Michelin Primacy mxv4 handling issues

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Russell

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Just installed 4 new Michelin Primacy mxv4 h rated in stock 205/65rx15 on my 95 BMW 525i. Car seems to "wander" a bit more with these tires. I think 33 lbs tire pressure all around is too low. Also I understand new tires need about 500 miles to properly break-in.

Are these tires prone to tire pressure sensivitity or poor handling? Tirerack rates them rather highly.
 
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There arent suppose to feel like that on German cars. I put a set of them on my Mercedes and had that wandering thing along with the car hopping. I had 4 defective tires. Got it from Wheel Works in Northern California. They balanced the tires 17 times and still refused to replace the tires. Luckily Michelin took care of me...they sent me over to Discount Tires and used their RoadForce Balancer to check them and low and behold...they were all throwing 38 or higher on the balancer. So they give me a set of Michelin Pilots and i havent had any trouble since. It was my first time having problems with Michelin in the 20 yrs I ve been using them.

Call Michelin....they will help you if your tire shop doesnt. They paid for mounting fees and covered everything.
 
Originally Posted By: 190E26FTW
There arent suppose to feel like that on German cars. I put a set of them on my Mercedes and had that wandering thing along with the car hopping. I had 4 defective tires. Got it from Wheel Works in Northern California. They balanced the tires 17 times and still refused to replace the tires. Luckily Michelin took care of me...they sent me over to Discount Tires and used their RoadForce Balancer to check them and low and behold...they were all throwing 38 or higher on the balancer. So they give me a set of Michelin Pilots and i havent had any trouble since. It was my first time having problems with Michelin in the 20 yrs I ve been using them.

Call Michelin....they will help you if your tire shop doesnt. They paid for mounting fees and covered everything.

Thanks. I started to have them road force balanced. May take it back to the shop and have it done.
 
Originally Posted By: Russell
Originally Posted By: 190E26FTW
There arent suppose to feel like that on German cars. I put a set of them on my Mercedes and had that wandering thing along with the car hopping. I had 4 defective tires. Got it from Wheel Works in Northern California. They balanced the tires 17 times and still refused to replace the tires. Luckily Michelin took care of me...they sent me over to Discount Tires and used their RoadForce Balancer to check them and low and behold...they were all throwing 38 or higher on the balancer. So they give me a set of Michelin Pilots and i havent had any trouble since. It was my first time having problems with Michelin in the 20 yrs I ve been using them.

Call Michelin....they will help you if your tire shop doesnt. They paid for mounting fees and covered everything.

Thanks. I started to have them road force balanced. May take it back to the shop and have it done.


Find out what the tires were throwing at each corner. It needs to be below 11 lbs at each corner in order to not feel vibrations. Also when I had a BMW 325I I kept the tires at 33psi to 35psi. It was fine at those pressures....any higher and its bumpy.
 
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Normal for this tire. I had a set of these on my Prius and they exhibited similar behavior. The condition does get better as they wear down, but it will take a while. If I recall correctly, you had the Pilot Exalto A/S before - and that tire is much more stable on the road.
 
Originally Posted By: Russell
Just installed 4 new Michelin Primacy mxv4 h rated in stock 205/65rx15 on my 95 BMW 525i. Car seems to "wander" a bit more with these tires. I think 33 lbs tire pressure all around is too low. Also I understand new tires need about 500 miles to properly break-in.

Are these tires prone to tire pressure sensivitity or poor handling? Tirerack rates them rather highly.


First, I think the original tire size on that BMW is a 225/60R15 - which makes the 205/65R15 a bit too small. In order to compensate for the smaller tire, it has to be inflated higher - 36 psi. And my book says the rears are supposed to be at 41 psi (44 psi for the smaller size), but I suspect that's the fully loaded condition.

So you need to find the vehicle tire placard and find out what it says.
 
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Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Russell
Just installed 4 new Michelin Primacy mxv4 h rated in stock 205/65rx15 on my 95 BMW 525i. Car seems to "wander" a bit more with these tires. I think 33 lbs tire pressure all around is too low. Also I understand new tires need about 500 miles to properly break-in.

