Michelin Introduces New "X-Ice Snow"

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Michelin had a recent event in Umea, Sweden to introduce the replacement for the X-Ice Xi3 and Latitude Xi2 studless winter tires.

https://shina.guide/press/22903/#more-22903

Some excerpts from the Russian report linked above (with the help of Google Translate):

Quote
...Michelin has prepared a new generation of studless tires for cars and SUVs for the winter season 2020/2021. According to the manufacturer, the characteristics of the new Scandinavian type Michelin X-Ice Snow and Michelin X-Ice Snow SUV have significantly improved compared to the predecessor models Michelin X-Ice Xi3 and Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2, respectively.....

...The performance properties of the Michelin X-Ice Snow and Michelin X-Ice Snow SUV tires were honed during testing in Finnish Ivalo. The company emphasizes that their braking performance and traction during acceleration on ice and snow remain at the same level throughout the entire service life, up to a residual tread depth of 3 mm...

...But the main emphasis that was made when developing new products is longevity. On the tires of the new model, you can cover 1900 km more than on similar products Continental, Goodyear or Nokian - say Michelin....

...Michelin X-Ice Snow's internal tests were conducted at Test World in Finland, where they were compared with direct competitors Continental VikingContact 7 , Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 , Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 and Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 2 . Not only new tires, but also tires with two degrees of wear were tested: after a run of 10,000 km, which corresponds to the average of one winter season, and with a residual tread depth of 4 mm (an expected result after three winter of operation)...

...According to the test results, Michelin X-Ice Snow defeated their rivals both in a new condition and in a worn out one. The only exception was the braking performance of new tires on ice, where the braking distance of the Continental VikingContact 7 was slightly less...

....But it seems that this fact does not upset the manufacturer, who notes that the advantage of X-Ice Snow over competitors increases with wear and tear, which is fully consistent with its Long Lasting Performance philosophy that its tires should remain safe, no matter how many kilometers they are have passed....
 
Tread design of the X-Ice Snow:


[Linked Image from shina.guide]
 
Well now! Looks like they seriously changed up the tread design. If only they produce them in the size for my Jeep, that'd be amazing.
 
General is studable winter tire so ice traction without studs will be very likely much worse than studless, especially top tier studless. Other results - tests will be needed.
Against WS90 - we need to wait for tests but it was Bridgestone doing catch up and frequently changing models (70 -> 80 -> 90) while Michelin was making Xi3 and Ix2 Lattitude during he same time frame.

Next winter customer should have broader selection of studless tires compared to this one.

KrzyÅ›
 
https://www.vibilagare.se/nyheter/f...-nya-vinterdack-anpassat-mildare-vintrar

Quote
...- As always with Michelin, they emphasize the durability and their Long Lasting Performance philosophy that means the tire should perform well down to the last legal millimeters. This is achieved by the fact that the pattern and seams really go all the way down the tread and that the pattern opens up and becomes wider as the tire is worn....

...- The pattern is surprisingly coarse and attractive. .... The advantage of the open pattern is that it handles water and slush better than before. This is otherwise the Achilles heel with Nordic friction tires whose dense pattern is poor at evacuating water.

- In discussions with the tire designers, it appears that they have made a conscious adjustment to the increasingly wet winters with more rain and slush than white powder snow. This is what Michelin itself claims. We will of course include the new Michelin tire in our own, independent, winter tire tests that we will be doing later this winter. Then we can see how well X-Ice Snow performs against competitors on ice, snow, dry and wet. We will publish these results this fall for next winter...
 
https://moottori.fi/ajoneuvot/jutut/michelin-x-ice-snow-uutuusrengas/

Quote
...The Michelin X-Ice Snow will be replacing the X-Ice Xi3, which has been on sale for years, as its grip on snow and ice has been overshadowed by the latest competitors....The Michelin X-Ice Snow seeks to challenge Continental's dominating position of studless winter tires.

...Michelin promises that the novelty tire will provide 4% better grip on snow than its predecessor, and ice grip is reported to have improved by as much as 8%. There is also a clear improvement in water and slip properties...

...Economy is also likely to be better, as rolling resistance is reported to have decreased by 9%. The noise level Michelin says has stayed on the same line as its predecessor.

...The X-Ice Snow product family is sold in 123 different sizes, of which 42 are new. Of these, 82 will be on sale this year, covering 85 percent of sales; the remaining 41 sizes will be available in stores next spring.
 
excellent, this is what I wanted when I purchased the vikingcontact 7 this year.
Which have been VERY good so far.

Still have about 2 winters remaining on my Jeep's blizzak dm-v2
Maybe my next set of winter tires on the jeep or its replacement(vehicle) will be these Michelins

Thank you for all the tire posts. While some are more useful than others it is very convenient to click on them here instead of sorting through pages of results on a search engine.
 
Thanks for the writeup, very informative. Ice grip increasing by 9% is a lot.
 
Nokian is feeling the heat from competitors. 10-20 years ago it was valid to say they were the class leaders for studded and studless tires. But over the last 5 years or so Nokian winter tires have been equalled or surpassed by the offerings from Continental, Michelin, Bridgestone, and Pirelli.

The Xi3 was introduced 8 years ago, and the independent, objective tests at that time revealed that the only significant weakness of the Xi3 was it slush planing performance. The new tread design of the X-Ice Snow suggests that weakness may have been remedied. But we will have to see how it does in independent testing.
 
