Cross Climate 2 review

Regarding the fuel economy drop, I lost about 12% going from fairly new Pirelli P Zero A/S to the X-Climate 2's. I chart every tank and have some long highway trips on these, so I'm pretty confident the drop is real. And this is going from a lower-profile 19" to a taller 18" (same overal diameter). Everything else about the tires is great, though, particularly the noise levels on concrete and wet handling. the UTOG wet testing is horribly outdated, and there are multiple independent reviews that all say the same thing: wet handling and braking is excellent, both in warm and cold weather. The only real downside on these tires in the high Crr.

I do question though how some of the independent tests have such varying results in Crr testing. I have to think it may be size-dependent, and I know from testing bike tires that an identical tire in different sizes can sometimes produce different results (though frankly, not this large of a discrepancy). All I can say for sure is that the 235/40 18's have pretty high Crr.

I haven't tested these out in snow or ice, as I have Wintrac Pros on another vehicle, but I look forward to checking them out.
 
These are on my list for my wife's '14 CR-V. She has the Defender LTX M/S now and she has about 55k on them. There is still decent tread left so hoping to get to the 70k they are rated for. She said last winter they still felt good in the snow. If/when they are still available when I need tires on my '18 Legacy Sport I am considering them for that car too. We both drive both cars so I would rather have something a little safer in the snow and give up some performance. I was considering the Pilot Sport AS 4 but I changed my mind.
My concern would be the noise and not being able to cross rotate to keep wear even. Honda's are not the quiet vehicles and tire/road noise is definitely more pronounced IMO (and many forum groups). The Defender LTX M/S is a pretty quiet tire. Pirelli Scorpion Verde AS plus 2 is also, now replaced with Scorpion AS 3. Pending drives and priorities, consider those details.

Maybe a different asymmetrical so you can cross rotate that is also 3PMSF. Quiet 3 season tires and real snows for winter is another option. Safer for winter but also more initial $$ and you need to swap back and forth. Once you have them and experience the advantages of full winter in poor conditions it is very hard to go back to a lower performance version.

Don't get the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady if you want quiet. Good in rain, handle well, never tried in snow, noisy on the highway commutes. I would still recommend them as an option to many that don't want to swap winter/summer but know the cons.
 
My concern would be the noise and not being able to cross rotate to keep wear even. Honda's are not the quiet vehicles and tire/road noise is definitely more pronounced IMO (and many forum groups). The Defender LTX M/S is a pretty quiet tire. Pirelli Scorpion Verde AS plus 2 is also, now replaced with Scorpion AS 3. Pending drives and priorities, consider those details.

Maybe a different asymmetrical so you can cross rotate that is also 3PMSF. Quiet 3 season tires and real snows for winter is another option. Safer for winter but also more initial $$ and you need to swap back and forth. Once you have them and experience the advantages of full winter in poor conditions it is very hard to go back to a lower performance version.

Don't get the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady if you want quiet. Good in rain, handle well, never tried in snow, noisy on the highway commutes. I would still recommend them as an option to many that don't want to swap winter/summer but know the cons.
The LTX are getting loud now. As for noise, not so worried about it. I did the 2 sets of rims/tires for my S4 with Pilot Sport or PS2s and then Blizzaks for my S4 but my wife would never go along with getting 2 sets of different tires. ****, she is still pissed I have my S4, don't drive it and the second set of rims with the snows sitting in the garage all taking up space.

To be honest, I once I get through with the LTX I want one more tires worth of life out of the car before we replace it. If we get more, great but I figure another 15k for the LTX and then another 60k on the next set would put us around 293k miles on the car. Then the kids will be bigger and we'll need a bigger car.
 
If you take a Nokian Hakkpeliitta down to a Central European area, you might regret it as it may more susceptible to hydroplaning since conditions down there are more wet-cold (and cold-dry, so handling is more compromised).

