surefooted in the wet. Ice and snow braking and traction significantly improved

Worth my £600 pounds then.

Ta. More good news today; rear discs, pads and probably calipers required. Another of your £600. I’m assuming that’s the current standard charge for anything car related. (sigh).

Another option is Goodyear Vector Gen 2 all seasons. Mine on my Octavia are on their 3rd winter around 25k miles. Plenty tread left on rears, fronts down to around 4mm. So should get to next autumn before replacing fronts.

Compared to previous original equipment Bridgestone Turanzas they are far quieter, better grip in wet, and confidence inspiring in snow. The Bridgestones at around 3mm were a dreathtrap in snow.

Drove on a bit of snow for 20 miles or so in Glen Cluanie and up over the hill towards Glen Garry on 1st January. Very happy to be on all seasons.

]

Horses for courses.

Isn’t there a futile ven diagram to illustrate this?

Had the CrossClimates for about 3 months, the handling feels more like a summer tyre (in a good way), not tested in the ice/snow. We’ve had various all-season tyres and although these might not be quite as good in snow as the others, they look like a much better year round option for a southern softie.

Mine will be the stress tested in the Alps in a couple of weeks where they should easily outperform the current set of 1.6mm Conti Sport Contacts

Ok I will bite. Why not just get a decent normal tyre which will work 51 weeks of the year.

For the 5 days a year we get a vague winter just drive a bit slower if you feel they are so compromised.

For the 2 days you are driving in the Alps the roads will be clear, and if they are not you will be using your snow chains/snow socks

Personally I do not see the point in driving around on a compromise tyre all year round.

Well Funky, all good points however, it seems there is no compromise.

It ‘seems’ summer performance is the same as decent (Sport Contacts, Primacy’s etc) premium tyres and winter performance is betterer. Handling, grip and noise are unaffected and they last longer. All that upside and they cost £16 more per than Primacy’s so if all true, why wouldn’t you?

I posted here to try and weed out if all the claims were marketing bolleaux or are, in fact, true. From here and all the reviews/tests, it seems to be true but we’ll see.

Having written that, improving personal locomotion during snowmaggedon events is a bit of a moot point as every other silly bugger is busy getting stuck around you and blocking the way.

For £60 which I should get back through extended wear and no other apparent downside, I’ll take the chance of occasionally getting a bit more traction when it’s a bit slippy.

To give a bit more confidence in marginal conditions, go for them. Mrs B has them on her Xdriven BMW.

They are much better than summer biased tyres in slush and snow.

However, I still swap onto another set of wheels and full winter tyres at this time of year. They simply offer more confidence than the Crossclimates.

However, if you only want 1 set of tyres and leave them on year-round, the Crossclimates will be a better bet than normal tyres.

All I would say if there are no compromises, why don’t tyre manufacturers only sell this type of tyre?

Also from what I read on here people say they are a bit nosier, not as good in the summer etc

You do need chains or snow socks for the alps regardless as it’s compulsory (depending on where your going)

I’ve had CrossClimates on (my Octavia funnily enough) for about 18 months now, seem to work well. I originally bought as various tyre review places were saying they work well as a 4-season tyre without the usual compromises and my experience bears that out. I’ll need new fronts soon and planning on keeping with CrossClimates

@Fuzzy How many miles on the fronts please? Have you noticed any difference in noise?

Aye we always take chains to the Alps in winter but they’re a royal PIA to put on and take off. Horrible filthy job. I’ve no room to store winter wheels and tyres anyhoo so a single set compromise is the only route for me. So long as there’s no real downside beyond a few quid, I can’t see a good reason not to. I’ll report back post trip with my findings 😉

Ta.

Interested in this thread too! My XC70 needs a new set of tyres (it came with a hodgepodge of four tyres by three different manufacturers) and thinking about the CrossClimates as a good all-year round option. As boblo says, the extra £60 for better wet grip and no other downside sounds great if it’s true 😉

Well the dirty deed is done. 4 Michelin Cross Climate Pluses and £596 pounds later, I’m now the proud owner of new rubber…

Good news; driving back from the tyre place I didn’t die once, not even a little deathly skideroo. My phone noise app thingy tells me ambient noise was a little less on the new jobbies than with the worn out Conti Sport Contacts. Make of that what you will…

Another of your £600. I’m assuming that’s the current standard charge for anything car related. (sigh).

