Are Michelins really better than the other brands?
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NO!JMO though.
Check the ratings on the Tire Rack website. I think you will find most Michelin's are nothing special compared to many top tires from Japanese and Korean manufacturers. I think Michelin's are grossly overpriced.
Originally Posted By: stubbakatt
It depends on which michelins you have. There are low grade and high grade tires from every manufacturer.
+1
I have had great success with their upper end tires (LTX M+S and others). The current set of Michelin Destiny (made for discount tire stores) on my Toyota Sienna are one of their lower end tires and have been average at best. Their top of the line tires last longer and have fewer defects in my experience.
It depends on which michelins you have. There are low grade and high grade tires from every manufacturer.
+1
I have had great success with their upper end tires (LTX M+S and others). The current set of Michelin Destiny (made for discount tire stores) on my Toyota Sienna are one of their lower end tires and have been average at best. Their top of the line tires last longer and have fewer defects in my experience.
I think they are good, but am not sure they are always worth the price premium.
In my driving lifetime, only one tire has self destructed on me. It was a Michelin X-One, around 8 years ago. At the time that tire had only 5k miles on it, about 6 months old, and had never been run underinflated. I found no evidence of road hazard damage, and neither did the tire shop I went to for a replacement. It blew out a piece of the sidewall while rolling down the highway.
After that I used Bridgestone, Toyo, Firestone (Bridgestone), and Kumho.
Last fall I purchased my first set of Michelins since that bad experience with the brand. We shall see how these fare. So far, so good, but they are young, and every tire I've bought was very good for the first 10k miles or so.
In my driving lifetime, only one tire has self destructed on me. It was a Michelin X-One, around 8 years ago. At the time that tire had only 5k miles on it, about 6 months old, and had never been run underinflated. I found no evidence of road hazard damage, and neither did the tire shop I went to for a replacement. It blew out a piece of the sidewall while rolling down the highway.
After that I used Bridgestone, Toyo, Firestone (Bridgestone), and Kumho.
Last fall I purchased my first set of Michelins since that bad experience with the brand. We shall see how these fare. So far, so good, but they are young, and every tire I've bought was very good for the first 10k miles or so.
Originally Posted By: BGK
Check the ratings on the Tire Rack website. I think you will find most Michelin's are nothing special compared to many top tires from Japanese and Korean manufacturers. I think Michelin's are grossly overpriced.
+1
Check the ratings on the Tire Rack website. I think you will find most Michelin's are nothing special compared to many top tires from Japanese and Korean manufacturers. I think Michelin's are grossly overpriced.
+1
My dad has been a "Michelin guy" for many, many years. With the exception of one of his set of Pilot Alpins they have required less weight than "average" and have giving him long, quiet life with great performance, comfort and smoothness. The only "issue" he's had are Pilot Sport A/S tires wearing out WAY to fast in the center - apparently an acknowledged problem with the design leading to the release of the A/S Plus.
I have had various tires and brands and even though I'm not buying at the bottom of the price scale I have had a lot of issues with tires going out of round, needing rebalancing twice per season, NEVER balancing properly, getting very loud as they wear or other goofy things regardless of the traction level offered.
Going on 20 years ago my dad bought me a set of Michelin MXV4s for the car I had at the time. I had to replace them 6-7 years later because I was losing wet traction due to compound aging. They were still round, comfortable, good grip except for wet, quiet etc... They were still driveable, but 7 years is a good run.
The first Michelin tires I've had since the MXV4s are the Pilot Sport PS2s I'm now running as my summer tires. Other summers I've had include Bridgestone PS2 Pole position, 2x Toyo T1-S (award winners for quality), Toyo T1R (also quality award winners) and OE Dunlop SP Sport 2000Es. Both sets of T1-S were replaced under warranty for going out of round and noisy, eventually resulting in my set of T1Rs. The T1Rs had a directional design which was better at pumping standing water out from under the tire. Other than that the PS2s have been superior in every way to the other tires I've tried. The PS2s took barely any weight to balance, they are round and smooth riding, wearing well, staying quiet (for a max performance summer tire), and are noticeably lighter and more direct than any of the Toyos etc... You can almost forget that the car has tires instead of some magic coupling of suspension directly to ground. The Toyos were very good, but not this good.
I may have been converted (back) to being a Michelin man, so to speak.