All tires have their compromises. Choose your compromise.
Central European area? I am from there. That is broad statement. Central Europe is Dubrovnik and Munich and Triglav in Slovenia and Austrian Alps.
You might drive at 72f in Zadar Croatia and in 3hrs hrs be in 3ft snow when driving in Karavanke area between Slovenia and Austria.
Central Europe unless Dalmatia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, always snow tires!
 
I am more interested when it reaches 50% tread life.
Based on my past experiences with Michelin's Premier tires, they are still very good in the wet at low tread depths - even down to 4/32".

Obviously snow is a different story. I think tread depth rules for snow.
 
Based on my past experiences with Michelin's Premier tires, they are still very good in the wet at low tread depths - even down to 4/32".

Obviously snow is a different story. I think tread depth rules for snow.
In snow it is still compound. Tread depth is ok, but handling and braking, still compound and Michelin is king in maintaining original performance.
Tread depth is important in deep snow and slush. Ice, packed snow etc. compound!
 
Central European area? I am from there. That is broad statement. Central Europe is Dubrovnik and Munich and Triglav in Slovenia and Austrian Alps.
You might drive at 72f in Zadar Croatia and in 3hrs hrs be in 3ft snow when driving in Karavanke area between Slovenia and Austria.
Central Europe unless Dalmatia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, always snow tires!
That’s how some tire companies classify their tires. Blizzard LM-series is marketed at different market than their WS-series
 
That’s how some tire companies classify their tires. Blizzard LM-series is marketed at different market than their WS-series

Tire designation between Nordic and Central European IMO doesn’t say anything about snow and ice performance. Nordic tires are going to be at home in dead winter in Central Europe. Where they won’t excel is speed, dry performance. Also, I had those Central European tires that were more capable in snow and ice than WS70 or R2.
 
I also just got to drive on my CrossClimates in the snow. We had about 2 to 3 inches of snow. They felt very planted in the snow. Keep in mind, on my Regal the only other tires I had driven on in the snow were Continental VikingContact 7 winter tires, so that is my benchmark. I would rate them about an 8/10. They didn’t stop quite as quickly as the VikingContacts would of, but I can say I felt safe the entire time. For an all season I was seriously impressed. I’m curious to see how they do in some deeper snow or ice.
 
I had a set of these on a GLC 300 and removed them within 500 miles. These tires created a booming low frequency resonance over road imperfections other tires on this vehicle did not create. This would not be of concern with sedans or body on frame vehicles but mid-sized unibody SUVs can generate low frequencies in the cabin and tires can contribute to it.

I did also notice feeling the tread as I came to a stop say between 5mph and 0.
 
The CrossClimates got their first real snow test today. I was able to make it up my 100 foot long driveway with an approximate 40 degree incline covered in 10" of snow with no problem. It was so deep you could see marks from the undercarriage of my Regal in the snow. Also, these tires are bomb in slush. They are probably better in slush than any winter tire I've ever tried.
 
My concern would be the noise and not being able to cross rotate to keep wear even. Honda's are not the quiet vehicles and tire/road noise is definitely more pronounced IMO (and many forum groups). The Defender LTX M/S is a pretty quiet tire. Pirelli Scorpion Verde AS plus 2 is also, now replaced with Scorpion AS 3. Pending drives and priorities, consider those details.

Maybe a different asymmetrical so you can cross rotate that is also 3PMSF. Quiet 3 season tires and real snows for winter is another option. Safer for winter but also more initial $$ and you need to swap back and forth. Once you have them and experience the advantages of full winter in poor conditions it is very hard to go back to a lower performance version.

Don't get the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady if you want quiet. Good in rain, handle well, never tried in snow, noisy on the highway commutes. I would still recommend them as an option to many that don't want to swap winter/summer but know the cons.
I have owned Hondas since 2002 at total of 5 ..... I always just did front to back same side rotation and never had an issue with wear or tire noise at all...Most of my Michelin tires lasted to over 70000 miles...
 
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