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Michelin Cross Climates here, live high up and get snow, haven't missed a beat. I'm slightly biased as I used to work in a Michelin factory but there is a reason they are more expensive, the level of quality control was bonkers.
Only problem is we have 2 new cars at the moment with OEM ones which are designed to maximise fuel efficiency and I can't afford to swap unworn tyres. First world problems.
Did you change the rims?
Yes of course, I'm not going for the stretched look good god man! 🙂
The noise thing is weird. The P-Zeros were reasonable when new, apparently, but well known for being incredibly noisy when part worn, and mine certainly were. Some noise is generated by the tyre on the road and some from vibrations transmitted to the car; but it's only the former that forms the tyre noise rating.
Look on places like HotUKDeals to see what's on offer. Last year I've paid £60ish a corner for Michelin PS4s (18") and Goodyear Eagle F1 5 (17") after taking into account some Halifax account cashback at ATS. I know you've said it's not a sporty number but tyres are the only contact you have with the road.
Side note but avoid the ZV7s, cracks develop within the tread within comparatively little time at all.
I've never investigated winter/all season tyres, guess it depends where you live, how you drive and how often you drive.
But I’ve got Conti’s on my Berlingo that gets ragged everywhere and they are refusing to wear.
That seems to be down to them taking the Black Chili MTB tyre compound tech across to their car and van tyres. They call it Yellow Chili and it's has reportedly improved wear rates significantly. Time will tell for me though as the new tyres are this Yellow Chili compound and they feel rather soft to the fingernail test, loads of grip in the current slimy conditions too. Done 2k on them already and there is no discernible wear (0.3mm, yes I have a digital measuring tool!) so going from 8mm to 3mm, my change point, should get me close to 20k which is loads more than the original Conti EcoContact 2's the car came with which were done in just over 10k.
Was in the same position as the OP a couple of months back, absolutely clueless about tyres generally. Did a bit of googling and looking at pistonheads, Goodyear F1 asymmetric seemed to be pretty well liked. I’m in the SE so wasn’t really looking for an all season tyre. Right now I can see the appeal of something better in the cold/ice but it’s obviously not often like this.
In the end Kwik fit came up best on price, black circles and the indies quite a lot dearer. Paid around £80 a corner for my civic, semi low profile 17”. They seem pretty good so far, noticed better grip than the mid range ones on before.
That seems to be down to them taking the Black Chili MTB tyre compound tech across to their car and van tyres.
As far as I know Black Chilli is silica compound, which is what the original energy savers were, pioneered by Michelin. These lasted really well, as did all the various offerings but they weren't quite as good in the wet. Since then the compounds have been fettled and there seems to be a spectrum of fuel economy not just energy saver or not. So presumably varying amounts of silica.
My tyres are highly rated for fuel economy, they have done about 5k on the Merc and are at 8-8.5mm. Given that people are reporting tyres being eaten in 10k miles on that car I think that they are wearing pretty well.
ATS has a deal on Cross Climates at the mo. They were the cheapest I could find a couple of weeks back
https://www.atseuromaster.co.uk/special-offers/michelin-promotion
And free Lego if you buy 4
Given that people are reporting tyres being eaten in 10k miles on that car I think that they are wearing pretty well.
Driving style perhaps - There's certain correlation between people reporting they can feel the difference that wear their tires out quickly......
prettygreenparrot
Full Member
Yikes.
Seems blackcircles have only the Vredstein Quatrac Pro as an all season choice for my car.
We've got those on the Vitara.
Absolutely excellent, and it's been grim round here.
Have CrossClimate 2s on the Jazz which have been fantastic as well, even at -8 on the ungritted M65 at 6am.
Michelin are great tyres. Especially the Pilot. Good life. Wet grip. Quiet. I asked the garage about cross climate and they guy asked how often I drive on snow.
Do you know anyone with a Costco account?
Every 2 months they have up to £100 off a set of 4 Michelins (depending on wheel size).
Might only be £60 on a Kia, but they are generally already cheaper than anywhere else before the discount.
Crossclimate 2, amazing tyre.
asked the garage about cross climate and they guy asked how often I drive on snow.
Strangely irrelevant question to ask for a tire for an all season tire..... The clues in the name.
Crossclimate 2, amazing tyre
This is starting to look like a cult.
Strangely irrelevant question to ask for a tire for an all season tire….. The clues in the name.
Seems a fair enough question to me. All Season tyre brand performance is weighted differently. If you do encounter snow a lot the CrossClimate 2 would be an excellent choice because those are conditions it excels in. If you're more likely to drive in cold wet conditions there are better All Season tyres out there.
As far as I know Black Chilli is silica compound, which is what the original energy savers were, pioneered by Michelin. These lasted really well, as did all the various offerings but they weren’t quite as good in the wet.
These are rated B for fuel efficiency and A for wet grip, the best by a long way for my size. I've had the Michelin Energy Savers before and while they were good for fuel they were very vague in the wet and droned horribly once they had worn down a few mm, a few other owners have said the same on my car's forum (Briskoda). They didn't last too long either, rounding off the tread blocks but wearing as a whole equally. Guess they just don't suit my car!
I just asked my local tyre place for a “decent all season tyre” a couple of months ago. They put on something by Maxxis which made me smile as a mountain biker. I’m sure there are sites that will tell me exactly how much worse these are than the current hot pick, but I’ve been driving around rural Aberdeenshire in the ice and (sometimes moderately deep) snow all week and they haven’t let me down yet. I do have 4WD which probably helps but I can still tell that they are significantly better than the “summer” tyres I had on before.
I used to agonise over tyres for my tuned mini, but I for a normal car being driven normally, I’d go decent make but not the obvious- Avon, Yokohama etc, and get quieter all rounder that’s cheap.
I’ve had the Michelin Energy Savers before
When was this? Mine lasted 50k miles 2006 ish.
johnners
Free Member
Crossclimate 2, amazing tyreThis is starting to look like a cult.
🙂
I first read about them on here, ages ago when they were introduced.
We've had them on 3 cars now and they really live up to the hype.
On the back of this thread and the one the other day I'm getting cross climates fitted on Tuesday.
So far found the Cross Climates great in cold and wet, and they are very quiet, coming from Conti summer tyres. Seem to be good 'crap weather' tyres.
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product-group-tests/92863/best-all-season-tyres-2022
Hankook all seasons won this year with the new Cross climates second
Hankook all seasons
I was very impressed with my Kinergys when I had them. Couldn't get them for the Passat at the time so got CC2s. Either way, both are great.
When was this? Mine lasted 50k miles 2006 ish.
2016, I was really surprised how poorly they performed as the vans at my then job were far better on Michelin Agilis than anything else. The Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance I fitted afterwards were better in every way. I put it down at the time to them just not suiting a a relatively light low powered (54 rampaging horses 🤣 ) supermini.
Cross climates are very good, but there are better on snow , ergo I have full winters on separate wheels. But how often do you have snow as opposed to 3 degrees and piddling rain, where they excel
Cross climates are very good, but there are better on snow , ergo I have full winters on separate wheels
The tests I've seen have the CCs as class leading in the snow (matching some full winter tyres) and very good in the dry. They're middle of the pack in the wet.
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In a British winter in the same day you might be driving on snow then ice then on snow and ice free road surfaces, plus a combination of slush and snow and ice.
We've got Goodyear vector 4 season tyres on the Octavia. Son has Michelin Cross Climate on his Civic. Both have been good in the recent snow/slush.
He upgraded from the ditch finders after managing to get the car to oversteer on a sharp off camber corner near Peak Forest. Looked good on the dash cam 🤣