I'm wondering now if I should have bought Primacy Alpin PA3s instead of Hakkapeliitta RSis when I bought my last set of winters... Of course, not everything with "Michelin" on it is going to be a PS2.
I have had various tires and brands and even though I'm not buying at the bottom of the price scale I have had a lot of issues with tires going out of round, needing rebalancing twice per season, NEVER balancing properly, getting very loud as they wear or other goofy things regardless of the traction level offered.
Going on 20 years ago my dad bought me a set of Michelin MXV4s for the car I had at the time. I had to replace them 6-7 years later because I was losing wet traction due to compound aging. They were still round, comfortable, good grip except for wet, quiet etc... They were still driveable, but 7 years is a good run.
The first Michelin tires I've had since the MXV4s are the Pilot Sport PS2s I'm now running as my summer tires. Other summers I've had include Bridgestone PS2 Pole position, 2x Toyo T1-S (award winners for quality), Toyo T1R (also quality award winners) and OE Dunlop SP Sport 2000Es. Both sets of T1-S were replaced under warranty for going out of round and noisy, eventually resulting in my set of T1Rs. The T1Rs had a directional design which was better at pumping standing water out from under the tire. Other than that the PS2s have been superior in every way to the other tires I've tried. The PS2s took barely any weight to balance, they are round and smooth riding, wearing well, staying quiet (for a max performance summer tire), and are noticeably lighter and more direct than any of the Toyos etc... You can almost forget that the car has tires instead of some magic coupling of suspension directly to ground. The Toyos were very good, but not this good.
I may have been converted (back) to being a Michelin man, so to speak.
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I believe if I wrote Michelin on a bag of dog [censored] some of you would buy it! Personally I have never had a set of Michelin's I liked. The current set of Cross Terrain SUV's (OEM installed)at 18000 miles were helpless. No way would they have lasted 65000 miles.
Also, I didn't know that less weight made a better tire. My Korean made Hankook's have less than a ounce between all four.
Also, I didn't know that less weight made a better tire. My Korean made Hankook's have less than a ounce between all four.
I should also state that I road force balance everything. I found the PS2s to have fairly uniform road force readouts with none exceeding 10 lb per tire. With any other brand I usually end up with at least one out of the four >15 lbs and I have to try to put it on the rear so I don't feel it.
Tire shops like to think that anything under 30 is "just fine" and won't be felt. That's not the case with all-aluminum suspension.
Tire shops like to think that anything under 30 is "just fine" and won't be felt. That's not the case with all-aluminum suspension.
We have a '00 Toyota Tacoma SE xtracab 68k mi. as a the family vacation home truck used for launching the boat .10 mi. away occasionally trailering a couple atvs, light off road into the forest on logging trail and general 30 mi. trips into town probably average 800 miles per year through spring summer and fall but alot of friend and family drivers from 20-80 years old..
The original Firestone's have 5/32 tread but are weather checking/cracking and with the type of service we put this in I became concerned with safety, it's a big sidewall if it popps at high speed could be difficult to control the vehicle so I just purchased a set of 31.10.50R15 109R LTX M/S from Tire Rack should come in mounted and balanced about $700..now I can move on and find something else to worry about.
I've owned four sets of Michelin tires over thirty five years of driving and I don't really understand why but Michelin's always work out well, never had a problem. Other brands give me all sorts of weird problems either right away or as they age and I hate explaining tire issues with the dealer especially as most will view drivability as subjective once confronted with a issue they don't want to resolve.
Recently I've had really bad luck with Good/Year, my 2010 Pilot ate the oems in 30k, went back to Good/Year and they asked me to prove I rotated every 3k! wth is that? all four were worn, didn't matter...got so hot I sold the car. Then 2 of the four Eagle Response Edge's on my Accord suffered ply separation after 40k and when they replaced the defects I now have a high speed vibration to cope with, can't wait to go back and explain this. I'm the type that expects the vehicle to work as designed without wasting my valuable time fussing with it. Poorly designed or manufactured tires degrade the driving experience and require too much time to address...I seem to get stuck with this junk on new cars and I'm going to pay more attention to it in the future. Those are some reasons why I'm going to go with Michelin from here.
The original Firestone's have 5/32 tread but are weather checking/cracking and with the type of service we put this in I became concerned with safety, it's a big sidewall if it popps at high speed could be difficult to control the vehicle so I just purchased a set of 31.10.50R15 109R LTX M/S from Tire Rack should come in mounted and balanced about $700..now I can move on and find something else to worry about.