Are these tires prone to tire pressure sensivitity or poor handling? Tirerack rates them rather highly.


First, I think the original tire size on that BMW is a 225/60R15 - which makes the 205/65R15 a bit too small. In order to compensate for the smaller tire, it has to be inflated higher - 36 psi. And my book says the rears are supposed to be at 41 psi (44 psi for the smaller size), but I suspect that's the fully loaded condition.

So you need to find the vehicle tire placard and find out what it says.
This is the correct size for the 525i. The 540i uses the larger size. Correct, the placard indicates only fully loaded pressure which is way to high for me as i drive mostly alone with minimum load.
 
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Originally Posted By: sayjac
I the V rated MXV4's on the an Accord and they have exhibited none of the OP's reported behavior.


Ditto! Mine are also on an Accord. I love the tires. My only complaint is that if the car is parked outside in really cold weather, they are a bit bumpy till they warm up. I experimented with tire pressures a bit, +/- 3 psi since I have slightly taller tires than stock (65 vs 60... done to correct the speedometer), and I ended up about 1 psi less than the placard. But experimenting didn't really change the handling. Of course, mine is an apples to pears comparison because the Accord is FWD, as well as not being a true "performance" car. It's good in it's class & era, I suppose, but not really a "sports sedan."

PS- I would add to the thought that you don't worry too much or fool with any tuning until the tires are well broken in.
 
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Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Originally Posted By: sayjac
I the V rated MXV4's on the an Accord and they have exhibited none of the OP's reported behavior.


Ditto! Mine are also on an Accord. I love the tires. My only complaint is that if the car is parked outside in really cold weather, they are a bit bumpy till they warm up. I experimented with tire pressures a bit, +/- 3 psi since I have slightly taller tires than stock (65 vs 60... done to correct the speedometer), and I ended up about 1 psi less than the placard. But experimenting didn't really change the handling. Of course, mine is an apples to pears comparison because the Accord is FWD, as well as not being a true "performance" car. It's good in it's class & era, I suppose, but not really a "sports sedan."

PS- I would add to the thought that you don't worry too much or fool with any tuning until the tires are well broken in.


I had 225/60x15 V rated Exalto A/S on the car prior to these tires. Had wandering as well. It may be design and/or worn steering components. The car calls for smaller H rated tires anyway. I wanted a bit softer ride which the Primacy should provide.
 
some squishy will go away in 500-1000 miles due to heat cycling/break-in.

try putting +4psi in just to see how it feels.
 
We have these tires on our '99 Accord, in the correct 65 profile, and they've been flat wonderful from new.
The tires now have 48K on them, and have proven to be a good choice.
Much better than the OEM and first replacement MX? Energy tires.
 
Just thought I would add the following related question.

The door placard indicates 33/41 PSI for max load. However, no recommendations for light load. Most of the time I drive by myself. Anyone have suggestions for how to compensate with a lower tire pressure? I am thinking about 30/36 psi???
 
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Originally Posted By: 190E26FTW
I guess it depends on the car maker. Mercedes has PSI ratings in gas door and it says for 100mph driving add +7PSI to Max tire pressure load.


BMW has a similar system, but they use # of occupants:

placard.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: sayjac
I the V rated MXV4's on the an Accord and they have exhibited none of the OP's reported behavior.


I had the H-rated version, and they exhibited the same behavior as the OP's tires.

This person had a similar issue:

http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/2007-20...macy-mxv4s.html

I think the V-rated version must be an improvement over the H-rated version for stability. YMMV.
 
Originally Posted By: Russell
I had 225/60x15 V rated Exalto A/S on the car prior to these tires. Had wandering as well........


Duuude!! This is valuable information. It means that the new tires aren't the problem. Why didn't tell us that at the beginning. Now erase everything anybody stated and start over.

I now vote for an alignment issue.
 
Have not noticed any wandering on our H or V-rated Primacy MXV4. I am somewhat sensitive to wander as the Blizzaks on my car make it almost undriveable on the highway for me.
 
My car wont start...........
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Because it has no engine.
(sorry about leaving that out)

yea thats a key piece of info that was left out of the OP.
 
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