Yep, £500 plus VAT. See the Ling’s Cars thread if you want to find out more (and have a spare day or two to read it all).

NewRetroTom – Member
Another of your £600. I’m assuming that’s the current standard charge for anything car related. (sigh).
Yep, £500 plus VAT. See the Ling’s Cars thread if you want to find out more (and have a spare day or two to read it all).

I was there (man), I remember every-little-bit…

All I would say if there are no compromises, why don’t tyre manufacturers only sell this type of tyre?

I think they are an innovation only recently invented by Michelin…?

Mine will be the stress tested in the Alps in a couple of weeks where they should easily outperform the current set of 1.6mm Conti Sport Contacts

I live in Geneva by the alps.
It’s not law to have winter tyres here but if you don’t and have an accident the tyres will been deemed as probable cause. Eg, your fault.
You also may not be allowed though some tunnels, the Mont Blanc tunnel for instance will turn away car without winters at this time of year.

As per the previous thread. Crossclaimates are not winter or snow tyres.

Got crossclimates on the golf.

OK. Don’t look great but grip better in cold wet conditions.

Not amazing in snow

Would buy again at the moment.

All I would say if there are no compromises, why don’t tyre manufacturers only sell this type of tyre?

The Cross Climates are a very good tyre, it’s worth having a look at the EU Tyre Ratings if you want a more objective comparison between brands. Compare similar sizes because this makes a difference
205/55V16 CC+ is rated Fuel Efficiency C, Wet Grip B and 69dB Exterior noise
A better wet grip rating might be more important in warmer parts of the UK; e.g. the Bridgestone Turanza T001 Evo is rated C, A and 69dB
A more fuel efficient tyre e.g Goodyear Efficient Grip is A, C and 67db
(info from manufacturers’ websites)
Price varies considerably between the three examples too

Just put my Goodyear Cargo Vector 2s on Fleabay if you’re interested. 215/60/R17’s x 4. Barely used.

All I would say if there are no compromises, why don’t tyre manufacturers only sell this type of tyre?

There is compromises. For example the Autoexpress all season tyre test found that all the all seasons ( including the Michelin Crossclimate were slightly worse for summer dry braking.

I think that losing a small amount of ultimate summer performance is worth the gains in cold wet and snow or ice conditions where grip matters more.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/92873/all-season-tyre-test-20172018-results-by-category

As for why makers don’t fit them? Slightly more expensive and most owners don’t care.

Personally I do not see the point in driving around on a compromise tyre all year round.

Who is compromising?

The driver with ‘summer’ tyres in the UK with six months of commuting in cold weather and plenty of rain, having to deal with significant loss of grip in slush, snow and mud, but reassures themselves that on a warm, dry summers day, your tyre choice has a slight advantage and makes up for it?

The driver with ‘all-season’ tyres, who might have paid £10 a corner more, who can’t really tell the difference on a warm summers day, but enjoys noticeably more grip on cold mornings between October and March, and can still make progress on snowy hills and pass all the stuck 4×4’s. And as a plus, all-seasons are often M&S rated so claw their way off a soggy field rather than polishing the grass.

@Fuzzy How many miles on the fronts please? Have you noticed any difference in noise?

Only about 12k I think (might still have 1k left in them), I don’t drive smoothly though… I don’t notice any particular road noise from them, bit quieter than what was on there before (Quadraxxers I think)

12k? 12 fakkking k?! Are you wheelspinning every time you pull away or is it remapped to 600bhp? 🙂

Bloody hell, I was a bit miffed getting 26k out of the second front set of Conti Sport Contacts when I got 30k out of the OE ones. I drive like a grandad these days though.

I like you boblo have a V70, fitted the Cross Climates initially over 2 years ago now, probably in that time I’ll have done something like 40,000 miles, this is an estimate.
Swapped the front tyres at the start of the summer and will probably need to swap the other two this month as they are getting close to the wear indicator.
Never had any issues with them with regards grip(we are driving Volvos though), excessive road noise(again WW3 could be going off outside and you wouldn’t hear it in the Volvo).
Overall I’m happy with them and I buy mine from Costco so maybe slightly cheaper than the price you have paid.

Music to my ears, ta.