I've owned four sets of Michelin tires over thirty five years of driving and I don't really understand why but Michelin's always work out well, never had a problem. Other brands give me all sorts of weird problems either right away or as they age and I hate explaining tire issues with the dealer especially as most will view drivability as subjective once confronted with a issue they don't want to resolve.
Recently I've had really bad luck with Good/Year, my 2010 Pilot ate the oems in 30k, went back to Good/Year and they asked me to prove I rotated every 3k! wth is that? all four were worn, didn't matter...got so hot I sold the car. Then 2 of the four Eagle Response Edge's on my Accord suffered ply separation after 40k and when they replaced the defects I now have a high speed vibration to cope with, can't wait to go back and explain this. I'm the type that expects the vehicle to work as designed without wasting my valuable time fussing with it. Poorly designed or manufactured tires degrade the driving experience and require too much time to address...I seem to get stuck with this junk on new cars and I'm going to pay more attention to it in the future. Those are some reasons why I'm going to go with Michelin from here.
Personal experience with Michelin is OK (on The Critic's late Saturn), The Critics was complaining about suspension noise when IMO it sounds like tire trend noise (X Radial) when braking, sounds like some minor slippage.
I've had Kumho LX Platinum and Solus HP4+, the LX Platinum feels almost the same as Bridgestone ER33 (OEM on Lexus), and made in Korea. HP4+ seems to drive fine, made in China, and is also a good price from Sears. One of the best thing I like about Kumho is that the road hazard warranty is now included for free, when you have to pay for it in other brands. This, and the personal experience I have with Kumho's tires, put them on my list. If Michelin is selling for a more affordable price I'd take them too, but I'm not paying a premium to get them.
I've had Kumho LX Platinum and Solus HP4+, the LX Platinum feels almost the same as Bridgestone ER33 (OEM on Lexus), and made in Korea. HP4+ seems to drive fine, made in China, and is also a good price from Sears. One of the best thing I like about Kumho is that the road hazard warranty is now included for free, when you have to pay for it in other brands. This, and the personal experience I have with Kumho's tires, put them on my list. If Michelin is selling for a more affordable price I'd take them too, but I'm not paying a premium to get them.
A statement from a local tire dealer indicated that the extra cost for Michelins may be due to quality control. He believes every tire is inspected before being shipped in lieu of s sample being pulled every X number of tires like most manufacturers do. He says he rarely sees a defective michelin, out of round etc etc.
With Kumhos well, they do have a plant in China and the pair I purchased last week I was assured by Tire Rack that they were not made in China, and they were not.I have had great experience with Kumho over the past 8 years or so, several cars, sizes etc.. Great tires for the Price.
For Michelins are great tires, but too expensive for the value received IMO.
With Kumhos well, they do have a plant in China and the pair I purchased last week I was assured by Tire Rack that they were not made in China, and they were not.I have had great experience with Kumho over the past 8 years or so, several cars, sizes etc.. Great tires for the Price.
For Michelins are great tires, but too expensive for the value received IMO.
Michelins are generally very nice tires. When I used to handle tires a lot, you could feel the difference, physically and when you went to balance them. It was impressive.
That said, there are other good tires, too. I personally run Kumho XSes on my track cars, for example. In the dry, they're about as good as it gets for a sticky tire, and they are cheap, which is nice because they don't last very long.
robert
That said, there are other good tires, too. I personally run Kumho XSes on my track cars, for example. In the dry, they're about as good as it gets for a sticky tire, and they are cheap, which is nice because they don't last very long.
robert
It depends on what you mean by "better". With the exception of OEM tires (I have never had an OEM tire that I thought was any good.) I have had better quality of Michelin tires. By quality I mean wear and performance over the life of a tire.
Have I had other tires that performed as good? Yes. Back in the day my old Thunderbird got around just fine on Kelly Chargers and Uniroyal Tiger Paws. They always wore evenly and had acceptable performance for the weather I encountered back south. And they were always worn out by 30k miles. But, 14 inch tires are cheap, so that was not a concern.
16 inch tires are not so cheap, so I actually like them to last longer. While every manufacturer has good and poor tires, I either have really bad luck in tire choice, or I have had more poor than good from Goodyear and Bridgestone. Michelin have served well thus far.