They obviously addressed slush issue with Xi3.
Next season I am probably dumping Nokian R2 from Tiguan so maybe I give these a try. Though I am conflicted about Vikingcontact7 as they are just that good.
 
Originally Posted by SubLGT
Nokian is feeling the heat from competitors. 10-20 years ago it was valid to say they were the class leaders for studded and studless tires. But over the last 5 years or so Nokian winter tires have been equalled or surpassed by the offerings from Continental, Michelin, Bridgestone, and Pirelli.

The Xi3 was introduced 8 years ago, and the independent, objective tests at that time revealed that the only significant weakness of the Xi3 was it slush planing performance. The new tread design of the X-Ice Snow suggests that weakness may have been remedied. But we will have to see how it does in independent testing.

10-20 years ago Nokian's, on European market, largest winter tire market in the world, were afterthought except in Finland. I left Europe for US in 2005, and if one wanted top tier winter tire, he/she would go Good Year or Continental. Good Year was absolute king in 1990's in winter tire market in Europe. Continental took that throne in beginning of 2000's and it is not letting it go.
What we get here is mixed offering at best, though it is getting better.
 
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SubLGT is showing USA bias but I think that edyvw is referring to certain winter tires called (depending on market/continent): performance or central Eurpean winter.
Goodyear Ultragrip (many numbers), Dunlop Wintersport M2 (and others) were the kings.

I was not following Scandinavian aka studless winter tires back then and I think it is where Nokian Hakkapellitta were shining bright until they were caught cheating with special formula tires (supposedly not only them),

I think that since introduction Xi3 (wow it is 8 years apo, time flies!) Nokian has not delivered. Maybe except studded tires. It is even more pronounced in the USA where Nokian charges super premium price while in Europe they are just below top tier pricing wise.

The good news for the customer is more selection from excellent choices.

KrzyÅ›
 
Back in Oct 2018 Michelin announced that they were designing a new winter tire for the North American market specifically, to be manufactured at their plant in Nova Scotia. I have not seen any further news about this new "North American winter tire". Perhaps this idea has been abandoned, and the Nova Scotia plant manufactures the X-Ice Snow. ??

https://www.rubbernews.com/article/...scotia-plant-ahead-of-winter-tire-launch

Quote
....GRANTON, Nova Scotia—Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. is budgeting $16 million in investments at its Granton plant to support the 2020 launch of a winter tire designed specifically for the North American market.

...The new tire will build on the success of the Latitude X-Ice XI2 winter tires built at the Granton plant for Canadian and U.S. markets.



I have not yet seen any specific information about availability of the X-Ice Snow in the North American market. For sure, it will be available in Northern Europe and Russia. I assume it will also be available in North America.
 
Originally Posted by krzyss
SubLGT is showing USA bias but I think that edyvw is referring to certain winter tires called (depending on market/continent): performance or central Eurpean winter.
Goodyear Ultragrip (many numbers), Dunlop Wintersport M2 (and others) were the kings.

I was not following Scandinavian aka studless winter tires back then and I think it is where Nokian Hakkapellitta were shining bright until they were caught cheating with special formula tires (supposedly not only them),

I think that since introduction Xi3 (wow it is 8 years apo, time flies!) Nokian has not delivered. Maybe except studded tires. It is even more pronounced in the USA where Nokian charges super premium price while in Europe they are just below top tier pricing wise.

The good news for the customer is more selection from excellent choices.

KrzyÅ›

There were tires manufactured for northern Europe and especially Russian market always, but still largest manufacturers, Good Year, Continental, Dunlop etc. were leading the pack. Tires like Good Year Ultra Grip 4, 5, 6, 7, Continental TS series, Dunlop WIntersport were still most desirable tires even in those areas.
Many second tier tires are actually manufactured for Norther Europe and Russia and then rest of Europe like Sava Eskimo S2 and 3, Kleber, Barum etc. Those tires are usually sold as one model on all markets and are more aggressive. From my experience there, so called Central European winter tires were no worse in snow and ice than those made for Northern Europe and Russia.
 
Originally Posted by SubLGT
Back in Oct 2018 Michelin announced that they were designing a new winter tire for the North American market specifically, to be manufactured at their plant in Nova Scotia. I have not seen any further news about this new "North American winter tire". Perhaps this idea has been abandoned, and the Nova Scotia plant manufactures the X-Ice Snow. ??

https://www.rubbernews.com/article/...scotia-plant-ahead-of-winter-tire-launch

Quote
....GRANTON, Nova Scotia—Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. is budgeting $16 million in investments at its Granton plant to support the 2020 launch of a winter tire designed specifically for the North American market.

...The new tire will build on the success of the Latitude X-Ice XI2 winter tires built at the Granton plant for Canadian and U.S. markets.



I have not yet seen any specific information about availability of the X-Ice Snow in the North American market. For sure, it will be available in Northern Europe and Russia. I assume it will also be available in North America.

It does not make sense, especially since Continental is obviously stepping up game on NA market.
 
Does anyone know if the SUV version will be identical to the passenger version or will they be there be differences? Also does anyone know what sizes will be available when it launches? I'm guessing Michelin would've announced this tire at the Detroit auto show this winter if they have not moved it to the summer. I wonder if they will announce it in June but it would totally be an off-season tire at that time of year.
 
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