Have I had other tires that performed as good? Yes. Back in the day my old Thunderbird got around just fine on Kelly Chargers and Uniroyal Tiger Paws. They always wore evenly and had acceptable performance for the weather I encountered back south. And they were always worn out by 30k miles. But, 14 inch tires are cheap, so that was not a concern.
16 inch tires are not so cheap, so I actually like them to last longer. While every manufacturer has good and poor tires, I either have really bad luck in tire choice, or I have had more poor than good from Goodyear and Bridgestone. Michelin have served well thus far.
IMO, you don't see the difference with Michelin in the first few hundred miles or even in the first few thousand. The difference comes later in the treadlife when they are still round and true (assuming you gave them decent care). Nothing else that I've owned, except perhaps Pirelli, has stayed as round and true through the life of the tire. The other factor is that everything Michelin makes has full depth sipes so the traction remains good in the latter part of the treadlife.
Ya know, Michelin still has alot going on with their tires. Their whole line of tires just may be "amongst" the best in their specific catigory even if only by a small margin over the competition. More so than any other tire company. No company can have every single one of their products at the very top. In order to compete in the market place you must make a variety of products(in this case, TIRES).
Typicaly, Michelin's are more expensive too but not always. And yes, Michelin makes a lower line tire(s) just to keep in the market place and this tire(s) may not be a good Michelin but could be an OK tire.
I have always told people that, "you can't go wrong with a Michelin but, you may pay too much". And sometimes people buy a Michelin in their price range for tires and get the wrong tire or a lesser tire than they need when they could have done better with another tire companys tire. "Don't buy'em just because their Michelin's", I have also said!
I have never purchaced Michelin after market but, I have had new cars with Michelin's on them from the factory and I did like them very much but, no better than some of the other better tires that I have purchaced. I have purchaced alot of sub par tires too just because they were cheap. They were OK at first and quickely became very disapointing for one reason or another...Never again! It's only the better rated tires for me now! They don't have to be the best tires, only the best tires for my criteria.
With the competition being what it is today, there are many tires that rival Michelin's for less money(with some research/homework). But, for those who rely on the tire service sales person and the fact that Michelin's have a good reputation, this takes out all of the bother of doing that research/homework. "Just lay you money down"!
For those of us that are more thrifty and don't mind doing a bit of research and some fuss, there is online tire stores and your local installer of choice, helping to cut some cost, wheather or not you choose to buy Michelin's is ones choice.
But, I did liked the Michelin's that I have had!
Typicaly, Michelin's are more expensive too but not always. And yes, Michelin makes a lower line tire(s) just to keep in the market place and this tire(s) may not be a good Michelin but could be an OK tire.
I have always told people that, "you can't go wrong with a Michelin but, you may pay too much". And sometimes people buy a Michelin in their price range for tires and get the wrong tire or a lesser tire than they need when they could have done better with another tire companys tire. "Don't buy'em just because their Michelin's", I have also said!
I have never purchaced Michelin after market but, I have had new cars with Michelin's on them from the factory and I did like them very much but, no better than some of the other better tires that I have purchaced. I have purchaced alot of sub par tires too just because they were cheap. They were OK at first and quickely became very disapointing for one reason or another...Never again! It's only the better rated tires for me now! They don't have to be the best tires, only the best tires for my criteria.
With the competition being what it is today, there are many tires that rival Michelin's for less money(with some research/homework). But, for those who rely on the tire service sales person and the fact that Michelin's have a good reputation, this takes out all of the bother of doing that research/homework. "Just lay you money down"!
For those of us that are more thrifty and don't mind doing a bit of research and some fuss, there is online tire stores and your local installer of choice, helping to cut some cost, wheather or not you choose to buy Michelin's is ones choice.
But, I did liked the Michelin's that I have had!
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Funny because I had a few cord seperations with Michelin Tires, and stopped using them as a result. I mentioned that several years backed and got flamed. All I ever hear is how great they are, yet I wasn't thrilled with them. I'm thankful that I'm not in the market for tires. Maybe I'll have to give them another try.
I once had an autocrossing buddy that owned a tire shop. He loved Michelin tires because they had the most uniformity of roundness of any brand, and they were the easiest to balance. I run Michelin X-Ice2's as winter tires on my Camaro. They run more smoothly and quietly compared to the Bridgestone Blizzaks they replaced. (I realize it sounds strange that I can actually find a smooth road in Michigan, but there are one or two left.)
The latest CR gives Michelin a #1 grade for auto tires in S-T rated, H rated and V rated categories.
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